Chapter Seventy-Three

Lila was too tired to fill Elise and Grace in on the rest of the date after climbing into bed, having spent half an hour or so taking off her makeup along with the rest of her normal bedtime routine.

Waking up on the last Monday of Term 2 was a slog, especially as Lila wasn’t excited by the prospect of seeing Asher first thing in English. She hoped he wouldn’t be acting weird still, but by the fact that he’d said he ‘didn’t want to hear about it’ before he left her place on Saturday, the odds were likely that he’d still be… whatever he was.

When Lila arrived at her English classroom, she saw Asher pacing back and forth outside, his hands jammed in his pockets. He seemed to be muttering to himself, and Lila wasn’t sure whether it would be a good idea to approach him. Before she could turn back around, however, he caught sight of her. He quickly marched up to her before she could escape.

“Morning,” he said harshly, though his eyes seemed devoid of life.

“Hi Asher,” Lila replied, shrinking back slightly. “How’s things?”

“Great,” he said shortly. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before looking at her again. “Sorry, that was sarcasm.”

“I figured.”

“Well, now you know.”

They stood there, not saying anything, for a few seconds before Lila sighed.

“Look, I know you said you didn’t need to hear about it, but I thought you should know that there’s not going to be a second date.”

Asher blinked at her, seeming surprised. “Why not?”

Lila blushed, turning around abruptly so he couldn’t see her face. “It’s just what we decided.”

“Was the date that bad?” Asher’s tone sounded almost hopeful. Lila spun around to face him, and he quickly dropped the grin that was on his lips.

“It was actually a pretty good date, all things considered.”

“All things considered?”

“I mean, the tongue piercing freaked me out, but I got used to it.”

“T-Tongue piercing?”

“Yeah.”

“… Did you guys k-kiss or something?”

“God no,” Lila shuddered. “Definitely not. Why’d you ask that?”

“Why else would a tongue piercing come up at all?” Asher’s voice sounded panic-stricken, and he avoided her gaze entirely, splotches of red colouring his cheeks.

Lila stared at him for a moment before she realised what he meant and laughed. “Sorry, it just stuck out in my mind. I saw it briefly as we were talking and asked about it, so he showed me. Said it was like a bonus if you’re dating a guy or something.”

“Oh.”

It was as though the warmth of the sun peeking through the wintry grey sky was transferred directly into Asher’s soul. His face relaxed fully, at least, for the first time since Lila mentioned the date on Friday.

Ms Shard opened the door to the English room and all their classmates filed inside, grumbling about the injustice of attending school on the last Monday of the term yet again. After Ms Shard commanded the class to settle down, she advised that the agenda for today’s class was viewing another end-of-term movie after marks were handed out.

For the first time, her overall mark for English was sitting squarely on an A. Lila couldn’t contain her beam, excitedly showing Asher her marks.

“Look!” she exclaimed, thrusting the paper under his nose. His eyes darted to hers for a moment and he grinned.

“Well done.”

“It’s ‘cause of all the tips you gave me,” Lila said energetically over the babble of her classmates. Liam, who was walking past them in the direction of Ms Shard, spluttered for a second before tripping, falling face-first next to Asher’s chair.

“You gave her what?” Liam asked from the floor. Asher glared at him as he extended a hand over the side of his desk, helping to pull Liam up.

“Don’t be stupid. I told Lila some study tips to improve her grades,” Asher said impatiently. Liam raised both hands in surrender before narrowing his eyes at Asher.

“Don’t blame me. Heard you hand out all sorts of tips before running when the going gets tough.”

Asher paled as he immediately stood up, towering over Liam, who’d taken a step back.

“What-”

“Boys, sit down,” Ms Shard’s stern voice called, clearly directed at Asher and Liam. Liam turned on his heel and walked over to Ms Shard.

“I just had a question about the exam…” Lila heard him say before the noise of the classroom overtook Liam’s words.

Lila shifted her weight uncomfortably in her seat, looking at Asher from her peripheral vision. He still looked pale, though his eyes were shifting wildly, as if following a complicated train of thought.

“Lila,” Asher eventually whispered to her, “do you know what Liam meant?”

Lila sighed. She’d hoped to talk to Asher about the fact that Holly’s pregnancy was making the rounds at school sometime this week but hadn’t anticipated that it would be happening now.

“I… have an inkling,” Lila said in a low voice.

“How long have you had this inkling for?” His words were slow, measured – as though he was trying not to spill over into the emotions flitting across his face.

“I don’t think we should talk about it her-”

“I have to know,” Asher’s voice shook as he looked sincerely into her eyes. “Please.”

The movie, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, began playing on the projector. Ms Shard had managed to set it so that the volume was almost at its maximum, though no one seemed to mind, with most of their classmates preferring to chat amongst themselves anyway.

“… people at school found out. About Holly being… you know. And they think it’s yours. I heard rumours about it on Monday, and I thought it’d disappeared with exams being on since I hadn’t heard any more… but I think Liam’s alluding to that,” Lila’s words virtually toppled out of her mouth, her hands twisting and twirling under the desk. She didn’t want to see what kind of face Asher was making, but she couldn’t help herself from peeking.

As she’d suspected, a variety of emotions were dancing across his face, all of them in the vicinity of fear, anger, disgust, and sadness. Then, his face hardened. He clamped his mouth shut, the muscles flexing as he took a deep breath.

“And… you didn’t tell me, why?” he asked, his voice poorly disguising his fury.

“I was just looking for the right time. You were busy concentrating on schoolwork and Daniel's stuff. I figured… if you didn't hear about it, it wouldn't harm that. A-And you didn't end up hearing about it,” Lila finished her defence in a defeated voice.

“… Okay.”

“I didn’t want to send you over the edge.”

“Uh-huh.”

He was looking stoically ahead, towards the movie though Lila noticed his eyes were glassy.

“I… didn’t want people to find out,” Asher said after about ten minutes, his voice almost blending in with the soundtrack.

“I know. It’s awful that they have… what do you want to do about it? I can help.”

“I guess all I can do is ignore it.”

“You could tell people the truth, though. That it’s not your kid, and she cheated on you,” Lila suggested, leaning in to whisper this to Asher. He looked incredibly uncomfortable at the prospect and leaned away from her, his face stained red.

“I-I guess I could, but… I’d look like a failure. That I wasn’t good enough for her.”

“What’s worse? Looking like a coward who’s abandoned his girlfriend and unborn child, or like the victim of a selfish cheater?”

Lila winced as she finished saying this. It was harsh, but it needed to be said. Asher gaped at her for a second before withdrawing into himself, hugging his stomach, and placing his head on the desk.

“They… both seem equally bad,” he muttered into the desk.

“Asher…” Lila trailed off before scooting closer to him. “It wasn’t your fault. There’s literally nothing that you could’ve done that warrants cheating under any circumstances.”

“Being too shitty of a boyfriend would.”

“No. She had the option of leaving – she always had that option. Why she didn’t, I don’t think we’ll ever know. But that’s irrelevant. It looks so much worse on her than it does on you.”

Asher remained silent and unmoving. Lila left him be for now, though her worries deepened even further. It definitely wouldn’t be close to the appropriate time to confess to him… but if she didn’t soon, she’d probably explode.

Sighing, she rested her head on her desk too.

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Morning tea with Elise and Grace was just what she needed to reset from her conversation with Asher. After all, she could interrogate them about their tailing her yesterday, which would at least help to distract her somewhat.

“So… how’d the date go?” Elise asked after the girls had settled in their usual spot, bundled up in scarves and jumpers to stave off the blisteringly cold wind surrounding them.

Lila snorted. “You tell me. You guys were basically on the date with me.”

Grace looked somewhat guilty as she lowered her juice box, her lips pressed tightly together.

“It was Isaac’s idea,” Elise said hurriedly, peeling her banana with speed.

“Why would he want to follow me?” Lila asked, perplexed. Elise and Grace exchanged a look, the meaning behind it remaining elusive to Lila.

“He just wanted to make sure nothing nefarious was going on,” Grace replied loftily. “Theo is a Grade 12 boy, after all. Most of them are sex-crazed, apparently.” She shuddered before sipping the rest of her juice. Lila’s eyes bulged slightly in response before she caught herself – Theo had actually suggested hooking up…

“Did anything nefarious go on?” Elise queried, tilting her head.

“No,” Lila replied honestly. “He did try to kiss me though. I think.”

“You think?” Grace asked, her full attention snapping to Lila’s face.

“I freaked out and hit him on the chin with my shoulder. Not that I wanted to kiss him, anyway,” Lila lamented.

“That’s cold,” Elise laughed. “Poor Theo. Pretty bold move, though.”

“He… figured out pretty quick that I’m into Asher,” Lila explained. “So, he was fine with it in the end. And the fact that there won’t be a second date.”

“Sounds like a better guy than I’d thought. Though, it’s not rocket science that you’re into Asher. It’s painfully obvious to literally everyone on this planet except him,” Elise chortled.

Lila blushed. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that but instead of dwelling further, she pulled out the two jellyfish keychains from her skirt pocket.

“I… bought the grey one for Asher,” Lila said quietly. Elise tentatively held it up in the sunlight and glanced back at Lila.

“Dude, that’s kinda cooked, don’t you think?” she asked, returning it to Lila.

“So you do think it was a bad idea to get him something,” Lila said morosely, looking at both keychains forlornly. “I bought one for me, too. But if you reckon I shouldn’t give it to Asher, you guys can have them.”

Elise looked expectantly at Grace, who seemed to be contemplating the idea.

“It’s… a bit odd, to get a gift for a guy when you’re on a date with a different one,” Grace confirmed. “But… since you bought it for him, you may as well give it to him. If he doesn’t want it, then I guess I’ll have it.”

“It might show him that you were thinking of him,” Elise added, poking the purple jellyfish. “I dunno how he’d interpret it, but maybe he could get the hint.”

Lila pocketed them both again with a sigh. “Alright. I’ll give it to him.”

Elise nodded approvingly before her eyes lit up as if struck by a thought. “By the way, Lila, but did you notice that Theo has a tattoo?”

“He sure does,” Lila concurred, her voice somewhat lacklustre. “He’s got a tongue piercing, too.”

“The Dux of Grade 12, who does bloody piano, has a tongue piercing and a tattoo?” Elise asked incredulously. Grace gave a low whistle.

“Seems like he’s a bit more of a bad boy than expected. Is that your thing?” Grace followed up, biting into a carrot stick with a satisfying crunch. Lila chucked, remembering the plushies lining the back windshield of his car.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he’s a bad boy. But he’s certainly a lot more interesting than I gave him credit for.”

“Sounds like you wouldn’t mind dating him,” Elise teased, gently bumping Lila’s shoulder with her own. Lila rolled her eyes.

“Look, he’s a great guy, and he’s cute, but definitely not my type. My type… is…”

“Asher,” Grace and Elise sang in unison before bursting into a fit of giggles. Lila blushed, glowering at the two of them.

“Seriously, though, Theo made the first move, plus he’s the Dux of Grade 12 and he plays soccer. He’s basically Asher, but older,” Grace commented idly after sobering up. “What makes Asher different enough that you’d throw away your chance with Theo?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“He… well, I feel like we work really well together, for one thing. He’s kind and caring. He’ll help anyone out of a bind, to the point of overextending himself. He’s also really smart, but he doesn’t hold it against anyone. He listens to the points I make, at least, even though he’s clearly smarter than me. I kinda got the feeling that Theo was a bit… condescending to people that didn’t catch his interest. And Asher makes me laugh. He’s the right amount of goofy. And he’s really attractive. A-At least, to me-”

“Careful, you’ll start drooling,” Elise chuckled, nudging Lila again. Lila’s blush deepened even further, and she put her face in her hands.

“… but… I’ve been unsure lately,” Lila mumbled. “It feels like… he’s hiding something from me.”

“Like what?” Grace asked gently.

“I dunno. It’s just the vibe I get. And he’s really honest and open with me about everything, almost. But he’s been acting super odd lately. And I want to ask him what’s up, but it just never ends up happening. I can never get the words out.”

Neither of Lila’s friends said anything for a couple moments before Elise sighed, rubbing Lila’s back.

“I think he likes you, Lila. You probably already know that I think that,” Elise finally said softly. “And I think he thinks you don’t like him. So, he’s protecting himself, but can’t help slipping up. I don’t know how anyone would get over what happened with Holly, let alone the guy who lived through it and was dating her. It makes sense that he’s just clammed up on that front.”

“I agree with Elise,” Grace piped up with a warm smile.

“I… don’t think he likes me like that,” Lila muttered. To her surprise, a tear escaped her eye and trailed its way down her face. She hurriedly wiped it away before looking at Grace and Elise. They both appeared incredibly sincere.

“What makes you think that?” Grace questioned with a frown.

“Well, the other day, Daniel asked if Asher was trying to become indispensable so I couldn’t get rid of him, and he said no,” Lila relayed, an ache in her chest subtly forming.

“Maybe I’m missing context here, but it doesn’t seem like you can conclude he doesn’t like you based on that,” Grace replied thoughtfully.

Lila looked up at her. “How’d you and your partner get together?” she asked in a slightly dispirited voice.

“Ooh, yeah, Grace, how’d that happen?” Elise leaned forward eagerly. Grace blushed deeply and looked at her lap, fiddling with the edge of her Tupperware container.

“I-It’s not a very interesting story,” Grace finally said quietly. “She made the first move. I-It started with a kiss-”

“‘How did it end up like this?’’ Elise and Lila sang in unison. Grace’s glare shut them up before they could sing any more.

“A-Anyway, I’d had a crush on her for ages, and I asked her if she was into girls and she kissed me and said, ‘Girls like you, yeah’.”

“Damnnn, that would make me swoon too,” Elise said wisely. “What a flirt.”

“P-Point is,” Grace pushed on, looking absolutely flustered. “I think it’s quite different, having a hetero relationship. Since society is generally heteronormative.”

“That was definitely a word, I think,” Elise commented, looking entirely lost. Grace sighed.

“It’s a bit harder for gay people to find other gay people since a lot of us are closeted and the ‘default’ is to assume someone’s straight, I guess. Plus, girls can naturally be a lot closer and more comfortable with other girls, like by hand holding and hugs, which sends mixed signals if they’re not gay.”

“Yikes,” Lila sighed. “Sounds tough out there.”

“It’s not so bad,” Grace shrugged. “Probably better nowadays than it’s ever been but being a baby gay sucked.”

“Wait,” Lila said suddenly, sitting up straight. “Did I give you mixed signals?”

“Ah shit, did I?” Elise asked, looking over at Grace.

“I can’t remember. Maybe once upon a time, but I’ve known that you two prefer guys since forever. The number of times you’d gush over Diggie from Liv and Maddie was crazy. Dove Cameron is crazy gorgeous though. Anyway – childhood celebrity crushes aside, one of you has to make the first move,” Grace said seriously, waggling a cucumber stick at Lila.

“Grace, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, but I think you actually made the first move. Sure, she kissed you, but you opened the door,” Elise said plainly.

“Oh. You know what, that makes sense. Lila, just try that. Open the door to it,” Grace said encouragingly.

“I tried that,” Lila huffed.

“You did?!” Elise exclaimed, grabbing Lila’s shoulder. “What? When?”

“Isaac called him when he was over at mine on Saturday night,” Lila said petulantly, pulling her knees to her chest. “And when he came back, I asked him what Isaac wanted, and he said ‘Nothing’. But he was being all weird again, so I asked him why he was off if it was nothing. And then he told me not to worry about it, so I said, ‘I can’t help but worry about it’, and he asked what that meant, and I told him that I wasn’t going to explain if he didn’t get it-”

“God I’m lost here,” Elise muttered. Lila ignored her and continued.

“- and then he asked if I liked Isaac again.”

At this, both Elise and Grace simultaneously facepalmed. Elise started cackling immediately afterwards and Grace gestured for Lila to keep going.

“And I was like ‘The fuck?’ and I started laughing and asked if he was insane. He said it happened before, and I was all ‘Yeah, before I knew him, then I realised he was an idiot and I prefer someone a bit more intellectual.’. Then he said, ‘Someone like Theo?’ and I just… I was about to say something but then he had to go home.”

Lila finished her story by falling back on the grass, her gloved hands over her eyes. “It’s so stupid it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Like, dude, you’re a Dux too.”

“For someone so smart, he sure can get it twisted,” Grace said sympathetically after a few moments of silence.

“Don’t get discouraged,” Elise added, rubbing Lila’s shoulder. “You just need to try again. Or be more direct.”

“I’m gonna get rejected so hard,” Lila whined, pressing her hands into her eyes. “What if he laughs at me?”

“He won’t laugh at you,” Grace said reassuringly, gently removing Lila’s hands from her face. “Impossible. Why would he? Regardless of anything else, he’s your friend, isn’t he? He wouldn’t laugh at a friend for something like that.”

Lila sighed, looking up at the cloudy sky. If he did laugh at her, she would probably book same-day plane tickets to a different country and live out the rest of her life there. She recalled her conversation with Isaac, about his potential crush on Asher ages ago, and how they’d had ‘a big laugh’ about it all. Lila didn’t think it was her place to mention it to Elise and Grace, but she currently had more evidence in favour of Asher laughing at a confession from a friend than not. Though… perhaps they’d shared a laugh after Isaac realised it wasn’t a crush and instead just admiration? She was a bit fuzzy on the details, but… perhaps Grace was right.

The trio eventually started making their way back to the locker room, talking idly about their holiday plans (Grace was heading over to Adelaide to see family, and Elise’s schedule was apparently fully booked, given her plans to go to Germany on exchange at the end of the year). Lila’s attention, however, was diverted by the chatter of her cohort filling the locker room.

“… pregnant.”

“The worst… step up…”

“Asher’s such a deadbeat…”

“… take responsibility.”

“Someone should tell Lila… teen dad.”

“True! … probably hiding…”

Lila, Grace, and Elise looked at one another uneasily. It seemed that the barrier keeping back the rumours about Holly’s pregnancy had broken, now that exams were over. A part of Lila did feel guilty about not telling Asher about them sooner, but there hadn’t been any opportunity to, especially with his weird behaviour after he found out about her date with Theo. He’d hardly been receptive to even a partial conversation with Lila for the past few days…

“Has he heard about these?” Elise whispered to Lila as they unlocked their lockers and started getting ready for PC.

“I told him that people were talking this morning. I don’t know if he’s heard anything himself,” Lila replied, shutting her locker with force. “I doubt he’s taking it well if he has.”

“I couldn’t imagine the whole school accusing me of something so terrible,” Grace shivered, closing her own locker. “Oh, but of course, the rumours about you were also terrible, Lila.”

“Gee, thanks,” Lila quipped, though she did wink at Grace to indicate she wasn’t upset by her comment.

“Didn’t think you had the facilities to get someone pregnant,” Elise teased as the three set off towards their PC class.

Grace rolled her eyes at Elise. “Empathy knows no gender or sex characteristics, you know.”

Elise bumped Grace with her hip, and they began squabbling playfully until Elise collided with Isaac, who was strangely alone.

“Wanna be close to me that much?” he asked as Elise leaped away from him. She took one look at his face and shrieked in dramatic horror.

“Guess that’s a no,” he chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. “See you guys at lunch.”

“Isaac, wait, where’s Asher?” Lila asked quickly before he passed them. His eyes met Lila’s before he looked towards the direction of his PC class. “Just… needing some time alone. He’ll have lunch with us, though.”

“Did… he hear something?” Lila’s quivering question dropped to a whisper. Isaac sharply looked at her before placing a hand on his forehead and exhaling heavily.

“Chem… was rough,” he said tonelessly. “Even the walk out of Chem was rough.”

“Shit,” Lila uttered softly. Isaac simply nodded and carried on his way to class.

“Welp, what’re you gonna do?” Elise asked Lila, looping their arms together and continuing their own journey to class.

“Me? Am I supposed to do something?” Lila queried. Despite this, the question had, of course, been playing on her mind.

“Your man’s upset,” Elise responded cheekily. “Of course you’re going to do something.”

“He’s not my man,” Lila replied quietly, pressing her lips together in disapproval.

“Yeah, yeah,” Elise waved a hand dismissively. “Got any ideas?”

“None,” Lila admitted with a sigh. Ms Wang unlocked the door for their PC class and Lila, Grace, and Elise joined the throng jostling their way inside. The girls sat in their usual spots as Ms Wang sternly requested that the class keep their noise to an acceptable level.

“I mean, firstly, I think it’s unfair for everyone to think the baby’s his,” Grace said in a hushed tone, lowering her head towards the desk. Elise and Lila followed suit.

“I don’t either,” Lila whispered. “He just wants to ignore it.”

“But Holly’s the one who should be suffering,” Elise murmured. “Why isn’t her reputation in the mud?”

Lila shrugged. “I doubt she’s telling people that it’s not his. Comments from other people on her Insta posts imply that people think Asher’s a horrible ‘father’.”

“You have her on Insta?” Grace asked loudly.

“Grace,” Ms Wang’s voice warned. “Keep it down.”

“Yes ma’am,” Grace called, her face scarlet. She leaned in close to Elise and Lila again.

Lila pulled out her phone and opened up Holly’s Instagram page. There hadn’t been any new posts aside from the ultrasound that she’d shown Asher. Lila scrolled through the comments on that post and found the two disparaging ones that she’d noticed earlier.

“Here,” Lila pushed her phone towards Elise and Grace. They both stared at her screen for a few moments.

“Looks like you’re right,” Grace said grimly.

“Clearly she knows it looks bad if she tells people it’s not her ex’s baby since they broke up when she was like four or five months pregnant,” Elise added, glancing up at Lila.

“I’ll just have to see how he is at lunch,” Lila mumbled, putting her phone away. “But I don’t know what I could actually do.”

“I mean, you could try shouting about it in the locker rooms,” Elise smirked.

“Asher doesn’t want anyone knowing his business,” Lila sighed. “If he didn’t care, I probably would be.”

“Alright, well, we can all have a think, at least,” Grace suggested, sitting up straight. “Maybe he’ll be over it after his alone time today.”

“I highly doubt it,” Lila responded in a defeated tone. “But that’d be a good outcome, if he was.”

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Predictably, Asher was in a sour mood when the group of five met up inside the locker room. He passed a lunchbox to Lila stiffly, unable, or unwilling, to meet her eyes.

“Thanks,” she said brightly. Hopefully, by not matching his energy, she could pull him towards something slightly cheerful by the end of lunch.

Plonking themselves in an empty meeting room in the library, Isaac, Elise, and Grace immediately started talking about the lazy end-of-term activities their teachers were subjecting them to. Lila joined in, albeit a bit half-heartedly.

Halfway through lunch, Asher checked his phone. He glanced at Lila for the first time since sitting down.

“Can I borrow you for a sec?” he asked, his facial expression unreadable. Was she in trouble with him again?

“As long as you return me,” Lila’s attempt at a joke found some merit as a smirk quickly flashed across his face. Isaac, Elise, and Grace’s conversation lulled to a halt as Asher and Lila got up.

“We’ll be back soon,” Asher said softly, holding the door for Lila to pass through. Asher led them out of the library and towards the same secluded alleyway that they’d been in when he asked about what food to bring over to hers. Asher then turned to face Lila, his arms crossed. He looked exhausted.

“… I don’t like your stance,” Lila said lightly. He looked down at his arms and quickly unfolded them.

“Sorry. Not having a good time at the moment."

“I figured. So... why’d you drag me out here?”

“Can I come over tomorrow?”

Lila blinked in surprise. “After practice?”

“Yeah. It won’t take long. But I need to set something up so we can talk to Livi about the changes.”

“I see. I guess it’ll be fine.”

“Since it’ll be late, I won’t have dinner with you guys.”

Lila shook her head firmly. “You’re more than welcome to have dinner with us.”

“I’ve… vastly overstayed my welcome.”

“Nah. I bet my parents will be wondering where you are tonight,” Lila smiled warmly. “They like you.”

“I’m glad, but I’ll still only pop in.”

“Asher-”

“Lila, it’s fine. I need to prepare myself mentally for Livi anyway.”

Lila exhaled slowly. “No changing your mind, I see.”

“No, ma’am. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say.”

He turned around and was about to walk back towards the library when Lila caught his blazer sleeve.

“There’s... a couple things I wanted to talk about.”

“Oh,” he uttered, turning back to face her. “Go on.”

“A-Are you mad at me? For not telling you about what I’d heard.” Lila figured she’d start here in an attempt to work up the courage to give him the keychain in her pocket that she was hyperaware of.

Asher broke eye contact with her and placed his thumbs in his belt loops, looking pensively at the concrete floor.

“… No,” he said eventually. “I kinda was at first, but it makes sense why you didn’t. And I believe you when you say you were going to say something. I mean, you showed me the post she put on Insta, which you could’ve kept to yourself.”

“Okay,” Lila breathed, relief relaxing her surprisingly tense muscles.

“Was that all?”

“N-No. Um. Uh…” Lila faltered as she fumbled around in her pocket. He watched as she pulled out the two jellyfish keychains with shaking hands.

“I… got this one for you,” Lila said uncertainly, passing the grey one to him. He took it and stared at it for a good few moments before looking back at her, clearly confused.

“Why?”

Lila’s face immediately burned up, and she took a deep breath. “It just reminded me of you.”

His puzzled expression turned into one of disbelief. “You think I’m a jellyfish?”

“No!” Lila cried, about one second away from actually crying in embarrassment. “I-It reminded me of the jellyfish videos we watched. You really liked them, especially the immortal jellyfish.”

“Oh.” Asher jiggled it around, as if to test its robustness, before holding it above his head in triumph. It looked comically small in his masculine hands, swinging above his head despondently, as though he was holding it hostage. “Approved!”

Lila’s face burst into a grin, the anxiety releasing in an instant. He liked it...

“Who’s that one for?” he asked, after lowering his keychain and pointing at the purple one.

“U-Uh, um… I… got me a matching one,” Lila managed to say, her face back to bright red. She quickly pocketed it, as if he didn’t have any object permanence and would forget about it. To her surprise, his own face turned a fiery red colour before fading back to normal in an instant. His eyes flicked back down to his keychain, and he smiled at it fondly.

“Thanks,” he said cheerily, stowing it away into his blazer. “I’ll treasure this little buddy of mine forever. Hope he lasts as long as an immortal jellyfish.”

“Y-You don’t have to. You can chuck it if you don’t want it,” Lila said hurriedly. He looked at her as though she’d personally slighted him.

“Excuse you, he’s great. Don’t listen to her, lil Henry,” he said dramatically, patting the pocket the keychain was in.

“Henry?”

“Yeah. He looks like a Henry.”

They both burst into laughter, with Lila laughing slightly harder than necessary. ‘God, that was nerve-wracking,’ she thought after it was over. Asher’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at her again with a grin.

“Shall we head back?” he asked jovially, seeming suddenly revitalised. Lila smiled.

“Yeah.”

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Clare was already waiting for Lila and Daniel by the time they arrived at the carpark after school ended for the day. Lila hopped into the front passenger side of the car and Daniel sat in the back. Clare started the engine and sped off.

“I managed to get an appointment for 3.45. Can’t be late,” she said as they rounded the corner outside the school.

“Did you grab all your ID docs? And Daniel’s?” Lila asked, grabbing onto the handle that was attached to the car’s ceiling.

“Yeah, in the glovebox,” Clare confirmed. Lila popped it open and pulled everything out, double-checking they had what they needed.

“Mum and Dad asked why I’m picking you guys up from school, by the way,” Clare said after a few minutes of haphazard driving. “Told them I decided to take you guys out for dinner to celebrate the end of exams. Hope you don’t mind.”

“As long as you’ve picked something good,” Lila smirked, leaning back into her seat.

“‘Course I did. Chinese good enough for ya?”

Lila and Daniel made approving noises and Clare turned up her music. It wasn’t long before they flew into a carpark at the requisite shopping centre and tumbled out.

“Got two minutes to spare. Have to book it,” Clare huffed, grabbing her keys and wallet. Lila held onto the identifying documents and they all hurried towards the shopping centre. It was flooded mainly with school students and the elderly, all milling about without any kind of hurry.

Clare moved them along towards a particular bank, and checked in for their appointment, leaving Lila and Daniel to stand awkwardly in the waiting area. Lila chanced a glance at Daniel, and he looked ready to pass out.

“You’ll be fine,” Lila whispered to him, “we’re just opening a bank account. Clare’ll probably do most of the talking, anyway.”

He puffed his cheeks out and nodded solemnly. Lila patted him on the shoulder and Clare reappeared with a bank clerk in tow. The name badge read ‘Jennifer’, and the trio followed Jennifer to an office within the bank.

Going through the motions of opening a new bank account made even Lila feel anxious. As expected though, Jennifer deferred most of the conversation to Clare. Occasionally, Daniel answered some questions and signed some documents before the lady left to scan some things.

“See?” Clare said gently to Daniel, ruffling his hair. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Thanks,” he said, pulling away from Clare. “It’s not this part that I’m worried about.”

“What are you worried about?” Clare asked sincerely. Daniel cautiously looked at Lila before fiddling with a notepad that Jennifer had left on her desk.

“Nothing,” he said with a sigh. Clare glanced at Lila, who shrugged. Lila had a pretty fair idea of what Daniel was nervous about. She wasn’t about to explain to Clare that they were going to take away monetary control from a drug-running, incessantly meddling, and calculating Grade 12 student who would probably react negatively, though.

“Won’t be long after this,” Clare said with a sigh. Daniel seemed surprised.

“No follow-ups?”

“No follow-ups,” Clare smiled at Daniel. “Unless you want me to.”

“No, I’m good,” Daniel said quickly, folding a corner of the top sheet of the notepad. Clare’s eyes flashed to Lila before she leaned back in her armchair.

“So, how’d your date go?” Clare asked, her eyes glinting mischievously under the pale-yellow lights of the office.

“It was fine,” Lila replied shortly. “No second date, though.”

“Yes!” Daniel exclaimed. “Wait, did I do that out loud?”

“What’s got you all excited?” Lila asked, narrowing her eyes at Daniel. His face was reminiscent of a lobster in colour, and he somehow looked even more uncomfortable than he had all afternoon.

“Just… excited that you’re unwanted,” Daniel muttered. Clare and Lila both shot him disapproving looks.

“I was the rejecter, not rejectee,” Lila said drily.

“Daniel, maybe you should stop talking. Sounds like your prefrontal cortex still has a bit more growing to do if you’re going to try and play subterfuge,” Clare suggested, bonking him on the head with the side of her hand. He rubbed where Clare had hit him, but otherwise followed her advice in not talking.

Jennifer re-emerged not a second later and finalised the arrangements. She gave Daniel a packet of information and sent the siblings on their way. They immediately flocked to the Chinese restaurant in the shopping centre and had dinner – during which, thankfully, there were no further questions about Lila’s date with Theo.