"I hate getting flashbacks from things that I don't want to remember."

-Anonymous

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Kate surfed the internet to find a good project topic for her Astronomy assignment. Time was running low, and she was feeling dead-tired.

Surrounding her were a stack of papers, her Astronomy textbook, her pencil case, and other textbooks. The once neat room now looked like a mess.

School had drained the twins' energies. While one sat with a laptop on her thigh, wearing spectacles, the other was sprawled out on the bed.

"Leave that phone, El!" Kate chided while pushing her spectacles above her nose.

Elena turned to face her sister and grinned way too creepily.

"Just look at Van's picture!" she squealed. "Oh my God, oh my God, he's so hot!" She fanned herself.

Kate rolled her eyes. "So, he has accepted your Instagram follow request."

"Yeah, but he didn't follow me back," Elena informed with a pout. Upon seeing Ivan's picture, she smiled giddily once again.

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Iv_Moore Once I stop caring, you're not getting it back. I'll be cold as ice. I promise.

"Just look at his eyes." Elena sighed dreamily. "His eyelashes, he looks like a doll. A male doll."

"El..."

"And his lips." Another sigh escaped from Elena's pink lips, her eyes glued to the picture.

"El, stop, you sound like a perv." Kate groaned and stared at the laptop screen.

"Shut up, Dexter."

The mobile slipped from Elena's fingers and fell upon her face with a thud.

Kate chuckled quietly at her sister's annoyed face. "Serves you right for calling me, Dexter."

Elena tossed in their bed and hugged a pillow tightly. She shut her eyes, making herself comfortable.

"Don't you dare go to sleep, Elena Mercy Russo!" Kate warned with a frown.

"No, don't give me those puppy eyes."

She ignored Elena's whines. "I won't help you, you better get started."

A second later, she was greeted by Elena's pillow chucked at her face.

Kate removed the glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose irritatedly. She hated it whenever Elena did this.

Before she could throw the pillow back, a knock on their bedroom's door stopped her.

She opened it a minute later to find Max standing there with a small smile.

He entered inside with a greeting. The twins now noticed him carrying a blue file within his fingers.

Elena grinned at this. "Did Van ask you to help us?" she questioned enthusiastically.

"No, he had asked me to get rid of it," Max answered, noticing her skeptic look.

"I thought it would help one of you out," he added while plopping down on their bed.

Kate took the file from him and went through its contents. "Not bad," she commented with approval.

Meanwhile, their exchange was being watched by Ivan from his window. He looked at the small group and sighed longingly. With a ghost of a smile, he moved away before anyone could see him.

His situation was similar to that of the sun on a cloudy day. How it shines and hides behind the fluffy clouds just before it pours.

There was a tiny bit of a difference, he wasn't warm like the sun nor had any of its bright rays.

He was a cloud; a big, grey cloud.

And behind his greyness, was a big, blue sky that was not seen by anyone yet.

Max smiled while looking at Kate, and felt happy that he could be of help. He then took out his mobile and started typing. A minute later, he got a call. With a wide smile, he picked it up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and you?" Max spoke, the smile not leaving his face.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. They couldn't help but smile at his sweet smile, which was infectious.

An infection which made others heal.

"Haha, I'm good, at a friend's place." He chuckled. "Two actually," he corrected and grinned.

"Miss you." There was a pause from his side.

"Love you too, and take care, k?" he finished, ending the call with a small smile.

He rubbed his phone against his jeans, and then caught Elena watching him. "My mom," he said, pointing at his mobile.

"I thought it was your girlfriend," Elena answered with an eye roll.

Max chuckled at her words and shook his head. "I'm married to food, don't want to make her jealous by dating someone else."

Kate had already started writing out from Ivan's assignment. She was glad that she wouldn't have to search for the topic anymore.

She doubted if she was free from surfing altogether. Casting a suspicious glance towards Elena, she fanned a sheet of paper in her face.

"Get on with yours, don't you wait for my help."

"Oh, come on, just help me search for a good topic."

"Yeah, that help," Kate stated, making imaginary inverted commas with her fingers. "That help means me searching, and preparing the whole thing for you." She rolled her eyes.

"Won't you do this much for your big sis?" Elena sniffled as she wiped an imaginary tear from her downcast eyes.

"That's called overacting," Kate commented with a snicker. She turned her gaze back to the paper, which was decorated with her messy writing style.

In between their bickering, the twins hadn't noticed that someone had knocked on their door. Max had already opened it to reveal Sarah standing there awkwardly.

"H-Hey Max," Sarah greeted him shyly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Hey!" the twins greeted her in unison when they noticed her. They got up and ushered her inside their room. She stumbled slightly as one of Kate's books came in her way.

"Sorry about that," Elena commented while steadying her. "So, what brings you here?" she asked straightaway with a smile.

Sarah smiled back and gave her a USB port. "Thought this would help you."

"Is this--"

"Yes, I had made this for Ashley..."

"Why do you put up with her bullying?" Elena questioned with a frown.

"It's because I value my reputation, even if I'm a nobody at school," Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Kate joined in.

"Apparently, a girl once collided with Ashley in the cafeteria," Sarah began. "I guess this was around 2-3 years back."

The other three listened to her with rapt attention. Sarah smiled seeing this and continued.

"The girl was carrying a tray with some pudding on it. So, after the collision, Ashley's top got spoilt."

"Ashley got furious and poured the remaining pudding on top of the girl's head. She called her a pig, and walked away from there."

"Then?" the three of them questioned simultaneously.

"Ashley poured the same pudding on top of the girl's head for a week. No one did a thing about it."

"Eventually, the girl was being called 'piggy' by everyone."

"Frustrated, she left the school," Sarah finished. "I don't want anything of this sort to happen to me."

"I'll be leaving now, guys," she said and walked towards the door.

Elena waved at her and mouthed a "thank you".

"I could do this much for you at least," she stated, "you guys are always there for me." With that, she left, leaving the door ajar.

Kate locked it and sauntered back to her writing spot.

What she didn't notice was her textbook lying at an odd angle, and the heel of her foot collided with it. Her arms flailed and she expected that her bottom would collide with the floor.

She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact, but there wasn't any.

She felt her back supported by a warm arm. She opened her eyes to look into Max's beautiful green ones, which seemed like a forest left loose.

"Careful there," he spoke softly and tried to loosen his hold on her.

What stopped him was the fire in her eyes. Her amber eyes felt burning, blazing even with a fire of hatred.

Kate walked fast, almost sprinted, her heels tapping against the floor. The run made her curly bob dance and the frills of her skirt shake with each stride.

In her speed, the tip of her heel slipped and she felt her heart almost in her throat.

She was saved from the fall as tattooed arms caught her. The grip was strong to the point that it felt commanding.

"Give me a chance," the guy said, locking eyes with hers.

"I've told you already. I'm not interested," Kate answered with an eye roll and walked away without looking back.

Max flinched as Kate looked lost, the hatred still swirling in her amber eyes. She snapped out of the flashback and pushed Max away.

Gathering the stack of papers, Ivan's file, and her pen, she rushed out of her room hastily.

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Hey, everyone! How are you, my dear readers? Hope you're having a great day. I've been studying so much since the past week.

Today, I had taken a break, and have finally completed this episode. I had begun it two days back but wasn't getting the right time to continue it.

So, what do think of the little glimpse of Kate's past? Any idea what would have happened with her?

What do you think Max might be feeling after seeing Kate react this way? Do you think he'll try to look into this matter?

Please let me know if you've any doubts, and if there is any way I can improve. Also, I'd love to know what you want to read more about in this book. Are there any scenes that you expect would happen?

Sneak-Peek of Episode 15:

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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