Ella's POV.

I groaned in my pillow as the banging on the door disturbed my sleep for the fifth time. "What the hell!" I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I looked at the clock, placed beside my bed, showing it was four in the night. What the heck! It wasn't even dawn. There came another knock, and I groaned again. This person better have a good reason for waking me up at this hour or else I would fire her right now.

 I got off my bed, rubbing my eyes, and headed towards the door. "What!" I barked, opening it, still rubbing my eyes.

"Ella!" My eyes widened as the voice registered in my mind. "Dad! I... I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you." I rambled. 

"It's fine. Meet me at the gym in five minutes. Your training starts now!" With that, he turned around and went downstairs. My mouth hung open at what he just said. Training? At this hour? What the heck! Now, I couldn't even sleep properly? I stomped my foot on the floor, groaning.

"Ella! I said, five minutes." He called again. "Yes, dad," I quickly replied. I hurried to the washroom and splashed my face with some cold water to wake me up. After drying my face with a towel, I headed down. Dad was waiting in front of the gym and when I arrived, he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What? I didn't have the time to change. You said five minutes," I retorted and dad slightly chuckled. "That's fine. Let's start."

I followed him inside the gym and my eyes widened to how huge and highly equipped the room was. This was my first time here as I wasn't actually a fan of training and exercises. There were so many machines that I didn't even know the names of. Again, not much of an exercise lover.

"Let's start from there," dad said pointing towards a bag which seemed like a punching bag. I nodded and headed towards it.

"Wait, wear on these first." He handed me two boxing gloves and I wore it. "Now start," dad said and I landed a punch on the bag like I would watch people do in movies. The bag just moved an inch although I had put all my strength in it. This seemed so easy in movies but it was damn difficult. The bag was damn heavy. I punched one after another and still, it was just moving a bit and not like it would fly around in movies.

Damn! Why the heck it's so heavy!

I groaned and started throwing punches at it again. It did move a bit more this time but still, it wasn't even closer to being a good job.

"Ahhhh! It's so difficult." I growled and dropped on the tiled floor. My chest rising up and down with heavy breaths and my body covered in sweat. I was feeling hot and my clothes started to stick to my wet body and this was all gross. Uh... hated gym!

"So soon? It's not even the start." Dad smiled and looked at me. He was sitting on the chair enjoying her daughter suffer and I was huffing due to shortness of breath. He was truly cruel.

"Dad! I don't want to." I pouted. "No, you will." Dad stood up, stating.

"Get up and start again." He ordered and despite my protest, he made me start all over again.

He made me spent two hours in the gym. I wasn't able to learn any attacking moves. The only thing I learnt was punching a damn eighty-kilo bag. My dad said, first my body had to get used to all of this so according to him, he was taking things slow - which I highly doubted. After punching, he made me do push-ups, which I tried my best to do and failed, and made me run for thirty minutes on a treadmill and he called it 'taking things slow'. He truly was a cruel, merciless leader.

I was damn exhausted now. I didn't know if I could even make it to school today, and all of this sweat was making me feel so disgusted, along with my PJs sticking to my sweaty body, making it worse. I needed to take a shower as quickly as possible. I came out of the gym and headed straight towards my room. With every step on the stairs, my arms and my legs were hurting.

"Hey princess! So how was your first day at training?" I turned my head to see uncle Johns at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh god! How you guys even do that? It's so hard! I don't think I can even do it," I said while giving a massage to my left shoulder.

"Of course you can! It's in your blood, you'll get a hang of it. Don't worry." He smiled at me.

"I hope so too," I whispered with a slight smile and went to my room.

*****

"What happened to you, Ella?" Sara questioned. "Everything okay? Why are so down on energy?" Jessica asked. What could I do? I was so exhausted! You couldn't expect a person to be all good and energetic after two hours of hell-torture called training. I was regretting. Why did I even decide to come to school?

"Ah...." I groaned. My legs and arms were aching and I knew, I'd surely have cramps tonight. This all was not a good idea. "Actually, my father just got this idea of teaching me how to fight, you know," I rubbed my neck and leaned it towards left, trying to ease some pain but it was of no help.

"Fight? Why?"

"Just in case to defend me."

"Wow! I wish I had a cool dad like that," Jessica said getting impressed. I rolled my eyes, still groaning due to the pain and stiffness. "Oh, you really don't wanna," I mumbled.

"Did you said something?" Sara questioned at my mumbling and I quickly shook my head no.

"Ah! Anyways! I have news!" Jessica screamed in a low voice, getting excited.

"What?" Sara asked, getting closer to her.

"Mike had asked me out!" She said, excitedly covering her mouth. Her eyes beaming with excitement and her smile so big that it could cover her half of the face. She jumped up and down getting all excited and hyped up while clapping her hands together.

I wasn't excited. I wasn't glad about it too, not until I knew who exactly that mike was. "Mike? As in Mike Stewart?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes! Eeeehh! I am so excited... I had always had a crush on him. Looks like he finally noticed me!" She seemed so happy whilst I just looked at her surprised. Was she dumb? Didn't she know who the heck that bloody Stewart guy was?

"Oh god! I'm so happy for you, Jess!" Sara hugged her and I stared at her shocked.

"Wait a second! Are you both nuts? Come on! That boy? Do you know who he is? He's the highschool biggest player!" I looked at them in disbelief. Were these two out of their minds?

Mike Stewart was a last year student in our school. He was two years senior to us, a school's bad boy and a certified player. It was famous that nearly half of the schoolgirls lost their virginity to him. Blessed with those looks that anyone can fall for, he had almost fuck every girl in his class and almost half of the school's girls. He had crushed many hearts and to him, fucking a girl was a game. Now he was after my friend. Wow! I wonder how much was he betting on this prey? That bastard!

"But he said he likes me." Jessica pouted and I rolled my eyes at her. I didn't expect her to be this naive.

"Jessica! He's a Casanova! He doesn't do this like or love shits! You know who he is! He's a bad boy! A player! He'll ruin you." I tried to add some sense in her.

I couldn't see my friend getting ruined by some idiot jerk. I couldn't see her getting broke. She deserved better, way better than that dickhead. I had to save her and she had to understand that.

"Jessica! Look, you deserve someone a lot better than that jerk," I said to her. I grabbed her shoulders while looking in her eyes. "He's just a player and you know it. He'll ruin you and I can't let that happen. You don't deserve that shithead."

"But... I'll change him. I have read many stories about these bad guys. You'll see! He'll fall in love with me. I am an expert in that," She smiled not listening to a thing I said to her. She wasn't even trying to understand it and this was making me mad.

"Gosh! Jess! Those are just stories! Life's not like that and your life isn't a fantasy! You are not a weak protagonist from a romantic novel who'll make the bad guy go head over heels in love with her. Get your head out of those damn novels and face the reality!" I yelled at her. "You can never change him! NEVER! No one can change him. He's a monster, a player who loves to toy girls around! He'll ruin you! He doesn't like you! He... He just wanna take advantage of you! Y-"

"Enough!" Jessica yelled back, freeing herself from my hold. I looked at her, bewildered. "Who are you? A love expert? You don't know anything! All you had done your whole life is to hate them. You don't know anything about love! Because you had never been in one! And I don't think you'll ever be!" Jessica shouted at me furiously. "You don't know anything about being in love or falling in love! For damn sake! You have never been in a relationship and not once had anyone confessed to you! So who are you to warn me about anything," she continued to yell at me. My heart hammering in my ribcage as my brain trying to process the words she was saying. "So Miss Ella Anderson, it's best that you remain in your own boundaries and do not interfere in other's lives."

I was taken aback by her outburst. All these words making my head spin, and my chest constricted. Someone tried to calm us down but the surroundings seemed to fade away and the only thing that I could hear or feel were those words. Her each and every word felt like a dagger piercing deep in my soul. Those words stabbed me in the heart, making a wound so deep that couldn't be healed. I was only saying this for her own self. I cared for her, I loved her. I just didn't want to see her hurt and broken. I was saying all of this for her own sake.

Tears threatened to escape my eyes but I held them back. Was this the truth? Had she always thought about me that way? I was a fool. A complete fool. I quickly grabbed my things and went towards the restroom. By now tears had managed to escape my eyes as I entered the girl's restroom. I halted in the doorway, seeing it crowded. I needed to go somewhere. Somewhere alone.

I hurriedly turned around and walked through the hallway with my head hung low. My tears rolling down my cheeks and my heart hurting. My shoulder bumped with someone as I rushed past the corridor. I didn't glance up to who that was. All I wanted was to find a little alone time. Quickly murmuring a sorry to whoever that person was, I entered the doors that led to the library.

Seeing a vacant spot at the least corner of the library, I sat on the floor. Folding my legs and bringing them to my face, I buried my head in it and let my tears slide down.

I was a fool. I was an idiot, thinking that I was their friend. I hated myself.

Xaiden's POV.

I noticed her as she was walking fastly through the corridors as if trying to escape from something. Her shoulder collided with my side but she didn't look up. Her head still hung low as if trying to hide something. She quickly murmured a sorry and went straight to the library.  Her voice seemed strange like it was choking on to something, like she was on the verge of crying and how her shoulders were slumped down, it felt like she was on the edge of a breakdown. But why was she like that? What could have happened to her?

It's not your problem! Focus on your own work.

My mind reminded me and I knew that it was none of my problem, and I shouldn't be concerned about any of it but still I was, and this was strange and not good.

You don't even know her! You don't know who that girl was.

I knew I had no idea who that girl was - who bumped into me - or what her problem was but my heart was giving me this false belief that she was her. Her golden blonde hair was like her, and her sweet voice seemed so nice and known. Although she had never talked to me but that's exactly how I had imagined her voice. Gentle and sweet.

Xaiden! Don't you think of going after her!

Despite my conscience arguing me, I couldn't stop myself. I don't know why I was so concerned about it but I just was. Before my mind could give me another lecture on what I was going to do, I shut it down and headed after her. I looked through the library rack by rack but no one was there. No sign of her was there. Not on couches, not on tables. The library was almost empty with only two to three persons with books in their hands. It seemed like not most of the students were fond of this place.

I looked through the rows between the bookshelves but still no sign of that girl. Where could she have gone?

I turned around the science wing of the library and then moved towards the art section. As I passed through the last shelf, I heard some muffled cries, so low to easily get missed. And if not for the area being this quite, I would have missed them.

I looked between the two shelves and spotted something at the corner where the new shelf was just starting. The only thing that was visible was her light-blue coloured shoes. She was hiding behind the shelf in the corner. I moved towards here. Her head, buried in her knees and her cries, low and muffled.

"Uh... Are you OK?" I whispered, getting closer to her as I bent down a bit to see her.

She jerked her head up and my heart skipped a beat. It was her. I was right. I knew she was her. Her eyes widened, looking at me.  Our eyes met and like usual, she didn't utter a single word. Her eyes filled with tears and those emerald eyes glistening in them.

My eyes moved towards her cheek where a tear was still stuck. My hand went forward but before I could touch her cheek, I controlled myself. I shouldn't have come here. I should have listened to my mind but my heart made me come here. She averted her eyes and wiped her tears from her back sleeve. She sniffled and turned her face towards the wall. I knew this was my cue that she wanted to be alone so, I decided to leave her.

"Sorry, I'll just... I'll go," I mumbled and turned around to leave but my feet didn't take a single step. I stood frozen debating whether to leave or not. Although I had decided to let her go still, I was debating.

Xaiden leave her! She doesn't like you.

My mind was right. She didn't like me. She hated me and I shouldn't have been here but why was I here and why was I not moving? Why were my feet stuck along with my heart? I clenched my hands into fists and let out a sigh. I needed to go but I couldn't. It felt like my heart wanted to stay, to be by her side and to comfort her, and this was wrong. Hell wrong.

Damn you, heart! You'd be paying for this!

I heaved a long sigh and turned around, now facing her. She didn't look at my side nor did she utter a single word. I sat at a distance of almost one metre in front of her, resting my back with the front shelf. I crossed my legs in front of me because I was sure if I'll stretch them forward, they'd reach her. We remain quiet for a few minutes. Her head still turned towards the wall.

"Are you fine?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"It's none of your business," she muttered. I pursed my lips and inhaled in. I don't know why she was this rude to me but she was right. This was none of my business.

"You can talk? Wow!" I chuckled, trying to ease up the awkward situation. She turned her face towards me and glared at me. My heart skipped one of its beats and this was not by her glare but her eyes. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of green. A fusion of bluish-green like a priceless emerald. I continued to stare at them. She was glaring at me but I didn't care, because the only thing I could see, was her mesmerizing emerald eyes. Then those words left my mouth. "You have beautiful eyes," I whispered unknowingly while my eyes were still drowning in hers. Her eyes widened in shock, making me realize what I just said.

Damn it!!! I said that aloud!

"Uh... I... I'm sorry." I placed a hand on my mouth and averted my gaze from her hypnotizing one. I didn't know what just came over me and why did I blurt it out. Damn me!

"Thanks." I heard her say and that made me surprised. A small smile broke on my face and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew! I thought you would be mad." I chuckled nervously to which she slightly smiled. It was just a mere tug of her lips in an upward direction and not a smile that would reach up to her eyes.

"I'm not in a mood to fight with you." Her eyes again welled up with tears and she faced herself towards the wall, not looking at me anymore.

******************************
So they finally had a little conversation!

More to come!

Stay tuned! ;)

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