Madison's POV:

Adelaide's words never left my mind, no matter how hard I tried letting them go, and not even as the days passed.

"I just hope I don't get to the day were I regret it"

I didn't know her long enough and we only recently became friends, but I cared for her just as much as I did for Lauren.

My mind went on and on yelling at me not to interfere, but my heart couldn't help letting something like this go.

In the end my heart won the fight and decided not to leave things the way they are, to possible heartbreaks.

The plan was already set in my mind and I only needed a certain person's help with it.

How I always ended up with Elijah was a question I had no answer to, not even a guess. I always say this is the last time I have him lurking around me and my vulnerable heart, but then something new happens and I find him crawling back to his old place all over again. There was just no escape from him.

But this time was necessary, and hopefully the last time I needed him. 

My last class just ended now and as I started walking down the hall, my mystery guy popped into my mind. I never had to start a conversation with him because he made sure to text me almost daily, but now that a couple of days have passed and I haven't heard a single word from him, I needed to start one to comfort my stressed heart.

"Hey, it's been a while since we talked and this time a lot over 24 hours"

I went down the stairs heading outside.

"Is someone worried here?" he sent a winking emoji along.

"Don't let it get through your head"

"If I'd known all it takes for you to worry about me is not texting you for 24 hours then I would've done that a long time ago"

I let out a laugh. I think his ego got bigger.

By now I was out of the building and just wandering around the campus.

"All jokes aside, thank you for checking on me. I haven't texted only because I got caught up in exams, but now I'm done. I was even about to text you but you beat me to it"

"Great minds think alike" I shrugged, smiling, even though he can't see me.

I was checking his reply when I bumped harshly into someone and fell to the ground, with the person I bumped into tripping and falling over me.

My head hit the ground and I was deprived from enough oxygen from the person over me. A few seconds more and I'd start seeing stars swimming around me.

Groaning I opened my eyes, and found myself looking directly into Elijah's eyes.

Of course, it just had to be him.

He was looking at me with wide eyes, and when he snapped out of it, he got up and offered me a hand to get off the ground too.

"I'm so sorry"

"I'm so sorry"

We both started together and ended up laughing at how our words came out at the same time.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I was texting and walking and when I bumped into you, I lost balance and fell"

"It's alright"

My words drowned in his because he never stopped talking.

"Are you sure you're alright? I saw you hit your head. Is it bleeding?"

"Eli!"

He froze at my sudden yelling. Thank god he stopped rambling.

"Please stop talking"

He nodded silently.

"First of all stop apologizing because you're not the only one at fault, I was walking and texting too. Second thing, stop worrying about me, the fall wasn't hard. My head doesn't even hurt"

"Are you sure?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes, and if I feel any sort of pain, I'll tell you immediately" I brushed his arm comforting him.

He nodded.

The guilt was slowly going away and it made him look like a little kid. He was giving me twists in my heart and now I was starting to feel guilty.

What is wrong with me?!

"Anyways, I'm glad I bumped into you" I joked and he narrowed his eyes at me "I was about to look for you or call you"

He waited for me to continue.

"I want to do something to help Adelaide and Mason. I talked to each one of them alone and it seems they both like each other but scared to face one another. So I was thinking maybe we could give them a little push to set them in the right direction"

"Are you sure they didn't mix you up with Noah at the hospital, because I could swear I remember my dad telling me what my mom said when she wanted to set up your parents and they're along these lines? I think we should make a paternity test"

I jokingly pinched the same shoulder I just comforted not too long ago.

"For real now, can I count you in? I really need your help because I can't do this alone especially if I don't want anyone of them to notice"

"Of course! I'm dying to see the day Mason settles down. Damn it, I should've made a bet with him about this" he added the last part to himself.

"You guys are unbelievable. You're always joking and everything is a bet for you"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me teasingly "They add the element of fun to our lives"

I shook my head at him, but the uncontrollable smile surfaced and I ended up grinning at him.

"Alright now let's get to business. First of all, I'll let you in on my plan in details, then we execute, and finally, the part I look most forward to, the spy work"

Ignoring his laughter at my words and tone, I pulled him and seated us on the bench in front of us.

"Okay, you need to stop laughing at me. This is all exciting to me and it makes me feel like a kid again. Promise me you won't laugh again, because I'm sure I'll be this way for the rest of the day or else I'll find someone else to help me"

"I wasn't making fun of you; I was just laughing because you looked too adorable. Now tell me what your plan is"

He flipped from one subject to the other too quick for my blush to disappear.

I adjusted myself in my seat so that the sun was facing me and the blush was hidden with the redness of my face from the heat.

"I remembered the night we went to the amusement park and what you told me about your mother matchmaking our parents so I thought we'd do something similar"

He nodded.

"You will talk to Mason and somehow convince him to meet you in the restaurant I have in mind, it doesn't matter how you do it, just be careful he doesn't sense anything. I'll do the same thing with Adelaide. And then we'll spy on them and make sure everything's going right. I talked to the manager of the restaurant so we could do our business without any of the employees getting suspicious from us and agreed to give them a table where they won't see us, just in case, but we will"

"Perfect, I guess you had it all figured out. I'll go start working on my side of the plan and we'll meet later by the restaurant" 

I nodded, getting up from my seat along with him. He aimed for a hug but I wasn't expecting anything at all, and we ended up face to face standing awkwardly, so the goodbye turned into a French one. A kiss on the cheek and a half hug.

No matter how uncomfortable this half minute was, I couldn't care at all. A smile played on my lips as I watched him walk away, and tingling filled my body from the comfortableness his small hug gave me.

I shrugged my feelings aside and started with my part of the plan as well. I called Adelaide and told her to meet me and Lauren for a late girl's day. It didn't feel good lying to her, but it was all for the sake of her happiness. I then called Lauren and gave her a head's up on the plan just in case Adelaide calls her.

And just like that I was done, so I gathered my things and headed home. 

Four hours were to spare until the spying began, so I changed into something more comfortable and went to the living room. A while into watching TV, my eyelids became heavy and I fell into sleep. 

When I woke up, fifteen minutes were left until the date started. I scrambled off the couch like lightening and changed into the first thing my hands caught from the closet. I wasn't dressing to impress anyone so I skipped fixing my look and pulled my hair into a high ponytail instead.

I reached the restaurant on time. Adelaide had just got in while Mason was already there, but Elijah on the other hand was nowhere to be seen. 

"Hey, you're here" 

I bit my lip hard to prevent a scream and glared at Elijah "You scared the hell out of me"

"Sorry" he chuckled.

I shook my head and turned to watch Mason and Adelaide. The waiter guided Adelaide to the same table Mason was at, and they both stared at each other not knowing what was going on. Confusion and different types of feelings portrayed on their faces. 

Mason started looking around and then so did Adelaide, and when they figured out that they were set up, Adelaide turned to leave. Mason stopped her and offered her a seat. I couldn't hear a single thing and I didn't know how to lip read, but the emotions reflected on their faces were enough to let me know if this was working or not.

By now we were getting a few stares from the people walking past us on the street, probably suspicious to why two teenagers were deeply staring from the outside of the restaurant windows. Thankfully the glasses were tinted and no one inside could see us or else we would've been caught a long time ago. 

Things calmed down with Mason and Adelaide, and they were talking casually now. Elijah was just as focused in their conversation as I was, but seeing them start ordering their food, I decided it was time to get some answers to questions that were eating me from curiosity. 

I turned to face the street and leaned on the glass.

"Would you ever want to be set up like we did with these two?"

He turned to face me.

"Sure, if it were with the person I like"

"So there's a crush in your life?"

He nodded.

"And you wouldn't mind me setting you up with her?"

"Well you don't know who she is"

"What if I found out?"

"You won't" he answered too quickly.

"Alright then, do I know her?"

He shook his head no.

I didn't know what to say next, but there was a question lingering at the top of my head. I was hurt enough by his answers; deep down I knew Adelaide was wrong and must have mixed things up, but my heart needed to hear the answers come out of his mouth to believe them. So what could one more answer do any more harm than what's already done?

"Do you love her or is it just a crush?" I asked in a small voice, still fearing the reply.

"I think I'm in love with her"

I didn't dare say anything after that, instead focused my attention on the couple. They were deep into their conversation now and laughing every while and then, and it seemed like things were going well with them.

Yet every couple of minutes I would go back to replaying his answer and it would crush me even more than before. I didn't think I could ever despise a sentence that much and the word love turned into a hated one after that.

It was certain now that he needed to be pushed out of my life, the damage done was more than enough, and I knew after tonight I could no longer have even a glimpse of him in my life anymore.

I needed a break from all of this, from him.

..................................