Chapter 2
Layla paused for a moment. "Oh, right... Wait, no, that's not it. I just thought, since you're kind of an introvert and not really good at chatting with people, I'd help you get the conversation started with Alistair."
[Scarlett is such a schemer. She keeps saying she's not interested in Alistair, but she still went ahead and accepted his friend request.]
[Right? She totally tricked our sweet Layla into chatting with him for her.]
[Alistair is so into Layla. If Layla helps Scarlett start talking to him, he might get the wrong idea and start liking Scarlett instead.]
[Layla, seriously, you gotta be smarter about this.]
These comments were so fake,
I just got my phone back.
And with Layla grinning from ear to ear, God knows what she had been messaging Alistair as me.
Watch me get banned because of her, I immediately looked down to check what they'd been talking about.
Alistair: [Alistair.]
Me: [Why are you acting all aloof, punk? It's me, Layla, your boss.]
Alistair: [Wait, it's you? Weren't you supposed to hook me up with your bestie? What, getting possessive now?]
Me: [Who's possessive? I'm just worried you'll pull your spoiled prince routine and mess with Scarlett.]
Alistair: [So, what do you want me to do?]
Me: [I'm warning you, Alistair, don't you dare mess with Scarlett. If you do, I'll come at you with my little fists.]
Damn, were these two seriously getting all lovey-dovey on my phone?
This was making me sick,
Layla leaned in, pointing at the chat, grinning so wide she could barely contain herself.
"See, Scarlett? Didn't I tell you Alistair's awesome?" Layla said.
Just then, Alistair sent a new message: [Oh, you think you can take me on? Let's see if I don't teach you a lesson.]
Layla didn't even hesitate. She grabbed her phone and called him right then and there.
"Oh, You little punk, you really think you can teach your boss a lesson? Just watch me roast you alive for Scarlett!" Layla shouted into the phone.
Seriously, this was insane,
It was next-level disgusting,
I just deleted Alistair and retreated to my room for some peace and quiet.
The comments were at it again.
[Scarlett really doesn't know what's good for her. Layla went out of her way to help her add Alistair, and she just turns around and deletes him?]
[Probably saw Layla and Alistair being all cute together, realized she had zero chance, and just gave up.]
[I bet Scarlett deleted Alistair just to get his attention. She's totally playing hard to get.]
[Wait, Scarlett is this scheming? What's our sweet Layla supposed to do now?]
[Relax, Layla's the author's favorite. She'll see through her so-called bestie's true colors soon enough and totally put her in her place.]
Wasn't it obvious I was just a regular person?
Me, clinging to Alistair? As if.
I had standards.
Who even wanted a guy who was all tangled up with his girl bestie? If the commenters were so obsessed, let them each have one.
I snorted and tossed my phone aside.
As I lay in bed, memories started flooding back.
Layla and I used to be neighbors.
From kindergarten to middle school, we were always together.
But when we started high school, her family moved away, and we gradually lost touch.
It wasn't until the last semester of my senior year that I found an internship in Ebonville and rented a place here.
Not long after, she hit me up, saying she was also interning in Ebonville.
To save money, we decided to split an apartment.
Our routines were nothing alike.
Plus, Layla was out of the house like six and a half days a week.
We barely ever ran into each other.
Sometimes, when we both happened to have a rare day off, I'd invite her out for a meal, hoping to catch up and reconnect after all these years.
But she'd always say she wanted to rest, or that she had plans with Alistair.
Today, she finally had some time to sit down and chat with me.
But just as I was reminiscing about the old days, she cut me off and started talking about setting me up with someone.
And honestly, the guy she wanted to set me up with didn't seem all that reliable.
Honestly, she loved basking in that vague, flirty vibe with Alistair.
She just wasn't the same best friend I used to hang out and study with anymore.
I couldn't help but feel a little wistful, and honestly, a bit disappointed.
But I knew people changed.
Once I made peace with it, I just crashed and went to sleep.
When I woke up, my phone was blowing up with a dozen notifications.
Layla had messaged me at 3 AM. [Scarlett, are you asleep?]
[You actually went to bed? So early?]
[Why did you delete Alistair? Did you do it by accident? Hurry up and add him back...]
And Alistair had sent me a friend request too.
Alistair: [Girl, why'd you delete me?]
Alistair: [Ha, trying to play hard to get now?]
Alistair: [Don't play hard to get. If you keep it up, you're not even cute anymore.]
Waking up to this felt like getting slapped by a lightning bolt.
I instantly regretted making my phone the first thing I checked this morning.
My phone buzzed again.
Alistair was still blowing up my phone.
Alistair: [I'm not exactly desperate to add you. If you don't want to, just tell Layla yourself.]
What a psycho.
He messaged me like clockwork—one every hour.
Did Alistair ever sleep?
I didn't accept his friend request. I just hit reject and fired back: [I'll let letting Layla know, so please stop sending requests.]
He fired back instantly: [If it weren't for Layla, I wouldn't even bother with you. Wow, someone's got a big ego.]
I was in a rush to get to work, so I just ignored him.
After a quick wash and breakfast, I was about to head out.
But Layla suddenly burst out of her room, limping like she'd just been through a war.