3

"Hello?" the young man replied in the same questioning tone. The first thing she noticed about him was his scent. He was powerful. Not an Alpha but almost as strong. A Beta most likely.

The second thing was the shape of his lips—top heavy and downturned. He looked like a young Johnny Depp. Young Johnny Depp was an obsession of Scarlett's. She would watch his films on repeat, despite being terrified of Freddy Krueger.

The guy on her doorstep had lighter hair, and his brown eyes had flecks of green, but there was a strong resemblance. 

'I need to stop staring like a lunatic,' Scarlett realised.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Riley, just come on in!" Adrian shouted from the living room.

Riley looked at Scarlett with a patient smile, waiting for her to move and let him inside.

"Oh," she uttered, stepping to the side and holding the door open for Adrian's guest. "D—do you want a cup of tea or coffee? I just boiled the kettle."

"Coffee would be great," he said. 

"He takes it without milk or sugar because he's a psychopath," Adrian shouted to her, making his friend laugh.

The pair of them bumped fists before Adrian pulled the taller boy in for a hug. 

"I miss you so much," Adrian cried.

"It's been two days," Riley said in a deadpan voice. "And I only live an hour away."

As Scarlett placed the coffee on one of the wooden coasters, she noticed the way Adrian was fawning over the guy and wondered if he might be gay. That would be super convenient. 

"Alright, alright, she's going to think we're lovers," Riley said, pushing Adrian away and dashing Scarlett's last hope.

‘I’m kinda glad this visitor is straight,’ Scarlett thought, checking him out with her peripheral vision. He was tall—even taller than Adrian, and his chest muscles were visible beneath his t-shirt as he shifted, getting comfortable on the sofa.

She took the space spot on the sofa and checked her messages to find a couple from Sienna.

"Well, what did he say?" and simply, "Well?"

She could see the little wheel spinning, telling her that Scarlett was typing. 

'What can I say?' Scarlett thought. 

In a panic, she typed, "He said yes!"

The wheel stopped spinning for a second before it continued and the words, "Yay, great!" appeared.

'Yay, great,' she thought, looking at Adrian with a guilty smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, looking increasingly perturbed. "What did you do?"

"I told her you said yes," Scarlett said, breathing out the sentence in one quick burst.

"What's this?" Riley asked. As Adrian filled him in on the situation—not painting Sienna in a very generous light—Scarlett made her best puppy dog eyes at him.

"Well you're gonna have to tell her you lied," Adrian said at last.

"I can't," Scarlett protested and pushed out her bottom lip.

"Well I think she's going to figure it out when she turns up to the date and he's not there," Riley said.

Scarlett glanced down at the phone and saw a tonne of messages from Sienna about what to wear and where to take him. She felt a prickle of guilt over getting her friends hopes up. This was so much worse than just telling her no, she realised, but it was too late to take it back.

"She's so excited," Scarlett said, hoping she could guilt him into saying yes.

"Why did you tell her I said yes?" Adrian asked.

Both Adrian and Riley turned to regard her, hungry for an explanation.

"I don't know." Scarlett shrugged. She didn't want to admit she was terrified of her only real friend. "I just... figured you would change your mind."

Neither boy was satisfied with this explanation, and it showed on their faces.

"Oh please, please say you'll go," Scarlett begged, running out of options, but he shook his head slowly.

"I'll do all your chores, your homework, anything." Scarlett pressed her palms together. "Please?"

Adrian and Riley exchanged glances.

"Explain why you seem so desperate, and I might consider it," Adrian offered.

After a long, drawn-out sigh, Scarlett proceeded to spill all the details of her friendship with Sienna and the other two girls—Tamara and Rose. Both Tamara and Rose were nice enough on their own and even as a couple, but when Sienna was in the picture, they became vicious, and would always pick Siennas side. She explained what had happened when Tom Grady flirted with both girls but ultimately chose Scarlett.

Looking back, Tom had treated them both cruelly and deliberately played the girls off each other. Scarlett did her best to avoid him these days, but he was always there, lingering about with his annoyingly sexy face.

'Tom is ugly next to Riley,' she thought, her mind running off track temporarily.

She looked up at the boys, who had remained silent during her speech. 

"Look, I know I've been a bitch to you, and you have no reason to help me out, but please could you do this for me? You might even have a good time with her," Scarlett asked.

Adrian said nothing, just stared at her with a strained, pitying smile.

Scarlett pictured what Sienna’s face would look like when she found out about the lie. She could see everything unfolding in her mind's eye. The three girls looking at her like she was the devil, telling her she no longer had the right to be in their group. Like last time, the other, not-so-popular kids would gloat and join in with the bitching and sly looks, and she would be forced to hide away, eating her lunch in the toilet with only the graffiti and smell of urine for company.

That sick, dreadful sensation came flooding back. Nobody could make you feel quite so worthless and disgusting as her crew of popular girls.

Tears formed behind her eyes, and before she could force them away the warm little droplets tumbled down her cheeks.

"I'm begging you," she said, pleading with her eyes. "Please say yes."

"I'm sorry—" he started to say.

"Please, Adrian," Scarlett cried. She flung herself from the sofa to the floor with dramatic flair, kneeling at his feet. "I'm begging on my knees, please, please say yes."

As she stared up at Adrian, she saw the indecision in his face. 

"When?" he asked after a world-weary sigh.

"Tonight?" Scarlett said, squeezing her hands together in prayer and giving him her most winning smile.

He turned to his friend with a questioning look.

"It's okay, I can go," Riley said.

"No, we were supposed to hang out this weekend," Adrian argued.

"Hmm," Riley looked down at Scarlett. "I'm sure your stepsister will entertain me while you're out with her friend, right?"

"Uh, erm," Scarlett stammered. The way he was looking at her made her nervous. Plus the way he worded it... entertain him? What was he expecting her to do?

She nodded, deciding it didn't matter. Anything was better than the alternative and a night with Adrian's insanely hot friend was just an added bonus.

'What's the worst that could happen?'