Diana couldn't believe she was sitting right next to Zac in his car. It was a surreal feeling, too precious for words to interfere. Her mind was clouded. She couldn't think straight. With every breath she inhaled, she only felt the butterflies multiply within her.

Diana was her clumsy self when it came to buckling her seat belt so Zac helped her at it. There was this one split moment when his cheeks had got really close to her lips which made her heart bang in her chest.

"Thanks," she mumbled,  trying not to sound clumsy.

"No problem," he said before starting the engine of the car.

Apart from the fact that Diana felt too nervous to do anything with Zac being around,  she didn't really know how to fasten the safety belt. That was because she hardly ever sat in a car and even if she did, it was always the backseat.

Diana couldn't get her eyes off Zac while he drove. She was hopelessly dazed and mesmerized by him. A smile played on her lips that just wouldn't end and her heart was beating like it never did.

She couldn't remember the last time she had experienced such joy, such unbounded joy. All that she had ever felt was relief. Relief that she could get through her life each day without her clumsiness getting her into deep trouble. But today was different. She felt happy. Just happy, no another feeling to substitute that. And she couldn't be bothered inspite of knowing that there was pain written all over her future now that she had accepted Zac's unusual proposition.

Instead there were other thoughts in her head which were making her nerves flutter in nervousness and excitement.

Maybe I would somehow get him to send me a friend request on Facebook...

And maybe I  would  be able to tell him how much I absolutely LOVE his singing and his playing the guitar.

And I just wish that he comes to know how much I like him without me having to tell him that...and  maybe, just maybe, he will like me back?

"What happened?" asked Zac in an amused tone, becoming aware by the corner of his eye that she was facing sideways at him.

"N-Nothing," she immediately glanced away from him, feeling mortified at getting caught, "Actually the---the view from the window of your side is so much better than mine...So was just looking at that.."

Diana lied.

"O...kay? So, you hate shopping for clothes, shoes and cosmetics?" asked Zac, referring to all those stores that could be seen lined up through her side of the window.

Diana was caught completely off guard by that.

She loved great clothes,  fancy shoes and those amazing cosmetics but didn't think she was good enough to wear those.

"No, it's n--" she began to clarify.

"It's completely alright. You don't have to feel bad about hating what majority of the girls love," he assured her, "Every individual is entitled to have his or her opinion. You don't necessarily have to do what others do."

Damn. There was absolutely no point of telling him anything now because he will take her words for an excuse. She was a ridiculously plain looking girl anyway. He had every reason to think that way of her.

There was silence in the car again but Diana was finding it uneasy to breath in it because of the lie she had uttered to him.

"You definitely must have looked for other girls to be your flat mate. I would want to know why you didn't find them to be suitable to be your pretend girlfriend," she blurted out, only to do away with the unnerving silence.

"Okay, I can tell you about the ones I remember," responded Zac, "There was this one girl who was too much into cheesy romantic novels which pretty much annoyed me. Real life is nowhere close to perfect as those stories so I don't understand why people waste their time reading them." he spoke in an irritated voice.

Diana's eyes widened in shock hearing that. I'm also into cheesy romantic novels!!

"That's--That's so true. Even I hate reading those cringe worthy romance books. I'm totally into reading mystery novels," said Diana abruptly when in reality she hadn't even read one mystery story in her life.

"Now that's something mature and sensible," said Zac which made Diana's stomach twitch in uneasiness, "There was this another geek girl who, well, fangirled me. She was totally obsessed with the covers me and my bandmates did. And she couldn't stop telling me how amazingly I play the guitar. I'm genuinely and immensely grateful for such people but then it get pretty much awkward if you have to live with them."

That was a second blow to Diana. I am also a big fan of his talent!!

"I can--I can completely understand that. Infact, not to be rude or anything, I don't like at all the kind of songs that you and your band do. I like country music," she lied again.

"Honestly, no issues at all," smile Zac. "And then, I remember there was this girl whom I really thought would make a great flatmate until I happened to find out that she had a huge crush on me. I discovered that she possessed an overwhelming number of my photographs. Infact, she created a Facebook account just to connect with me. Honestly, this is so creepy," he flinched.

What the fuck is happening??!!!

Diana was left dumbfounded. I also crush on him like this girl!!

"Definitely very creepy. Like creating a Facebook account with just a dream of receiving a friend request from you is utterly ridiculous. I don't even have a Facebook account. Not interested in one," lied Diana for the fourth time in a row.

Diana felt her stomach twist into a very uneasy knot. In a matter of few minutes she had created a whole mountain of lies and was now sitting on top of it with a 'Save Me' flag. She didn't dare to open her mouth next for the fear of another lie casually popping out of her mouth.

Zac drove round the corner and pulled up outside a two-storey home that was painted in an exquisite color combination of light and dark brown and had a blossoming front garden. The house was gleaming bright in the sunlight and looked really classy. The beach could be seen right behind and the pleasant sound of the waves could be heard.

"She is renting out the top floor," informed Zac while she looked on through the window, "Let's go," he added, unfastening her seat belt and then moving out of the car.

With a deep nervous breath, Diana too stepped out of the car and crossed over to where he stood.

"I repeat myself here. The landlady, Mrs. Edwards, is a blunt, unabashed and literally crazy woman. But don't worry," said Zac.

"How can you tell me to not worry right after giving me ample reasons to," Diana pointed out in nervousness.

"Okay, well."

She was a fool to think that she was done erecting a mountain of lies when there were loads of lies yet to come. "What will happen if at all she comes to know that we are pretending to be in a committed relationship just to get the place? Will she....will she sue us?" she asked in fright. She was too young to be sent to prison.

"If that happens, hopefully Dad will bail us out," muttered Zac under his breath which Diana couldn't catch.

They walked upto the front door when Zac whispered, "We'll be fine. Just remember to be as witty as possible," and rang the doorbell.

Diana wanted to tell him that she wasn't a witty person but the door opened and the delighted face of Mrs. Edwards popped out.

The elderly woman looked at Diana and asked, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you rate your boyfriend in a French kiss?"

***

A/N

Follow me on Instagram rashmita_b for teasers :D

I take the pleasure to inform you guys that I'm gonna be a featured author at the WATTPAD BLOCK PARTY- WINTER EDITION III hosted by the amazing KellyAnneBlount. My feature  date is 5TH FEBRUARY 2017!

Add the book to your library because you don't want to miss out on this spectacular celebration which I'm honored to be a part of! <3