I nibble on the tip of my pen, glaring at the back of Luhan’s head. Lately I’ve been having the strangest dreams about him and yes, I BLAME HIM FOR IT. If he had not been so nice to me, I would not have had these mixed feelings about him. I’m pretty sure he was just going to play some prank on me anyway, I mean why would he all of the sudden decide to be nice to me? It has to be some cruel joke, it just has to be.

“Miss. Jones, can you enlighten us what the poet is talking about in the poem?” The lecturer calls over to me, apparently he knew that I wasn’t paying attention and of course he just has to humiliate me in front of everyone.

I feel all eyes turning toward me, even his. I sit there stuttering like a complete idiot, my eyes going over the poem…

Death is nothing at all. 
It does not count. 
I have only slipped away into the next room. 
Nothing has happened. 

Everything remains exactly as it was. 
I am I, and you are you, 
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. 
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. 

Call me by the old familiar name. 
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. 
Put no difference into your tone. 
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. 

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. 
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. 
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. 

Life means all that it ever meant. 
It is the same as it ever was. 
There is absolute and unbroken continuity. 
What is this death but a negligible accident? 

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? 
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, 
somewhere very near, 
just round the corner. 

All is well. 
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. 
One brief moment and all will be as it was before. 
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
 

“I think it consoles the people who are left behind after you die, this poem is meant to give hope that there is something after death and we will all meet once again with those we love” Luhan speaks up, his face turning away from mine.

Once again he saves me… I really do feel awful for saying that I hate him, but I can’t apologize, I have my pride after all.

“Hmm, thank you Mr. Xi, but as you all heard, I clearly asked Miss. Jones for her view on the poem” The lecturer snaps, glaring at me grumpily.

Ah, I should’ve expected him to be like this, I mean he did date my mother after all. Of course she just had to screw him over and now I’m the one stuck with all his hate and anger. Agh, my life really hasn’t been easy. The lecturer ends the class and I quickly run past him, making sure not to make any eye contact with him, he might just decide to snap at me or humiliate me even further. I swiftly type a message on my phone, asking Summer to meet up for coffee, I haven’t seen her in some time and I think we should probably talk about what Megan had said to me yesterday… thinking about it now, I should go get that damned article about me.

“Here she comes, Miss Man-eater” Megan announces, as I walk into the coffee shop.

This is going to get the beating of her life, I swear I’m going to beat the out of this girl.

Summer laughs at Megan’s ‘joke’ as I sit down on the chair across from her.

“I see you got Mir to not publish his article about you” Megan states, her face set in annoyance.

Seriously, what the hell is with this chick? Why does she feel the need to act like this, I mean at least be the little backstabbing you are and just say it behind my back.

“I never spoke to him about it”

“Oh right, so he just decided on his own that he’s not going to tell everyone what a you are?”

“Megan, ease up will you?” Summer whispers softly.

At first I thought Summer was saying this to defend me, but when I looked up I realized that she was doing this because our little confrontation had attracted some unwanted attention from other customers.

“Why should I? I think it’s about time that everyone hears about little Miss. I’m-too-good-for-everyone”

I bite down on my bottom lip, why am I not angry? Why am I not beating her to a pulp right now? Instead my eyes are starting to tear up and soon my sobbing would commence. I can’t let her see me like this… I won’t give her that satisfaction. Should I just get up and storm out of this place, proving that I’m the bigger person? Hell naw. I’m going to make a scene. This is what she wanted, right? I jump off of my seat, slapping her hand holding her coffee, resulting in it spilling all over her. I push past everyone, and before I exit the shop, I turn around, flipping her off.

Stupid . I hate her so much right now. Making me cry in front of everyone…

I furiously wipe my eyes as I walk into the parking lot. Now everyone is going to call me a , that I’m the one at fault. I don’t think anyone is going to feel sorry for me now… why didn’t Summer even stick up for me? Did she feel the same way? I notice Mir walking toward his car, and I run over to him.

“Mir!” I call, but he doesn’t turn around.

I reach him, and gingerly tap his shoulder.

“I- I just wanted to thank you for not publishing that article about me…”

He turns around, his eyes narrowed at me.

“Thank me? THANK ME?! You should go thank that Xi Lu Han, for scaring me less and threatening to beat the out of me, just over that damned article” He hisses, he’s about to say something else when he suddenly shuts his mouth and jumps into his car and speeds away.

Uhh… what the hell?

“How rude” Luhan mumbles beside me.

I nod my head in agreement. Luhan was the one who stopped the article from being published, even after I was so mean to him? Why is it that he always goes out of his way to help me? I sigh softly and finally look up at him.

“Thank you”

Luhan’s eyebrows knit together, “What for?”

“Don’t make me say it, just accept my gratitude” I grumble, feeling my cheeks burn up.

“Heh, how about you show your gratitude with not punching, slapping, kicking or any other form of abuse from now on?” Luhan chuckles, his doe eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Hmm… fine” I agree.

Suddenly Luhan’s arms circle me, and he pulls me into a hug.

“You know, Megan was just being a downright ” He whispers, his head resting on top of mine.

At first I want to pull out of his embrace, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Instead my tears from earlier reappear and my ugly sobs burst from my lips.

“But I have to admit her face after you spilled the coffee on her was priceless” He continues, trying to comfort me I guess.

I allow my arms to encircle him, my face buried into his chest, his sweet scent filling my nose. Can I just stay like this forever?

Our small embrace ends and I feel embarrassed by how much I had cried. I look at him sheepishly, to think that I’d seek comfort from the one person I always said that I hate…

“Better?” Luhan asks, smiling warmly at me.

“This doesn’t mean that I don’t hate you, but thank you” I grumble, briskly shuffling away from him.

Obviously I had to say that, I can’t have him thinking that I’ve grown rather fond of him. Besides, I still have to keep the little shred of dignity I have after crying in his arms like some helpless little girl. I will not cry in his arms ever again. NEVER AGAIN.