I grabbed the book I needed from my locker for today's class. I was about to leave when my eyes landed on Sophie's locker and I saw her there. I never thought she'd show up. I ran towards her and hugged her from behind. "Woah, what was that?" She exclaimed, surprised.
 
She closed her locker and turned to face me. "Are you okay now?" I asked her.
 
She raised an eyebrow at me. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" She smiled.
 
"Omg, are you and Ace, okay now?" As soon as the words left my mouth, her facial expression seemed to shift.
 
She furrowed her brow. "Who's Ace?" I let out a sigh. I knew it, there's something really off about this girl. She's definitely not okay.
 
"I get it. You're still not okay. Haven't you guys talked yet?" I asked, concerned.
 
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mira. Let's go to the room, it seems like you're the one who's not okay." My eyes widened at her words. Seriously, I'm the one who's not okay? Just one day passed and she already had amnesia. She suddenly hugged my left arm and dragged me towards the classroom.
 
I couldn't help but keep my gaze on her as we sat down. She seemed so different today. "Stop staring at me. I know I'm beautiful." She said without even looking at me, continuing with what she was doing.
"Admit it, you—" I couldn't finish what I was saying when she spoke again.
 
"Hi, Liam! Hi, Ken!" She greeted me with a cheerful wave, catching the attention of the two boys and making their way towards us. Now, all three of us were furrowing our brows and looking at her questioningly. "Oh, why are you guys looking at me like that?" She continued.
 
"Nothing." I shrugged.
 
"Mira, come with me." Ken interjected.
 
"Where?"
 
"Just come with me." He insisted, even widening his eyes for emphasis. Before I could even agree, he was already dragging me out of the room.
 
"What's your problem?!" I complained once we stopped.
 
"Now tell me, why is Sophie acting so strange today? As far as I know, she and Ace aren't okay yet."
 
"I don't know. It's like she has amnesia or something. I asked her earlier if she and Ace were okay now and she replied, 'Who's Ace?'"
 
"Liam and I talked to Ace earlier. He said he didn't feel like coming to school because they're still not okay."
 
"If they're not okay, then why is she acting like that?"
 
"I don't know, she might have lost her mind." Well, he had a point.
We were about to head back to our room when Briana, Rhian, and Sam suddenly crossed our path. They gave us a nasty once-over from head to toe, except for Sam who just walked straight into the room.
 
"Darn this bitc—" Ken was about to confront Briana, but luckily I managed to hold him back. "Just ignore them."
 
"They're so annoying! They act like they're so pretty, but they look like frogs who've painted their faces with watercolors." I couldn't help but laugh at his remarks. He's a tease, but he gets annoyed easily too. "Let's go inside." He said and once again, he dragged me back into the room. What's with these guys and their fondness for dragging me around?
After our back-to-back classes, Sophie and I headed to the restroom to freshen up. I silently brushed my hair in front of the mirror while she sang and touched up her makeup. I couldn't bear her pretense any longer, so I angrily set the brush down. She stopped fixing herself and looked at me. "What's going on with you?" She asked.
 
I stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Stop acting like you don't know what I mean. What's really going on? I know you're not okay, so please, just stop pretending!"
 
She let out a sigh and faced me. "You wanna know the truth? Yes, I'm not okay. I hide what I feel just to prove to them, especially to your cousin, that I'm fine and that what happened doesn't affect me. But of course, I failed. I just looked ridiculous pretending that everything is fine." Tears welled up in her eyes during those moments.
 
"Mira, it hurts. Seeing the person I love kissing someone else, and worse, someone I despise." She paused for a moment, overcome with tears. I remained silent and let her speak. I gently held her shoulders to comfort her.
 
She chuckled slightly. "Maybe karma hits me now. Because this is exactly what happened to them with his ex, right? I was the reason they broke up. I just can't believe that Ace would do this to me too. I thought he loved me, I thought everything he showed me was real, but I was wrong, it was all just for show."
 
"Sophie, that's not true. He loves you. All his past relationships were just temporary. But you, he truly loves you, he took you seriously."
 
"That's not true. I hate myself for believing him!"
 
"Ace didn't want to kiss Briana. You know he doesn't like her, right? You know Briana, we both know what she's capable of. She separated your brother and me before and stole him for herself. Don't let him do the same to your relationship. Just for once, Sophie, listen to Ace's explanation." I tried to make her understand.
 
She shook her head. "You don't understand, Mira."
 
"Of course, I do."
 
"No, you don't!"
 
"Sophie—" she interrupted me.
 
"You can't blame me for feeling this way. He's a playboy after all. He's capable of doing it again because he has done it before. He can easily hurt me and replace me just like that, Mira. Just like what he did to his past relationships!" I wanted her to understand the truth, but I also understood what she was feeling. I hugged her tightly, and her crying grew even stronger. In all the years of our friendship, this was the first time I saw Sophie cry like this over a guy.
After a few minutes, Sophie's tears finally subsided. I held her close, looking into her eyes with concern. She raised an eyebrow at me and asked "What?"
 
"I think you should fix your makeup again. Your mascara is all over your face." I teased with a smirk.
 
She glanced at herself in the mirror and chuckled. "You're right, I better do that."
 Afterwards, she headed to her dance club, while I went to the field to watch Liam and Ken's soccer practice.
 
As I was nearing the field, someone suddenly grabbed my hair and dragged me toward the janitor's room. "What's your problem, Rhian?!" I exclaimed, feeling the pain from being pulled.
 
"You! You're a bitch! What's so special about you that makes you get close to Liam? I should be his date at the ball, not you!" Wow, now I'm the bitch one?
 
"Is that the reason why you pulled and dragged me here? I'm not your problem, Rhian. Your problem is your insecurity!" I rubbed my head, feeling my scalp. Damn, that really hurt.
 
She raised an eyebrow at me. "Insecurity? So you're telling me that I'm insecure about you? Your fashion sense may have changed, but you'll always be the loser that I know. You'll never be on my level!" Wow, okay then. You win.
 
I smiled mischievously. "You're right. I'll never be on your level. And I wouldn't even try to be on your freakin' level! I'll never be a flirt or a woman desperate for attention from guys. I'd rather be a loser than be like you." I retorted, looking at her with a mix of disdain and superiority.
 
I could sense her getting angry at my words. Suddenly, I felt her slaps on both sides of my face. "How dare you!" She shouted in frustration.
 
I didn't let her slaps affect me. I glared at her. "Look how affected you are. Because it's true, right?" I taunted her. She was about to slap me again when someone stepped in and stopped her hands.
 
"Don't you dare hit her, Rhian," Liam said seriously.
Rhian was furious. "You're taking her side? She insulted me and she was the one who started it!" This girl is such a liar. Am I really the one to blame now?
 
"You're still lying? I saw you drag Mira here." Liam said, trying to reason with her.
 
"Liam, I just don't want you getting close to her because she's a flirt!" She pointed at me.
 
She's not what you think, Rhian. Until when will you accept that you were just one of my pastimes? Move on, Rhian! And if you want us to be friends, change your ugly attitude, because if not, don't expect us to be close anymore." Liam took my hands and pulled me away from there.
 
We stopped walking, and he faced me. "I heard everything you said about Rhian. I didn't expect you to say those things to her. I was about to admire you, but..."
 
"But what?"
 
"You didn't fight back. You just talked back."
 
"I didn't want to lay a hand on her. You know, I might get dirty. You know, like, I might get my hands dirty." He laughed at what I said. He playfully ruffled my hair. "You're really different, Mira." He smiled once again.
 
"Why do you always like messing with my hair?!"
 
He laughed again. "Because you're cute." I bit my lip. There's not a day that this guy doesn't make my heart flutter.
 
We went back to the field and they continued with their practice. I just sat on the bench and spent my time watching them.
Everything was over, and it was time to go home. I walked out of school when suddenly a car stopped right in front of me. The window rolled down. "Get in." Liam commanded.
 
"No, I'll just take a taxi." I replied.
 
"Don't be so picky, Mira. Just get in!" Ken interjected, stepping out of Liam's car.
 
"Well, where are you going?"
 
"My ride is over there." He pointed to a car nearby.
 
With Liam's insistence, I reluctantly got into his car. After all, we were going to the same place anyway.
 
We sat in silence as he drove, when he took a different route than usual. "Wait, this isn't the right way. Where are we going?"
 
"Just come with me for a while." He said, raising an eyebrow. So that's why he insisted on giving me a ride, because he wanted me to accompany him.
 
"Where to?"
 
"To the airport." He said, his gaze fixed on the road. With those words, I suddenly felt nervous because I realized that his mom and sister were returning home today!
 
"What?! Why me? Ken could come with you since he knows your mom and sister, right?"
 
"But I want you, and you're going to meet my mom and my sister."