Chapter 2
[Man, our poor Liam is being bossed around by his underdog childhood friend again.]
I paused mid-sip, surprised.
Bossed around by me?
I looked over at Lillian. She was still watching Liam, like she was dying to say something but kept holding back.
When she noticed me looking at her, she hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "I know this might sound a bit awkward, but Serena, I think calling Liam your 'boy raised to marry you' at school could really hurt his pride."
I felt a question mark practically popping up over my head. Honestly, I could almost see one hovering above my deskmate's head too.
"You've got it wrong, Lillian. We're just joking around, and Liam doesn't care at all," I said.
There it was again, Lillian's eyes were full of disapproval.
"That's just your opinion. Maybe Liam's just too shy to speak up..." she said, frowning slightly, her lips parting as if she wanted to say more.
But before she could finish, the bell rang for class.
Too bad Lillian turned away, but the barrage of comments around her didn't let me off the hook.
[Who in this day and age would want to be called someone else's boy raised to marry her? That's just humiliating.]
[Liam lives at her place, how could he easily contradict what his underdog childhood friend says? For all we know, he's totally miserable at home.]
[Bullied at home, and now getting picked on at school under the guise of jokes.]
[No wonder Liam ended up with such a brooding vibe.]
Like I'd ever dare to bully Liam. Honestly, I was just lucky he didn't pick on me instead.
Talk about injustice, I was practically the poster child for being wronged!
Head down, looking totally defeated, I didn't even notice Liam behind me, his gaze was locked on Lillian again.
Lillian had been at our school for a week now, and honestly, nothing had really changed, except for me, since I was the only one who could see that barrage of comments swirling around her.
I thought as long as I didn't pay attention to Lillian, everything would stay just like before.
But something changed about Liam.
To be exact, the change only happened when Lillian was nearby.
Whenever Lillian was around and people started teasing Liam about being my boy raised to marry me, he didn't just brush it off like he used to.
Instead, I caught a flicker of annoyance and that stifled, resentful look, like he wanted to say something but forced himself to swallow it.
It was gone in a second.
But we'd grown up together, so I could spot it in a heartbeat.
"Serena, I don't think it's okay how you treat Liam," Lillian said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, just as I took the drink Liam handed me. I turned around and nearly ran into Lillian.
"Liam's his own person, not your servant. Don't you think it's messed up to boss him around all day?" Lillian pressed.
"Huh?"
I gripped the bottle in my hand, feeling totally at a loss.
Slave? Because he helped me buy a bottle of water?
"And don't you think it's disrespectful, going around saying at school that Liam's your boy raised to marry you?" Lillian pressed.
Lillian was all fired up with righteous fury, looking just like one of those TV heroes who stand up to injustice.
"Liam, is that how you see it too? Am I really disrespecting you?" I asked, turning to him.
Liam stood silently behind Lillian.
When I asked him, he finally shifted his gaze away from Lillian.
He didn't say a word, but when he saw Lillian's encouraging look, he hesitated for a moment, then, at last, he gave a small nod.
In that instant, I felt my eyes get misty.
[Man, I could watch the FL save the ML scene a hundred times and never get tired of it.]
[This is where the ML's heart starts to open up to the FL.]
[Is the underdog childhood friend about to cry? Serves her right!]
The barrage was gloating, but I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart.
I forced back my tears and managed a smile.
Then I fished out two bucks and handed them to Liam.
"Here, thanks for the water. I'm paying you back," I said.
Before Liam could even grab it, I stuffed the money into his hand and turned and walked off.
"I declare, from this day forward, I'm cutting all ties with Liam!" I announced.
"But Serena, what about your childhood fiancé..." Quinny started, but seeing my expression, she quickly switched gears. "Wait, I mean, don't you and Liam live together?"
"Doesn't matter. I'm not even going to talk to him when we're back home," I said.
"Man, that transfer student is wild. She's only been here a week, and she's already managed to wreck your decade-long childhood bond?" Quinny said.
I couldn't exactly tell Quinny that maybe it was just some kind of magnetic attraction between the protagonists.
Just like I decided in my heart, I'm not going to pay any more attention to Liam.
It was the day for boarding students to go home, so even if Liam left school with Lillian, he'd still end up back at my place.
But I couldn't for the life of me understand how my childhood friend, who acts all distant at school, suddenly turned into a whole new person as soon as we got home.
"Liam, get out! Don't come into my room!"
I shot him an angry glare, eyes wide with frustration, as he just pushed his way into my room.
Liam produced a plate of fruit from behind his back and set it on my desk like he was showing off his prized possession. "Serena, don't be mad. Look, I washed some strawberries for you."