I Don't Believe In Fate

Chapter 20

I spent much of my week texting Shannon from my desk at work and chatting with him on the phone when I was home. We were both so excited about the weekend and since Max missed the Mars show, Shannon was talking about inviting him and Alex to Jared's house.

I couldn't believe he was going out of his way for my nephew.
I left work early on Friday and came home to find Erica, again, waiting for me in the living room. One mention of her possibly spending time with Jared had her losing her mind! "I thought you'd never get here. I hope like hell you're already packed." She rambled, watching every step I took.

I shook my head and put my purse down. "Can I pee first? Is it alright if I change my clothes Erica?"

"Change your clothes?" She repeated, following me down the hallway toward my bedroom. "Oh come on, you look great. Let's just go, you can change when we get there. Claire, Shannon fucking Leto is waiting for you. You don't leave a man like that waiting."

I turned around to smirk at her as I shook my head. "What the hell does that mean, a man like that?" I didn't even wait for her response, I rushed into my bedroom and pulled out a pair of jeans and my blue top. There's no way I was wearing my work clothes to LA.

She stood in the doorway, using her hands to express how stupid I was as she motioned with her hands for me to speed it up. "He is all sexy and damn, you know exactly what I mean."

She stomped back down the hallway, obviously annoyed since I appeared to be in no rush. I laughed, wanting to irritate her even more. "I'm also hungry, so you'll have to calm down and wait." As excited as I was to leave, I loved to fuck with Erica even more. I checked myself in the mirror one last time, listening to Erica pacing In the hallway.

"Seriously, Claire, come on, "She whined.

I watched as she picked up my bag and carried it to the front door. "Let's grab something to eat on the way."

I retreated from the bedroom and plopped down on the couch to put my Nike's on. "Sweetie, you need to calm down, it's gonna be okay." Two minutes later, I stood up. "Let's go, crazy." I grabbed my bag and waited for her to follow me out so that I could lock the door. "I'm driving."

"Just gotta grab my bag out of the car." She called out, walking to her car. I got in my car and was waiting for Erica when I heard my ringtone. The photo of Shannon lit up my screen. "Hello?"

"Tell me that you've left already," he demanded.

"Okay, I left already." I said, sarcastically as I sat there waiting for Erica.

"Smart-ass. Where are you?" He asked and I could hear music playing in the background.

"About to drive out of the parking lot." I told him, watching Erica slide into the front seat.

"Good girl. At least you can do as you're told." He responded loudly, clearly trying to impress whoever was with him.

"Aren't you funny. Are you always this bossy?" Erica listened intently as she popped her gum. A shit eating grin spread across her lips.

"Oh, sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet." I could hear him joking with someone else and they both laughed. He then returned to speaking with me. "We're just trying to decide what to eat. You are bringing your friend, right? Jared's here." I could hear a male voice in the background, whining for Shannon to hang up and saying that he was hungry.

"She's with me. We will be there in less than an hour." I promised and we wrapped up the conversation.

We disconnected and I drove the forty minutes to his house. When we arrived, he was already outside rushed over to meet us. "About time!"

"Hey, I drove as fast as I could without breaking any laws." I slid out and wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled the bag from my hand and took Erica's in the other hand, carrying them into the house.

He then introduced us to his brother. I had to admit, I was never really a fan, but he was definitely very handsome in person. "This is Claire and her friend, Erica. Ladies, of course you already know who my brother is."

I was expecting him to be an asshole, but instead he was very polite and friendly. It was just funny to me because he was the main reason I didn't like Shannon when I first met him. I originally thought they were both cocky, egotistical jerks. Jared always seemed so full of himself in the few clips I had seen, but he was nothing like that in person."

I grabbed Shannon's arm. "Thank you so much for this. Erica will never, ever forget it. I owe you one."

He grinned. "Really? Be careful what you say to me, I may hold you to it."