*Lily's POV*

I stop cycling and look back at Mason, noticing a worried look on his face. I... originally did think of asking why he said what he had that day since... we're getting along well when the thought of what he said that day comes to mind and I just... I wished I never said that we need to talk.

I tap my finger on my lap, my gaze moving to the cloudy as I think of anything random before I ruin the mood.

"Are you dating Sarah?" I asked in a breath, my cheeks heating up right after. Why did I ask that? I mean... I was curious but I asked it like I was jealous. I stole a glance at Mason whose mouth was slightly open in shock as he blushed. Yeah... I guess I was the one ruining our friendship.

"...Why would you think that?" Mason asks softly.

I let out a sigh, gripping onto the handle of my bike tight. "I heard a rumor about it yesterday and... I didn't know why you didn't tell me."

Mason chuckles at my words as I just stare at the ground. I really want to bury myself in a hole right now.

"Lily," Mason calls out, a smile I know is planted on his face. "I'm not dating Sarah. She's incredibly annoying and not even my type."

I let out a sigh of relief. So they aren't dating which means that she said that they were due to her delusions but... why does that thought make me feel happy in a way? And he has a type? Since when?

"Are you jealous?" he teased and I glared at him, crossing my arms as I did so.

"You wish."

He laughs, and I can't help but stare. His smile is pure, broad, genuine and... beautiful. It reaches his eyes and I feel a flutter in my stomach. Mason is... cute as always.

"At least you're looking at me now," he informs happily, his grey eyes meeting mine. "I didn't know you'd get jealous that easily and especially of Sarah. Is that possibly my cue to hangout with you more?"

He slowly stops smiling when I continue to look at him seriously, a sad expression that's clearly exaggerated now on his face.

"...You could've just laughed, but no! You hurt my feelings deeply. You hurt me so much that I can no longer open up to anyone or anything, not even adorable cats. Ugh... I think I'm dying from the inside."

"...Are you done-"

"No!" he states, shutting me up with his finger on my lips. "In this dark world, you were the only one who would accept me for who I am and follow me to do my shenanigans in secret."

"You would force me to tag along-"

"Nuh-uh," he says. "Okay, I'm tired of yapping but... I just want to say that I would never have a girlfriend without telling you but... I might stay single all my life."

I smile at his words, wondering if he'd actually be single all his life. For his looks and personality, I can hardly believe he'd stay single or... maybe he'll fall for someone one day. Yeah... with someone else.

"Okay," I say after a while. "Either way, we should quickly head to the mall."

He nods and we cycle there, a smile on both of our faces. I honestly wanted to ask him why he had said that that day and if he truly meant it but... I didn't want him to because I'm hoping that he truly didn't mean anything he said. For now, all I have to do is enjoy this little hangout before we go back to school and maybe we'll grow closer as classmates and as friends. I really hope so.

*Mason's POV*

We soon stop at a cycle hub which is fortunately close to the mall, park our bikes and walk into the mall. The name of the mall is 'Anton mall' which is named after this town, and it's a 5 story mall and what I like to call it, 'the mall for the rich' due to some popular stores selling things like ripped jeans for two thousand bucks like I'm always up for a spending spree. I honestly can't tell if they are stupid or their customers are but at least they're doing their own thing and earning a profit.

Lily and I walk by a beautiful fountain in the middle of the ground floor, some beautiful flowers floating in it. Fortunately, there aren't too many people in the mall so it wouldn't be as rowdy as it normally would be.

"How are we even gonna find the next riddle?" I ask Lily, my hands in my pockets. "Do we really have to search the whole-"

Suddenly, someone taps my shoulder and I turn around to see a sketchy guy straight out of a 90's movie, holding a piece of paper out to me. I hesitantly take it and he immediately leaves, adjusting his cap so it covers his face. I'm not gonna lie but seeing someone like him makes me realize that the people around me aren't too weird.

I open the paper, noticing a riddle written on it. "'Scooped and swirled, a creamy treat, in cones or bowls, it's pretty neat. What am I?'" ...I should've guessed that one of the riddles would lead us to an ice cream parlor. I look around the mall and fortunately, there aren't too many people in it so it wouldn't be as rowdy as it normally would be.

Slowly, Lily extends her hand to me, her gaze on the shops above the ground level. I take it as she leads me to an escalator and soon, we arrive at an ice cream parlor. So she noticed where it was huh... how observant.

We look through the menu, noticing a special edition ice cream that is decorated like it's for Valentine's day. Not gonna lie but they could've waited 5 months for the holiday to make a special edition for Valentine's day but it's fine since I can come here with Lily. But I also can't lie that this thought is causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach, I can't lie that I can't help but steal glances at Lily or admire her even though she should be just a friend to me. Ugh... she's driving me crazy.

I quickly calm down and I make an order for Lily and I which is probably due to her social skills. A while later, as I retrieve our ice creams, a staff member passes me two notes. Now that I think about it, how many people does the host know? Did he pay them? Bribe them? Or are they just some acquaintances of his who are trying to help out? I shake off the thought and give them a smile, collect the notes and hurry off to Lily to give her ice cream. She takes it, squinting her eyes at the strawberry ice cream that is decorated with edible heart toppings and white sprinkles. Honestly, I kinda wish it was cookies and cream.

"By the way, what is the next riddle?" Lily asks after a few seconds, licking her ice cream afterwards. I struggle but eventually get the paper out of my pocket, opening it so we can both read. "'Near the entrance, I stand tall, not quite a shop but loved by all; higher than most within the mall. What am I?'...Do you have any idea what that is?"

She shakes her head, continuing to lick her ice cream. "It's probably at the entrance but... it is some kind of decoration?"

"Maybe," I reply, licking my ice cream. Maybe it was... a mascot? But I don't remember seeing any mascots when we came in.

After a little conversation, we decide to head to the ground floor, searching up and down for the riddle and only resting when we're exhausted and have finished our ice cream. Sitting at the fountain as we face the entrance, I take out a small bag of chips, offering one to Lily. She hesitates but takes it, opening and eating it afterwards.

"...How many do you have in there?" Lily questions, her gaze moving to my bag.

I look at her confused, contemplating her question. "Well... maybe 6? If you want, I have some cookies and cream bars, cookies and cream macarons, cookies and cream drinks-"

"You're going to get diabetes at this point," she states as I hand her a drink.

"Hey... it's my coffee and I wouldn't lie that I'm addicted," I admit, eating one of the bars from my bag. "Either way, do you have an idea of where the riddle is?"

She shrugs, making waves in the water with one hand in the fountain. This causes the flowers in it to move and she picks up a white flower, examining it up close.

"No but... did you know this is a floating heart?" she says softly as she glances at me. "And it's very beautiful... isn't it?"

"Yeah... very beautiful," I reply, my gaze on her. I take another bite of my cookies and cream bar, hoping it stops my stupid heart from beating so fast. I mean... all I did was look at her and now... my heart is already racing like crazy. Maybe I should go see a doctor.

"Floating hearts symbolize purity, enlightenment and love and are known to be whispers of romance. They bloom in spring and summer in quiet flowing lakes, streams or rivers, their 5 petals shaped as hearts that are beautiful for moonlit walks and candid confessions," she explains, fully immersed as she continued to talk about the flower and then the others in the water fountain, occasionally take a sip of her drink.

I quietly listen, stealing glances at her once in a while. She's always loved talking about flowers and her eyes always lit up when she did so. It isn't a normal sight to see so I end up admiring her. Admiring her knowledge and how she expects to notice the flowers she talks about when she is much more beautiful than they are, when her voice is so calm and soothing to my ear, when... she makes my heart smile.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Do you know why the public puts flowers in water fountains?" she asks. When I shake my head, she looks at her reflection, her gaze calm. "Some say it's to beautify the fountain or that it's to bring hope during hard times but in this suburban part of Anthon, it's just a custom where the public puts flowers in fountains, and they are all cleared out at the end of every month and it kinda creates a cycle. I did hear that it's also done in the urban part of Anthon but I haven't been to that area before so I'm not too sure about that part."

I lightly touch the water with my finger, causing a ripple. Putting flowers in fountains is a beautiful custom but I had never questioned the meaning behind it. Since I was born in the urban part of Anthon, I kinda do remember seeing flowers in fountains, but maybe there was a reason for why it became a custom. Maybe the person who started all this wanted to confess to a love or just beautify a fountain. At the end of the day, they are just beliefs and nothing more.

Suddenly, Lily drops her drink on the floor, bending down to pick it up afterwards. I watch as she stares at something at the side of the fountain's basin, her eyebrows raising.

"...Mason?" Lily calls out as she points at something. I bend down beside her, looking and realising that it's a printed paper with a riddle taped on the side of the basin... That it's the fucking riddle we've been looking for. Okay... how the fuck was I supposed to know that the answer was a fucking fountain and the riddle was on the basin? Was I expected to have the smartest brain in the world? I mean... that's my dad's expectation of me but my gosh am I disappointing him greatly.

"'Gems and gold are found within, where buying bling can begin. What am I?'" Lily whispers, her gaze meeting mine. With just a look, I can tell what she's thinking and pack my bag as she picks up her drink and throws it in a nearby bin. Afterwards, I take her hand and we both look for a jewelry store as fast as we can.

•••

After searching two jewelry's store without finding the next riddle, we go to another that is on the 2nd story, looking through the items. As I search, my gaze stops at a red heart shaped jewelry. I open it, examining the box. The content inside is white, a small rolled up piece of paper in it. I roll it out to see the next riddle.

"'My gift is choice, a plastic treat, find the clue where purchases meet. What am I?'" I say, thinking of what it could possibly mean. Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder, looking back to see someone familiar.

"You ordered something here, didn't you?" Austin, an acquaintance with a minimum wage, asks, and I immediately look away, shoving my hands in my pocket.

"What are you talking about? I-"

"...It was two heart shaped-"

"Shhhh!" I say in a low tone, looking around to see if Lily is around, letting out a sigh when I realised the coast was clear. Fuck... is she find's out that I got two stupid heart shaped necklace with a heartbeat in the middle, I'm fucking done for. Especially since they're matching necklaces!

"...I didn't know you were trying to confess to Lily. That's quite bold," he states, arranging his tousled wolf cut hair.

I look at him deadpanned, his baby blue eyes meeting mine. What does he know? I mean... if I wanted to confess, I would've done it in college! After all, relationships in middle school have less than a 10% chance or even less for it turning into a lifelong relationship and in highschool... it's 10%.

"I bought it on a whim and I have no intentions of retrieving it," I confess as I rub the back of my neck. "I'll pay extra so please-"

He takes my hand and puts a box in it, tucking his red hair behind his ear. "You should've just told me you're trying to confess to Lily. We're friends, aren't we? And aren't you always making me listen to your nonexistent love life?"

"...For a friend, you're quite harsh," I say, putting the box in my pocket. Austin, who is somehow my friend, is someone I met years ago. I know him from working in all sorts of jobs but at the end of the day, he's just someone who tries to get money out of me so he either gets a tip or earns more money from his job. In simple terms, he's a golddigger.

"By the way, I got your names engraved on the necklaces since I decided to do you a favor. So, you're welcome."

I roll my eyes, crossing my arms in the process, "Anyway, you weren't in school yesterday or today... Are you hiding from me or something?"

"...No... I'll be in school tomorrow so don't have to worry about me. Actually, why aren't you in school?"

I smile brightly at his question, putting a finger on my lips, "It's a secret!"

"...You should go back to your girlfriend so please stop acting cheeky," he states, pushing me to where Lily is.

"See you then!" I say, waving goodbye as he walks away. I turn around to see Lily, her gaze on Austin.

"Was that Austin?"

"Yeah. Actually, I wonder why you two don't talk much," I confess. Now that I think about it, I forgot to say thanks for him giving me the necklace. Maybe I'll give him a tip the next time I see him working.

"I just prefer to be alone. Anyway, did you find it?" Lily questions, a hand in her pocket. "The riddle?"

I nod and take the paper out of my pocket, showing her afterwards. Just a few seconds later, she looks back at me, folding it. "It should be a gift card shop."

And without another word, we head to look for it, stopping when we see a shop called 'Hallmark Presents'. We enter it, looking for any love card and later find an entire section full of them. Fortunately, we don't take long to find the next riddle and gosh am I glad at what it had to say.

"'Congratulations! You've found the last riddle and here's how it goes. You can only miss me when you are away'?"

Lily and I both look at eachother, our gaze moving back to the paper, "Well..." I began. "It must be-"

"A home."

I frown, turning to look at Lily, "I was thinking it was something like... cookies and cream? Or-" I stop, looking at her. "...or you."

"...I guess you really can't go a day without it," Lily states, looking away as she puts the gift card back where we found it. "Either way, what 'home' are we supposed to head to? Or maybe it's the house we were at earlier with that stranger?"

"Actually," I say, a thought resurfacing. "He did mention when we were talking that he lives with his supportive parents and overshared some other things which I wasn't paying that much attention to."

"...Okay... we should start heading there," Lily announces, walking past me and heading outside the mall, her ears flushed. I chuckle at the sight before quickly following her, and soon, we get on our bikes, heading to the house afteralls. I'm so glad we're done with that scavenger hunt. It was nice but... I just wanted to talk to Lily a bit more. Maybe I'll get more opportunities in the future, which is when she finally forgives me for what I said that day. For now, all I can do is live in the present and hope that we can go back to being friends since after all, compared to my feelings for her, our friendship comes first and honestly, she will always come first in my book.

•••

We stop at the house, getting off from our bikes and ringing the doorbell. It's later opened by the host whose name I forgot.

"Welcome you two. If you've forgotten my name, I'm Henry, the host of 'Love Is In The Air scavenger hunt'!" he says, winking at me afterwards. From the corner of my eye, I see Lily give me a confused look, seeming to brush it off a second later.

"Unfortunately, you two are the last to arrive but-" he says, gesturing for us to enter. "I have some snacks prepared for everyone if you would like to stay."

I glance at Lily as she gives a slow nod and we enter the house. Suddenly, we're bombarded by the other participants, all of them being adults. They introduce themselves to us, telling us how they met their partner and giving us love advice, stating that we should embrace love and should cherish our relationship. Most of the time, I steal glances at Lily, wondering what she thinks about what they're saying. Her face is blank the whole time but I just can't help but think that she will never think of us as a couple and that... hurts.

Out of nowhere, a hand pulls me to an empty part of the room, turning me around so I face them. It's... Henry?

"How did it go? Are you and your girlfriend on good terms now?" he questions and I blush at his words, passing my finger through my hair.

"I mean... in a way but... I don't know. We're not even dating and I don't think I'm meant for her. Thank you for your advice but-"

"Do you love her?" Henry interrupted.

"What?" I ask almost immediately, feeling my cheek turn red.

"Do you love her for her personality and even her flaws? Do you want to make her happy because her happiness is yours too? Is life more exciting and you want to spend a lot of time with her even when you're busy and you never want to miss a chance to not meet her? Do you feel that you can be yourself around her? Do you hear her voice and think that you're only 'in love'? Do you notice that in whatever thing you're doing, your thoughts return to her regularly? Do you crave her company and feel this powerful urge and desire to connect with her?"

I stand there on the ground, processing everything he's just said. I mean... yeah. I do love everything about her and seeing her happy makes me happy. When I hear her voice, my heart skips a beat and I tell myself that I'm in love with her since that in whatever I'm doing, I can't help but start thinking about her. After all, life is so much fun and exciting with Lily and I will never miss an opportunity to spend time with her since I can be myself around her and that I secretly crave her presence. Wait... why's my heart beating so fast. Do I actually love Lily... romantically?

"Your face is so red right now," Henry comments with a grin, and I pout, crossing my arms as I lean against a wall.

"It's just... maybe I do love her but I don't know what I should do with my feelings. Should I confess? Pretend I don't have feelings for her? Let us drift apart?"

"...I can't answer that for you but all you need to do is follow your heart," he states as his brown eyes meet mine seriously before playing with a pen in his pocket, his gaze on it. "That's what I did before I confessed to my girlfriend since our love conquers all!"

I let out a sigh, peeking from a corner to look at Lily. Follow... my heart? But it's the exact opposite of what father told me to do. I mean... even if I do love her, she hasn't forgiven me yet. Ugh... I'm such an asshole.

I feel someone look at me and turn to see a smug grin on Henry's face, a question coming to mind. "Actually, is that the only reason you pulled me here?"

"Of course! What other reason would I have to call you here?" he says with a frown, combing his brown hair. "And if you're wondering why I did that, well... it was kind of obvious with the way you kept looking at her that you loved her so... I decide to talk to you."

I let out a laugh, hugging my stomach as I do so. He did it because he saw the way I look at Lily? "You're so weird but thanks. I'll remember everything you've just told me."

He ruffles my hair, giving me a soft smile. "Anytime."

•••

In a minute or two, I head back to Lily, stopping when I notice her talking to the other participants. Even though they're mostly talking, Lily has this soft smile on her face and I'm so glad I brought her to this scavenger hunt with me. I'm so glad that she's having a great time and... I really need to see a doctor since my stupid heart can't just not race when I look at her.

I take a deep breath and check the time on my phone. I guess we have to head back now. Lily notices me from across the room, giving me a sweet smile as she waves and I smile back, walking over to her. She's so cute.

"Where were you?" she asks. "I had to deal with most of them saying we look good together and I feel like you could have dealt with it better than I did but... I'm glad you brought me here. The whole journey was fun and... I get to see a side of you when you're skipping classes."

I can't help blush at her words, clearing my throat as I cover my face. "Then... is it fine if I say that... I'm glad I brought you here. Especially since... you're happy."

Her eyes widen before she smiles at me softly, "Even if we didn't win the prize?"

"Even if we didn't win the prize," I answer, stretching my hand towards her. "Since we're done, we should head back now, right?"

"Yeah," she says, placing her hand in mine.

We say goodbye to everyone and hop on our bikes, heading back to school. I hum to myself, a bright smile on my face. Everything surprisingly went well and there's no way I can ever forget our little hangout today. Even if I sometimes acted silly, even if I said those things to her that day, Lily and I both had a great time, made good memories, grew closer and I learnt that I... love her. Yeah... I love Lily.

——————————

Lily's Playlist

• Windy Day by Helios Relaxing Space

• Melancholy by Helios Relaxing Space

• Dandelions by Ruth B

• The Other Side by Hugh Jackman and Zac

Efron

• At My Worst by Pink Sweat$ feat. Kehlani

• N/A

Mason's Playlist

• The Other Side by Hugh Jackman and Zac

Efron

• At My Worst by Pink Sweat$ feat. Kehlani

• N/A