Chapter 2
When Lily woke up the next morning, she got a text from her best friend, Sophie Summers.
It was from her best friend, Sophie Summers.
[Hey, everyone's planning to hit up a bar today. Wanna come?] Sophie asked.
Lily turned it down without thinking.
Other classmates would be there too, but she barely knew them. Besides, parties just weren't her thing.
[Wait. I heard Ryan's gonna be there too. Aren't you two basically together already? This is the perfect chance to get to know each other better.] Sophie messaged.
Lily couldn't help but feel a little helpless; she instantly knew what Sophie meant.
[If Ryan's coming, his friends will be there too, right? What? You can't handle Ben on your own?] Lily replied.
Ben was Ryan's buddy, and Sophie totally had a crush on him.
[You get me. I'd be too shy to go alone. Come with me. Pretty please?] Sophie typed.
Lily couldn't say no to Sophie.
When they got to the bar, almost everyone was already there.
The first thing Lily saw when she walked in was Ryan, who kicked back in his chair with his legs crossed, lazily swirling a crystal glass in his hand, looking completely laid-back.
Everyone knew what was up between Lily and Ryan, so they all made room, leaving the seat next to him open.
Without even glancing his way, Lily headed straight for a seat in the corner and sat down.
Ryan's grip on his glass tightened for a moment, but his expression didn't change at all.
"Lily, why aren't you sitting next to Ryan? Did you guys get into a fight or something?" Sophie asked.
Lily just chuckled.
"That seat's not for me. Trust me, you'll see in a minute," she replied.
Sure enough, the next moment, the door swung open, and a fashionable girl strutted in on high heels.
"Sorry I'm late, got held up on the way. Hope you guys didn't wait too long for me," she said.
Emily curved her lips into a subtle smile and naturally settled into the seat beside Ryan.
Ryan stiffened for a moment and then quietly shifted away, instinctively sneaking a glance at Lily.
But to his surprise, Lily's expression was completely neutral, as if it was nothing important to her.
His gaze grew a little dull, making it impossible to guess what was going through his mind.
One of the more outgoing guys kicked things off, and soon everyone was drinking, chatting, and really letting loose.
After a while, someone started shouting that they should play a game.
The rules were simple: if people drew cards with the same pattern, they had to face a punishment together.
As luck would have it, Ryan and Emily were the unlucky losers in the very first round.
Their punishment was kissing each other through a tissue for ten seconds.
For a split second, the whole room went dead silent.
Some of the people who knew about Ryan and Lily's relationship looked super awkward, totally at a loss for words.
But most of the others, who had no idea, started egging them on.
Lily grinned and joined in the chant.
"Kiss!" she shouted along with everyone else.
At first, everyone went quiet, thinking Ryan was way too chill and aloof for this kind of flirty game.
But when they saw Lily hyping things up too, everyone loosened up and jumped right into the fun.
The noise was so wild that it felt like the roof was about to blow off.
"Come on, Ryan, don't be such a buzzkill. We agreed to play, and it's only the first round. Don't ruin the vibe," someone shouted.
"Yeah, Emily's waiting for you," another person chimed in.
Ryan turned his head and, just as expected, saw Emily's cheeks flushed. Her big, shimmering eyes were gazing at him with eager anticipation.
Lily could tell that Ryan kept looking over at her, but she just sipped her drink and chatted with Sophie, acting like she hadn't seen a thing.
"Ryan, if you don't want to do it, then..." Emily murmured.
She was a little disappointed, but before she could finish, someone behind her suddenly pushed her forward.
The next second, Emily ended up tumbling right into Ryan, her body pressing softly against him, and her face instantly turned bright red.
Ryan's eyes widened, his expression turning stormy as he quickly pushed Emily off him.
Emily just figured Ryan was being shy and didn't hold it against him. Instead, she leaned gently against his shoulder and spoke in a sweet, teasing tone.
Emily said, "Ryan, I think I might be a little drunk."
Everyone around heard that and immediately started getting rowdy.
"Hey, that doesn't count. We said you had to kiss through a tissue. How did you two end up actually kissing?" someone called out.
Ryan looked seriously pissed, his voice dropping to a cold growl.
"Alright, that's enough," he muttered.
As soon as Ryan spoke up, everyone backed off. Nobody dared to push him any further.
The next round was Truth or Dare, and unfortunately for Emily, she was the first one picked.
"Emily, I heard you've known Ryan for ages. Did anything unforgettable ever happen between you two?" someone asked.
Emily paused for a moment, her cheeks turning a little pink.
"Oh, that was ages ago. We were just kids back then. On his birthday, I made myself his birthday present and gave him a kiss," she said.
The teasing and laughter just kept rolling, and with everyone a little tipsy, the questions got way more daring.
"So you snatched Ryan's first kiss? Guess he's gotta step up and take responsibility now," someone joked.
"Please. Everyone knows Ryan's got a friend glued to his side these days. They're always together in class, hanging out, and he even brings her lunch. If they hadn't made their relationship official, I'd thought they were already dating," another person teased.
"No way. Isn't Ryan sworn enemies with Layne? If he actually became Layne's brother-in-law, those two would probably be throwing punches every single day," someone else laughed.
Lily dropped her gaze, hiding whatever was going on in her mind, and then pulled up a casual smile.
"Don't get any wild ideas. Ryan and I are just close friends. No matter who I end up with, trust me, it won't be him," she said.
Ryan's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly went back to looking unfazed.
Emily felt a wave of relief inside and laughed along with everyone else.
Then Lily's phone lit up with a new message.
It was from Ryan.
[Lily, thanks for having my back. Don't listen to their nonsense. I swear, I don't feel anything for Emily at all. That whole thing was just because someone shoved her into me. Don't let it get to you, alright?]
Lily replied with a casual tone. [I didn't pay it any mind.]
Having his back? But she was just being honest.
She didn't care about whatever was going on between him and Emily, and honestly, she didn't care about him at all.