It was that dreaded time of her life again when she had to be forced to be with the Carlyses.
Zara had hoped she wouldn't see him till she had to go back but he had come back home from school yesterday and his mother had thrown a mini welcome home party in his honour and just as expected, her family was invited.
Zara sat at the table, which had been filled earlier with her family members except her dad who had gone away on business, Aaron, his parents and three of his friends from college Zara didn't bother to listen to their names when they were introduced.
Now, the table was almost empty, her mother and Aaron's mother busy in the kitchen and the rest of the guests nowhere to be found, having wandered off.
She wanted to go home and talk all night long with Jack. She raised her head up as shouts rang out in the room, scoffing as she realized that it was Amy and Silver who had just crashed the party. Maybe they were actually invited but she didn't care, the party just got fuller with more people she didn't want to be with.
"Still too big to say hello?" Amy goaded her.
Zara snorted. "I'm not the one you came here for so just ignore me."
Rosa chided, hissing softly. "Zara, don't be rude. A hi there wouldn't kill you."
Silver smiled. "Leave her. It could probably kill us if she greeted us. It would have been so weird to be welcomed to a room by Zara."
Zara smiled at Silver. A cold smile. "For a moment, I was tempted to like you."
"Oh, my heart sings with joy." Silver retorted.
"Is my Zara being cute again?" Aaron said as he walked into the room, noting the glares the girls were shooting at each other. He went to Zara, wrapping his arms around her as he stood behind her.
"Take your hands off." Zara hissed through gritted teeth.
"Fine." Aaron smiled, raising his hands up in a show of surrender as he walked out from behind her chair and sat beside her.
"The nasty tigress." Amy huffed and smiled at Aaron's friends as they walked in. "Hi. I'm Amy."
Zara rolled her eyes. Amy was still the local flirt she had been in high school. She had assumed college would have groomed her and she would have grown up a bit but no. Well, they had only spent few months in college. Maybe Amy still had hope.
"What are you doing on your phone?" Rosa commented, stretching her neck to see what she was up to. "You have been busy on it since we came."
Chatting with my love. She shrugged. "Just checking the internet."
"Since? There must be some interesting content there. Let's check together." Rosa shifted closer.
Zara moved the phone away from her. Rosa winced. "How are you reading through the phone? The screen light is so dim."
Zara grinned. "Because I don't want anyone else to read it."
Rosa snorted. "Are you doing something illicit?"
Amy snorted. "Not like the cold Zara would be found watching porn. Oh no, she is even too good to date."
Aaron scowled at Amy and hissed. "Stop. That's my childhood friend you are insulting there."
Zara glanced at Aaron, touched by his defence of her but he needn't have done that. She could fight for herself.
"Thank you." She mouthed at him, focusing back on her phone, telling Jack about the party.
Aaron blushed, glad to have done something Zara approved of.
"This is boring." Nate, one of Aaron's friends chirped.
"Exactly." Mason agreed. "The oestrogen war is getting annoying."
Rosa nodded. "I third that. I came here for a party not to watch my sister participate in a bitchy cat and rat battle."
"Hey!" Zara glanced up from her phone, staring at Rosa. "That was a bit too much. I didn't ask for the fight."
"But you willingly participate in it." Rosa pointed out.
Zara shrugged. "What can a girl do? Mum didn't raise a coward."
Silver rolled her eyes. "Should we play a game?"
"Yes. Truth or dare game." Mason suggested, grinning.
"I'm not interested." Zara said.
Amy snorted. "What a surprise, Zara!"
Rosa, Aaron, Nate, Amy, Mason and Silver all agreed to the game and took turns.
Zara wasn't interested but she listened to them. It was hard not to when she was seated right there beside them. She snorted.
Aaron blushed as it got to his turn and Nate dared him to do a crazy thing he had always wanted to do.
He grinned, his heart thumping with nervousness as he stared at Zara. "Zara." He called out to her.
She glanced up, looking at him in confusion. What had the crazy thing he had always wanted to do got to do with her?
"What?"
He licked his lips, his stare focused and unblinking on her face. "I've always wanted to do this. Will you be my girlfriend, Zara?"
Amy gasped in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. She knew Aaron liked Zara—though she wondered why he did—and she knew Zara knew about it but didn't give a damn.
She rolled her eyes, snorting as she glanced at Aaron. Who would have thought that to keep on asking Zara out and in public was the crazy thing he had always wanted to do?
She grimaced as she watched Zara's unblinking expression. Yeah, crazy crazy indeed.
What a foolish boy!
Zara flushed with embarrassment at Aaron's question. Yeah, she should have known that was coming.
She swallowed, hating to wipe the smile off his face but she would have to do it if he chose not to listen.
Before she could open her mouth, Nate started beating the table and was chanting. "Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"
Zara rolled her eyes. This was probably fun to them but it was humiliating for her and definitely more serious for Aaron.
Oh Aaron! Why do you have to be so persistent? Her heart lurched with pain.
Mason smiled and took it from Nate and the rest of the group started to chant that she should say yes to Aaron's proposal. Even Anthony, Aaron's third friend, who hadn't said anything since he came joined in the fun, his eyes glistening with excitement.
What a ridiculous show of friendly support, Zara snorted.
"No." She hissed.
The whole room fell silent as they all pouted, staring at her as if she had rejected them.
Aaron fell back into his seat, his despair clogging their nostrils. "Zara, again? Why?"
His voice was laced with so much pain his friends were ashamed to look at him and averted their eyes.
Zara winced at the pain in his voice. Amy noted her expression and sighed. Maybe Zara wasn't at cold as she had thought. She just wasn't interested in the guy and yeah, any girl would be frustrated with a guy who found it hard to accept rejection.
"I don't like you and don't think I ever will."
Ouch. Amy wanted to weep for Aaron's sake. No, she hadn't been wrong. Zara was still the cold bitch she knew her to be. Even if she didn't like the poor guy, she could have found a softer way of rejecting him, considering that they were both not alone.
Zara sighed at the plunge in the atmosphere. It suddenly felt too cold and uncomfortable to stay with them. She picked her phone and walked out of the room.
"Such a honest girl." She heard Anthony say with pride as she left but she didn't look back, too annoyed to care.
She made her way to the swing she had used with Aaron and Rosa as a kid, back then when everything was still cool, back then when things just weren't complicated.
She settled into the seat of the swing, feeling comforted a bit by the soft movement of the chair.
She breathed, relaxing her tensed muscles as she inhaled the soft fragrance of the air and the grass beneath her feet. No one could find her here. It had been long anyone had ever ventured this far since they had the innocence of their childhood sucked out of them and roped into the world of magic and cults.
Jack called, her phone blaring up in relief as if it had been waiting a long time for that call.
"Hey, pretty." He chuckled. "You left me hanging. You didn't respond to a message I texted you."
She winced. "Oh, sorry!"
"Are you fine? You sound dull."
She brightened up. "I'm fine. I'm just having a moment."
"Is the party over? I'm surprised you actually picked up. I just wanted to redirect your attention, I didn't know you would actually call."
"I miss you too." She replied, ignoring his questions.
He snorted. "What are you trying to hide from me?"
She shook her head. He was too perceptive. She couldn't hide anything from him. "The party had not ended. I am outside. I left because I was bored."
She couldn't tell Jack about Aaron asking her out in the presence of everyone. He wouldn't care even if she said that it had been a dare.
The last time Aaron had called her in his presence while they were in school and she had jokingly told him he was a childhood friend who had had a crush on her for years, he had growled so loud she had thought her ears were going to fall off.
His eyes had glowed with rage, his skin taut with jealousy that Zara had found him scary and cute at the same time.
She couldn't afford a repeat not when they were both still around people they would like to keep their relationship away from.
"Oh! I thought you were having so much fun."
She snorted. "So much fun without you is an overstatement."
He grinned. "Stop it. You will make me turn redder."
She giggled. "You mean you are red already."
"I blush anytime I get to hear your voice. The colour on my face is just automatic. That is how much I love and want you, Zara."
"I love you too, my love." She grinned.
Someone cleared a throat behind her and she paled. She quickly ended the call, knowing Jack would have heard the person as well over the phone.
Her heart thumped with fear as she dreaded looking back, wondering who it was. She was dead meat if it was her mother.
She almost doubled up, sighing with relief as she turned and saw Rosa, a slow smile tugging on her face until she saw Aaron beside her, looking pale and heartbroken and her scowl came back on.
Rosa arched her eyebrows at her. "I love you? Who was that?"
"Obviously her boyfriend." Aaron winced, his voice depressed.
Rosa snorted. "Is that true? Zara? You have a boyfriend?"
Zara glanced at Aaron, her heart filled with pain at the look in his eyes. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to respond but she knew Rosa wouldn't give up until she did. Aaron looked so miserable her heart broke for him. In the last few seconds, he seemed to have shrunk in into himself.
"Zara!" Rosa pestered.
Zara nodded. "Yeah, Rosa, I was talking to my boyfriend."
Rosa gasped in shock. "I never would have believed that you could have a boyfriend."
Zara snorted. "What do you mean? I'm human with a beating heart."
"Tell me about him. How come you never told me? Do you love him?"
Zara grinned. "Oh, I love him as much as I love my life."
Aaron grunted. "I can't do this." He walked off.
Zara sulked. "Why were you guys here?"
Rosa sighed. "He wanted to apologize for embarrassing you."
Zara scoffed. "He shouldn't have done it if he knew he was going to apologize."
"You can't fault him for trying. He is a sweet boy, it's just a shame you never liked him."
She sidled closer to Zara. "Now, tell me about this boyfriend of yours."
"No comment." Zara said, walking away, a pouting Rosa behind her.