The man stands on top of a tall building and proclaims his love for a girl, in front of thousands of people. How pathetic. Honestly I see girls “aww”-ing and gasping at how cute this scene is, and there I am snorting in ridicule. Love doesn’t exist. I’ve lived 19 years and not once have I ever experienced this so called “love”. Sure I’ve had crushes before, I liked a guy for a full week, and then I realized that I was bored with him, and his cheesiness. My friends obviously always try to persuade me and get me to believe that I will meet “the one”. Oh yeah, I’ll definitely meet him, and then we’ll prance away on a unicorn.

I roll my eyes for the thousandth time, as my friends squeal at the chick flick we’re watching. Why couldn’t we have watched a good horror movie? Why do we always have to watch these over the top movies? Can’t they see that these movies only give them false expectations of what love is really like? I’ve seen love before… well as close to love as it can get, and guess what, that love ended in tragedy. My parents “loved” each other, and they got divorced, boo hoo. There is no such thing as love and there is no perfect guy.  I have said this numerous times, but people have now labelled me as heartless and negative. Also some people have started sending me photos of cats that I can adopt…

I slide back into my seat, munching the pack of chips I brought back from the kitchen.

“I hope he proposes to her!” My friend Megan sighs.

“They’re just perfect for each other!” Summer agrees.

I sigh in annoyance and close my eyes, trying to drown out the scene before me. There’s a loud noise followed by a burning sensation on my thigh. My eyes snap open and I realize that Summer had slapped me.

“Watch the movie” She grumbles, pointing her finger threateningly at me.

I smile at her fakely and slap the top of her head.

“I’d rather set myself on fire” I mumble, and lie down on the couch, turning my back to the tv.

I hear Megan and Summer grumbling something to each other. Why was it so important to them? So what if I don’t believe in love, it’s not like I’m somehow affecting them with my beliefs.

The night drags along tediously, they had watched three romantic movies, and then they had started crying and eating ice cream. I do not get girls, which is saying a lot since I am one. I know I’m not the girliest person around, yes I’m more of a tomboy, but still I don’t get it. Why is it so special, why do you want to wake up to the same old face every single morning? I’d much rather wake up to a new face, then again that would only happen if I don’t grow bored of the guy in the first few minutes and I am yet to meet such a guy.

“So how was your date?” Megan asks Summer after they finished the movie.

“Oh it was so romantic!” Summer gushes, hugging her pillow.

Are you serious? They went to a restaurant where the guy had a whole orchestra playing a song for her. That is not romantic, that is overkill.  

“Will you see him again?”

“I’m seeing him tomorrow”

And then they start squealing. Yay, she found someone to go out with, how exciting. Now if you told me that Doctor Who was starting tomorrow, that would be exciting and squeal worthy!

“Your thoughts Arielle?”, Megan questions, poking me.

“Have fun” I mumble, slapping Megan’s hand away.

“Try to sound happy “, Summer grumbles.

I turn to Summer, and look her dead in the eye.

“The day I fall in love, I will sound happy, okay?”

“I feel sorry for the guy that falls for you” Megan murmurs

I glare at Megan and fall back onto the couch. In all honesty, people should feel sorry for the poor saps that fell for me. I mean at first I talk to them a lot, I’m nice, it looks like I might be interested, and then I find a fault in them, it could be anything really. But once I see that fault I see all their other faults and well then it’s game over. It doesn’t matter who the guy is, once I see their fault, I will become annoyed with them, and no matter what they do, I will not ever go for them.

I really do seem heartless don’t I? For me, being heartless is better than being too nice, and going out with every single guy that asks you. I have better things to do with my time.

“Are you awake?” Summer whispers.

I close my eyes and ignore her. I know she means well, but by now she should know that I don’t like talking about my feelings and why I’m so screwed up.

“Arielle… come on” She insists.

“What do you want, Summer?” I grumble, slapping her hand away.

“Why aren’t you happy for me?”

Maybe because this is what she does? She goes out with a guy and everything seems perfect, until a new guy comes along, and then guess what she starts dating him, and completely forgets about the other one, because obviously that is how love works isn’t it?

“I am” I reply.

I can’t tell her what I really think, because that will only lead to an eternity long discussion on why I feel like that.

I should’ve been born a man. Life would’ve been much simpler that way.

“You don’t sound like it” She sighs

For the love of all that is holy, why is she like this?

“I AM, now shut up and sleep”

I’m awoken by two giggling hyenas, and no matter how hard I try to silence them they won’t stop. Finally I give in and open my eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing” Megan giggles, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

I peer up at Summer’s laptop. Is she on my Facebook profile?

“What are you doing on my profile?”

“Nothing!” Summer insists.

I eye her suspiciously. Does she think I’m an idiot?

“What did you do?”

Megan gets up and blocks my way toward the laptop.

“Move” I grumble.

I push Megan aside and to my dismay I see Summer agreeing to meet a guy for a date. The thing is, the guy thinks that I agreed to it.

“Why the hell would you do that?” I scold her.

“You need a little love in your life” She states, pouting at me.

I cannot believe this. I told her why I don’t believe in love, yet she still continuous this behaviour.

“Unbelievable” I shake my head.

“You’ll thank me for this later” Summer insists.

I snort loudly, taking the flowery dress from her. In 20 minutes my date will be picking me up at home and taking me to dinner. Yay. Of all the guys she could choose, she chose the one guy that I cannot stand. The one guy who I want to set on fire. Bang Cheol Yong.

“You look so pretty” Megan gushes, as I twirl in front of them.

I hate them so much right now. We all know this girly thing is not my scene. WHY MUST THEY PUNISH ME LIKE THIS? I view myself in the mirror. I don’t look terrible though… this look kind of suits me. Megan picks at some loose strands of my hair, pulling my light brown hair to the right side of my face. My hazel eyes stand out even more thanks to the colour scheme of my makeup.

“Now we should talk about how you’re going to act on the date…” Megan starts.

Why didn’t they rather set Cheol Yong and Megan up on a date. They’re equally as annoying.

There’s a honking noise outside the house and I take it as Cheol Yong’s arrival.

“Remember, be nice” Summer whispers as she opens the door.

I stare blankly at Cheol Yong who is nervously smiling at me.

“You look so pretty!” He smiles, taking my hand in his.

Why must he insist on this skin ship, when he knows that I do not share his feelings?

“Thanks…” I reply, smiling fakely at him.

I pull my hand from his and climb into his car.

“I was so surprised when you agreed to seeing me” He smiles.

You poor, poor boy.

“You know I like you a lot”

Unfortunately.

“You should meet my friends”

Let me guess, they’re just as annoying.

“So, tell me about yourself”

I blink a few times, and realize that he had stopped talking.

“I, uhhh…”

“So you’re really shy, right?”

“Wha- Why?”

What is he talking about? I am so lost right now.

“That’s why you didn’t say anything when I talked, right?”

Uhh no, that’s because I don’t really care about what you had to say.

“Yeah…”

We stop in front of a tiny Italian restaurant.

“I hope you like Italian” He smiles, jumping out of the car.

I walk further away from him as we enter the restaurant.

Italian music plays softly in the background, the entire place is lit by a fireplace and candles. The scent of pasta filling the air.

“Look Cheol Yong” I start, as I pull my hand from his again.

What was it going to take to get him to back off?

“I told you to call me Mir” He interrupts.

“Right…” I nod.

I have no idea when he told me this, but sure let’s just go with it.

“Anyway-“

“Hang on, I need to go to the bathroom”

I bite on my cheek. Really? Just as I’m about to shoot him down, he miraculously needs to use the bathroom?

“Wow, that guy doesn’t know when to shut up” Someone laughs from behind me.

I turn and look at the man. He smiled at me widely, his blonde hair was neat, his fringe covering the right side of his forehead, and his burgundy eyes sparkled with childlike happiness. Xi Lu Han. I had no idea that he worked here, nor did I really care.

“So that’s your type?” He smiles, sitting down on Mir’s seat.

I don’t know who is worse, Luhan or Mir. Of course I didn’t have classes with Mir, and also Mir doesn’t have such an annoying smile, and he doesn’t look like a girl. Mir isn’t the one guy that I cannot stand, and he’s not my nemesis. Yes you guessed it, I really do hate Luhan that much.

“Beat it” I growl at Luhan.

Ever since the first day of university, we have hated each other. It might have been because I spilled my smouldering coffee on him, and ruined his favourite shirt, or that he “accidentally” pushed me into a cactus. Either way, we have never been able to stand each other, and on various occasions we have tried to sabotage one another.

“Oh that hurts” He gasps, holding his hands over his heart in mock pain.

“And here I thought we had something special” He teases, leaning closer to me.

“You do not want to piss me off girl” I hiss, narrowing my eyes at him.

He pulls away from me, his expression darker.

“What did you call me?” He growls, his voice laced with annoyance.

“G-i-r-l” I repeat, emphasising each syllable.

“Are you ordering already?” Mir asks from a distance.

Both Luhan and I rip away from each other, acting like nothing happened.

Mir places his order and I decide to take some lasagne.

“I hope you enjoy your meal… I’ll add something special to it” Luhan hisses, his face set in annoyance.

“He’s really nice” Mir smiles, completely oblivious to what happened.

“So where were we?” Mir asks, as he leans forward.

Each second drags by lazily, as I wait for the date to end. My stomach was grumbling furiously, but I refused to eat the food, merely because I did not trust Luhan near it. I prayed that Mir would choke on his food and that I would have a few seconds of peace, but no he just had to chew properly. How could one person have so much to say?

“I have to go to the ladies’ room” I announce, getting up from my seat.

The moment I enter the bathroom, I lean against the door. This might be in the running for one of my worst dates. At least I have a few minutes of silence. I check my makeup in the mirror, and fidget with my dress. I try to give myself any reason to stay in the bathroom a little longer. I look over to the window. Maybe I should just make a run for it? I shake my head, I can’t… I’m not that mean.

There’s a knock on the bathroom door.

“Are you okay?”

Seriously? Did Mir check up on me? But that doesn’t sound like his voice… actually it sounded like-

The door swings open, and Luhan enters.

“Are you deaf, or have you magically lost the ability to speak?” He snaps

“Oh I didn’t know you were a girl… you did always seem feminine” I retort, motioning toward the sign that said ‘ladies’ room’.

“Ahaha, you’re so funny. Your date is waiting for you”

“I’ll be out when I’m done”

“You look done” He replies, and tugs me out of the bathroom.

“Let me go” I grumble, pulling my arm from him.

“Watching you suffer is the highlight of my day, so why would I do that?”

“You’re such an ” I hiss, slapping his chest.

“That would’ve hurt, if I actually gave a about what you thought of me”

After a long struggle, Luhan prevails and gets me back to my table. I look around but Mir is nowhere to be found. Did he actually leave me here? A waitress approaches us, her face screaming judgemental.

“Your date was tired of waiting”

Luhan bursts out in laughter.

“Wasn’t he your ride home?”

I don’t know this neighbourhood… how am I going to get home?

“Shut up” I grumble, and walk out of the restaurant.

Normally I would call someone to fetch me, but the thing is I don’t have my phone. I had to give it in for repairs… I have the worst luck in the world.

The cold wind tugs at me, as I slowly walk up the dark streets. I think if I go straight here, I should find the main road… If I get there I can find my way home. I must have walked around for hours, and still I couldn’t find my way home. Exhausted I sit down on the pavement. Looks like I’ll have to sleep here for the night. I hear someone walking in the distance, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I heard stories of people being killed in areas like this. I get up, and almost melt into the wall. Maybe he won’t see me. The man’s shadow dances against the wall opposite from me. He looks huge. How am I going to fight someone like that? His footsteps become louder, and I can practically feel him near me. I pull my high heels off, and run for it. . . . I keep thinking as I run. He’s so close, I can’t lose him, and I don’t think I’ll be able to run for much longer. In times like these I really regret not exercising. Arms slam around me, and I’m trapped against the man’s chest.

“Help me!” I screech, flailing around in his arms.

My nostrils are filled with the man’s scent… it kind of smells like pasta… Son of a –

“You !” I yell, slamming my foot down on his. “Do you think you’re funny?!” I screech, pounding my fists against his chest.

“Oh calm down, I’m not the one who ran around like an idiot” He spits.

I feel my eyes start to water. No. I am not crying because of this .

“Are you crying?” Luhan asks, I can hear the amusement in his voice.

“No” I reply, furiously wiping my eyes dry.

I follow Luhan as he leads us back to the restaurant (which was only two blocks away…)

“How did you know I got lost?” I ask softly.

“Someone called us and said that a drunkard was running loose in this area” He replies matter-of-factly.

“Why did you help me?”

“I was asked to do it, I’m not doing it for you”

I nod, if it were up to him, he’d probably leave me for dead.

“Why didn’t you call someone to get you?”

“My phone is in for repairs…”

“You could’ve used our phone. You’re such an idiot”

I stop in front of the restaurant.

“Fine, then this idiot, will go look for help elsewhere” I snap.

I turn on my heel, and walk away from him. I don’t know where I’m going, but turning back to him would just be too embarrassing.

“Where are you going?” He calls after me.

I don’t even reply. Where am I going? Meh, anywhere is better than here with that , I will not let him belittle me even more than he already has.

A motorbike roars to life behind me, and the road in front of me is lit by its headlights. The motorbike crawls next to me, and Luhan’s smug face inspects mine.

“Just get on”

I shake my head.

“I’d rather walk”

“You don’t know where you are”

“I’ll survive”

The motorbike stops, Luhan grabs my arm and pulls me toward him. He slides back and sits me in front of him. His arms encircle me as he takes hold of the handles.

“I’m no biker, but aren’t passengers supposed to sit behind the drivers?”

“Usually, but idiots tend to fall off when they sit behind”

“Maybe it’s because you can’t drive” I reply.

“Shut up” He grumbles.

He pulls the helmet off of his head, and roughly places it on mine.

“Now where do you live?”

I give him the address, and move around uncomfortably, I didn’t know how to act, being so close to him. Suddenly his arm circles my waist, and he pulls me closer to him. Almost crushing me into his chest.

“Honestly, do I have to teach you how to sit” He mutters.

With a jolt we speed off into the night, zooming through traffic, and in minutes we reach the main road.

“You can just drop me off here” I shout, the wind almost drowning out my words.

“We’re going the same way anyway” He replies.

We live in the same area? How did I not know this? Our neighbourhood is filled with busy bodies, wouldn’t I have heard something about him by now?

I lean a bit closer to Luhan’s chest, seeking his heat. I never thought driving on a motorcycle would be this cold. I never even thought that he’d be this comfortable, it’s a shame that he’s such an . The motorbike comes to a halt, and the helmet is pulled off of my head.

“This is your house right?”

I look over at my house, the lights are already off… It seems my mother didn’t worry too much about my disappearance.

“Yeah…”

Luhan gets off of the bike and helps me off. It felt really strange having him be nice to me.

“Thank you, for helping me”

Wow saying that to him almost killed me. I really need to go take a shower now.

“As long as you know this was a one-time deal” He replies, jumping onto the bike.

“Don’t worry, I’m not in a hurry to see you again”

I don’t even wait for him to speed off. I immediately close the door behind me, why should I act like I care about him? I pad through the house, and check to see where my mom is. I reach her bed room, and see her passed out on her bed, still wearing the clothes she had on for her date. I walk over to her and pull her shoes off, and pull the covers over her. I walk through the house, making sure that everything is in place. I wonder if it would’ve been better if my dad had won custody over me? Would I still have had to clean up his drunken mess like I clean hers? Would I still feel like I’m an unwanted guest? I sigh and crawl into my bed. Screw love.