Chapter Seventy-Eight

It felt like a bad dream, the sight of Asher almost doubling over with laughter in the face of the confession she’d tried so hard to get out over the past week. She couldn’t even see him now, the tears in her eyes overtaking her vision entirely.

She spun around, about to reach over and grab her bag when Asher seized her arm.

He was still laughing. She turned to face him again, anger flaring – what was he playing at? Why was he even touching her? Clearly, she was disgusting – not suitable to be a partner in any sense of the word, never mind romantically. She had to leave – cut all ties with him, the investigation, and everything that they’d had to protect herself from further harm.

But as her eyes travelled up to his face, blinking back her tears, she caught sight of tears falling down Asher’s own face. The laughter that she thought she’d heard just now – was that… sobbing? Had he been sobbing from the start? Why would he be sobbing? Was the idea of Lila confessing to him that depressing?

“Even… when my wildest dreams are answered, and everything that I’ve ever wanted is right in front of me,” he whispered, his entire body trembling. “I still can’t have it.”

His grip on her arm tightened, before gently releasing the pressure entirely. She abandoned her original plan of escape for the moment as she stood there, transfixed and waiting for him to continue. The cogs of her mind were turning slowly, unable (or unwilling) to speculate what he meant. The fact that he was crying… whatever he was feeling must’ve been intense – that, at least, was apparent.

“S-Sorry,” Asher finally said, wiping away his tears. “I… sorry. This… is fucked.”

It was as though his words were armed with knives, digging deep into her chest, cutting her heart and her soul. Fucked? What? Her confession? Should she take it back? Pretend it never happened? What did he mean, wildest dreams? He still can’t have it?

“I… I’m so confused,” Lila uttered quietly. Asher gave her a watery smile and gestured for her to sit down. She did, though she was still in half a mind to leave and start walking home. He sat down as well and took a big, gulping breath.

“Lila, I like you too,” he admitted after a pause, his voice quivering with each syllable. “In that way. Not just as my best friend. I have done since about Grade 7 or 8. Even when I was with Holly… I thought I’d finally shaken it, that I’d given up on the idea of us together. Then we got paired for English. That… was the happiest I’d felt since, well… since Mum went missing. And when you noticed that I’d… changed a bit… that was the second happiest I’d felt since Mum went missing. But then I felt so guilty. Guilty about having a crush on you while being with Holly. So I tried to push it down. It didn’t work.”

He looked back at Lila, pain contorting his strikingly handsome face. “She’s ruined me, Lila. Even though we’re done, she’s still fucking haunting me. She’s ruined me, and now she’s ruined the one thing that I thought would never happen. And I can’t do that to you. I can’t… I can’t give myself to you when I’m this broken. And I’m so fucking angry with myself…”

He gave a short, sarcastic laugh before continuing. “She asked me out, and I thought that she was pretty and smart and good at debating, so why not give it a go? If I’d only known that you’d finally start to like me back, I would’ve turned her down.”

As soon as the words left his lips, he crumpled, his head almost falling into his lap as he began to openly sob. Lila tried to comprehend what Asher had said to her. He… liked her? For years? Even while dating Holly?

The dying embers of hope that she’d been snuffing out over the past week or so flickered to life within her. Though… the imagery of Lila smiling the afternoon she found out Asher had dumped Holly flashed in her mind’s eye, its sudden appearance nearly blowing them out completely. Aside from feeling utterly disgusted with herself, the thought that Holly was no longer in the way after Asher dumped her was evidently entirely wrong. Somehow, she was still in the way…

“P-Please say something,” Asher’s voice came out in a whimper, his breathing slowing back down to normal as he held his head in his hands.

“… Asher… I… I’ve been pretty convinced that you didn’t like me in that way,” Lila said softly. He jerked his head up, looking at her intently.

“Why?” he queried, tilting his head in confusion. “It’s not like I told you that. And… I’ve been told that it’s blindingly obvious.”

“Well…” Lila readjusted her seated position uneasily. She briefly thought about not throwing Isaac under the bus, but the intensity of Asher’s curious gaze was forcing her hand. “I-Isaac told me. A little while back. He said that you said that you didn’t like me like that anymore. You guys got into a fight about it, kinda.”

Asher blinked slowly at her before his face turned red. “I guess that did happen.”

“Why?”

Asher gave a heavy sigh before a contemptuous smile settled on his face, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling. “I didn’t want to tell Isaac that I liked you.” He gave her a sideways look before continuing. “It didn’t feel right. Like I said, I’d been feeling guilty. Then after I broke up with her, it still felt like I couldn’t, or shouldn’t, keep liking you. I just… didn’t want him to think badly of me.”

Lila nodded, though she didn’t entirely understand. She began picking at her nails as she tried to think of what else to say.

“I… also thought you were out of my league,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Since… you’re you. Smart, good at soccer… among other things… and I’m just me. You’re… you could get so much better. I didn’t have a shot.”

Asher looked at her fiercely, grabbing her lightly by the shoulders. “Lila, I’d thought the same about you. That you were too good for me. That you’d get with someone better… someone like Theo. Or Isaac.”

Lila shook her head emphatically. She was struck by her brother’s words, about Lila’s past with Isaac giving Asher insecurity…

“If Isaac hadn’t broken up with me, I would’ve broken up with him around the same time,” Lila explained, avoiding Asher’s gaze. He let go of her shoulders in apparent shock.

“Why?”

“He… he’s a great guy, but he’s just not for me. We’re better off as friends. It felt awkward and unnatural to be close to him. There wasn’t really any romantic attraction there in the end.”

“Didn’t you guys kiss, though?”

“You’re going to go there?” Lila asked incredulously. His face was clearly nervous as he gave her a sharp nod. Lila shifted awkwardly, readjusting the hem of her dress.

“We did end up kissing a couple of times. And by couple, I mean literally. The first… wasn’t great, so we tried again and it was somehow worse. I definitely didn’t want to do that again. A few days later, we broke up. He’d asked me out, and I said yes ‘cause I thought he was cute. We didn’t really know each other well at the time. I guess… you could say that I didn’t ever really have a ‘crush’ on Isaac. At least… not one that feels like this.” Lila could feel that her face was turning scarlet, but she continued to look at Asher, waiting for his reaction.

“Oh,” he uttered softly. He then started grinning before placing a hand over his face, hiding it entirely. “Sorry,” he said. “I just… I kinda thought that you really liked Isaac, at least back then.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. It wasn’t necessarily awkward… but there was something different in the air now. It was as though all pretence had melted away. She snuck another peek at Asher, who seemed to be going through the full spectrum of emotions – and, for once, none of them were mystifying.

“You seem… really conflicted,” Lila observed quietly, looking back at her half-finished cup of juice. She picked it up and drank the rest as she waited for Asher to speak.

“I… want nothing more,” he whispered, staring at his hands, “than to ask you to be mine right now. But…”

“That’s all I need,” Lila interjected, her heart fluttering in her chest. “I… knew that… you’d still be healing from the Holly situation. I wanted to wait, but I couldn’t keep it in anymore. Especially since we’re doing all this investigation work. Um… all I wanted was to let you know. Well… that’s a lie. Obviously, I’d want to actually, y’know, date and all that, but… it’s fine.”

Despite saying that it was fine, a small tear slid down her face. It was fine. But she couldn’t deny that she wished there was a different outcome. She wiped it away with a sharp inhale before looking back at her hands.

“You… don’t have to wait for me,” Asher replied, his voice sounding strained.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lila asked, whipping her head around to Asher, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“’Cause I just… don’t know when or if I’d be able to. I don’t want to be unfair to you. I… know this is technically a rejection, and it hurts me that I have to do this. So… feel free to forget about me in that way. Theo… seems like he genuinely likes you. At least, from what he said after soccer practice.”

His eyes were shining with unshed tears as he said this, and Lila stood up.

“I’ll wait for as long as it takes,” she said firmly. “Honestly, just hanging out with you is enough for me. And knowing that you like me too… that’s all I need.”

“Are you sure?”

Lila took a deep breath before looking directly into his eyes. “I’m sure.”

“If you’re sure…” he trailed off indistinctly before also standing up. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Lila shook her head. “I’m actually… kinda glad that you’re thinking about this seriously. I know you’re responsible, almost to a fault. And… I’ve told you plenty of times that I trust you.”

“You’re only kinda glad?” Asher rubbed his face before smiling softly at her. “Of course I’ve been thinking about this. For a very long time. I couldn’t escape it with both Isaac and Daniel breathing down my neck about it. I’m glad you think I’m responsible, though. The way those two were going on about it, I’d almost second-guessed myself.”

“Wait, what? Daniel?”

“Didya think we were just sitting there quietly while I was redoing the books?” he asked, though not unkindly. “He confronted me about it almost constantly after I let slip that I like you. He got into my head about you liking me back… then you went on a date with Theo. And I got really confused. Then you said that you like someone more intellectual, when I asked if you liked Isaac again, so I stopped hoping that you liked me back.”

“Asher, for someone so smart, you can be such a dummy,” Lila laughed, all the tension she’d been holding on to seemingly leaving with her laughter. “I was talking about you.”

His face turned a bright red – almost glowing – as he hid behind his hands again. “Oh,” he rasped. “I feel so stupid.”

He paused for a moment before letting out a visceral, “FUCK!” and slapping the sides of his face. “I’ve been such a dick,” he said, chuckling humourlessly. “For ages. To you. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t know,” Lila replied plainly. “You can only do the best you can with the information you have. I… kept denying my feelings for a while. Then, when I figured my shit out, I freaked out for a bit. I… was scared.”

“Well, that’s relatable,” he smiled at her tenderly, before speaking again, his voice cracking slightly. “I’ve been scared, too.”

Before Lila could say anything else, her phone buzzed on the coffee table and they both jumped. She picked it up – her Mum was outside.

“I… have to go,” she said reluctantly, gathering her things.

“W-What’re you doing tomorrow?” Asher asked hurriedly, walking with her to the door of the rumpus room. Lila bit her bottom lip contemplatively. She sighed, avoiding his gaze, though she could feel his excited energy from where she stood.

“Nothing but… I think I’ll need to process this,” she said uncertainly. “It… well… we’re in a bit of a weird spot, I guess. And I want to… reconcile all that in my head.”

“That makes sense,” Asher replied slowly, his disappointment apparent in his tone.

They made their way downstairs in silence, except for when they passed the kitchen. Asher called out to Marlene again to let her know Lila was leaving. Marlene exited the butler’s pantry, wiping her soapy hands on her tea towel.

“I’m sad to see you go,” Marlene said sweetly to Lila. “And judging by Mr Wagner’s expression, he is also sad to see you go. Surely you would want to stay the night? Since it’s school holidays.”

The way that Marlene said this, with a knowing smile, made Lila think for a brief moment that Marlene had overheard her conversation with Asher just now. But, that was impossible. They’d been far away from the door. With a shake of her head, Lila put it down to her overthinking. Marlene seemed to take this as an answer to her question as she nodded in response. Lila glanced at Asher – his face was a brilliant, deep shade of crimson, and he stiffly moved along without another word to Marlene.

Punching the numbers into the security system, he turned to Lila with a deep sigh.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“I… guess I’ll be seeing you on Wednesday?” It was less of a statement than it was a question. He slowly opened the door for her as he waited for her response.

“Well, you’ll have to let me know if we need to establish a pattern,” Lila smiled as she put her shoes back on. He looked at her, puzzled, for a moment before checking behind him and nodding.

“Right… I mean… we could just go anyway,” he said hesitantly. The expression he had on his face, incredibly familiar but previously indecipherable, seemed to Lila like longing. As soon as she placed the feeling, a stinging sensation in her chest caught her off guard and she cast her eyes to the floor.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, if we’re… how we are. Without a goal in mind,” she said softly. She could hear him inhale harshly before he spoke.

“Alright,” he said. “I get that you’re trying to be responsible too. I… I’m sorry. Again.”

He moved his arms strangely, stretching towards her for a moment as if wanting to pull her into a hug and she took a step back. It was too soon for anything like that, if they weren’t going to take it further for now. He seemed to have noticed her soft refusal in the way his face became crestfallen.

“I guess we’ll message each other,” he said quietly.

“Definitely,” Lila replied just as quietly. Neither of them seemed to want to move from the doorway.

“W-Well, let me walk you to the car, at least,” Asher suggested, grabbing a pair of slip-on shoes. Lila didn’t disagree, at least, and they walked silently to Lila’s Mum’s idling car. The L-plates were on the windshields, and her Mum was already in the passenger seat, playing Candy Crush. Lila opened the passenger side door and passed her bag to her Mum, who looked up.

“Oh, hello, Asher,” Lila’s Mum beamed. “It’s nice to see you again. We’ve missed you at the house. Did you two have a good day?”

“It… was a day,” Lila replied before gently closing the door. She saw Asher wince out of the corner of her eye and she turned around to face him.

“See you later,” she said simply.

His face looked incredibly guilty as he mumbled, “See you.”

It was probably best that she left now, before the negativity from her confession, and the aftermath, took hold. Swallowing hard, she headed to the driver’s side and hopped in, taking one last look at Asher before driving off into the night.

----------------------------------------

Lila was still struggling to come to terms with what happened by the time the sun rose on Sunday morning. She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink, her mind going through giddiness at having told him the truth, joy that he felt the same, dejection at having been rejected in a technical sense due to Holly, and absolute anxiety at having to face him again. She had even heard Clare come back in at about 3am, stumbling up the stairs and yawning profusely.

So, when 9.30am rolled around, and she was still awake, she thought about heading over to Clare’s room to talk about what had happened. Just as she mustered the strength to sit up and shuffle over that way, Clare kicked open the door to her room with a “Hurrah!”

“Get in the car, loser, we’re getting Maccas,” Clare announced, still in her pyjamas and her hands on her hips. Lila blinked up at her in surprise.

“You seem happy,” Lila said warily. “What did you do?”

“Me?” Clare asked, bemused. “I just want the goss, sis. Let’s go, let’s go!”

“It’s because you’ve spent a hot minute being deprived of your nosiness, isn’t it?” Lila asked with a small smile, sitting up and stretching.

“I am shocked and appalled that you are absolutely right, so quickly in the morning,” Clare replied dramatically before leaving Lila’s room and banging on Daniel’s door.

“Oi, we’re going to Maccas, want anything?” she called loudly through his door. Lila could hear indistinct grumbling before Clare opened Daniel’s door and stuck her head in the room. As they talked, Lila pulled on a hoodie over her pyjamas and put on some mismatched socks.

“… can’t I go?” Lila heard Daniel whine as she shambled out of her room, yawning.

“It’s a sisterly thing,” Clare retorted. “You should feel privileged that I’m even offering to get you something.”

Lila could almost hear Daniel rolling his eyes as she tapped Clare on the shoulder and gestured that she was heading downstairs. Clare joined her soon after, having wrangled Daniel’s order out of his half-asleep brain, and they jumped into the car.

“Sooo,” Clare said serenely, peering over at Lila as they headed down the street. “What happened?”

“Honestly? I don’t actually know,” Lila replied despondently, sliding down her seat so she could only just see over the dashboard. “I managed to tell him I liked him.”

“And then?!” Clare demanded, zooming around a corner. Lila slammed against the door with the force of some unfortunate physics and an “Ow!”. She sat up straighter, leaning her head against the window.

“And… he said he likes me too.”

“I knew it!” Clare squealed. “So, are you dating?”

Lila paused, her face falling. “No.”

“Oh.” The delight Clare had possessed only a second ago vanished in an instant. “That’s anticlimactic. In more ways than one, I suppose.”

“I’m going to pretend I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Good.”

They drove on for a minute or so before Clare sighed. “He’s still hung up about his ex, then?”

“It… well… yeah.”

“It’s been, like, what, two months? Ish? More? Less? Surely a high school relationship doesn’t devastate a guy that much. Not when the next in line is someone like you,” Clare reached over and pinched Lila’s nose as she continued to drive. Lila smacked Clare’s hand away with another sigh.

“I… didn’t tell you what happened with that, did I?”

“What d’ya mean?”

“I just told you they broke up. Well… Asher dumped her.”

“Go on,” Clare encouraged, her eyes on the road.

“… she’s pregnant.”

“Holy shit, dammit!” Clare swerved slightly, startling a relaxing pigeon that was sitting on the road into flight. “Dude, WHAT? He’s going to be a teen dad?”

“No,” Lila replied, swallowing hard. “It’s not his. She was cheating on him.”

Clare groaned. “Poor kid. Damn. Wait… how does he know that it’s not his?”

Lila glanced at Clare, who glanced back at her curiously. ‘I mean… Asher did tell the Grade 12s about him not having sex with Holly… and I told Daniel… it should be okay to tell Clare,’ Lila pondered to herself.

“You can’t tell Asher you know,” Lila said quietly. “I… well, it’s a sore point for him. I think he’s embarrassed.”

“If anything that you’re about to say is even remotely related to his performance in bed, I’m out,” Clare said flatly. Lila briefly looked at Clare before staring out the window again.

“Oh God,” Clare said hurriedly after the silence persisted for a couple moments. “No, no, no, I need an explanation now.”

“They never had sex,” Lila murmured. “So, can’t be his baby. Plus, she admitted it to him. Said it was between a couple of guys.”

“That’s… twisted as hell,” Clare replied candidly, clearly stunned. “And she even told him it was between a couple guys? Way to kick a man when he’s down. Jesus.”

“Yup.”

Clare tapped her fingers along the steering wheel absently as they waited for the traffic light ahead of them to turn green. “I don’t know how you’re going to get out of that one,” she finally remarked.

“I told him I’d wait for as long as it takes,” Lila said in a small voice, curling into herself and bringing a leg up onto the seat. “He said I didn’t have to, though.”

“You’re really down bad for him, huh,” Clare smiled. “I mean, from what I can tell, good pick. But, man, I was about to throw hands before you told me the baby wasn’t his. Well, I was about to throw hands when you told me you weren’t dating. But I respect the fact that he’s not trying to drag you into his mess. Seems like he knows himself well enough to not try dating before he’s ready. Wish the same could be said for more guys out there.”

“You never really told me your story, sis,” Lila noted.

“I know,” Clare replied, her smile dropping slightly. “I… don’t really want to talk about it. And after knowing more about Asher and your situation and everything with him, it’s pretty different. I’m glad.”

Clare turned into one of two drive-thru lanes at the Maccas before looking at Lila again. “If he hurts you, though, I know where he lives. Plus… I’m sure Gabriel wouldn’t be pleased, either. That boy better keep on his toes.”

“I do think you’ve intimidated him,” Lila snickered. “But if I do get hurt, I’m sure I’d have done something to deserve it. He’s… a really good guy. I trust him with everything. Even my heart.”

“Awww, that’s so corny and gross,” Clare cooed, rolling the car forward towards the speaker. “Don’t say that again in my presence.”

“Sorry.”

“Only joking. What did you want?”

They ordered their breakfast (and Daniel’s too) and Clare paid for their food before slowly inching the car down to the presenter’s window.

“Sorry ‘bout the wait,” a cheery, male voice called. “Shouldn’t be too lo- hold on, Lila?”

Lila peered over her sister and saw Isaac, waving at Lila, clad in his red McUniform. She hid her face in her hands as Clare looked between Lila and Isaac.

“And you are?” Clare queried.

“Isaac. Nice to meet ya. Clare, right?”

Clare furrowed her brow for a second before slapping Lila on the shoulder. “This guy’s your ex?”

“Well, that’s a bit of a jump to conclusions, just ‘cause his name is Isaac,” Lila replied moodily. “Though… yes. Meet my ex. And Asher’s best friend.”

Isaac waved again with a smirk. “I see you two just rolled outta bed and made your way here.”

“He’s a bit rude. I can see why he’s your ex,” Clare commented drily. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to say stuff like that to ladies?”

“Sorry ma’am,” Isaac said, bowing his head. He then leaned out of the window, hand outstretched. “Here’s a ketchup packet for your woes.”

“Dude, this guy’s weird as hell,” Clare said, taking the ketchup packet and passing it to Lila in apparent disgust. It was warm.

“Isaac, have you been playing with the sauce again?” Lila asked with a grin.

“Maaaybe. Oh, here comes your coffee,” Isaac replied before ducking back into the store. He passed along Clare’s coffee and Lila’s hot chocolate.

“Righto, looks like you’ll need to park for your food. Sorry guys – it’s been a big rush,” he said apologetically, gesturing towards the waiting bay. With a long-suffering sigh, Clare pulled into it. The two sisters sipped on their drinks in silence and it wasn’t long before Isaac approached with their bag of food.

“By the way,” he said as he passed it along to Clare. “I heard from a little birdy that you had big plans yesterday.”

“Fuck off, Isaac,” Lila replied hotly. “Not gonna talk about it right now with you.”

“Looks like I’ll have to go to other sources,” Isaac replied with a dramatic sigh. He glanced over at Lila before speaking again. “Not that I’ve spoken to Asher. But… I hope you’re okay. Sounded a bit aggressive from someone who should be happy, if it went as I thought it would.”

“Sorry,” Lila muttered, her face flushed. “It’s… complicated.”

Isaac sighed. “Looks like I’m gonna have to do some work, then. See ya around, Lila. Nice to meet ya, Clare.” He toddled off back into the store and Clare rolled her window back up.

“For an ex, he’s really civil,” Clare mentioned as they exited the Maccas carpark. “And he seemed like he actually cared.”

“He’s… been trying to get me and Asher together,” Lila responded softly. “Him, Daniel, Elise, and Grace.”

Clare laughed. “You’ve got a whole entourage.”

“Yeah… they’ve been scheming, at least. I should probably say that Isaac and I ended things as friends. Was never going to really go anywhere, us dating,” Lila explained, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. “But… he’s been pretty helpful. He’s good to talk to, when he’s not being ridiculous.” She glanced down at the ketchup packet and gave it a squeeze, smiling. The cool squishiness brought a spark of joy to her otherwise complicated mind. Now it made sense why Isaac was like that with the sauces.

“So… what’s your plan for the holidays?” Clare asked tentatively as they continued their journey home. “Are you gonna see Asher again?”

“I… did make plans to see him on Wednesday,” Lila admitted. “But… I don’t really know how it’s going to go, seeing him again.”

“I’ll bet,” Clare said sympathetically. “You’ll be fine, though. Especially since you guys were already close. And it’s not like your feelings aren’t returned. He’s just not ready for a relationship. Which, admittedly, does sound shady as heck, but if you trust him, then I guess that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah,” Lila replied, staring down at the bag of food. “It’s just an awkward state of limbo, I guess. Like… I don’t want to push him, and I don’t want to, I dunno… I don’t want to confuse the point, in my head. Like, if we’re not dating, we’re not dating. And I definitely don’t want to be ‘friends with benefits’.”

Clare snorted. “Been there, done that. It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, especially if you start with feelings already. Sometimes relationships die as ‘friends with benefits’ because the other person doesn’t see a need to progress it to an actual relationship, since they’re getting a good deal anyway. Didn’t know high schoolers would be contemplating getting up to those kinds of things, though.”

Lila raised an eyebrow at Clare. “You… do realise you’re only three years older, right? You sound like a middle-aged woman, out of touch with the youths.”

Clare smirked at Lila. “You’re right. My cohort just couldn’t get off each other by the time we were in Grade 9 or 10.”

“Ew.”

“It’s probably happening in yours, too. You’re just not observant.”

“Not that I’d want to be observing those kinds of things.”

“Not your kink, then?”

“Clare, what the fuck.”

They both descended into cackles. After sobering up, a new topic emerged in Lila’s mind.

“Clare… I feel like since finding out about your job, you’ve been a lot more relaxed with me. Especially about that kinda stuff.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to say that I was uptight,” Clare said lightly, a kind smile on her face.

“Well… you definitely weren’t as loose as you are now.”

Clare wrinkled her nose. “Are you trying to tell me that I’m not your esteemed older sister anymore? That’s depressing.”

“I esteem you, but I guess the image of my studious, smart, and responsible older sister did change a little bit after meeting Roxy.”

“And the image of my trustworthy, tame, and intelligent younger sister changed a little bit after catching you sneaking into a club dressed like, well, a respectable skank.”

It was Lila’s turn to snort, and she gently pushed Clare’s shoulder. “Sure, but it was your clothes.”

Clare simply pushed her back and they giggled.

“I’m proud of you, though,” Clare said after a few moments. “For telling him how you felt. I wasn’t able to do that. Probably why it ended the way it did.”

“Really? How’d you even get into… whatever you were doing if you didn’t say anything?”

“Well,” Clare’s face suddenly turned red, and she gripped her steering wheel tightly, “it was… pretty much all physical. We kinda stopped talking and hanging out as friends once we started. We weren’t ever official, and then he told me one day that I was just a rebound. We never spoke after that.”

“That… sounds harsh,” Lila replied hesitantly.

“It did break my heart. And I wished I would’ve cleared up the fact that I liked him before we started doing things, and checked whether he actually liked me before we started doing things. But he was so torn up about his ex that I just let him guide what was happening.”

“Damn.”

“So, don’t be like me. If you feel like you need to wait for him to get over his ex, then do that. If you feel like you shouldn’t do anything physical, then do that. The fact that he likes you is a good sign, but I guess you need to sus out whether he’s just lonely and attributing that to you, versus liking you legitimately.”

“He… told me he’s liked me since Grade 7 or 8,” Lila said softly. “So… while I’m not 100% sure that it’s not a rebound, I guess… I feel like it’s probably unlikely.”

“Grade 7 or 8, huh? That’s cute,” Clare snickered. “If that’s the case, then I agree. Seems unlikely.”

Clare began pulling up the driveway when Lila’s phone buzzed. It was Elise, sending a message to Twisted Bitches’r’Us.

Soooo… heard from Isaac that it didn’t seem like it went well, Elise’s message said, followed by a couple sad face emojis.

How’d u hear that from Isaac, Lila replied with a heavy sigh. Clare glanced at Lila before parking.

“What’s up?”

“I still haven’t told Elise and Grace,” Lila murmured, unclipping her seatbelt. “But somehow Isaac’s told Elise something.”

“So not only is the kid weird, but he runs around telling everyone your business.”

Lila sighed again. “I give it a pass ‘cause he’s been plotting with Grace and Elise all term about Asher and I getting together. You know how I went to the movies a while ago with Elise and Grace?”

“Yeah, and you came home with a dude’s jacket. Wait. Was that Asher’s jacket?”

“Who’s else did you think it was?”

“Thought you were just buying guy clothes. I dunno man, I don’t judge fashion preferences.”

“You seemed to judge my Minecraft shirt pretty harshly.”

“Fine, I don’t judge fashion preferences if they’re not butt-ugly.”

They shared another chuckle.

“So? Then what?” Clare asked, sipping her coffee.

“Well, Isaac and Asher showed up as well, then Elise, Grace, and Isaac ditched us and went to another movie. They basically set me up on a date with Asher. It was a whole thing that they planned. They even got tickets for the other movie in advance.”

Clare gave a low whistle before laughing. “Crafty. And I’m guessing you believed some lame excuse like they got lost, or locked out of the movie or something?”

Lila put her head in her hands. “… yeah.”

“Lila, I can safely say that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Can see why Isaac seemed like he was gearing up to go to war again,” Clare chortled and they both got out of the car. Fighting against Clare’s assertion would be futile, plus Lila didn’t want to give Clare the satisfaction of agreeing with her, so she said nothing as she carried in the food. Clare carried in the drinks, making sure not to spill anything on the way. Daniel was waiting for them in the kitchen, looking ravenous.

“Finally!” he said, digging through the Maccas bag for his food. He picked up his orange juice from the cup tray. “Thanks, guys.”

“No worries,” Clare smiled, ruffling his hair. He turned around and went upstairs without another word. Lila and Clare sat down in the dining room, eating in silence as they both scrolled on their phones. Lila filled in the Twisted Bitches’r’Us group chat though Elise had stopped replying. She was probably on shift if she’d spoken to Isaac so quickly after Lila and Clare had left the Maccas.

Lila finally fell asleep after breakfast, her mind running entirely out of steam. Whatever was happening with her and Asher, she wouldn’t be able to resolve that now anyway.