CHAPTER SIX:
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Aphrodite began to look all too pleased with herself as she spied their joined hands. Both of them were caught off guard as eyes trailed down to focus on whatever Aphrodite was smiling at- their joint hands. As the realisation hit them, they flushed in embarrassment and jumped away from each other in horror.

Aphrodite failed to stifle her small giggle as she observed the couple.

"Congratulations," she smiled, satisfied that she'd managed to convince them to marry.

"Hmm, thank you," Clara replied after a brief moment of hesitation. "It's just for two months so don't be too pleased with yourself."

Adrian nodded in agreement, hoping that Aphrodite wouldn't get her hopes up or become even more involved by trying to convince them to stay married. Even from the limited number of interactions that both Adrian and Clara had with the irritating Goddess, they could tell that she was the type to try and interfere further.

"I know, I know. I will leave you both to enjoy the rest of your wedding day." Her soft giggle was reminiscent of a small child as she spoke, leaving Clara to do nothing other than roll her eyes, pleased at the thought of Aphrodite not being there to annoy her anymore.

"Goodbye, dears. Have a good day!"

And with that, she was gone, leaving a bemused Adrian alone with Clara.

"So," he began, emphasising the 'o' sound as he did so, "shall we change into something more comfortable?" He noticed the way that Clara fidgeted in her very beautiful but very unlike Clara dress.

Therefore, she smiled gave him a small, appreciative smile, thinking that the next two months shouldn't be too bad. After a moment of mental debate, Adrian held a shy hand out for her and soon felt a tentative hand in his own.

It appeared that he was able to break through her defences without a trace, leaving her wary and closed off. Still, she didn't believe that love was anything other than a mix of neurotransmitters and she refused to fall victim to them for anything other than journalism. The difference was that journalism couldn't hurt or reject her in the same way that Adrian could; just the thought of it sent her heart racing. Many people do fear that anyway, but she never chose for them to be there. Reactive Attachment Disorder was the only reason for her fear and her walls. Without them, she would be happy to accept the feelings of love and warmth that her RAD kept from her.

They walked inside in silence and split off to go and change into something a little less restrictive. They spent half an hour changing and mentally preparing themselves before they joined each other on the sofa and sat awkwardly, attempting to keep as much distance from each other as possible.

"So I guess we're stuck with each other for two months huh," Adrian started as he tried to instigate a casual conversation, beginning to feel a little nervous about being alone with his new wife.

"I suppose we are," Clara nodded, also feeling a little apprehensive and unsure of herself, two things that she had always loathed.

Growing more by the second anxious, Clara began to fiddle with the sleeve of her hoodie as she looked at Adrian, wondering where they would go from there. Gentle hands removed her fingers from her sleeve, prompting her to study Adrian and his kind smile.

"You always play with your sleeve when you're nervous about something. I noticed you used to do it a lot in class," he explained with a small shrug in response to her furrowed eyebrows.

Clearly it was an unconscious habit as it was a revelation to Clara. She had experienced a lot of revelations in the past day or two, and she wasn't convinced that it hadn't been a very elaborate and unusual dream. Their marriage sounded like an insane story that Lily would make up using just her imagination or a single phrase; perhaps she read the Open Novella Contest prompts.

"I think we should lay out some ground rules," Clara began as Adrian sat back and nodded for her to continue. "First, as you know, I will not be responsible for all of the housework, so we share equal responsibility. I will do the cooking because I don't trust you to not burn my house down, as well as the washing, again because I don't trust you to do that. Therefore, you will be responsible for tidying and cleaning the house." It was less of a question and more of a statement, and she said it in her authoritative work voice, as if she was making a verbal contract with him, drawing a roll of the eyes from Adrian.

"That sounds fine to me, but as much as we are hesitant to accept it, this is our wedding day, and we're now married, can't we just spend today getting to know each other rather than dividing chores. We'll be living together for two months; it would be good to know each other's schedule."

Unfortunately for Clara, Adrian did have a point; their schedules would have to change to accommodate the other person. Yet, they left the huge elephant in the room sitting in silence on the opposite sofa; they were yet to discuss how they planned to act like a couple.

Conflicting feelings sparked and swirled around in Clara's mind as she considered having to act like Adrian's wife, overwhelming her with the fear of falling for him and breaking her ten-year-old vow. The prospect of having to hold his hand in public or call herself 'Mrs Kirkman' for two months made her shudder. Adrian noticed as Clara became consumed by her thoughts and decided to give her cheeks a gentle pinch to bring her out of it.

"Oh Lord, how will I survive with you for two months," Clara grumbled while pushing Adrian away from her as he looked much too pleased with himself. "Fine, why don't we play never have I ever!" Clara explained with sarcastic enthusiasm, wanting nothing more than to start working on her newest publication for the newspaper.

Even though he was perfectly aware that she was being sarcastic, Adrian decided to use her suggestion to his advantage and shuffled closer to her, the awkwardness easing off, at least for him.

"Great idea! Let's put a finger down every time we've done something!"

"Aren't you supposed to drink when you've done it?" Clara didn't even try to protest as she knew that her efforts would be in vain, Adrian was almost as stubborn as her, sometimes more.

"Yes but shh. Okay, I'll start!" If he were honest, Adrian would have to admit that he was definitely only playing to try and aggravate her- the next to months would be entertaining for him. Clara responded with a sharp glare in an attempt to wipe his eager smile from his face.

"Hmm, never have I ever... been in handcuffs, police or otherwise." Wiggling his eyebrows to ensure she understood his message, he watched as her fingers remained where they were. He received a light shove to the shoulder that represented her distaste for his question.

"Aren't we playing to get to know each other? I don't think that your question is a need to know for the next two months." 

Much to Clara's relief, a welcome interruption came in the form of Billie Eilish's voice as her phone rang.

"Eilish fan huh? Noted," Adrian commented as Clara checked to see who the caller was. 

"Oh crap, it's my Mum," she grimaced as the realisation that she would have to tell her parents hit her while swiping to answer the phone, knowing that she was now stuck on the phone for hours... okay slight exaggeration, but she would be on the phone for a while.

Her mother was wonderful, but very much like Lily, a little excitable. She was sure to demand to know everything and why she wasn't aware that her daughter was dating someone. However, the thought that Clara found the most horrifying was that her mother would insist on coming to see them both and coo over them.

"Hi Mum, listen, before you say anything, I'm married." It had always been in Clara's nature to be direct, and it showed. She held the phone away from her ear after talking to try and save her ears from the damage her mother's reply could cause.

"MARRIED?!"