"Hello, best friend!"

A huge smile, a worthy opponent of the sun's glory, founded its place right upon my lips, making them stretch from one ear to another almost making my eyes disappear in bliss as I let those words out of my mouth. Pulling the bag pack off my shoulders rather swiftly, I placed it on desktop and made myself comfortable on the chair next to him. The smile never left my face while my eyes never left his.

He blinked his eyes once, so slowly as if living the moment in slow motion before a small smile danced upon his lips too.

"Hello, love."

I saw his green eyes, light up in joy, holding the potential of lighting up the entire room.

"Ahem" Our heads snapped in the direction of Mr. Watson, who had cleared his throat for the sole purpose of drawing the attention of the entire class from us to him.

"Okay, Charlotte, Finn, I think that's enough for two of you-" he looked away and took off his spectacles and rubbed them against his chest before putting them back on. "-too much love for one day. We should get back to the class."

"Sorry sir, it's just my best friend here can't keep her hands-"

"Mr. Barconn." The teacher said cutting him off, "-serve us as much as we can digest and I'm pretty much sure that I need to get myself a dose of Eno, since you know, I have witnessed you two sitting together." He didn't give Barconn, a single chance to interrupt him anymore because he had already turned to face towards the chalkboard, scribbling the name of the lesson we were going to begin.

What bothered me the most in the moment was the fact that Eno wasn't the medicine for indigestion. It was an antacid. I didn't want him to take the wrong medicine or anything, but then there was no point of flaunting that you've paid attention in chemistry classes in middle school, in a high school teacher's English class.

Mr. Watson had prepared a flow chart to make us understand the character-web in the lesson. All we had to do was jot down whatever he was writing. I took out my notebook and a pen, and without even sparing a glance at the demon's soul comfortable on my right, I started writing, noticing our teacher, eyeing us in suspicion, periodically.

When a wave of satisfaction washed upon him, he finally turned his back towards us and that was it.

The charade shattered and the chaos splattered, by the speed of light.

I felt my elbow vehemently being pushed, giving enough liberty to the tip of the pen I was writing with to dance across the page and ruin the work. I rolled my eyes, knowing where exactly this was heading, and turned my face towards the demon on my right, who had his entire attention concentrated on his notebook.

"What are you doing, Carbon?"

He dropped his pen on the table, soundingly, before slowly turning his head to face me. His lips were pressed up to form into a tight smile that looked malicious. "How many times do I need to remind you that it's Barconn and not Carbon?"

I returned his smile, rather diabolically. "Just as many times as I have reminded you to use your other hand while writing."

He scoffed, looking away. "Look love-" he was whispering so that we don't disturb the class. Again. "-I understand you have a compact, pea-sized brain with a backup of twenty KB rotting memory, but it doesn't work this way. I have been writing with my left hand throughout my whole life. I just can't use my other hand because you told me to."

Pea-sized?

That was enough to have me fuming.

Breath in.

Breath out.

You'll be just as fine, Char. I reminded myself.

I knew he had pushed my arm on purpose because he was sadist. That's what he was! He liked pushing me to all the extremities, testing my patience and once when I used to finally lose it, he liked to enjoy my misery because that's who Finn Barconn was!

I remember when I met him for the first time. I must've known that the day was doomed. I wasn't exactly going through the best phase of my life. It was the worst one, actually, when the fate made this devil knock at the threshold of my life. Since then he hadn't left a single chance to get on my nerves and I, hadn't left any to make his life a living hell.

Everyone who studied or taught or even worked at Rockwood High were very much aware of the fact that Finn Barconn and Charlotte Evans were mortal enemies, ready to slit each other's throat with any passing second and would've been thrown out of the school long time back if they hadn't been the top scorers.

Even the day before, the two of us were thrown out of Mr. Watson's classroom because according to him, I was trying to sneeze on his face, even while knowing that he was a germophobe. He had the nerve of swatting me on my face with his register that had a hardcover, making the teacher throw us out of the class. We were sent to the principle's office where he gave us an ultimatum, either work on our relationship or we were to be rusticated.

"Hey, Evans."

Not again.

"Bark Barconn!" I said under my breath through my gritted teeth. I didn't even have to look up to sense his evil smirk.

I swear to god if murder was justified by the laws, Finn Barconn would've been murdered infinite times already but the sad thing is.....It can never happen. Not unless, I want to spend rest of my life sulking in a jail just because of an idiot.

Spoke my conscience.

"Take it easy, love unless you want to become bald in no time." He snickered at his own stupid joke.

"You know too much about me, don't you? 'love'?" I snapped, imitating his stupid accent.

He grinned.

"What else do you know?"

"Hm..." He bit his lower lip as his eyebrows were drawn together, thoughtfully. "Well, I know you are short and a retard for the starters. You have the ugliest laugh known to the mankind and I throw up every time I see you."

"You sure, you're sick of me and not just pregnant?"

He gritted his teeth. "That was not a comeback."

"Oh then what was it?" I mocked.

"It was a really bad one."

"But it worked. Burnt you so well, Carbon."

"It is Barconn."

"As if it makes you any less obnoxious than carbon monoxide."

He definitely found it lame.             

"Do you know what else I learnt?"

"That you are secretly a woman?" I fake gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. Noticing his smirk, I snorted only to make it grow wider.

He was an idiot. He had lost his brain. Too far, long gone, to be retrieved.

"Have a look." He pulled out his phone and scanned his fingerprint to unlock it. Tapping on the gallery icon, I patiently waited for him to continue.

Peeping into the Golden boy's phone?

I was hoping I don't see anything that I could never unsee or ruin my purity.

Just then he accidentally tapped on a photograph that featured someone's face, with their nostrils in focus. It was Jaxon. His best friend.

"That was nothing you were meant to see." His fingers were shaking as he tried to change the screen. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath before slapping the screen twice.

I snorted.

"Is everything alright?" The teacher asked turning his attention towards us.

"Yes, sir." I reassured him.

"Look at this." I heard the green-eyed monster whisper as he muted the audio of the video that was playing.

It was me. At Stanley's.

I shot him a death glare. How the hell did he get that?

I worked at the Stanley's diner for a four hour shift just because I had a sudden urge to prove myself to my mother that I could do things without ruining them, but as usual, I was pathetic at work too. The video was filmed two days ago when a woman asked me to open a bottle for her. I hadn't realized that it was a carbonated drink, making all the content splatter on the two of us.

"You-"

"I know. I know." He said rolling his eyes. "Why don't we just cut it short? You still remember the bet, right?"

My nostrils flared in anger.

"Good. That's what I am going to show everyone while turning you down, when you pronounce your undying love for me."

As if it is happening. I thought.

This was the exact reason why I hated Finn Barconn. He was just another rich, arrogant, manipulative guy who liked to bend the things for his own good. He made my blood boil in pure hatred.

I remained silent for the rest of the class. I had to do something to pull this demon, down to his knees.

BEHIND THE SCENES

When I first started writing Let's Lie, It was named 'Trust Me, I don't Trust You' with the leads named as Jennifer, Erin and Max instead of Charlotte, Finn and Samuel but it was never published.

QUESTION HOUR

1. Is the new chapter better or improved?

2. Anybody unhappy with Finn or Charlotte's character?

3. Best part of the chapter?

4. Your take on the chapter?