JANNAT'S P.O.V
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Adrienne inquired as the car rolled to a stop, and she pulled the door open, sliding out into the lively hustle and bustle of the Upper Manhattan streets. I shrugged and followed her out of the car, dreading the fact that I was finally being confronted with the shit I had tried dodging the whole week — the rushed decision that I had made of putting up a dating front with Christian.
"Everything, I presume, except for the way I dress," I replied, playing it off, and tugging at Estelle's hand, yanking her out of the car. Apparently the cafe we were going to wasn't the most environmentally friendly cafe around — and the lady Este doth protest too much, methinks.
"They offer only plastic straws!" Este protested. "And they even give out styrofoam cups!"
I sighed, finding a little solace in the click of my heels against the cobblestones as I retreated back from her, and jutted my hands on my hips. "If you don't get out of the car now, I will absolutely punch you in the face. And know that I will do it hard, because I have a manicure appointment tomorrow morning."
"Do it already," Adrienne murmured. Estelle and I turned to look at her. She sighed, looking up from her phone. "What? I am parched and starving."
"She can be very terrifying when she wants to be, huh?" Este murmured, finally tipping one sneaker clad foot out the car door. She shook her head and her curls bounced wildly, the sunlight filtering and passing through her hair — giving the illusion of a halo.
I nodded in affirmation to Este's statement."Now come on, Este," Adrienne murmured, finally tugging at Este's other hand. "We will request for ceramic cups or something, and metal straws! Okay? Now come out already."
"It's not only that!" Este mumbled as we finally tugged her out. I waved off Malcolm, the kind man who drove me everywhere I wanted to, and we started walking towards the entrance of Think Coffee and paused there. "I came here once before," Estelle murmured, before dragging a hand down her face. "And I completely embarrassed myself in front of this cute waitress."
I let out a laugh, shifting the purse I was holding in my right hand swiftly to my left hand, so that I could give Este a friendly clap on the back. "Oh my. Are you afraid that you will embarrass yourself in front of her if you see her again?"
"And what is so embarrassing that you're so scared, anyway?" Adrienne asked thoughtfully. "Did you pee in your pants or something?"
I let out a loud laugh, which caught the attention of a bunch of people passing by. I waved at them, and when one of the guys didn't break my gaze, I winked at him, brushing away a wisp of my hair as a show. He looked away. I grinned.
"No!" Este screeched, her cheeks burning. Adrienne was the one to laugh this time, the white beret atop her head sitting slightly askew. Even though a pop of colour in the shades of yellow or orange would have gone better with the dull green of her dress, I gave her an approving nod nonetheless, mostly for stepping out of her usual comfort zone — beanies. "I was so distracted by her smile that I had accidentally swatted the soup on my own lap, and when she had rushed to wipe off the liquid, I had gone so stiff that she thought that she had done something wrong, and so after that, when she profusely started apologising, I panicked and asked for the bill. Without ordering anything else. By the time she had come back, I had calmed down considerably and had lied to her that I was having a bad day and that it wasn't her fault. So when she said — thank you for being so considerate. Please come back again! — I blanked out and said thank you, you too. And then I was trying to think what the hell I had just muttered, and the next moment I knew, I had accidentally not only pulled the push door, but had also slammed my face against the glass door in the whole confusion."
I blew out a little whistle. "Damn, Estelle Marianne Shade," I grinned at her, playfully tapping at her cheek. My tangerine painted nails looked gorgeous against her complexion, and I made a mental note to recommend this color to her. "You have officially surpassed me in the category of experiencing the most embarrassing moments. Girlboss shit."
"What a lovely list to top," Adrienne commented, snickering. "And what a lovely list of shenanigans to listen to at four pm on a fine Saturday. Which reminds me, Jan — how crazy do you have to be to engage in fake dating in real life? This is the real world, not fiction, or at least that's what I have been taught."
"Thank God, finally some attention is off of me," Estelle quickly mumbled before turning to me with bright, mischievous eyes. "So, fake dating the arch nemesis, huh, Jan? Which romantic comedy are we living in?"
I panicked again, not knowing what to answer as I turned my gaze away to the roads busy with life — the busy Upper Manhattan streets dotted with little, colorful silhouettes of people going on and about with their lives. I sighed, pondering over the question for a second, knowing that it was better to get it over with already. I had been dodging this question since Monday, anyway.
"Well," I started, fishing out my compact fold mirror from my purse and checking my lipstick once before continuing. "It was the outcome of a long, deliberative thought process."
"How interesting," Adrienne exclaimed, a knowing look in her eyes. Estelle nudged at me to continue. I bit my lip, finalizing my words in my mind, and started speaking. "Look Ava's rumours were getting to Christian, okay? And I didn't want him to go blurt out stuff like — oh, she wasn't there to see me! It was a misunderstanding! She was there to see Lucas and confess her feelings for him and kiss him! It will not only make me a debacle and an easy target for jeers, but will also make me look like a complete freak in front of Lucas — who probably doesn't like me because he is now with Ava. So, to eliminate the possibility of such mass destruction, I took the other path. To roll on with Ava's rumours, to protect Christian from Ava's snide remarks, and also a little part of my heart insists to pull this stunt as a last resort to check if Lucas has even the tiniest bit of feelings for me, and if me dating his best friend makes him jealous. Let's see what happens."
"Wow," Estelle murmured under her breath.
"Wow, indeed," Adrienne said, laughing a little. "I can't believe it."
I scowled. "Believe what? My intentions?"
"Jannat, darling, listen," Estelle said, drawing my attention towards her. I looked at her cautiously as she continued. "We both seem to think that there is a far simpler motive behind you agreeing to fake date Christian rather than this whole strange and elaborate collection of ideas and presumptions."
"It isn't a hotchpotch," I grunted bitterly, smoothing out the front of my coat consciously.
"You see, the main thing is—" She said, and then paused. Probably for dramatic effect in her speech. I sighed. "— you two like each other. Romantically."
I grimaced at her. "Pfft, now that's a hotchpotch of ideas if I have ever heard one."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Adri said, smiling brilliantly at me. "Now, let's get in? I am this close to dying due to hunger and thirst. Now that I have had my fill of gossip and tea, I think some coffee and toast would be nice."
Estelle laughed, pushing Adrienne forward, beckoning for her to lead the way. Este followed her, and I followed them, which was an extremely wrong choice because Estelle walks too slow and I almost tripped on her, multiple times. The rest was quick — I was pushing the escaped wisps of hair out of my face, Estelle was grabbing my hand and wheeling me in a dangerous speed towards a booth which was tucked neatly beside a long, sleek table with two stools, a gorgeous view of the bustling streets and the company of a little cactus. When Adri flagged down the waitress with the gorgeous, lush blonde hair, Este stood abruptly, and bolted towards the restroom — which led me to believe that this waitress was the same girl Este had a teeny tiny crush on, and which led me to nudging Adri and informing her of the same.
But when the waitress inched closer, the apron sticking out in an ugly manner on her outfit, I was struck with a terrible sense of realization. This was the same girl I had been not-so-considerate at the Ralph Lauren showroom — the one with big doe eyes, and luscious locks. I panicked for a moment, not knowing what to do — should I apologize? Should I smile and pretend like nothing happened? — she probably didn't even remember me. Or should I just be a shitty person and not address it at all?
So, when she came towards our booth and spared me a glance, the first thing I did was jump out of my own skin, or more specifically, in my seat.
Her gaze drifted over to me, and I frantically searched for any exhausted flicker of recognition. I didn't find any. I blew out a breath I was subconsciously holding. "Hi."
"Are you okay, ma'am?" She asked, a small frown curling at her lips. "Do you need anything?"
"No, thank you," I mumbled, before nudging at Adrienne's foot. "I will take a cappuccino, and a pain un chocolat, thank you."
"I would like a plain black coffee, with three sugar cubes, and a whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and honey, please," Adrienne murmured softly before turning and gesturing to Estelle's empty seat. "And for my friend here, who had to take a restroom break, a matcha green tea latte, and a key lime tart. Thanks!"
When the kind waitress flashed us a colossal smile, flipped her notepad close, told us our orders will be ready soon, and disappeared out of our sight — Estelle slithered in, like smooth muslin over skin.
"So, that's the crush?"
"I would answer," Estelle said, pausing, as she took her seat. "But I think me bolting out as soon as she even walked in our direction should be an answer enough."
"Why don't you ask her out?" I questioned, and could barely surpass the small, giddy laugh that bubbled up my lips at the expression on Estelle's face.
"Not you saying that when—" Adrienne started speaking, but then her gaze shifted from me to some place behind me. I waved a hand in her line of vision.
"Hello?"
"Christian," She said simply, her gaze still focused somewhere else. I frowned.
"Christian is my rival!" I murmured for the umpteenth time today. "I don't—"
"Shut up already if you want to keep up your charade of fake dating Christian," Adri answered quickly, her gaze breaking and fleeting back to me as she pointed towards the door of the cafe. "Because, Lucas, Ava, and Christian are here."
I stiffened, quickly turning my head and taking a peek — and there he was. My fake boyfriend — with an insistent frown on his face, in a neat, grey shirt and black pants, and with unkempt hair that fell right into his eyes that he didn't even bother to brush away. Two immediate causes of his bitter mood came to mind — first was the ruthless killing of his favorite character of the book he was reading currently, or, second, which was much more plausible and near, was Ava, who was tagging along with Lucas just behind him.
I quickly turned back towards my friends, my eyes wide. "Quick, pretend to be busy. Pretend to be busy. Pretend to b—"
"Oh, hey Jannat!" Lucas' clear voice cut through the noise of the crowd, and came nearer and I cradled my head in my hands. No. No. This can't be happening. Certainly not on the very fine Saturday on which I had decided to have a coffee date with my girls. No.
So, I pasted a smile on my face, and turned towards the three of them, who were standing just right next to our booth, in front of the long, sleek table with the cactus companion.
"I didn't know you guys came here," Sinclair was talking next, offering me the flicker of an exhausted smile. I regarded him thoughtfully.
"Of course you didn't, sweetie," Came Ava's smooth, sultry voice next, mocking Sinclair. "I mean, the relationship between you two isn't very real, is it?"
I turned my cool gaze towards Ava, whose eyes were bright with malice and what not. Lucas mumbled,"Ava, stop talking, please."
"Come on," She laughed. "I am only joking."
"Hello boys," I said, offering Lucas and Sinclair a wave, as I disregarded Ava's presence completely. Este waved at the three of them excitedly, whilst Adri offered them solemn nods. I gestured for them to join us at the booth.
"Oh, but I don't want to impose—" Lucas started, but then looked at Sinclair, then at me. "Oh, oh yes, of course. We will sit together. There are only two seats available on the table we usually sit at, anyway."
Sinclair's gaze floated to the table next to ours, a sad gleam in his eyes. "Of course," He murmured. "Only two seats."
I frowned at the new development, slightly thrown off at the sadness enveloping Sinclair, who would have talked my head off if he had collided with me at a cafe. But today, a lot seemed different.
When I felt Ava's lethal gaze on me, I was reminded of the fact that I was indeed supposed to be Sinclair's girlfriend. So when they were sliding into the booth, I waved at Sinclair and reckoned for him to sit next to me. His lips quivered in surprise but he hid it in a jiffy, walking to my side of the table, and smoothly sliding in the seat next to me, and he was so close that if I moved my leg even the tiniest bit, my knee would touch his knee. And as Ava was watching, I reached out and brushed some hair away from Sinclair's eyes.
"You know, Jannat," Ava started, her gaze cat-like. "I couldn't help but notice that you greeted both Lucas and Christian, but not me."
"Oh my, really?" I exclaimed, feigning surprise as Adri took an audible, throaty sip of her water. "Well, you see, all my senses try to ignore bullshit, so I couldn't really see you there, my love. Maybe it is a glitch in the matrix, maybe not."
Lucas cleared his throat. "I don't think that was very nice to say, Jannat."
I looked at Ava dead in the eye, my voice devoid of any humour. "Come on now," I smiled. "I am only joking."
Sinclair's foot nudged mine under the table. I nudged back, as I turned sideways to look at him, raising a sole eyebrow at him. I caught him hiding a laugh, and he nudged my foot right back.
Surpassing the small smile that crept up my face, I looked down at my purse.
The kind waitress, whose name was Danielle — a fact I learned from the name tag on her uniform, which was previously absent — came back with our orders. Lucas ordered a sandwich and a Spanish latte, and Ava ordered an espresso and a donut. When Sinclair's turn came, he didn't even answer. He was lost in thoughts, staring at the table, almost as if he wasn't wasn't present here. Lucas nudged him but Sinclair didn't respond, so I brushed his arm lightly, smiled at the waitress and ordered for him, instead.
"An iced coffee for him," I murmured, and wondered which dessert to order for him. Today seemed like a cupcake day. "And two of the day's best-selling cupcakes, please. Thanks."
My touch seemed to snap him back from whatever he was daydreaming about — not surprising, considering it's not everyday your rival even makes contact with your skin without inflicting violent damage — and he blinked.
"Oh," He said, his grey eyes like shining like liquid silver. "You ordered for me. How did you know?"
"Yes, how did you know?" Este inquired. Suddenly, everyone at the table seemed very interested.
I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Remember, in tenth grade, when you used to go to that little coffee shop which was like two minutes away from the school? The place where I broke your finger? Yeah, I followed you that day, like a creepy Joe — which you already know — and before arguing with you and breaking your finger, I also observed what you ordered. You always order an iced coffee and two of the day's best-selling desserts."
"My, my," Adri said, slowly, a vicious smile tugging at her mouth. "Guess this relationship has always been inevitable, huh?"
"Absolutely!" Lucas said, flashing Adri a brilliant smile which she didn't return — still upset at him for what happened at the cafeteria the week prior to junior prom — but Lucas continued. "I always knew they were going to get together in the end, much like in the various fantasy novels with those enemies-to-lovers plot lines that Christian is always reading."
"Shut up," Sinclair murmured. I batted my eyelashes at him, a teasing smile on my face.
"So, when are you going to let me stab you in the heart and let me run away, babe?"
Sinclair choked on the sip of water he was taking, coughing violently. I smiled in victory, and leaned back, enjoying the sight of Sinclair fighting for his life with the sip of water.
"You've read From Blood and Ash?" He wheezed, tugging at the full sleeve of his shirt and wiping his mouth with it. I let out a groan of disgust and swatted his hand away.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out," I said, shrugging. Was I ever going to tell him that reading a few fantasy romances from time to time not only gave me inspiration to create thematic outfit designs, but also proved to be a good recreational activity for me? Never.
"You've read From Blood and Ash," He muttered again, and again, and again, almost in awe and disbelief and wonder. I pushed back the laugh concocting at the base of my throat, focusing on my drink and my croissant on the table instead. From the side of my eye, I could see Adri giving me a knowing smile. I sneered at it.
"Wow, Jannat is absolutely tailor-made for you, huh, Christian?" Ava said, her green eyes twinkling. "Wonder how long it is gonna last before she gets fed up with you too, hm?"
"Excuse me," Sinclair stood up, and made his way out of the booth, and my gaze followed him out of the door. I opened my mouth, and then closed it again, not knowing what to say.
"He sure is dramatic," Ava muttered under her breath, and Lucas' face went pale. I knew he was torn between staying here with Ava or going out there to Sinclair, even though I already knew which one he should have chosen. My heart sank a little. I exhaled sharply, grabbing my purse and standing up as well, ready to follow Sinclair out.
"Oh look, our little posh girl is following her boyfriend out," Ava smiled. "How romantic."
I almost grabbed her by her hair and banged her head down on the table, but I controlled myself and assessed her with an indifferent gaze, stopping when I was looking right into her eyes, and my fisted hands were resting on the tabletop.
"Listen to me, Ava, and listen closely," I said, seriously, my hands itching to punch her. "You might want me as a rival, an acquaintance, a friend, or you might even want to be me — but trust me, what you don't want me to be is an enemy to you. I might have better morals than you, but that doesn't mean that I won't crush you when the opportunity demands it. So if I were you, I would watch my step, because if I see you continuing your vile behavior anywhere around me, I will not hesitate to do something about it."
And then, I turned to Lucas, and for the first time, I could see how not perfect he was. My heart was sinking rapidly. "And Lucas, I hope you get back to your senses soon." And with that, I nodded at my friends, and started sashaying towards the door.
"Be patient with him," Lucas called out. "He isn't in the right headspace, Jannat. Following him now won't be the wisest decision!"
"I have made plenty of questionable decisions," I called back. "Don't worry about me."
I found Sinclair sitting in forlorn quietness at the bench near the hotdog stand just outside the cafe, with his hands propped up on his knees, his face carefully studying the concrete sidewalk. So, I walked towards him, bought a hotdog, took the seat right next to him, and shoved the snack in his direction. He looked up, surprise etched on his face.
"You came."
"Seems like it."
"You followed me," He said, simply. "Out here."
"Of course I did," I said, beckoning him to take the hotdog. "It's in the job description of being a fake girlfriend."
He took the hotdog, stared at it, and then he couldn't help it — he laughed. It was a quick, guilty bubble of sound — slow and sweet at first, like spilled honey, and then he was laughing loudly, which was very refreshing and just like him. I smiled in response, but it soon morphed to a full blown laugh when Sinclair laughed again, and then some more. And there we were, sitting on a rusty bench on the sidewalk of a dusty Manhattan street, laughing about nothing and everything, giddy and giggling and breathless like a pair of schoolchildren who had pulled their first prank. And, it felt spectacular.