The message was from Alesha which prompted Zac to tear his eyes away from the screen. "Tell her I've other plans tonight," he said, thrusting the phone into the other boy's hands.

"She has too," informed Shawn, reading the text.

"Oh good."

"So....what have you thought about moving into that apartment?" asked Shawn, handing the phone back to Zac. "You've been trying to make things work for almost a week now."

"And nothing's working," admitted Zac with a grudge. "That landlady is crazy!"

"Why do want to move into this place?You're doing pretty much smooth in your current apartment. You honestly don't have to do this to yourself, Zac."

"But I want to do it," said Zac, a line of seriousness outlining his handsome features. "And I will. So please stop telling me not to."

"Got that," said the other boy, raising his hands in surrender. "But how will it work? That landlady is not ready to part with her terms and conditions and you're equally stubborn to part with yours."

Zac's expressions turned more grim. He glanced over Shawn's shoulder, then did a double take. He was standing still with his eyes wide open and a blank look on his face.

"What are you staring at?" Shawn asked, looking over his shoulder to see what had suddenly caught Zac's eye. But whatever it was that Zac had been looking at, it was no more there.

Shawn turned to Zac again with a quizzical look.

"I've finally found the solution to my problems," said Zac, buzzing as he quickly inserted his guitar in it's case before wearing it on his shoulders. "Hope this works out, man. See ya later."

Zac brushed past his friend and next, a bewildered Shawn was watching him disappear out of sight.

***

Diana was sitting in the college library leaning over the table staring at the screen of her phone in disappointed.

Her phone hardly beeps with any facebook notification and whenever it does, it's always those annoying candy crush requests and never Zac Clayton's friend request...

She surely was expecting too much out of nothing. She isn't even fit to be just a friend to Zac, let alone dreaming of a relationship with him. Zac has never committed to anyone anyway. But he can atleast notice her just for once some way, somehow...?

She will be happy living with the fact that he knows she exists. She expects nothing more in all honesty now.

But guess that in itself was too much to wish for. She was most likely to end up spending the rest of the college years crushing hopelessly over Zac and see him kissing and sleeping with other girls.

Diana felt her chest block with that very thought.

Like always.

Diana straightened herself on her seat, making up her mind to not fall weak. She rather get down to do what she had come to the library for; researching about her next article for her freelancing job.

She browsed across the various shelves to find relevant books and when she found some, she sat down again at one of the long tables to go through them.

Diana switched on her laptop to begin writing but something randomly prompted her to open the folder in which she had saved all of Zac's facebook photographs. Then she clicked open the folder where she had stored a few of her own photographs which she thought were a bit better than worst.

She had a crazy idea in her head. She might reach the height of desperation if she acted on it. But the impulse was so strong that she found it hard to repel it.

Thus she selected two photographs, one of his and one of hers and made a collage with the picture of a big red heart between the two photos. And beneath she typed the words 'I Love You'. She felt butterflies in her chest when she looked at the entire thing. Damn how would it feel if it were real? How would it feel if Zac too fell in love with her? 

She decided to take a print out of it from the dorms' printing machine when no one was watching.

Then she got back to writing her article and also finding more information about the topic.

****

Ryan Clayton was a twenty two year old young man just out of university with an impressive degree in business administration. He was tall with an attractive physique, had dark black hair, honey brown eyes and looks that could kill women.

Clad in blue faded jeans and a white swag shirt, he had just arrived in his black car at the very college he had spent the last four years. But he wasn't at the campus because he was missing the place. Ryan was there for a different purpose. And he didn't have to make any efforts since the person he had come to meet was just a few feet away.

"Zac!"

Zac's hurrying steps came to a standstill hearing that unexpected voice. He turned sideways and was shocked to find himself face to face with his elder brother. Zac didn't even remember the last time he spoke to him. Or rather, he didn't want to remember the last time he spoke to his elder sibling.

Zac looked away and continued to go his way....

"Zac, please wait!" Ryan called out to him.

Zac did stop but didn't turn around.

"You know what people think is the reason behind our---what's the term "yes, sibling rivalry'?" questioned Ryan. "They are sure it's because of money, property and power. They think we are racing against each other to be the sole heir of our family business. They have no clue of the real reason, do they?"

Zac didn't say anything. Ryan and he have always shared a hot and cold relationship ever since childhood and now their relations had worsened beyond repair since one particular incident...

Ryan drew a deep breath and spoke, "Look, I feel extremely remorseful for everything that happened two weeks ago bu---"

"Shut up, Ryan!!" Zac turned to face him fiercely, his fists clenched tight, "Don't fucking say anything further than what you've already dared. Your one fucking mistake, Ryan. If you'd have been a little considerate, what took place two weeks ago would have never happened."

 "You can't blame me for something that I did right," countered the older sibling. "She didn't want anyone to treat her as an invalid like you did. The least that could be done was to make the whole situation less miserable for her which I did dammit!"

Those words hit Zac like countless arrows piercing through his already wounded soul.

"Never try to speak to me ever again, Ryan," he said in a voice which cracked both in rage and anxiety. "She meant everything to me," he added before storming off there.

***

Diana's gloomy mood had improved a lot by the end of the day in college. The article was coming about really well, she had taken a printout of that mushy collage and Ruth and she would be watching a movie that night. For once, she didn't feel alone and left out.

But that feeling was short lived for when she returned to her shared apartment, she was met with a rude shock. Or rather, the thing that she had been dreading all along had cometrue making it difficult fro her to breathe.

Ruth was stood there with bags packed near her feet and a wide smile on her face.

"A-Are you going somewhere?" Diana asked, hoping that was really the case and not what she was thinking it was.

"No, I'm moving out," she said, sounding happy. "Chris and I wanted some more privacy, you know. So we decided its best we live together. I'm moving in with him!"

"Ohh..."

So yeah, Diana had guessed right. Ruth anyway spent long hours in texting and phonecalling her boyfriend every night. She even spent some of the nights at Chris's, leaving Diana ignored and forgotten.

"I know its all so sudden...I should have told you about my plans before and not like this,at the last moment. I'm sorry. Please don't mind..." Ruth rushed through the apology.

"No. It's-It's fine. I-I get it. Both of you are in a committed relationship so moving in together is the right thing to do,"

"Thanks a lot Diana for being so understanding." Ruth hugged her happily, "You're one amazing best friend in the whole world!"

Right then, they heard a car pulling up at the driveway.

"That must be Chris. Gotta go. See you in college tomorrow!"

"Hey, both of us are still going for that movie tonight, right?" Diana asked after her.

"Actually..." Ruth spoke, half-turning to face her, "I asked my friends about how the movie is. They said it's not worth a watch....So, maybe next time? Bye! Take care."

Ruth left wheeling her bags behind her.

Through the window, Diana saw Chris help Ruth to heave the bags in the backend of the car. Chris then pulled her into a deep kiss, then they got into the car and zoomed off.

Diana moved away from the window and slumped down on the couch as anxiety whipped her hard. She was scared of living alone.Secondly, she wouldn't be able to save much if she has to pay the entire lease. And she was uncomfortable sharing the apartment with a complete stranger.

But she didn't want to live alone either.

She took out the phone with her fumbling hands dialing up to see if there was a vacancy in the college dorm so that she could fill in an application for the same as soon as possible. But the voice from the other end dashed all her hopes.

She grabbed her satchel and took out the folded printout with a heavy chest. She unfolded the A4 size paper and there it was. Zac's smiling photograph looking at her heart her own photograph.

A fresh wave of loneliness hit her.

Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her eyes. The loose strands of her hair fell forward onto her pale face. And she didn't know for how long she just sat there trying to fight the helplessness in her but failing bitterly at it.

A sudden ring of the doorbell alarmed Diana. It must be the landlord with the new lease contract. She rubbed her eyes and face dry and dragged her sagging feet to the door. But when she opened the door, it wasn't the fat landlord in the least.

At the door stood Zac Clayton.

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