As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams? ***** Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Published Under Summit Media, Pop Fiction. (What If It's Love) A story where forever doesn't exist. #BSS3

She looked up, tears drenching her dark eyelashes. She sees him in the obsidian shadows of the room. A scream is stuck in her throat, unable to erupt from her mouth. She tries to turn and run, but as she moves her feet and takes a step, muscly arms encircle her waist. She feels her body lift above the ground, and seconds later her back slams against the wall. His fingers dig into her wrists, making her feel a stinging pain shoot up her arms. Her eyes are shut tight. 'Open your eyes'. She keeps them shut. 'Open your eyes, angel'. Her head is twisted to side, wanting to melt into the wall. His broad chest pressed up against every inch of her skin. He slams her against the wall again, making her yelp in pain, 'I SAID OPEN YOUR EYES!' She opens them slowly and looks at his face. She can see his eyes, black pools of emotion. Obsession. Lust. Possessiveness. Desire. Love. Dominance. Angelica Ziva Kareem. A beautiful, young woman, who aspires to complete her degree in Medicine. Her dream? To travel the world, to be free and to help those in need. Gabriel Dominic Rodrigo. Handsome, dark, possessive. Rich and hard working to the world above. Monster to the underworld. His life? What he wants, he gets. And he has his eyes set on little Angelica.

Elevators. Airplanes. Palaman ng Sandwich. Yung feeling na papunta ka pa lang at excited ka pa lang sa pupuntahan mo. Yung feeling na palapit pa lang yung birthday mo. Yung feeling na palapit pa ang isa pang espesyal na araw. Yung feeling na ilang oras na lang ay pasko na. Yung feeling na tatlong araw na lang simula na ulit ng pasukan. Yung feeling na nasa gitna ka pa lang at di ka pa nakakarating. Yung feeling na malapit na pero hindi pa. Yun ang laging gusto ko. Yung nasa gitna pa lang. Yung nasa gitna ka ng dalawang bagay. Gitna ng isang building. Gitna ng langit at lupa. Gitna ng dalawang matatabang tinapay. Gitna ng byahe papuntang disneyland. Mas gusto ko yung feeling tuwing nagbabyahe kesa doon sa nakarating ka na. Mas gusto ko yung feeling na may inaantay ka kesa doon sa nandyan na. I always like the things in between. "You only like things in between, Coreen. You only like the chase... You only want me chasing after you. You don't want to decide... Pero pakiusap naman, magdesisyon ka na, kasi tao rin naman ako, nasasaktan. And you? I don't think nararamdaman mo yung sakit na nararamdaman ko... You are just too heartless."