*Jessica's P.O.V*

Absentmindey, I entered in the house and looked around to find Nina sitting on the couch with her head down. Lily was busy making coffee in the kitchen and Jelline was talking to someone over the phone. She hung up the phone and went towards Nina. They didn't notice me yet.

"Who are you?" Someone shouted behind me.

I nearly jumped as I didn't expect anyone behind me. I turned and noticed a boy around 12-years-old with golden hair and a milky white complexion.

"Christian, stop scaring my friends," Lily yelled at him, coming towards us.

"Jessica, he is my brother, and Christian, she is my new friend." She introduced us with a sweet smile on her face.

“Hey,” I greeted him and smiled.

He stared at me for few seconds then smiled. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

I nodded, “same here.”

“You have foreign accent.” Christian commented, tilting his head.

"Because she is from different country, India." Lily answered. I pressed my lips into a thin line and gave him a small smile.

Perks of living in a foreign country!

"Oh, great!” He smiled back and extended his hand. I quickly shook it. "Tom," he called out. I saw another boy around his age coming from the living room.

"Yeah?" He stopped in his tracks and looked around, noticing us. "Hey Jelline." He gave her a toothed smile.

"Hey," Jelline replied in a dull tone and rolled her eyes.

What's wrong with this girl?

"Christian didn't tell me that you would be here." He looked at her, slightly blushing.

What?

"As if I knew." She scoffed.

"Never mind. It's pleasure to see you here. We can hang out for a while." He grinned.

"Please, I don't want to hang out with kids. I have my own circle." She scrunched her nose and turned to Lily. "Are we going to sit here for the whole night?" She sounded pissed.

I was watching the whole scene with a confused expression on my face, but didn't raise any questions. It wasn't a wise idea considering Nina's situation and Jelline's weird mood swings. The kid was just being sweet. I didn't understand why she behaved like that?

"Um, not really. I was just preparing coffee and nachos. You take Nina to the basement and I'm coming in five with stuff," Lily replied and quickly moved to the kitchen.

Jelline sighed and took Nina towards the back door, which I guess lead to the basement. I noticed disappointment wash over Tom's face. Suddenly, both kids looked at each other, then walked back into the living room, leaving me alone.

I went towards the kitchen, which smelled full of baked goods.  I looked around smiling, and noticed how clean it was. I started helping Lily, who was chopping the vegetables. She washed the knife and put it in the automatic drawer.

"Tom has a crush on Jelline," Lily suddenly whispered,  which made me jump.

"What? But he is a too young for her and-"

"I know." She chuckled and added, "But love is blind, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Of course. Kids these days."

"Anyways, Jelline is annoyed because he is getting on her nerves now. I'm afraid that next time we won't be able to keep her from killing him." She laughed.

"I know she is just upset with the fact that the person she really likes doesn't give a damn, whereas this kid, who is totally out of his league, is attracted towards her," I said sadly.

Lily stared at me, "You know." It wasn't a question, she stated it.

"I noticed." I shrugged.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I don't know when that idiot will notice it." She sighed and put everything on a tray. "Let's go."

I nodded and took a tray. We walked to the basement and I noticed it was too big for a room. There was a small couch placed near the wall. Jelline was sitting on the carpet texting someone and Nina was laying down on the couch. She was still in a painful state. I put the tray on the near table and sat on the top of the couch. I caressed her hair and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"He doesn't deserve this," I whispered softly.

She nodded and got up, signalled me to sit near her. I nodded and gave her side-hug.

"Okay, enough guys, let's have some coffee," Lily announced and handed us our coffee.

I took a sip and it was delicious. At that moment I realised, how tired I was feeling. My back was sore and head was starting to hurt.

Thanks to Lily, and this coffee, now at least I can survive for a few more hours.

I heard footsteps from the stairs and angled my head to see feet at the top of the staircase.

"Christian," Lily yelled and I turned to face her. She looked annoyed. "Tom is now being a pain in ass. Just get him out of here, otherwise you both will regret it."

I saw another set of feet appear atop the staircase. "Dude, come on."

"But-"

"Come on, she will kill us." Christian dragged him out.

"God! Your brother's friend is so annoying," Jelline grumbled.

Lily grinned, "You just hate the fact that he showed up with flowers and chocolates at your dorm this morning."

What? Really?

Jelline rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. She started playing Angry Birds to avoid further conversation on this topic.

"Are we talking about boys now?" Nina suddenly spoke, glancing at us.

"Yup, and I need to inform you about something." Lily wiggled her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Finally, Michael got some balls and asked me out." Lily amused, sitting down next to her.

I groaned loudly. "No... no. No boys talk, please."

"Oh c'mon tell us about you and Max," Lily asked excitedly, forgetting about her new boyfriend Michael.

I gulped down. I totally forgot about my new relationship status.

But, we were here for Nina? Then why were they talking about me?

I never liked these sudden changes.

"There is nothing to tell." I shrugged.

"Jessica, stop being so stubborn." Lily grabbed my arm and yanked me down, my butt landed harshly on carpet.

"You guys are so irritating." I rubbed my butt and leaned back.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just a bit-"

Lily cut me off, "C'mon, tell us the story."

I rolled my eyes and told them the story, which was half truth and half lie. I told them about how we met and our little interactions. While narrating the story, I realised that 90% part of it was true. Which was good, right? It was easy to convince them. Jelline gave me the I-told-you-so look and I returned it with a smile. Soon after, Nina also joined us on the floor and we started sharing our childhood memories. They didn't know much about India, so I started telling them about my culture and traditions. I felt good when I noticed that our plan to distract Nina from the heartbreak was a bit successful.

Deep down, I knew she was just pretending to smile, but at least she wasn't crying anymore. After a few hours, we decided to call it a night. We all got settled in the basement and slept in same clothes as we were too tired to make it to the bedroom.

I woke up at 7 am at the sound of my alarm on my cell phone. Since it was bit early and everyone was asleep, I decided to call my family. It had been a week since I last spoke to them. They probably were worried by now.

I tried to straighten my dress and got up quietly. Then took the empty cups and plates to the sink, rinsed it with water, and put it in the dishwasher. I learned how to use it at Mahi's house. I heard some footsteps and noticed Nina coming towards me, yawning and rubbing her puffy eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked concerned.

"Yeah." She nodded and took a glass of water.

"I just need to call at home, I will be back in few minutes. Will you be alright here?" I asked looking at her with a worried expression. I wasn't used to her being this quiet.

"Yeah. . . sure," she mumbled then looked at me and gave me her reassuring smile. I nodded and headed outside to the garden area.

As soon I got outside, I dialled home. After a couple of rings. . . "Hello!" I heard my mother's voice.

"Hey Maa," I greeted her.

"Jessica, how are you sweetie? And where were you? Why didn't you call for a week? I was so worried. You should have at least called us once a day. . ." She rambled not giving me a chance to utter a word.

"Maa. . . I'm fine and I'm so sorry. Things are so busy these days. . . I got stuck, but I promise, it won't happen again. I will try to drop at least a message as it won't be possible to call daily."

"Hmm, I'm missing you so much. What would I do without you in this festive season? You were the only one who always helped me in buying gifts and decorating the house, and now, I can't do that alone, neither would I want to," she said sadly, making me remember the time when we spent hours decorating and cleaning the house before Diwali.

It's a very important festival for Hindus in India. We also exchanged gifts... which was the best part I loved about this festival. Not to mention, I loved buying gifts. But now, I was far away from all those things, in a country where no one knew about this festival.

"I know Maa, I wish I could be there with you. I really wanted to celebrate it with you, but I don't have any choice." Tears began rolling down my cheeks.

"Are you crying?" she asked, sounding alert.

"Of course not, I'm just worried about how will you manage everything, alone." I replied, quickly wiping the tears.

"Don't worry. I will ask Roy to help me. You don't need to have any tension. Anyway, how's your study going?"

"It's going great, Maa." I replied, glad with the change of topic.

We talked for a few more minutes, and after that I hang up, walking back inside. By now, everyone was awake.

"I'll see you in college," Lily said and hugged Nina.

Nina nodded giving her a small smile. We bid them goodbye and headed towards the dorm before getting ready to go to college.

*****

As I headed towards my first class, I noticed a lot of girls looking at me, whispering.

Oh, great! Again, I totally forgot about being Max Hasington's girlfriend.

Everybody was watching my every move. I just hoped no one does anything stupid, especially his fangirls.

I continued to walk and ignored them. So far so good. Are they afraid of Max? No, knowing these skanks, if someone stole their guy, they would definitely do something. I had to be careful. Who knows what might happen next.

As I walked down the hallway, my phone beeped. It was a message from Max.

Need to talk. See you at lunch. Meet me outside.

That's it?

Nothing else?

Okay! I wasn't expecting those chic-flick messages which normal couples exchanged, but it didn't mean he could boss me around.

I re-read the message again.

He sounded serious, but when was he not? I needed to do something.

I couldn't let him always boss me around.

But maybe he wanted to discuss something? Since now our mission was complete there was no need to continue this fake dating, right? After all, I was only doing this for Nina, but it's not as easy as it seemed. I knew Max wanted something in return, that's why he planned all this and it's time to know everything.

*****

I entered the cafeteria and looked around for Max. I spotted him in the corner, sitting with Kyle, and walked in his direction. I was about to reach there when someone bumped into me and spilt the tray of food on my shirt. I lifted my face and noticed Tiffany with a smirk on her face.

My eyes widened in horror and my mouth hung open.

It was one of my favourite shirts!

"What the hell, Tiffany?" Max yelled, earning attention of the whole cafeteria. His jaw was clenched, grinding his teeth together. I cautiously looked around and mentally groaned.

Damn! Not again.

I sucked in a big huff of air and let it out swiftly, glaring around us and at every pair of eyes watching. "What are you looking at? Get on with your own lives!" I snapped, my voice resonating throughout the whole cafeteria, which caused people to flinch and turn away. I knew I was being harsh, but I was getting fed up from all those stares and attention. No doubt, this was going to be the next scandal of the college along with my relationship with Max. I scowled as I snatched up a pile of napkins offered by Kyle and attempted to lessen the damage from the shirt.

Thank God! It wasn't completely ruined, just a small stain of Red sauce at the centre, but nothing I couldn't manage.

"Max," Tiffany gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "I'm really sorry. I didn't notice her." She faked sympathy and batted her eyelashes.

It was clearly visible how sorry she was actually feeling.

Drama queen!

"It's fine," I snapped at her. I was the one to whom she should apologize, right? Then why she was directing it towards Max?

"No, Jessica. I just ruined your whole shirt, how will you manage for the rest of the time in college?" she asked, clearly mocking at my misery.

"I don't need your fake concern. I can deal with it," I replied and walked past her towards the table.

"I think you should leave." I heard Max's stern voice behind me and turned around. He was looking so pissed at Tiffany.

She cursed under her breath. Giving me one last glare, she walked away.

"Here, take it." Kyle's offered me a glass of water. I quickly accepted and gulped it down, realizing how thirsty I was. My throat felt the cold sensation and I felt better.

"Thanks," I said softly and smiled.

"I didn't know this side of yours," Max commented, sitting down next to me.

"Meaning?" I asked confused.

"I thought you are just a softy, but dude you know how to bite." He smirked, earning a scoff from me. "I didn't mean to offend you," he quickly added to clear it. "I like this witty side of yours. I was literally shocked when you pulled out that stunt with Jake and today you really surprised me by standing up against her."

I shrugged, "I tried to deal with it calmly, but she was just being a bitch. I can't tolerate her bullying anymore."

He smiled, "I know, and I'm glad that you made a stand against her."

I looked at Kyle who was watching us, curiously. I lifted my eyebrow, "What?"

"Are you seriously dating him?" he asked, suspiciously.

I turned my face and gave Max a questioning look. Kyle was his best friend, but he was still clueless about this whole thing. It meant no one knew about this except us, of course. But that was the thing which was irritating me most. As I knew, Kyle was like a brother to him; then why on earth was Max hiding this from him?

When Max didn't reply, I sighed. "Who told you?"

He narrowed his eyes, "No one actually bothered to inform me, I just heard rumours." His tone was sharp and hurt was clearly visible in his eyes.

"Kyle, we have already talked about this." Max interrupted.

"I'm not talking to you." Kyle glared at Max, then turned to face me, "I asked something, Jessica?"

Max shook his head and continued eating. The way Kyle was looking at me was enough to make me uncomfortable. I gulped down, unable to say anything. I was sure of one thing, he had something on his mind. I needed to gave him a satisfied answer.

"Actually," I started nervously. "We are not dating, yet." I noticed Max stiffened besides me and Kyle gave me a nod to continue. "But we have confessed our feelings to each other, so I don't know what our relationship status is right now."

"Meaning?" Kyle asked, clearly into the story.

"We need some time, to figure it out." I shrugged.

"Hm. . . I can understand. With Max, everything is complicated." His expression changed and he threw a soft chuckle. I took a breath of relief, realising that he believed me. "Okay, I will leave now, you two enjoy the meal and sort out whatever's stopping you." He winked and walked away, leaving me alone with Max.

Max sighed, "Thanks a lot, you saved me from such a big dilemma."

"You should have told him about the plan."

"Are you kidding me? He would kill me. You took my best friend from me, now he is more loyal to you." He scoffed.

I grinned. "Oh, that's why he confirmed it to me?"

"Whatever," he muttered and stood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked confused.

"Lunch is almost over, I will talk to you later."

I checked the time and realized he was right. "Yeah, but you wanted to talk about something important?"

"Yes, but later. See you in the evening. I will message you the details." He smirked.

I stood there, shocked, and watched him leave the cafeteria.

What the hell just happened?

First, he messaged me and invited me to the lunch. Then, that bitch ruined my mood and shirt. I was interrogated by Kyle, and now Max just walked away without even telling me anything about his important talk?

Damn! Screw you, Max!

*****

I was laying in my bed after coming back from the college. I hadn't heard anything from Max after lunch; he wasn't even in the class. I was still waiting for his text, checking my phone after every five minutes. I heard a knock at the door and got up to open it. It was Nina, she walked inside and I closed the door after it.

She turned around and winked at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Get ready," she said, grinning.

"For what?"

"Your first date with Max," she said excitedly and hugged me.

I hugged her back and smiled widely. Not because of the date, it was shocking news, but it was the least thing I would care about right now. After the break up, it was the first time I saw her smiling like this. She looked so excited and happy for me, and if by going on a date with Max, she would feel great then I would do it happily for my Nina.

She broke the embrace, "Now, get ready, he will be here in 15 minutes. He said to wear something comfortable, so you are free to wear anything from your wardrobe."

"Really? What if he told me to wear something fancy then?"

"Then, we would go shopping." She smirked.

I rolled my eyes, typical Nina. I opened the closet and pulled out black skinny jeans and a royal blue crop top for the date. I showed it to the Nina, who gave me a thumbs up, and I went to the bathroom to change. I left my hair down and allowed her to do my make-up.

"Please keep it natural," I pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'm an expert in this." Nina smirked.

At her word, she was amazing in her make-up tricks. She kept it natural, just added a little bit of blush and red lipstick. I was looking decent. I turned and gave her a bright smile, "I love it. Thank you."

"Anytime dear, just don't ruin the lipstick." She winked.

I gasped and smacked her arm.

Suddenly my phone started ringing and Max’s name flashed on it. I answered it, "Hello?"

Why I did I sound nervous? Hell! I was nervous.

"I will be there in five minutes." Before I could reply he hung up. I stood there, shocked again staring at my phone.

"What happened?" Nina asked looking concerned at my expression.

"He hung up on me," I mumbled.

"What?"

"He bloody hung up on me without waiting for my answer," I said a bit louder, finally getting my senses back. "First, he planned this whole date without even asking me, and