"So her name is Sophia Anderson?" Catalina asked as we descended down the cafeteria stairs.

I nodded with a slight frown attached to my lips. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut and not asked anything.

"So, she's beautiful and smart. She likes Declan reincarnated as a girl," Meadow stated, sending uneasy relations to my brain.

"In a way, I guess Declan and Sophia are a match made in heaven," Catalina considered, her lips pursed.

"Don't put those ominous words in the world," I warned. I wholeheartedly believe in karma and manifesting. If Catalina kept these thoughts up, they might actually happen.

"I'm just saying! You have to be realistic here. Obviously, a girl like her is going to go after someone like Declan. It's just the law of nature. You're in big trouble, my little dove," Catalina rambled, her voice lingered with concern.

Her comments may be true but I didn't want to think about the possibility of them being a thing. Call me in denial, nevertheless, college turned out to be more stressful than high school. At least in Yvon High, no one could match up to Declan.

"Don't worry too much. Let's get some lunch to help you feel better," Meadow suggested, as she placed her hand on my lower back and dragged me along with her. "What should we eat today?"

I stood in the middle of the lunch line trying to decide what I was in the mood for. Catalina and Meadow had decided on orange chicken with noodles and were already in line waiting to pay. Maybe it's because of the stress but I had no idea what I wanted to eat. Normally I would never have this problem. I love everything!

"Lana! Lana!" Catalina called out, finally seizing my attention away from my troubled thoughts. "You haven't ordered yet?"

"Sorry, I got distracted." I grinned, flipping my empty tray back and forth.

"We're going to go sit, okay?" Catalina stated, waiting for a nod of approval.

"Okay, I'll be right there," I replied.

Okay Lana, come on it's not a hard choice-- pesto pasta with garlic bread or burger with french fries. Both are good options.

"You can't think without saying things out loud?" Declan's sudden presence startled me and he strolled straight past me into the lunch line. "Can I have the pesto pasta with garlic bread please?"

I do a double-take, raking my eyes down the length of his body, making my heart flip in my chest. Nothing compared to witnessing his naked chest, but a collared white button shirt was a close second. Especially with the sleeves rolled up to three-quarters on his arm, leaving his expensive watch on full display.

Following suit, I ran up next to him and said, "Can I too have the pesto pasta with garlic bread, please."

"They don't serve food to idiots," he deadpanned, causing an erupting of blowing lava rage to explode in my chest.

"I'm not an idiot," I muttered through my gritted teeth.

"Two pesto pasta coming right up," a familiar voice announced, distributing the different quantities of pasta between the both of us. Oddly, my plate was overflowing with pasta and at least ten pieces of garlic bread.

How did this worker know I could eat this much?

When I glanced over at Declan's tray, there was barely any pasta enough to sustain a toddler and it was accompanied by one-third of garlic bread. Clearly, the person behind the counter had a strong disliking for Declan.

"Why is there such a difference?" Declan asked.

"Excuse me, sir, you have complaints on how I run my kitchen?" He shielded behind his white chef hat, but the moment he raised his chin I realized how dumb I was for not noticing the sound of his voice. "Are you saying I'm being unfair on how I distribute my food? You got some nerve!"

My eyes widened in confusion mixed with joy. "Ambrose?"

He smiled a lopsided grin and gently squeezed my nose as if I was a clown.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you picked your path. Are you not working for my father anymore?" I asked my dozen lists of questions.

"I am working at your father's restaurant during the night and in the morning I'm working here in the cafeteria. Two jobs are better than one, especially after purchasing my little apartment. But that's not the only reason. I plan to learn how to cook inexpensive food here and high-end food from your father," he explained, with a bright glimmer in his eyes.

"Wow!"

"Isn't it amazing? Also, I can protect you from this evil asshole." Ambrose glared in Declan's direction.

Declan irritatingly exhaled, rolling his eyes.

"What do you have something to say, Mr. I think I'm Better Than Everyone," Ambrose taunted, his voice laced with crudeness. "Are you so surprised that you can't say a word?"

"I'm very impressed... that a man can change everything to follow one girl," he snarled, tilting his head a bit to hide his small smirk. "I can't do that."

"What did you say?" Ambrose barked.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now. Please enjoy," Declan stated before going on his merry way.

"The power of my love scared him off, good!" Ambrose muttered to himself.

Awkwardly, I went on my tiptoes to grab my tray and went to go meet my two best friends. Thankfully, they remembered my seating preference and left a seat in between them open for me. Catalina gasped at the sight of my full plate, while Meadow almost choked on her orange chicken.

"How can you even carry that? It definitely weighs more than ten pounds," Catalina commented, her eyes round as she stared at my pasta.

"It's like that scene in the game plan when Peyton had the mountain of spaghetti in front of her." Meadow laughed, stabbing her fork into another piece of chicken.

"I don't even know where to start." I giggled, shifting my fork in different sections of my tray. "Oh, Ambrose works here by the way."

"Not surprised," Meadow remarked.

"What do you mean? It's not because of me-- okay, maybe a part of the reason is because of me, but he's training to become a professional chef," I explained, frantically flailing my hands.

"Mmm... Professional chef, I can see that," Catalina hummed.

"Ambrose is working here to keep you from getting close to Declan?" Meadow asked, her perfectly waxed eyebrow arched cautiously.

"In a way, I suppose," I replied, shoving a good chunk of the pasta in my mouth.

"Ambrose might be onto something... Men tend to do anything to be close to women they're attracted to," Meadow explained, fidgeting with her orange chicken.

Through her observation was heard loud and clear, my eyes wandered over to Declan's table. He had already finished his miniature-sized pasta and was nibbling on the garlic bread. Declan kept to himself, not acknowledging anyone's presence, especially mine.

I shoved another mouthful of pasta into my mouth, slowly drifting my gaze over towards Ambrose. Instead of handling the food, he was out picking up the dirty trays. Our eyes met, and he instantly smiled, waving his hat happily.

"Maybe you should learn something from Ambrose," Meadow advised, scraping the bottom of her bowl. "Yeah, unlike in high school you guys are in completely different departments on the opposite side of each other."

Subconsciously, I kept inhaling my food, with a strong sense of anxiety slithering its way into my veins. All this talking wasn't helping me feel better.

"Sophia has a huge advantage since she's in the same department as him. On top of that, she's a freaking goddess with the body of a model," Catalina added, sending a bullet straight to my ego.

"I'm starting to lose my appetite." I sighed, swallowing my final bite.

"You already finished the plate, so no wonder." Meadow laughed.

"Declan! There you are!" this older-looking, long-haired man shouted, sauntered up to Declan's table.

"Matias, good to see you," Declan responded.

"Yes, super good!" The older fella stole Declan's drink and gulped the entire liquid in one continuous sip. He appeared bulkier than Declan, either because of muscles or weight -- probably both.

"Do you know who that guy is, Lana?" Meadow asked.

I shook my head. "No idea."

"He looks like a senior or professor," Catalina observed, squinting her eyes to get a better view.

"We both know why I'm here. Please, pretty please, join our club for your old precious friend," he pleaded, attempting to do a puppy dog pout.

"I have no intentions of joining any clubs," Declan responded.

The older male animatedly whined and groaned in disappointment. "Don't say that! We've known each other since elementary school. Please, I'll be waiting for you after school. Okay?" he smiled, yet Declan didn't respond. I guess he must have nodded or something.

"There's your chance, Lana!" Meadow proudly declared.

"Huh?" my voice was laced with confusion.

Meadow irritatedly groaned and flicked my head, using her fingers. "The universe handed your chance on a platter! All you have to do is join the same club as him, and you will still be around him, even with being in a different department." Meadow clarified.

"Oh, my God, you're a genius Meadow! This is your chance to drive a wedge before Sophia gets too close." Catalina agreed.

"Yes! I will! Don't you worry!" I smiled, regaining the hunger I had lost earlier. "Can I have the rest of your chicken?"

Catalina handed over her remaining food, and I quickly attacked the lonely chickens with my fork, sentencing them to death. While eating, I saw Declan gathering up his belongings and getting ready to leave. Quickly, I wiped my fingers clean and rushed over to his side.

"So Declan... Are you going to join a movie club? What club are you joining?" I asked, resting my hand on the table.

"I'm not telling you," he replied.

I narrowed my eyes."Why not?"

"Because if I tell you, you're going to join the same one as me," he pointed out.

Is he a wizard? How does he always know what I'm thinking? Am I that predictable? Is he Edward from freaking Twilight and could secretly read our minds? I slumped back to my table with a disappointed frown plastered on my lips.

"He already knew what I was thinking," I muttered, sighing.

"He surely is a genius." Catalina clenched her fists.

"I'm not giving up! If he's not going to tell me, then I'll just have to follow him," I proclaimed, dramatically punching my fist in the air. "I got this!"

Luckily, Catalina had a camouflaging hat in her Honda Civic, and I borrowed it to blend in with the crowd while I'm following Declan. Casually, with a book in my hand, I waited underneath the stairs for him. I poked my head from the book and recognized Declan's breathtaking backside.

Operation: followed my man to his club is in session.

Tilting my head down, I cautiously kept our distance enough that I wouldn't lose him in the crowds of students. Declan strolled into a yellow brick building across the school, flooding with students and doors with posters of clubs plastered on them. Can't believe he's dumb enough to think I wouldn't follow him.

Occasionally, I would use concrete pillars as shields in case Declan sensed someone was following him, but he kept a consistent rhythm. The more classes I wandered past, the more clubs I saw that I never would've thought of, like the puzzle club or monster high club. I wondered what kind of club captured Declan's attention.

As I stared at the Game of Thrones club poster, my eyes flickered back to Declan and saw him entering a red door. Got you! While I internally applauded myself, I ran down the hall with spirit overflowing through my veins. Without giving the door another glance, I stormed in with a gigantic smile reaching my ears.

"I wanna join this club!" I yelled with gee.

Three scrawny-looking boys with Harry Potter glasses stared at me with wide eyes and jaw-dropping confused looks. Instantly, a burning sensation rushed up to my cheeks, and my smile slowly dissipated. The room was decorated with Star Trek fanart, posters, and inappropriate sexual photos of female leads-- I think.

A deep crease formed on my forehead as I took in the whole situation. This was the club that guy was bothering Declan to join? It seemed outrageous, no wonder why he had denied his proposal.

"Is Declan Novak here?" I nervously laughed.

"Declan?" One of them asked.

"Who is that?" Another one interjected.

"Oh, was it the man who came in for a second and left?"

What? Have I been bamboozled? Sprinting out of the room, I glanced down the railing and saw Declan's devilish smirk on his beautiful lips. Was my camo hat too obvious? No wonder why it seemed too straightforward. The lengths I went for this boy.

Throwing my camo hat in my bag, I dashed up the stairs, skipping every other one, hoping I could catch up to him before it's too late. There was no sight of him at all, even when I peeked into all the clubrooms. Why does the building have to be so goddamn big! At this point, my shoulders were slouched, and I wore a proud scowl on my face.

Suddenly, I stopped short when I saw Sophia Anderson waiting patiently with her Chanel bag slinging on her wrist. My heart fainted, free-falling to the pits of my stomach when Declan approached her.

You got to be freaking kidding me!

"You're late. I said we should go together, remember?" she pouted, rubbing his arm, alerting the jealousy jitters in my tummy.

"You decided that on your own," he stated.

"Might as well, since we're joining the same club and can spend hours together every day." She smiled, shamelessly flirting. "Let's go inside."

This was my only shot! There's no way in hell I'm going to let her steal Declan's heart when I already put so much work into it. Taking a deep breath of hot and sweet courage, I barged through the door, causing the wooden frame to bang against the wall.

"Excuse me, I would love it if you guys would accept me into this club!" I declared, shouting.

"Oh? And you are?" an older-looking skinny man asked. "Where did you get your referral from?" The unknown individual had a slender face and a rounded jaw covered in a beard, frame strong cheekbones, and intense blue eyes.

"I don't have a referral... actually... but I really want to join-- Ummm," I drawled out and searched for the poster to reveal this club's identity. "I really love to join the soccer club! I figured if I entered SilverLake University I would definitely enjoy the soccer club." I proclaimed, oozing with determination.

The brawny man with long hair who erupted Declan's lunch emerged from the circle. "It's all good, Captain. Anyone with enthusiasm is welcome! What's your name?" he asked, wrapping his arm over my shoulders.

"I'm Lana Hart." I smiled, proudly.

"Come in, Come in! I'm Matias and I'm in charge of new upcoming members. We had just finished discussing the rules and were about to start the welcome party for our new members," he explained, a lopsided smile developed on his face.

Matias rushed back over to our Captain's side and started discussing fundraising events planned during the year. Declan's elbow grazed mine, causing every single nerve to spurge with intense excitement. I felt a burning, piercing gaze on me and caught Sophia's agitated glare. She mischievously flipped her hair and connected her arms with Declan's.

It took all my energy to keep myself from gagging.

Why isn't he pushing her off?

The rest of the soccer club went by like a breeze. I tried socializing during the welcome party, but I couldn't focus on anyone other than Declan. Sophia was hogging all his attention, and it bothered the living daylights out of me. I messaged Mrs. Novak about my sudden new activity and went home to a whole new soccer wardrobe waiting for me.

New clothes and more time with Declan.

Sign me up!

Soccer club might actually be fun.

Who thinks Lana is crazy for following Declan to his club? Sophia is probably mad because she wanted some alone time lol!!!!

I hope the chapter made you smile and laugh! And I can't wait to read all your comments!!!

Love you ❤️❤️❤️