"You need to stay away from me. I mean it." I open the door and step into the cold.

"Clara you need to let me explain." His voice is frantic almost desperate.

"Explain what?" I say walking faster,"I don't need anything explained. I heard what was said there loud and clear."

He finally catches up with me and grabs my wrist.

,

"Stop jumping to conclusions." His voice his low.

I tear my wrist away from him.

"I cannot believe that you are capable of doing anything like that. But congrats Jake you have proved me wrong once again"I say,"I cannot believe that I actually trusted you or the fact that I'm standing here actually talking to you, because you are a monster and you disappoint me."

"A club?" I snort,"That's where Jake is? What he parties people to their death?"

Spencer rolls her eyes.

"You are really annoying." She says leading me to the entrance of a club called Trec.

"Says the girl wearing the sparkly pink hairband." I retort back. I stop at my spot and Spencer turns around as she raises an eyebrow.

"What now?"

"I'm not going." I say as firmly as possible,"I trust Jake, in fact I owe it to him to trust him and believe that he can handle himself."

She rolls her eyes,"You really are something else, how does anyone handle you?"

I ignore her and do a one eighty turn and am about to catch a cab but her voice calls out,"You are never going to get this opportunity again Clara."

"I don't care."

"Yes, you do." She says grabbing my hand and turning me around,"I know you don't trust me and I don't blame you but you need to know the truth."

"And why are you so keen to help me? Huh?" I demand,"Why do you care so much that I know the truth."

"Because Jake Henderson is much more than his pretty eyes and charming smiles" she says softly,"And I actually care about him. And what he is going to do...."

She shakes her head.

"Ever since you he has been sitting on the fence" she says,"If you see how he is and what he is doing you are going to go in the other direction as him. Maybe that will knock some sense into his head."

"What are you trying to say Spencer?" I say my voice calm as I look at the almost desperate girl in front of me.

"I'll explain." She says,"Just come in with me, please."

I raise an eyebrow at her polite behaviour but this frantic desperate Spencer looks much more genuine than the pink barbie doll who finds everything amusing.

I hesitate but I follow her as she leads me through the line and gives a curt look to the bouncer who let's her in immediately.

I know what I'm doing is a whole different level of stupid. I don't even know Spencer and for all you know she may turn into a knife wielding pschyo. She had already reached a new level of creepiness when she sprouted so many facts about me. But I was so sick of being the girl who doesn't know anything and if Jake doesn't give me answers I should bloody well get them in my own way, right?

Why have I never paid attention to the phrase ignorance is bliss?

Spencer leads me straight through the crowded dance floor where I step on countless toes. She then leads me up a set of stairs until we finally reach a landing. The floor looks like something like a hotel room with countless number of doors all neatly labelled with a number.

She walks ahead coming to a stop right before room number three and swings the door open. Its dark as she switches on the light and slammed the door shut behind me.Even with the lights switched on it made no difference to the dull shade of the room as everything in the room from the carpet to the wallpaper to the seats and the bed was a shade of black or dark grey.

"Sit." She orders as she opens the mini fridge to get something out. She takes a cherry coca cola out and pops it open.

I stand there watching her as she takes a normal coke out and then tosses it to me. I don't even make an attempt to catch it.

"What are you worried that I have poisoned it?" She says siting on of the couches.

"That thought did cross my mind." I reply dryly looking down at her.

"Well, I need you alive." She says,"So I'm not going to kill you."

I knew it, she was psycho.

"What an honour." I say still standing and not siting.

"Suit yourself." She shrugs and takes another sip of her cherry coke.

"So am I going to get a reason as to why you dragged me into a nightclub and then led me to a mysterious room which is probably used to hide bodies in?" I ask.

"You know the last time I saw you which was yesterday outside Jake's room you were stammering and blushing and could barely get two syllables out." She states,"Now your attitude is through the roof."

"I changed." I deadpan.

"I'm the span of one day?" She asks.

I thought back to motorbike ride in the morning and how I just broke in front of my mother and gave Michella a wake up call she had long since coming.

"Yes, yes I have." She raises an eyebrow at my curt response.

"So are you going to start?" I ask her leaning against the dressing table.

"I am but I'm quite unsure as to how to." Spencer says licking her lips,"But I suppose I'll start two and half years back."

"I met Jake during one of the parties I attended." She says slowly,"I usually didn't go to parties. I was more like the good girl with big glasses head in a book kind of girl back then."

I avert my eyes from her almost not believing her ever having the capability of being nerdy. But my mind starts to replay how similar the description sounds and how close it comes to mine.

"My friend had forced me to go to the party because it was supposed to be held at one of the private school kids parties and those were always supposed to be the best. I was really awkward there really. So all I did was sit on the couch hoping that my best friend just finished whatever the hell she was doing."

She has a small smile on her face as she continues.

"When I first saw him he was drunk." She hesitates,"Well I thought he was drunk but later I found out that was all part of his act."

Act?

I raise an eyebrow but I don't interrupt her.

"He sat next to me groaning about his head and I instantly froze up." She laughed bitterly,"If I had just walked away instead of staying there and staring at him things would have been different. But I didn't.I don't remember who initiated the conversation or how it began but I actually started having fun in that stupid party. He was charming easy to talk to and he didn't look through me."

"He called me up the next days and like any teenage girl I was completely whipped in two-seconds flat." She states,"We didn't start going out per se but we hung out. The night Jake met my brother Eric I knew the equation had changed."

"Jake knew about Eric." She states,"Almost everyone did."

"How?" I say,"How did he know?"

Spencer sighs,"My family isn't on the good side of the law Clara never has been and Eric learnt that at a very young age. He is dangerous, extremely so. The rich kids knew his name because... "

She trailed off and I saw an expression in her eyes that I never expected to see. Shame, I realised with a start.

"So Eric's into drugs?" I say. I'm not really surprised by the revelation really I always thought he was, he had that vibe about him.

"Dealing drugs." She corrects firmly.

"And the type of trouble Jake's in that he buys drugs from your brother." I ask.

I'm not surprised. I really am not. When I had come here with Spencer into the nightclub into a room that looks like its straight out of the godfather I knew it would be something along those lines.

I mean Jake did have hash brownies in his fridge after all and if he was in contact with Eric who looks like a drug dealer through and through what else could he be doing?

I didn't peg Jake as a guy who is into drugs because I've seen Jake and he doesn't seem the type. He maybe a bit annoying and downright oblivious but he was one of the most level headed people I knew. I've rarely ever seen him out if control except for when it comes to his father.

But then again, Spencer is not the most reliable source.

"You think Jake is doing drugs?" She asks looking a bit taken aback.

"What other conclusion do I draw from your speech?" I ask simply.

"Listen to me Clara." She says in an urgent tone,"What Jake is into make drugs look like child's play."

I raise an eyebrow at that clutch the seat of my chair. Somewhere in between Spencer's speech I had taken the place opposite to her.

"When Eric came to know about Jake he was instantly interested." Spencer says,"after all it's not often that the next CEO of a huge company lands at your doorstep. I had never really cared or paid attention to Jake's surname but that day was the first day that I suspected that Jake's meeting with me hadn't been as coincidental as it had looked."

"After that Jake and Eric started meeting often. They started coming to the club every night. I had never really been involved with my family buisness Clara, but because of Jake I started to. Because I've seen what happens to people when they are with my brother and I didn't want Jake to be one of them."

She pauses and looks at me for any signs of fear but she is surprised at my slightly confused face.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask,"If your family is how you say they are one slip from me about this place and your family will be ruined."

She scoffs,"You give yourself too much importance. But telling you is a risk which I'm willing to take if it means getting Jake to leave behind the mess he has created."

"Why?" I ask,"Why do you care it's his mess, his prob-"

"You stupid little blind girl I am in love with him." She spits out venomously and bitterly.

I know I should be shocked or even mildly surprised but all I'm thinking is good lord how many people are in love with Jake? I mean seriously? Next I'll find out that Samantha has been pushing me towards Alec because she likes Jake and my mom has the hots for him too.

Okay eew.

"You know when I said that I'm in love with your boyfriend you didn't look surprised or even mildly offended." She states.

That's because technically he is not my boyfriend.

Unfortunately.

"I think your kiss on the lips in front of me had cushioned your announcement for me." I say sourly recalling when I had first met Spencer in the ice rink where I had had a huge fight with Jake which ended me saying that I trust him enough to tell me everything when the time is right.

She looked at me bitterly,"if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't returned."

"It does." I deadpan.

She raises her eyebrows,"I can't believed that you haven't got up and run away just yet Clara, I underestimated you, I really did."

"A lot of people do." I say,"But eventually the regret it."

My mind briefly flashes to Michella and Natalie.

"What Jake is doing." I say trying to keep my voice monotonous,"Does it put him into danger?"

My question receives an answer in a slow nod from her.

"Look just hear me out, out times almost up" she says,"When I found out what Jake was planning with my brother I got horrified and trust me it takes a lot for me to be even remotely effected. I tried to talk him out of it, I really did but it didn't work then. After all Jake was determined and the only reason he had really come and talked to me was because I was an easy access pass to my brother and my family."

Her voice falters for a millisecond but she recovers.

"I tried to convince him. But the more time he spent obsessing over it the more distant he became. I've seen the good in him Clara when I met him. I've seen how kind he can be but I've seen determined he is. He isn't nearly as hard or cruel as he portrays Clara and he will not be able to live with himself of he goes through with what he has planned."

"What are you talking about Spencer." I ask frustrated,"get to the fucking point"

My patience was wearing thin now. I had no ideas how to process what she was saying because I didn't know what she was getting at. I know I should have reacted in some way but I was to confused as to what wAs going on.

As to what exactly Jake planned to do or was into. But one thing I understood perfectly was that the only reason Spencer was telling me anything was because she was counting on me to bail because she had some crazy illusion that would make Jake stop doing whatever he was doing and so that she can have him.

I wasn't wrong when I said that my sister wasn't the craziest girl he had slept with.

"Look I know you don't trust me, I don't expect you."She says,"But I'm asking you to hear me out."

I don't say anything and she takes it as a chance to proceed.

"Jake changed completely Clara." She continues,"Why do you think his mom forced him to move? Because its unhealthy for him. I'm sure she didn't know what he was doing but the change was vary clear. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to stop him the way he was going but when he came back to New York and I saw him in the ice rink with you."

She stared at me for a moment.

"My first clue was that he was smiling." She says,"And my second one was the fact that he actually called you his girlfriend and he has never ever had a girlfriend. I was instantly jealous. Could you blame me, really? I wasn't thinking straight when I went up to you guys because Eric was with me and I should have known better because when Jake had gone away he had actually gotten a chance to leave and forget about it. "

"But Eric's pushing him now."She says getting up tensely,"Everyone is. I thought he would break but then for the first time I saw him hesitating and saying that maybe they should drop it. It was chaos after that. Eric lost it. They had a huge fight and his entire room was trashed day before. They got into a huge argument but Eric managed to win in the end and they are going to meet and the final plans today."

"But they can't do anything without Jake." She emphasises,"And he is on the fence. All he needs is a push and you can give it to him. You are the only thing that can really."

She stops slightly breathless and looks at me her eyes wide.

"You really are in love with him aren't you?" I ask slowly.

"You should know how hard it is not to fall for him." She answers.

I really do.

"Yesterday when you came I had actually gone to convince him." She says shaking her head,"I even kissed him trying to convince myself that it was me, who had finally gotten through to him. But it wasn't.Usually he would do anything for a distraction but this time he pushed me away."

She didn't meet my eyes and for some strange reason I actually started feeling sorry for her.

Oh Jake how many hearts are you going to break?

"Aren't you going to say something?" She asks getting her haughty attitude back.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly.

"Don't be." She says confidently," After you run away I'm still going to be there for him and besides I still want to rip you to pieces."

What a total bitch.

"Feeling is mutual." I say back.

We lapse into a silence until I finally break it.

"So are you going to tell me what exactly Jake is doing?"I ask her.

"You won't believe me." She states,"So I'm going to show you."

I raise and eyebrow as she glances at pink coloured IPhone.

"Its time." She says opening the door,"You are going to have to be incredibly quiet."

At that exact moment I slam the door shut by mistake which earned me a death glare from her. She slowly and carefully walks in the hallway and reaches one of the last rooms in the hall. I mentally prepare myself for whats on the other side of the door even though I have no idea what to expect but when Spencer opens the door its empty and I let out a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding.

That's when I realised that I didn't want to know because what if Spencer was right when I found out I wouldn't be able to handle it? What if I actually ran away from him?

I wouldn't.

I couldn't.

I mean I just sat through as Spencer told me about how Jake was involved with her family which meant being involved at least indirectly with drugs and a gang family basically.

I sat through how she told me how Jake had basically used her through out all these years just so that he can get what he wants.

But that was the old Jake. She herself had said that he had changed and I knew that I couldn't hold what Jake in the past did against the Jake I knew.

The Jake who was kind, funny, charming, cocky and one of the best people I know.

But what she was going to show me was real and was happening now. What if I was wrong?

No. I wasn't.

Jake was a good person. I believed that. I mean why else would he help the girl who got dissed by everyone and hid in the shadows come out and show her how to stand up for herself. To teach her to do things that may not necessarily be safe but fun? To show her that taking the safest path isn't always the best?

I believed in him and whatever it was I was going to get him out.

She shut the door softly behind me. The room looked similar to the one before with its dark colours. Spencer slowly swung the door of the closet open which was completely empty. It had one single black computer in it. She carefully took it out.

She switched it on and pulled up a video on the screen.It showed something like a bar room where five people sat.

I easily recognised Jake and Eric and there were three other men who ever in business suits. One could be easily identified as Eric's father who shared almost the same features as him.

"We have got to act fast son." He was directing his statement clearly towards Jake,"You are only in town for a couple more days and there is a small window of opportunity for us to pull this off."

"What's going on here?" I ask Spencer whose eyes are glued to the screen.

"This is a live recording of what is going on in the room right below us." She explains,"When Jake started doing this I had a camera installed in that room. It's a usual place for the meetings to take place. No one knows about it but Jake. I told him when I had put it in."

I turn my attention back to the screen.

"We have to catch him unaware." It was Eric now,"That's the only way."

"I agree," one of the men say that,"Whatever said and done that man can sense a threat from a mile away but with Jake's help here we could easily do the work but we have to move fast."

Jake was passive to this and continued to stare at the four people as if he didn't have anything to say.

It was Eric's father now,"You gave us quite a scare yesterday when you were thinking to back out." He laughs nervously,"But I told them that you were too reliable for that, didn't I?"

The other two nodded in agreement but Eric minutely shook his head while Jake maintained his impassive face.