Love Isn't...

1. Planned

Dedicating this chapter to @gracefullygrace3 for coming up with the title of this book. I loved it. It's exactly opposite of Liana's version of story. :)

Enjoy!

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Chapter - 1

LOVE ISN'T... PLANNED

"Here you go." I nodded in acknowledgement as I passed the money and grabbed two beers from the bartender. He smiled back, as always, and I turned around. Making my way to the table, where Harry and I usually sat, I looked around the bar and found nothing unusual. An involuntary sigh escaped my lips the moment I reached the table and placed one beer in front of Harry and the other at my side of the table.

"Why are you so gloomy today?" he asked in his ever so cheery tone.

I raised my eyebrows at him as I sat down on the stool. "What are you talking about?"

"Okay, correction – why are you extra gloomy today?" he asked, focusing on 'extra', making me roll my eyes.

"I'm not." I scratched my beard covered chin and thought about getting it trimmed slightly. It had been roughly four months since I was growing it and roughly a week since I had trimmed it.

On queue my phone rang and I glanced at the caller id. With a clenched jaw, I rejected the call of some Mrs. Parker, who had been bugging me since morning. Harry noticed the name and understanding dawned upon his face. "Oh! Your momma dearest is calling you. Is that why you are extra gloomy today, Red?"

"Shut the f*ck up, Harry," I mumbled, focusing all my attention towards the beer.

"Andy, it's Andy!" He whined, getting into his character of the day of Andy from the classic 'The Shawshank Redemption'. "Something is definitely wrong with you today; otherwise you always remain in character, whereas today, you're not." He leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Red?"

With a sigh I looked up at him. Behind his always smiling face, I could see the concern he had for me and it pissed me off. I dragged my phone towards him. He took the hint and picked it up to go through it. "Twenty eight missed calls from your mother. Why the hell did you not answer?" He looked at me like I was crazy and I reciprocated the look.

"Firstly, let's clear it for any future references that she is not my mother. Secondly, why do you think I would answer her calls?" I counter questioned him.

In response, he rolled his eyes at me. "Twenty eight missed calls in the last three hours, Ashton. There might be something wrong because of which she is trying to reach you."

Somehow I managed to roll my eyes and gulp the sip of beer I had just taken after hearing his words. What if something was really wrong? Yes, she had always tried to talk to me in the last few years, but so many missed calls in a day was a first time occurrence. 'What if...' No! I shook my head to clear my mind off of the concern that was trying to come back. It wasn't needed. They didn't care about me and I didn't care about them. It was perfect this way.

As if sensing my inner battle, Harry let out a huge breath and suggested, "Why don't you call Dylan and ask him what the matter is?"

I wanted to pat his back for coming up with a sensible idea for once in his lifetime, but refrained myself and nodded my head. That little action in itself was a reward for him as he grinned and asked, "Is this for real? You're actually acknowledging an advice given by me?"

Choosing not to answer him, I picked up my phone from the table and called Dylan, who didn't take long to answer and greeted me in his usual style, "Lil' brother, how are you?"