Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Gina had just finished applying light makeup on Clara's face, she didn't have to put too much effort as Clara herself is a beauty.

"Now go get changed into something nice" Gina said, shooing Clara to her room to get dressed.

Rolling her eyes at Gina's words,Clara walked into her room, and straight to her closet. She brought out the simplest outfit she could find as she wasn't dressing to impress anyone, especially not the person named Xander. If Gina hadn't suggested and nagged her to use some light makeup, she would never have applied any.

She dressed in a white off shoulder jump-suit with tiny black stripes, pairing it with high heel sandals and a black mini handbag, Letting her dark hair fall below her shoulders and down to her waist. Checking herself in the mirror one last time Clara walked out of her room.

"You look gorgeous," Gina complimented.

"The outfit suits you," Raya said.

Clara nodded, giving them a small smile. She fished out her phone to snap some selfies when she heard the sound of the doorbell. Gina quickly stood up and rushed to the door and opened it. Xander was standing there with a bunch of red roses.

He was dressed in dark pants, and blue long sleeves which matched his eye color. He paired them with black boots and he had a devilish smile. Gina let him inside their house and Clara had to admit he was handsome.

She stared right into his eyes trying to imagine him with those Smoldering silver eyes she was In love with and Her mind went back to the man in her dreams and realized she hadn't dreamt of him for the past few days but this didn't make her feel any better instead worry sipped into for unknown reasons.

"Clara! Clara! " Gina called, but her friend was lost somewhere in her thoughts. Gina frowned and snapped her fingers in Clara's face to pull her back from wherever she had drifted away to.

Clara blinked twice when I sense return and she turned to face Xander who was staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite read.

"Shall we?,"Asked Xander. Handling her the bunch of red roses. Clara nodded and collected the roses and inhaled the sweet scent, roses were one of her favorite flowers. A smile formed on her face As she admired the beauty of the rose. She then raised her head to look at Xander" please hold a second" she said and walked away.

She went to pick an empty flower vase and carried it to the kitchen sink and filled it with water before carefully arranging the red roses into the vase and bringing it back to the living room and placing the vase on the flower table. She smiled with satisfaction.

She turned around to the people in the room and continued to smile" let's go"

She waved at her friends who were smiling before walking out of the house with Xander who led her to his expensive car.

Xander pulled the door to the passenger seat for Clara to get seated before walking around the car to the driver's seat.

He made sure Clara was comfortable before driving away.

Clara had no idea of where he was taking her but she hoped it wasn't one of those high end restaurants with fancy dishes, she had always found them to be boring.

After twenty five minutes of long drive, Xander pulled up at the parking lot of a restaurant.

Mere looking at the building Clara could already tell that it was one of those fancy high end restaurants that she disliked so much.

Clara opened the passenger door by herself and stepped out of the car, she didn't want Xander coming over to open the car door for her like they were some cute couple in love. They weren't and she hoped it remained so forever.

Xander had rushed over to open the door but Clara was faster than him. So he had no choice but to lead her inside the restaurant.

The inside of the restaurant was lavishly decorated. Tasteful artwork, flowers and candle light beautified the place. The classical music combined with low lightings gave off a romantic vibe. But Clara didn't think it was romantic at all. She alway found this ty

type of atmosphere to be tense.

A waiter dressed in formal attire came to meet them, offering Clara a polite smile before showing them to their table. Xander pulled a chair for Clara, letting her sit before going to take a seat opposite her.

Clara watched all Xander's movements, not letting any single detail pass by her without taking note, and Clara could tell he seemed nervous and a bit restless but she didn't care.

Clara picks the menu and decided to go through it. Seeing the huge prices attached to each dish, Clara internally rolled her eyes and laughed internally at her own jokes.

Meanwhile Xander was full of pride, he knew human females loved expensive things and they would run after any man they thought was rich and the smile on Clara's face helped boost his confidence.

Soon,the waiter brought appetizers to the table and then he took the orders before leaving the table.

Clara and Xander haven't said anything to each other since they left Clara's apartment but Xander broke the silence by asking if she liked the place.

Clara wanted so much to tell him a big " No" but she knew that would be very impolite. Yes, she liked fancy dishes but she would prefer to eat it with the person she loved. She liked to spend time with her mom and friends and hopefully with the person she would love in future. She loved taking evening walks and watching the stars as they passed by. She loved romance and this wasn't how she imagined her first date.

Wait!.... First date?

Clara inhaled sharply, she just realized this was her first date and she was having it with someone she didn't have an ounce of likeness for and she blamed herself for letting Gina talk her into it.

Xander watched Clara zoned out as if thinking of something unpleasant.

''Clara'' He called in an audible voice that pulled Clara away from her thoughts.

"Yes, sure, it's a nice place," Clara commented with a smile and started to eat the salad in front of her.

"What is your occupation?," She asked. her gaze fixated on the handsome man that was seated opposite her. Xander dropped his cutlery and wiped his mouth with a towel before focusing on Clara.

"I run a family business" he said which was partly true as running a pack was almost similar to running a business.

Clara nodded, refraining from asking any further questions.

"What about you? Have you decided on where you want to go to college and what you want to study?He asked and Clara shook her head.

"I want to study fashion designing but I haven't decided on which college," she replied.

"You know there…." Xander paused as a result of seeing the waiter who had come to collect the appetizers and replacing them with the meals they had ordered.

He placed the plates of steak on the table and then he skillfully opened the bottle of champagne and poured it in two wine glasses, bowing slightly before leaving the table and Xander continued from where he stopped.

"You know there's a university of arts and design here in Mystic Falls?" he asked and Clara shook her head. She really didn't know about it but she decided to check it out before the end of her vacation.

"Thanks," she said to Xander. And the two went back to eating their food in silence. As much as Clara disliked fancy restaurants she had to admit that the steak was nicely prepared and as they ate, she sometimes caught Xander peeking short glances at her but she still did not care.

Clara let her cutlery down at the side of the table leaving an empty plate, she had devoured her plate of steak and so did Xander. She sipped her champagne and then she decided to ask Xander some personal questions.

Clearing her throat she asked " will you mind telling me about yourself and family?".

He nodded his head" of course not". I'm Xander. Xander Ethelwulf, I'm 27 years old, I was raised in mystic falls by my father. we lost my mother to an accident and I have no siblings, he lied.

Clara noticed the change in his expression at the mention of his mom's death and she felt bad for bringing up a painful memory,and she tries to apologize.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to….".

"No, It's okay, that was a long time ago". Xander cut her off.

Clara swallowed, taking her champagne glass and sipping from it, when she heard Xander asking her a question of his own.

"Of all the places in the world, why did you choose to come here, to Mystic Falls?". He asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

Although he knew who Clara was and other creatures would be able to tell by the butterfly birthmark at the side of her neck and staying away from mystic falls would have been better for her. But it was already too late.

"After my exams, my friends and I needed a place where we could relax and mystic falls seemed like the right place". She answered.

Xander nodded before asking further.

"What about your parents"?. Why didn't they come along?. I mean it's holidays and families travel together during holidays.

Clara internally sighed at the question before she answered " My Mom is a busy woman and this was more like a girls trip" She said, not wanting to give detailed information about herself to this person.

Xander nodded but tried to put some pieces together to form his own theory, but it was difficult since she was guarded. "What about you dad?" he asked.

"We lost him a long time ago,"she answered curtly.

"I'm sorry about your dad" he said, but Clara continued to sip the champagne, not minding his last words, she could tell he wasn't sorry and the sympathy wasn't genuine.

He may almost be identical to the man in her dreams but she knew they were two different persons. The silver eyed man may seem dark and scary but she had never gotten any warning signal from him like the one she continued to get from Xander. At this point she decided to draw the line between them, which was the main reason she decided to go out in the first place.

Xander's gaze shifted to Clara as her eyes moved around the restaurant and he smiled thinking she liked the place very much so he said." I see you like this place, we could come back here next weekend, if you want".

Hearing his words, Clara's face turned stern and she decided to make it clear to him, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Xander, I appreciate your effort, the fancy restaurant and the delicious meals, even the flowers and everything but I never asked for any of this, '' she said. Staring right at him, and she noticed a change in his expression, she even thought his blue eyes flashed a shade of yellow which disappeared as quickly as it came, but she found it to be impossible, she shrugged it away and she continued.

"I can't do this. You're a good guy and I know you will find the right one for you, but I'm not the right person for you, Xander. She concluded with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Xander just nodded, his smile stiffened, his wolf snarled loudly in his head, threatening to take control and devour the foolish human for rejecting them. He cursed Xander for being stupid and Xander agreed, but tried to remain in control, at least for now until they leave this place full of humans, not that he cared but that was a reasonable thing to do.

Since Clara had drawn the line, they had nothing more to talk about and Clara proposed to take her leave first but Xander still offered to drop her off.

"You don't have to drop me off Xander, I can take a taxi back to the apartment"

"No, I insist, just let me," Xander said, picking his keys from the table. Clara had no choice but to follow him out of the restaurant.

Xander let Clara walk in front of him, his eyes searching the area as if sensing something and then his gaze fell on a raven, hiding at the back of a flower pot, he sneered before walking away.

He growled silently, never did he imagine the witch would send someone to tail him and Clara. He walked straight to the driver seat, not bothering to open the door for Clara this time as it wouldn't change anything.

The drive was a silent one, just like how the drive to the restaurant was silent but the atmosphere was even denser than before and Clara wished she hadn't taken Xander's car back to the apartment. The warning signals were more intense than before and Clara couldn't wait to reach her destination.

The drive was less than twenty minutes, and Clara was more than happy even though Xander drove like he was being chased, she was still glad to make it back alive.

Without wasting any time, she grabbed her mini bag and opened the car door and stepped down. she waved at Xander before quickly walking away.

She rushed into the apartment and she closed the door with a bang while gasping heavily. Her friends craned their necks to look at her.

"Why are you back so soon?" Gina inquired, eyeing Clara suspiciously.

"See. I told you she would messed it up. Didn't I?.Clara's more fit to be a Nun, pushing her to go on a date with that handsome dude was only a bad idea" said Raya with her eyebrows raised while She shaking her head.

"See how you accuse me even before knowing what really happened? Said Clara, getting annoyed.

"We know you, Clara" her friends hissed.

"Who's side are you on?" She pouts, stomping her foot on the ground while walking to her room, totally ignoring her friend's remark.

She knew they wanted her to have a boyfriend of her own. As she was the only single person in the group but she didn't mind it at all.