"Mira, I know you're hiding something."
 
"W-what are you talking about?" Is this the moment I've been dreading? As time passes, my heart beats faster with anxiety.
 
He held both of my arms. "I know something's bothering you. You can't hide it from me. Tell me, did Briana do something to you again?" Oh. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he noticed my gloomy mood today because of my jealousy towards my mom and Briana's closeness. I thought he was referring to the diary. I'm becoming too paranoid.
 
"Nothing." I lied. I didn't want to bring up that topic.
 
He held both of my hands. "You're lying again. Mira, tell me. Let me remind you that I'm dating you and if I date you, it's for a reason. I'm here for you, I can be your ear and your shoulder. You don't know how much it hurts me to see you sad."
 
I gently squeezed his hands and smiled. "I feel like I'm just a breeze at home, Liam." Tears were quickly welling up in my eyes, threatening to fall down my cheeks.
 
"What do you mean?" He was just looking into my eyes, and I could clearly see that he was worried.
 
"My mom may be at home, but I can't feel her presence. Every time I have a chance to be with my mom, Briana suddenly appears. I feel like she's the daughter, not me. I mostly talk to the housemaids. But mom? She's always with Briana." I couldn't hold it in anymore and the tears fell from my eyes.
 
I cried even harder when Liam hugged me. "It's going to be alright. Maybe your mom has a reason for giving more attention to Briana. You said it yourself, didn't you? Briana's mom is sick and maybe your mom is just comforting her and fulfilling her needs as a daughter that Briana's mom can't do right now." Comforting? I don't think so. Briana doesn't care about her mom. Even a little concern, I can't see it from her.
Briana had promised to answer her parents' calls, but whenever she did, she seemed uninterested, and she couldn't even ask them how they were doing.
 
"And I also told you, what about me, Liam? Am I the only one who always has to adjust? I can't handle it anymore, Liam. You said before that as long as I can, I should be the one avoiding Briana. But now, she's doing things that are totally out of my control. I just can't wrap my head around what she's up to!"
 
He pulled away from our hug and faced me. He wiped my tears away with his fingers. "No, Mira. Why not do something nice for your mom? Maybe she's just waiting for you to approach her first." He said it gently and gave a weak smile. Yes, he's right. I don't know what it is about this guy, but when he's the one comforting me, it suddenly feels like everything is alright. I shouldn't be focusing on Brina, I should be focusing on Mom, instead.
 
I was about to say something when his phone rang again. He quickly answered it. "Yes, Ace, I'm coming." He said and abruptly ended the call.
 
He turned to me. "Are you okay now? If you want, I can just ditch practice to comfort you."
 
I shook my head at him. "No, go on. I'm okay now."
 
"Are you sure?"
 
I just nodded and smiled.
 
He moved closer and kissed me on the forehead. "I'll go ahead then. Just message me if you're feeling sad." I nodded again. He picked up the tray and was about to leave.
 
"Liam."
 
He stopped and looked back at me. "Yes?"
 
"Thank you." I smiled.
 
He smiled back. "Anything for you, Mira."
 
Liam has been my rock, always there to support me and understand what I'm going through. Whenever I was feeling super down, he knew just the right things to say and do to cheer me up. His kindness and support have made a massive difference in my life, and I can't thank him enough for being there for me when I needed it the most. Having him by my side brings me so much comfort and peace.
"Congrats, guys!" Sophie and I greeted them after they won their soccer match against the other school.
 
Liam gave me a quick hug. "Thanks."
 
"Hang on, where's Ace?" I asked, noticing that Ace wasn't with Liam and Ken.
 
"He's over there, talking with Briana." Sophie answered, pointing in their direction. It seemed like she didn't mind that Ace had spoken to Briana before her, his actual girlfriend.
 
"So, you're okay with him talking to Briana before you?" It seemed like Ken and I were thinking the same thing.
 
"You're not even jealous?" Liam added.
 
Sophie crossed her arms. "Guys, I trust him. And why would I be jealous of Briana when you all know—" I quickly cut her off because we already knew her line.
 
"That she's the reason why you and Ace are okay. Yes, we know, Sophie." I continued for her.
 
She was about to say something when Mady, who had just arrived, spoke up and stood next to Ken.
 
We already knew that Ken was courting Mady, and they had also told us about her real life situation. At first, we were a bit surprised and couldn't believe it because it wasn't obvious, but we quickly accepted it. There's nothing wrong with her being poor. However, only the five of us know about it.
"Do you guys know?" She asked.
 
"Know what?" Ken asked as he wrapped his arm around her.
 
"Gia, my fellow cheer squad member, and Zed from the basketball club are now engaged!"
 
"What?!" We all reacted in unison to Mady's statement. They're engaged? Why didn't Zed mention anything to me about getting married? They're so young. They're just eighteen and still in high school!
 
"You're tutoring Zed, right?" Mady asked me.
 
"Yeah, but wait, how did that happen? As far as I know, they're not even close. I've never even seen them talk to each other." I said.
 
"Yeah, and isn't Gia already in a relationship with someone from the swimming club?" Sophie added.
 
Mady leaned against the table and faced us. "They broke up already. They weren't serious about each other. They just loved to have fun together." She explained.
 
Mady can be quite nosy, which is why she fits perfectly in our group. Especially with Sophie and me, who love to spill the tea.
 
"Then how are Zed and Gia getting married?" Ken asked.
 
"Their parents settled an arranged marriage yesterday." Mady replied. I suddenly remembered what Zed told me. Yesterday? It's Saturday today, so that means it was Friday yesterday.
 
I instinctively covered my mouth. Maybe that's what Zed was referring to when he mentioned having lunch with his parents and their business partners and not knowing why he was included. Maybe Gia was there too.
 
"Seriously?!" Sophie asked in disbelief.
 
Mady nodded. "It's all over the Buzzworthy Scoop page. It's been shared so many times. Gia herself made the announcement. She seems very proud." I quickly opened my phone and went to the page. And there it is. It has almost 1.1k likes, 200 comments, and 400 shares. Even the soccer team's victory earlier is already posted.
After discussing Zed and Gia for several minutes, Ace arrived at our spot. He glanced at me for a few seconds before kissing Sophie on the cheek and sitting between the two of us. "Do you guys know?"
 
"Yeah, about Zed's arranged marriage?" Ken answered.
 
"No, the latest post on the page." Ace replied.
 
"Oh, the one about our victory? Yeah, we've seen it." Liam chimed in.
 
He took a deep sigh. "No, not that. There's a new post." He looked at me. "It's about Zed..."
 
"And Mira." Ken continued, looking at his phone with a shocked expression. About me and Zed?! Why did I suddenly feel nervous? I quickly took out my phone and opened it. I was surprised to see the most recent post on the page. Damn, it's a picture of me and Zed, taken when he opened the car door for me. It was the day he dropped me off at home on Monday.
 
'After confirming that Mira from Senior Year and a member of the Journalism Club is dating Liam from the Soccer Team, recent reports indicate that she has been seen engaging in flirtatious behavior with Zed from the Basketball Team. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.'
 
Stay tuned? What the hell. We're just friends, can't they understand that?!
 
I looked at the comments, and they were filled with hate, but one comment caught my attention.
 
Gia: You bitch! You had Liam, now you're flirting with Zed? Stay away from my fiancé!
 
Flirting? Seriously? Where's the flirting in him opening the car door and dropping me off at home?!
I glanced at my friends, and almost all of them were looking at me. Liam, in particular, seemed to be staring at me with a mix of anger and something else that I couldn't quite decipher. Before anyone could speak, I took the initiative. "I can explain."
 
"Go on." Liam said coldly. Oh shit, is he angry?
 
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking. "It's just a misunderstanding. It was late when Zed and I finished our tutoring session, so he offered to drive me home. That's all there is to it, okay?"
 
"Don't worry, we believe you. We don't believe what they posted. Right, guys?" Mady said. They all quickly nodded, except for Liam, who seemed to be lost in deep thought.
 
"We know you, Mira. We're aware that you're not like what they think." Ken added.
 
"It's just annoying how they make a big deal out of small things. Don't they have anything better to do with their lives? They're pathetic!" Sophie exclaimed.
 
"Don't mind them. They're just insecure." Ace chimed in, and they all nodded again.
 
I nudged Liam since he was the only one who hadn't spoken. He had been quiet the whole time. "You believe me, right?" I whispered to him.
 
He smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced. "Of course." I knew something was off, but I didn't dwell on it.
 
"Thank you."
———
Because they won the game, Ace invited us to go to a karaoke session after our group study. He said he would cover all the expenses, so we agreed.
 
We were having a blast. Singing our hearts out and laughing our heads off, except for Liam who had been quiet the whole time. We asked him if something was wrong, but he just said he was tired. I figured he must really be exhausted, so I let him be. As we were heading home, he suddenly stopped the car in front of my house.
 
"Liam, are you really okay?" I asked him again as he faced me.
 
He let out a sigh and looked at me. "I'm not. I'm trying not to care, but I can't. Why didn't you even tell me that he drove you home?" His voice had a hint of irritation.
 
I knew it. Something was definitely off. Out of all people, he was the one who didn't believe me. The one person I thought would trust me, but apparently not. "So, you believe the rumors that I'm even flirting with Zed?" I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "Is that how you see me?"
 
"Of course not. That's not the issue, Mira."
 
"Well, then what is?!" I raised my voice out of frustration. With everything I was going through, this was just adding to the pile. I don't know anymore. I was so fed up with everything!
He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I know you don't have feelings for that guy, but I don't trust him. I know he had feelings for you!"
 
"Liam, come on! Zed is just being friendly, and I don't think he likes me."
 
"He drives you home, for Pete's sake! And the way he looks at you in that picture is different. I'm a guy, Mira, I know what that means! At least, I would have understood if you told me or let me know that you were going with him." Seriously? Is that all he's mad about? He's so freaking immature!
 
"So, is that it? You're just mad because Zed drove me home?! For the second time, Zed doesn't like me! Seriously, Liam, the guy has a fiancé, and you're still jealous?! And another thing, you're mad because I didn't ask for your permission or tell you that he drove me? Who do you think you are to dictate all my decisions? Let me remind you, Liam, you're just a suitor, you're still not my freakin' boyfriend! So you have no right to control my choices and who I want to be friends with!" I was so angry that I couldn't control what came out of my mouth. I was taken aback by what I said.
 
It was clear from Liam's face that my words hurt him, so he just lowered his head. Instead of apologizing and explaining, I didn't realize that I got out of his car and quickly entered the gate of our house. I heard him calling my name, but I didn't pay any attention to him.
I quickly closed the door to my room and leaned against it. Damn, what have I done? I hurt Liam. I shouldn't have said those things. I closed my eyes, feeling so frustrated with myself.
 
I was planning to call him and apologize, but I'm scared that he won't answer because I hurt him so much. I don't know what to do.
 
Before I could even place my phone on the study table, Zed's name appeared on the screen. He was calling me.
 
"Hello." I greeted on the other line.
 
[Mira, about what they posted on Buzzworthy Scoop, I'm sorry.]
 
"You don't have to apologize. It's okay, it's not true anyway, so why should I let it affect me?"
 
[Are you really okay? Because your voice sounds so sad.] Can it really be that obvious that I'm feeling down?
 
"I'm just tired." I made an excuse. I wasn't really affected by the issue with Zed, I was affected by what I said to Liam earlier. I let my anger get the best of me.
 
[Oh, I see. Is Liam mad then? I might get beaten up later.] I chuckled slightly at his remark. But my chest still tightened as I remembered what happened earlier.
 
"I explained it to him. Don't worry, he understands." I lied. "But your fiancé seems to be mad at me." She had the audacity to call me a bitch.
 
I heard him groan. [I told her the truth. And fiancé? Gia is the only one proud of that.]
 
"Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure it's not hard to love Gia. Besides being part of the cheer squad, she's beautiful, kind, and sexy." I laughed at myself, complimenting her even though she called me a bitch.
 
[Beautiful and sexy, yes. Kind, no. And I doubt it, I can't develop feelings for her. I'd rather marry a tree than someone like her.] I couldn't help but laugh at him. Is Gia really that unbearable to him that he'd rather marry a tree than her? He can be so stubborn sometimes.
 
After talking with Zed, I went through my night routine before lying down in bed.
 
I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, so I ended up facing the ceiling, lost in my thoughts.
 
The guilt of what I said to Liam weighed heavily on me. Those words should have never escaped my lips. I know I can't undo what's been said, but I still feel the need to make things right with him. The problem is, I don't know how to approach him and fix things.