Lily finally caught up with her friends during lunch break, close to the cafeteria entrance. She beamed as she saw them because she could finally spill the news of the most cherishing moment with Ethan—their first kiss. Lily wanted to give them the big news in person, but she also had to make sure Loral was not around them. Knowing Loral, she would definitely get jealous and angry, making a big deal out of everything. So Lily had to keep it from Loral until she was ready to handle her outburst. But she wouldn’t blame Loral, though, because if she herself found out her cousin is kissing her crush, she might react almost the same way. "Guys, let's eat somewhere else. Maybe outside, the patio?" Lily suggested as she and Emily served their lunch into their trays, while Sarah only escorted them. Sarah already had her lunch packed and prepared from home, and Emily got theirs from the cafeteria. "Why?" Emily cocked a brow. They normally ate in the cafeteria, but there was also an outdoor
“What happened to your face?” Lily frowned as she finally set her eyes on Ethan’s face, only to realize a red scratch on his jawline near his ear. He was still holding her hands, but she parted from his hold to walk in front of him to examine his wound. Looking at the small scratch, her heart ached. If someone did this to him, she would never forgive them. "Did you get into a fight?" She gasped, using her hands to cover her mouth. "Were you also mugged?" "Mugged?" Ethan repeated, arcing a brow. A fleeting smile grazed his lips, realizing that might have been the explanation Brian and Nate gave for their ruined faces. “No… I wasn’t.” “Then what happened…” Lily trailed off absentmindedly reaching out her right hand to touch the scratch on Ethan’s jaw. Slowly, she grazed her fingers on the red mark. “Does it hurt?” “Nhm nhm,” Ethan hummed, shaking his head. He left. "Why didn't you treat it?” Lily asked, looking at him with a slightly annoyed gaze. Did he want to leave a scar on h
"Ethan, do you…" Lily trailed off, mustering up all the confidence she could. She inhaled, "Do you feel the same way about me?" she asked, not breaking the eye contact they shared. Although Ethan was someone she really liked, it was hard to read him, to see through him—the real emotions behind his dead blue eyes. She was no therapist, but she felt like Ethan was going through something that made him hide his true feelings. Or was she just thinking too much, like she always did? Yes, she caught Ethan staring sometimes because she was also staring at him. And there was also this strange tension that overwhelmed her whenever she was around him. But, one second, it felt like he was more than in love with her… Then the next felt like she didn't even exist in his world. Like… just minutes ago, she was talking to him, yet his attention was entirely fixed on something else… What was it again? 'I like your hair.' Ethan's words rang in her ears. 'My hair?' Lily thought, then shook her he
Ethan was glad Lily stopped him. Now, nothing can make him go any further. He started to scoot away from Lily's, but she grabbed his hand, which stopped him, then shook her head aggressively. He got it all wrong. "No, no, I didn't mean it's like that..." Lily panicked, "It's just that..." "You are not ready," Ethan told her with a reassuring smile, making Lily's eyes widen. "No, Ethan, I just wanted to let you know..." Ethan leaned in, interrupting Lily with a kiss. Their lips met in a gentle touch, and his hands encircled around her waist, raising her up to sit. He parted from the kiss when she was comfortably seated, then leaned into her ears and said, "Thanks for caring for my wound." "Huh?..." Lily blurted, cocking her brow. She knew what he meant by that, and it had her crushed. "Uhh, you're welcome." 'No!' Lily's inner voice screamed, 'It can end like this! Not when I'm this wet!' ֍ ֍ ֍ Ethan dropped Lily off at her house, and he waited for her to enter inside before his
“You want to break up with me?” he scoffed, a devilish smile dancing on his lips, amusement flickering within his eyes. “You promised you'd stay with me… forever,” he continued, his eyes reddening as his anger seemed to escalate, his expression darkening with each passing moment. “I … I” Lily hesitated. Her heart racing in her chest and her breath quickening. She shut her eyes tightly, mustering up a split-second's worth of confidence. “I didn’t know! I didn’t know that you were like this!” she finally yelled at the tall figure before her. Her voice trembled with a mixture of fear and anger. “You deceived me. I thought it was all real, I thought we were real.” Her voice softened, tears welling up in her eyes. “I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!!” she screamed, her emotions overwhelming her as she looked downwards, her voice reverberating with her pain. But her outburst was met with an unexpected response. Hysterical laughter suddenly filled the air, and Lily's eyes shot up to him
The cafeteria fell silent as all eyes turned towards the scene. Lily immediately stood up in shock, her hands flying to her head. Jace and Justin tried to stifle their laughter, but it burst out uncontrollably. “What the!” Lily's face flushed with anger, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time. "Hey! Watch it!" her voice rose in anger. "And what the hell is so funny?" Her narrowed eyebrows conveyed her annoyance as she glared at Jace and Justin. Mark scowled. "Excuse me," he retorted with resentment in his deep voice. How dare she- a nobody raise her voice at him? "You were the one in my path." “Your path?” she repeated in anger. "Wha-what?" Lily finally snapped out of her anger, realizing she was shouting at Mark! And getting on his bad side probably wasn’t a good idea. But regardless of who he thinks he was, it was only basic manners to apologize. "Quick, Lily, let's go clean it up," Sarah interjected, whispering, "Let's not attract more attention." "Uhh Lily, sorry… s
"Can I sit here, if you don’t mind?" Lily looked up to see the owner of the sweet yet deep voice; it was Ethan, the tall, handsome boy she had been secretly admiring, piercing her existence with his blue eyes. “Huh, uh-okay,” she stuttered. Quickly gathering her things, feeling flustered, she moved to the empty seat beside her. Ethan took his seat, flashing her a small smile before turning his attention to the front of the classroom, leaving Lily to wonder why she was so affected by his presence. But her thoughts were soon interrupted again by the arrival of Mark. He barged into the classroom with a scowl on his face, his eyes searched the room until they landed on Ethan, then it slowly moved to Lily they immediately looked away. Taking huge steps, he took a seat right behind Lily, throwing his backpack onto the floor with a loud thud, causing Lily to flinch, feeling intimidated by his imposing demeanor. "Mark," Ethan said, nodding in his direction. "Eth," Mark replied shortly,
“Lily is that you?" Her heart nearly stopped beating for a split second as her feet were suddenly glued to the ground. Whoever it was, he knew her name and that could either be good or bad news. Lily slowly turned her head towards the car, the tinted front glass now rolled down. And there was an attractive face with strong features watching her intently. Relief washed over her face as it turned out to be Mark’s voice, he was sitting in the front passenger seat, curious about who was driving the car. Lily bent her head lower, seeing Ethan behind the wheel. "Yeah, it's me," Lily said. She was more relaxed, at least they were guys from school. "Why don't you get in? We'll drop you off," Mark said, tilting his head towards the back seat. Looking at the tinted glass, Lily hesitated. Mark's offer to give her a ride home was tempting, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to get into a car with two strong guys she barely knew. Lily's eyes shifted from Mark to Ethan, then to Mark ag