CHAPTER THREE:
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What the hell was going on? Was she supposed to marry Adrian Kirkman? Of all people, why did Aphrodite have to choose him? Hell, why did Aphrodite have to add Clara to that stupid list of hers anyway?

With a glint in her eye, Aphrodite led the unnerved newly engaged couple into the living room and sat them down; both of them were too stunned to move or protest, making it easier for her to sit them too close together.

"So," she started while clapping her hands in delight.

"Woah woah woah, can we slow down for a moment," Clara interrupted after breaking from her temporary shocked trance, scrambling to shuffle as far from Adrian as possible. If her unwavering scowl was anything to go by, Clara was very unimpressed by the whole situation.

"Please explain all of this to me because I'm struggling to understand." Aphrodite attempted to cut in, thinking that Clara was genuinely curious- she wasn't. "You expect me to marry someone I haven't seen since I was eighteen, someone I barely know anyway?" Aphrodite nodded with so much force that her head almost vibrated, unable to keep up with her excitement.

"My girl, that is exactly what you are going to do." Her vocabulary didn't correspond with her behaviour at all; she spoke like a wise, older woman, using pet names like "my dear," yet she was acting like a young child who could not control their excitement. Boy, the Goddess was confusing.

"And why would we do that? You can't be happy about this either?" Clara demanded while turning her attention to a still shell-shocked Adrian. "Hello? Hadria?" Clara added while clicking her fingers in front of his face to get his attention.

It worked, prompting his eyes to dart over to Clara, who was sat with her arms folded and a slight scowl on her face, her perfectly shaped brows knitted together, both in anger and confusion.

"Hmm, what?" Adrian responded after a brief pause, still looking somewhat bewildered.

"I said, you can't be happy with this either are you?" Clara repeated, finding her patience thinning with each passing moment.

"Oh, well it's nice to see you too Clara, long time no see, how have you been?" Adrian started feigning excitement with a sarcastic undertone. Then, he paused and became more serious before answering her original question, "I'm not happy, no. But," he hesitated for a moment with a small shrug, "she could have picked someone worse."

"Oh wow, you have a way with words," Clara told him as her scowl deepened, and her once hazel eyes began to darken in anger. She let out a sarcastic laugh before continuing, "I just can't wait to marry you!" Her voice changed from annoyed to satirical as she finished her sentence,  just wanting to kick the two lunatics out.

How was everyone that mad? Had everyone taken leave of their senses?

"Look, I'm not exactly jumping for joy either alright, but, I'm just saying that we should make the most out of this situation since we're stuck with it now... and each other," Adrian explained sounding almost reasonable; almost because the whole conversation was absurd.

He did indeed have a point; she was certain that Aphrodite was not going to let them out of it. It was clear that, as soon as someone's name was added to the list, it could only be removed when she completed her job. Even if that weren't the case, Aphrodite would never let her out of it without a fight. It was like a contract, apart from Clara didn't think a Greek Goddess could sue anyone, though she supposed Aphrodite could do much worse to her if she wanted to.

No, Adrian was right.

It could have been worse; at least they knew each other a little bit. Truth be told, there may have been a period in year nine in which Clara had feelings for Adrian. It was a simple crush that thirteen-year-olds get, and nothing ever came of it. The terrifying part of that to her was that everyone always told her that Adrian liked her back.

A crippling fear of intimacy and being loved was the reason that Clara attempted to avoid any possible situation in which a romantic relationship could develop, and she had been succeeding until Aphrodite appeared on her bloody doorstep.

Clara remained preoccupied until fingers appeared in front of her face, snapping her out of it. With a roll of her eyes, Clara pushed Adrian's arm down and looked him in the eye.

"Okay, okay, stop." Clara's attention landed on the rather unusual and oblivious guest standing in front of the soon to be married couple.

Aphrodite was standing there, looking between the two of them with her hand over her heart in a very Lily-esque way.

"Oh, how delightful, old school friends getting to know each other again! It's such an adorable meet-cute, you're reconnecting after ten years apart, and you used to lov-"

"Okay, no. I'm just going to stop you right there. You cannot just let yourself into my house, tell me I'm getting married, and then introduce me to my 'future husband' and pretend like that's normal!" Clara dragged out the first word and used air quotations when describing Adrian as her future husband, trying to mask her horror with anger.

Adrian, however, caught it. Aphrodite was about to announce that they used to love each other. 'Love' was a strong word and wasn't the most accurate way to describe their feelings, but it was at least true that he had a crush on her when he was about thirteen. Perhaps she felt the same; thus, Aphrodite chose to pair the two of them together.

Silence ensued after Clara's comment, and it was only then that she realised that she had no idea why Adrian was on Aphrodite's list. From what she saw of him at school, he seemed happy to date.

"Just hold on a moment, can you please explain to us why on Earth we are on your stupid list anyway?" Adrian asked, wondering the same thing.

"Actions have consequences; people always say that don't they? Well, they're right." Aphrodite began while pulling out a packet of Haribo gummy bears and offering them out to both of them. Exasperated, Clara plucked the packed out of the Goddess' hands and put them down on the table. "Well, when Clara was fifteen, she vowed that she would never fall in love. Do you remember that, Clara dear?"

"Of course I do, I meant it. So far, I've kept that vow."

"Yes, you have my dear; however, I was listening when you made that vow," she stated before turning back to Adrian. "And, because I knew she meant it, she was added to my list, a list you can only leave when you're married."

"Okay so my name will be on that list forever I'm afraid. Why was Kirkman added?"

"You know you'll have to stop calling him Kirkman when you're married; you'll both be a Kirkman then." If looks could kill, Aphrodite would have dropped dead at Clara's evil eye.

"I would just answer the question if I were you," Adrian prompted, concerned for the Goddess' safety.

"Okay. Adrian, three years ago, you discovered that your girlfriend was having an affair with her colleague, yes?"  Adrian nodded in agreement, already feeling a little deflated at the memory. Then, the realisation hit him like a truck.

"And then I called Matt and told him... I told him that I was done with relationships."

"Yes, you did, and I could feel that you meant that too. So, you went down on my list. When I realised that both of you were on there, I realised that you were meant to be."

Clara furrowed her eyebrows at Aphrodite.

"Why then, if you know that both of us don't want to be in a relationship, did you decide to make it your mission to have us marry?"

"I did it because love is a beautiful thing that nobody should miss out on. Besides, I could feel it in both of your hearts that neither of you wanted to be alone."

That hit a nerve for Clara as Aphrodite was right; she didn't want to be alone; she just didn't know how to accept love.

"Did you ever wonder why either of us said that? Did you consider that perhaps it was because we were scared or hurting? You see, my issue is that reactive attachment disorder means that I desire the companionship that a relationship would provide. Still, I'm too scared of allowing someone to get that close to me, making me reject affection and love. Did you ever consider that, oh, wonderful Goddess of Love?" Her voice was laced thick with emotion as she started, slowly morphing into anger and sarcasm towards the end.

It was only then that Clara managed to get through to Aphrodite, wiping the smile from her face. She hadn't thought of that; she just loved love so much that she wanted to help other people have it. Aphrodite had, of course, received much resistance when she first proposed the idea of marriage to people; however, none of the previous people had had such an effect on her. Adrian remained silent but looked at Clara with the sort of tenderness that would, in any other situation, have Clara running for the hills.

"When are we to be married?" Clara asked with a defeated sigh but relieved that she had finally managed to have an impact on the now sheepish Goddess of Love.

"Tomorrow..." Aphrodite mumbled, worried about Clara's reaction to the rather short engagement.

"Tomorrow?!"