Chapter 1

On April Fool's Day, the guy I'd been crushing on for three years told me he liked me.

I blushed and said yes, but he turned around, threw his arm around the heartthrob in our class, and laughed hard.

He said, "You actually believed me? Sophie said you'd had a crush on me for three years, but I thought she was joking.

"How about you put on a show for us, act like you're totally head over heels? If you do, I'll buy you a drink tonight."

The whole class burst out laughing, and Sophie playfully punched his chest. "Ethan, you're so bad."

I clenched my fists in secret, let go, and forced a smile. "Alright."

From then on, I really didn't spare him a single glance.

But one day, he blocked me in the hallway, eyes red and watery. "Lily, I applied to that southern university you like. We..."

I stared at him, face blank. "Move. You're in my way. I need to throw out the trash."

*****

April 1st was April Fool's Day.

I stared at the message on my phone for three whole minutes.

[Lily, I like you. Meet me at the field after school today.]

It was from Ethan Carter.

I took a deep breath, let it out, then did it again.

My heart was racing in my chest, and even my fingertips felt numb.

It had been three years.

Ever since we ended up in the same class on the very first day of freshman year, I'd had a crush on him.

He sat two seats behind me, a little to the side. Every time I turned around to borrow something, I was really trying to sneak a look at him.

He loved playing basketball, so I made sure to study right next to the basketball court for two whole semesters.

He loved lemonade so much that the lady at the school store recognized me and would tease, "Girl, don't you ever get tired of buying this every day?"

He wasn't good at math, so I went through that prep book three times, so I'd have an excuse to help him with his homework without looking too obvious.

It had been over a thousand days.

I wrote 137 notes for him that I never had the guts to send, marked his birthday eight times in my diary, and told him I loved him countless times in my dreams.

And now, he said he liked me.

I pinched myself hard. Yep, that stung.

This was real.

Out of nowhere, I wanted to cry.

"Lily, what are you spacing out for?" My deskmate, Coco, leaned in. "What's got you so glued to your phone. Holy crap, is that Ethan?"

I hurriedly flipped my phone face down, my cheeks burning. "N-nothing."

"Don't pretend. I saw everything." Coco had a mischievous smile. "Oh my god, he finally got the hint? I told you, helping him with his homework every day was bound to work..."

"Stop," I said, pressing down on her hand, my voice shaky. "I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? Go! You have to go." Coco was even more excited than I was. "I'll go with you. I'll keep watch for you."

I kept picking up my phone and putting it down, my grip tightening and loosening again and again.

The message sat there on the screen. There were no takebacks, no "oops, wrong person".

I stared at that familiar profile picture, and suddenly remembered what day it was—April 1st, April Fool's Day.

That burst of joy in my chest felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on it. Half of it vanished in a flash.

Could this really be... a prank?

But who would actually mess around with something like this?

I bit my lip, sent him one word: [Okay.]

Even if it was a prank, I'd go. What if... it was real?