Running out of there was probably the bravest thing I'd ever done.

Also the stupidest.

Especially when I realized that I'd come with my parents, which meant that I didn't have my car.

And to top it all off Jake's phone was switched off.

Brilliant Clara. Just brilliant. You forgot just how much life really hates you.

Well life can go bloody shove it. I'm going to walk if I have-

"I seriously hope you're not planning on walking to the airport."

I turn around to see Alec standing there with his cap off, his diploma in hand and a grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" I ask,"Why are you here?"

Alec shrugs,"It's to help you get Jake. I believe that's why you ran of graduation right? If not, this would be unbelievably awkward."

My mouth drops.

"A-Are you crazy?" I say,"You're missing your graduation for- what?"

"So Rebecca was right." Alec says,"The really messed up and senseless speech was about Jake."

"Wha-"

"Of course I'm right." Rebecca drawls popping up from behind Alec strolling over to Alec's car,"I'm always completley and undoubtedly right."

Then she turns to me,"Are you just going to stand there? Come on! We'll miss him if you don't go now. I don't think your grandmother is going to be able to stop your mother from chasing after you for too long."

I'm just standing there looking at the both of them shock.

"What the hell do the both of you think you're doing?" I say,"You're missing graduation for this. Are you guys crazy? Go back in now."

"Umm no." Rebecca says,"I've invested way too much in this relationship to back down now. I'm going to see to it that you guys get together."

"Rebecca-" I start.

"Don't Rebecca me." She says,"Unless of course you've changed your mind about going after him."

"No." I say,"But you-" I look at Alec and then back at Rebecca,"Don't have to do this. I can't ask you to do this."

"You're not asking me to do anything." Alec says,"I'm doing this because I want to, although I'm not sure what Rebecca is doing here."

"Watch it." Rebecca warns,"Be grateful that you're the chauffer which is why I'm not kicking your ass to fucking Saturn."

"Well you did pile on." Alec eyed her up and down, all five foot one inch of her," And I can totally see the Saturn thing happening."

"Try me." She warns,"I dare you."

He rolls his eyes,"I don't know what Jeremy saw in you."

"You never going to get to see it either." She bites,"I'd like to be the only girl who Clara has talked to that you haven't slept with and then thrown away like-"

"It wasn't like that with Sa-" He starts.

Rebecca ignores him and turns to me interrupting whatever he was going to say next,"Come on Clara we don't have time to waste."

"She's right." Alec says nudging me," You'll miss Jake if you don't-"

"Alec you of all people-" I start.

"No. I-" He interrupts and then turns and gives Rebecca a look who sighs.

"Fine." She says,"I can take a hint. I'm going to be waiting. You guys better hurry up."

She turns on her heels and opens the door of Alec's car and shuts it behind her.

"Alec you really don't have to-"

"I want to." He says firmly,"I mean it Clara. Maybe we didn't work out together in the way I wanted too but that's okay. It's taken me a while but I have accepted defeat because-" he pauses for a second,"-I can't compete with what you and Jake have together. I realised it that day when I saw the panic in his face when you were hurt but deep inside I think I'd known it ever since he came here."

"You changed with him. And that scared me. Letting you go scared me because you were my best friend." He says,"You're the girl who understood me and you're the girl who forgave me for whatever I had done. You're the girl I'd always believed that I had to protect, that no matter how many mistakes I'd make I'd still be your knight in shining armour."

"But when he came along you didn't need one anymore. You became braver, you became stronger and you didn't need me anymore."

"I fought a losing battle against Jake but that's okay. You love him more than you would ever love me and if I had just realised that sooner instead of holding onto everything so damn tightly then maybe things wouldn't have gotten so far out of hand."

"Jake Henderson maybe an asshole and a little bit of a dick but he loves you in a way I can't, in a way that I will never be able to compete with. So if I am going to lose you to someone, it's going to be him and I'm going to make damn sure that you get him."

"It's the least I can do after how much I've screwed up." He fnishes,"And I want us to be friends. It may take some time to the whole idea but-"

Before he can finish I've thrown my arms around him and I'm hugging him,"Thank you. Thank you so so much."

"What are friends for?" Alec says,"But you might want to let go considering this is still a little awkward and Rebecca looks like she's going to shoot me."

I quickly let go of him as Rebecca calls out,"Hey shitheads! Can you hurry up? We are going to miss him."

Alec rolls his eyes and I laugh.

"Come on." Alec says offering his hand,"Let's go get him."

I smile and take his hand.

I was going to get Jake back.

________________

Alec could drive very very fast if he wanted to.

He was still not the speed demon Jake was but that wasn't saying a lot considering that Jake could probably break the record for being the most reckless driver ever.

Alec on the other hand wasn't nearly as bad but maybe that was only my opinion since I was siting at the back hoping that he could go a lot faster as I kept on checking my watch. When we finally reach the airport Rebecca looks a little green as she wobbles out of the car.

I throw open the door and rush out only to stop for a moment when Alec says, "Don't forget to punch him for being such an asshole-"

"Okay we need to go now." Rebecca says pulling me towards the entrance, "Boarding must have started already."

I throw Alec one last grateful smile who in turn mouths best of luck and that's the last thing I see before Rebecca pulls me into the airport.

I'm startled by the sheer amount of people busting about. How was I going to find him in this mess?

Wait what was his flight number? Were we even in the right terminal? How am I going to find him?

These things were so much easier in movies. How come whenever the protagonist there did these things they all panned out so perfectly?

"Clara what the hell are you standing there for?" Rebecca says pulling me forward,"Come on."

No, I wasn't going to find him. There was no way I would find him. Not on my own. But then again I wasn't alone.

I had Rebecca.

She looked like she knew exactly what she was doing as she headed straight to the security check and without faltering. Her phone was out and she was talking to someone, rapidly muttering under her breath.

Who the hell was Rebecca calling now?

"You can't go any further." The man at the counter says, "Unless you have your ticket-"

"Here." Rebecca says handing her cellphone to the man. He looked like a manager of sorts and he gives her a confused glance but takes the phone from her hand none the less.

The guy immediately straightens up as the person on the other end starts talking and his eyes widen dramatically as he mumble a response. He quickly nods at Rebecca almost giving her a mock bow and clears the way for her to enter.

"You'll still have to fill out the forms, Ma'am." The fear in the guys voice makes me wonder who exactly was on the phone that seemed

"I'll fill them." She says cooly but there was something in her tone that was very un-Rebecca,"But you're going to have to let my friend here pass. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"N-No." The man stammers,"Of course not."

"Good.Now go fetch the forms, quickly." Rebecca commands and the man immediately turns and leaves as quickly as humanely possible.

"No one is going to stop you. Trust me."Rebecca says,"Go."

"H-H-ow did-"I stop, "You pulled the Daddy Warbucks card again didn't you?"

"Nope." She says popping the 'p',"I used the Senator Warbucks card. Now go before Jake leaves, security is tighter than usual because there was an unexpected VIP with excess security or something. Jake's on flight 595, gate 5B, I checked on the monitors. It's on Final Boarding so you need to hurry."

"How do you know his flight number?" I ask and she gives me a seriously, You're doing this now? look.

"Alec." Rebecca says,"Since their parents are using the jet, Jake is flying commercial. Alec knew the flight number. Now go."

"What if he's already gone?" I say hesitating. I don't know why the fear was coming back again, especially now. Maybe it was because I knew if he'd already left there was a good chance I wouldn't see him again. Especially since he would do everything in his power to avoid me. If I missed him, this would be the end.

"If you stand here like an idiot, you'll obviously miss him." Rebecca says,"Just go already. Go get the guy."

"What if I don't?" I ask,"What if he's-"

"Calm down. If worse comes to worse, I'll clone a Jake for you, don't worry." She says,"But let's try for the real one first, now shall we? So go. Go get him."

I smile.

"Rebecca?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." I say earnestly,"For-"

"I know." She says giving me a wink,"Now go so we can fangirl about this over a tub of butterscotch ice-cream later on."

I give her one last grin before turning on my heels and running towards gate 5B.

I was never a good athlete to be honest mostly because I'd never really tried running considering the fact that the inevitable result would be me tripping on something and falling on my face.

But truth be told I'd never really tried running because I'd never had anything to run to. But now I did.

Jake.

And I was going to get him. I was going to-

"Flight 595 has now departed." The PA system announces,"Flight 595 for JFK Airport has now departed. Thank you."

I stop on my tracks abruptly.

He's gone. He's really, really gone.

No, he can't have. He can't-

I had been such an idiot thinking that I would actually get a happy ending. It was just cruel of life to get me so close to one and then cruelly snatch it away. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't-

Someone crashes into me and I'm sent sprawling to the floor, landing painfully on my arm.

Brilliant just what I needed. Maybe that's who I'm destined to be with, the floor.

"Are you alright?" The boy who I crashed into asks as he bends down and peers at me with his dark blue eyes. There are two other people behind him, dressed fairly inconspicuously but their eyes staring me up and down as if they were assessing if I was a threat or not. One of them had a wire behind his ear kind of like all secret agents had in movies.

Were those his bodyguards?

I look at the boy more carefully and realize he was the same boy I had crashed into during graduation except this time he's not trying to hide behind a pair of shades and trying to blend in.

Recognition dawns on his face and he's about to say something when he's interrupted.

"Will, you bloody idiot I missed my-"

Jake stops on his tracks as he sees me. He's standing just a few feet away, frozen in position as if he can't quite believe that I'm really here. To be honest, neither can I.

Luck had never been on my side and yet by some miracle Jake was standing there long after his flight was gone.

Maybe life didn't hate me that much, after all.

"Fuck, Clara." Jake curses as her rushes to my side and kneels down next to me,"Are you alright?"

"You're really here aren't you?" I ask reaching for him,"I didn't hit my head on the ground did I?"

Jake chuckles and pulls me up to my feet carefully.

"You're Clara Wilson?" The blonde boy asks surprise written all over his face.

"Yes?" I say unsure how to answer.

"B-But-" He looks at Jake and then back at me before abruptly turning on his heels and simply marching away.

Okay... That wasn't strange at all.

"Who is-" I start but then I realize how close Jake is as he scans me up and down, his green eyes wide with concern as he asks,"What hurts?"

My heart.

I'm still kind of dazed by the entire situation the fact that just a few minutes back I had been convinced that I'd never see Jake Hendersom again and now he was standing in front of me giving me his typical oh Clara, why do you do this to yourself look.

"Nothing really." I manage to say,"My wrist hurts a little but that's okay."

"Your wrist is fine." Jake says inspecting it carefully,"It's not broken though it might be a minor sprain. I've had enough of them to know that they hurt don't hurt much. You should be able to move it just fine. I think."

"Let's test that shall we?" I say.

I slap him straight across the face.

"What the hell was that for?" He says rubbing his cheek.

Honestly? It was to check whether he was real or not. But I may have hit him a lot harder than I should have.

"Don't get me started." I say,"My list keeps on growing by the minute."

"Clara-"

"Don't Clara me." I say to which he rolls his eyes.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" He asks.

I'm not sure whether I want to kiss him or slap him again."To stop you from being such an idiot, you moron."

"Clara-"

"She took care of it." I say beaming,"Eric's not a problem, Michella made sure. We can be-"

He freezes.His eyes widen and he steps back immediately not quite looking at me. My voice trails of as I realize what it meant.

No.

No way.

He couldn't have.

He couldn't have known about this and still left.

I'd figured he had known about the fact that Eric was the one who got Michella pregnant taking into account what Michella had written at the back of the picture. It made sense after all, Michella was the one who introduced Jake to Spencer and Eric.

But I hadn't opened the letter until today morning which meant that there was a chance that Jake knew about it before I did.

"You knew about this?" I demand,"You knew about the fact that Eric wasn't a problem anymore?"

He looks away,"Y-Yeah I did."

"How?"

"Spencer called this morning." Jake says,"She had a lot to say."

"What now? she's planning to kill me?" I say,"Because if you think I can't handle the little bitch Barbie in the pink dress-"

"No she won't hurt you." Jake says.

"So then why?" I ask,"Why did you leave? Eric is not a problem-"

"I know but that doesn't change the fact that I'd put you into this mess in the first place." He sighs, "You still deserve better. And I can't ask you to choose Clara. You have to stay here, you can't leave your grandma or Cal-Tech, it's your dream school. I'm not going to ask you to leave all of that for me because I can't stay. I'm not going to let you-"

I slap my hand on his mouth promptly cutting him off.

"Shut up and listen to me. This time you're hearing me out. I've just about had it with your I don't deserve you speeches." I say taking my hand off his mouth,"And I swear to God if I have to listen to another one of them I'll kill you. And that would be a real shame considering that I really really like you."

He chuckles stepping a little closer tucking a lose strand of my hair behind my ear,"You can't make this easy for me, can you?"

I raise my chin up to meet his gaze"I'll never make it easy for you to leave me."

"But you know I have to." He says,"You read the letter didn't you? Why did you co-"

"Because I love you!" I say,"I love you, I don't care if you think-"

He closes his eyes,"Don't. Don't do this again. I don't have it in me to walk away from you and do the right thing."

"You say that every time and yet somehow you manage to keep on doing it. You say walking away from me isn't easy?" I say my voice rising,"Then how do you keep on doing it? Over and over again.Your definition of the right thing is pretty twisted if you think leaving me and ending this is the only option."

But then again could I blame him when I had done the exact same thing until Rebecca had told otherwise?

"I don't want you to walk away. I know you think you're not safe, that you're not good for me." I say softly,"But if loving you were easy, I would have given up a long time ago."

"Give up now." He says quietly,"You know it's for the best."

"No it's not."

"I ruin things."

"You saved me."

"Clara." His voice sounds pained and he's looking away,"Please-"

"For once just shut up." I say,"I've had enough of this. For once listen to me, hear what I want instead of choosing for me."

I take a deep breath in and then start.

"I knew you were trouble when you walked into my life. I knew it back when I met you four years ago, I knew it when you moved in next door." I say,"I knew that you were going to break me from the start. Maybe I didn't blatantly realise it then, but deep inside I always knew. Because you were the boy who brought the worst out of me and somehow that's the part I liked best."

"It's scared me, it terrified me, hell it still does, because the things you make me feel is something nobody can ever compare to."

"I fought it. I'll admit it. I used my feelings and my dependency on Alec to fight what I felt for you. And that makes me a terrible person." I say,"Because I was so afraid of feeling that way I ran from it. I tried to hate you. In fact you didn't make it too hard to hate you."

"You were, no, you are arrogant, idiotic, selfish and everything that constituents into the perfect definition of a horrifying combination that is a hiddeous nipple and an assinine manboob put together."

His lips quirked upwards into a small smile.