Inspirational quote: You're beautiful when you frown but even more beautiful when you smile. Which is exactly why you need to do it a lot (smiling).
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Kieran was utterly speechless.
"Vv...Vvvvv...Vannnn....Vaness..."
Vanessa stared at him, but not like he was an idiot, because she was smiling, for some unknown reason.
"Trying to say my name?" She guessed, raising an eyebrow at him and then laughing hysterically.
Kieran cleared his throat, before turning red and staring at Vanessa's face.
"I just can't believe I'm finally talking to you!" Kieran hollered, coming up closer to Vanessa.
The most surreal thing was, Vanessa wasn't backing away from him, because for some reason she found the whole thing cute.
Kieran pinched himself when Vanessa wasn't properly looking.
This was not a dream, this was seriously real!
"I am talking to you in the flesh, right?" Kieran asked Vanessa, coming up even closer to her than last time; Vanessa didn't seem to mind at all.
"You're not a spirit or anything?" He stopped circling around her and looked at her for a long, long time.
Vanessa just burst out laughing.
"You're a weird kid, but I tell you, Kieran: all the best people are. And of course you're talking to me in the flesh. I'm not dead yet to be a spirit," she added, grinning complacently to herself.
Wow. She's nice and pretty? There's just no hating in that girl. Kieran thought internally to himself.
Kieran changed the subject completely as they made their way to the food hall where the wedding cake was currently being cut.
"So, what brings ya here? This wedding is only mainly for family members and friends."
Vanessa didn't reply, she just frowned at that.
"You're making it sound like me being here is a bad thing... Or that you don't want me here. I was walking with my mum to town but then we came across this wedding, and I go to this church. So we just went in, having absolutely no clue what was going on and who was getting married. But this is my church so I figured why not?"
Kieran didn't reply, as his mouth was stuffed with wedding cake.
"Huh? What? No. I would never mean that. I was just kinda surprised that you showed up because I really wasn't expecting you to be here," he told her, throwing the rest of the cake away once he found out that it contained strawberries and Kieran was allergic.
Vanessa didn't say anything, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Kieran.
There was an awkward silence between them as Vanessa finally thought of something to say.
"I know you like me, Kieran. That's why I stayed behind to talk to you. Also I wanted to apologise, I caught you staring at me all love struck which was why people kept on laughing at you when you dropped the flowers. And I heard your stepfather yell at you as well, and I'm guessing it was my fault. If you hadn't seen me, then none of this would have happened, and I'm sorry about that."
Kieran was absolutely and utterly gobsmacked. He didn't know what to say.
Now everyone knew he had a crush on Vanessa, including Vanessa.
He didn't want to tell her until they were ninety or something.
"Oh wow, you're so nice, I don't know what to say," Kieran replied, startled. "Thanks for your apology. The day I first saw you I couldn't stop thinking about you. You're just so beautiful, Vanessa, and any guy would be lucky to have you."
Vanessa hugged Kieran next, telling him that that was the nicest thing that anyone had ever said to him.
Moreover, she admitted she kind of felt the same way about Kieran as well (as in, more than just liking him) however just didn't make it as obvious as he did with her.
The events following Kieran and Vanessa's first ever conversation were a bit decent, however this didn't last for long.
As soon as they were all having a party due to the marriage of Kieran's stepfather and Katherine, he didn't know how to refer to her yet, Kieran was almost sure that he could hear a gunshot sound.
He wasn't a hundred percent sure if he was the only person that had actually heard it, but once he heard it again, he knew that there was something going on.
He went up from his table to his father's table, where a bunch of adults were talking albeit as soon as Kieran came to the table they all decided to stop.
"Dad... Dad?" Kieran kept on frequently tapping him. His stepfather just ignored him, mainly because Kieran had already irritated him enough times today, but he had to get his stepfather's attention.
"Dad, look, I'm sorry. But I think that something is going on outside, I just heard a gunshot sound."
His father rolled his eyes at him in disbelief.
"Please, Kieran, stop lying. And like I'd be naive or gullible enough to believe something like that."
Kieran didn't reply, that was when he heard the gunshot again.
No one had heard it except him, by the looks of things, however when there was a louder sound that was when his stepfather finally believed him.
Gunshot!
Followed by a few others as well.
Gunshot gunshot gunshot!
"Think I'm lying now?" Kieran bellowed at his stepfather. "Or do you finally believe me?"
His father couldn't respond, so he didn't. Moments later, a terrorist seemed to have somehow entered the chapel, placing suicide bombs everywhere.
Screaming as well and running around helter skelter proceeded that, and just a few seconds later, more terrorists, about ten of them, came inside.
"Kieran! Why are you just standing there? Do you want to die?"
Kieran did want to die, and now was his chance to. Although what he saw next traumatised Kieran's life forever.
People was frantically screaming now, there was no escape. No matter which way anyone went, terrorists were everywhere.
If someone went left, abracadabra! Terrorist.
If someone went right, abracadabra! Terrorist.
The whole chapel was filled with them straight afterwards, and the traumatising thing that Kieran had seen followed straight afterwards.
He had witnessed a terrorist strangling someone. Just then, they got out a knife, before maliciously beheading the person, and then the person died.
Kieran would have helped them, and he should have as well.
Although he didn't want his life at danger so surreptitiously watching everything happening live was the only thing he could do.
Kieran was one of the first people to leave the food hall of the chapel, and moments later he found himself where everyone else was, the room where the wedding was taking place.
Until he found himself in a sticky situation as well.
Under one table, were his family, beckoning Kieran to come over so that he didn't have to stand there on his own.
Opposite that table was a cupboard, which was where Vanessa seemed to be hiding.
So here was the problem.
Did he hide under a table with his family, who was more important than anyone else?
Or Vanessa, who Kieran had been trying to get to talk to him since the first day he saw her?
Think Kieran, Kieran thought to himself. You haven't got much time left to live.
Family?
Vanessa?
Family?
Vanessa?
Family?
Vanessa?
After a lengthy, tricky decision with himself, Kieran decided to go off with Vanessa.
This was mainly because, a) she was too kind for Kieran to leave behind suffering all by herself, b) she was alone, his family members were not and c) there were about five people in Kieran's family (excluding Kieran) and one table, whereas if he went with Vanessa there was a lesser chance of him becoming claustrophobic and more space for both of them to hide.
When the terrorists weren't looking, although people were still caterwauling everywhere, Kieran secretly sneaked off to the cupboard, opened it and saw Vanessa, then closed it again.
"You okay?" She wanted to know, staring at him, and Kieran could see his face through her sunglasses, which was strange because she wasn't wearing them before.
"Yeah. You?" Kieran whispered back.
But Vanessa didn't reply.
"And what's with the sunglasses?" Kieran wanted to know.
Vanessa didn't reply again.
Instead she sighed gravely, before removing it and covering one eye.
When Vanessa finally took her hand off of her eye, Kieran screamed, not believing what he had just seen.
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Moral of chapter: The personality of some people can utterly surprise you!