Matagal nang may gusto si Leilani kay Connor, ang best friend ng kuya niya. Well, she thought it was just a childhood crush na mawawala rin eventually. She realized now being friends with Connor doesn't help. And did she say childhood crush? Na mawawala rin eventually? Haha, she laughed. Who was she kidding??? 18 na siya and she still feels that odd feeling when she was 11! The feeling of liking someone, they said. She's not happy about it. As in, never. Why??? Well, Connor's still in a relationship with her best friend's friend, Aaliyah when she was 10 years old! Who would stand a chance??? 8 years na sila! And yes, 8 years and counting na rin siyang may gusto kay Connor.
BUT you know where she's best at? Pretending. She's that, "I may like you but still act like you don't exist."
Ganon lang, pretend, pretend. pretend, until you finally forget.
Then, it was her debut when she heard the news.
"Hindi siya makaka attend, Kins. They broke up."
Then there, something inside her grows. Something inside her hopes. She would do anything to help him move on, that's for sure!
Would she finally have Connor? Or Would she, again still wish he were sober?
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]]