Chapter 3
"What are you trying to say, Liam? I'm not touching anything you give me, next thing I know, you'll accuse me of treating you like a servant!" I shot back.
I turned away, but tears slipped down my cheeks anyway.
It was easier when Liam kept a straight face with me. But when he tried to coax me with that goofy smile, all my bottled-up feelings just spilled over.
"Serena, you've got it all wrong," Liam said, suddenly popping up in front of me. "I swear, I didn't mean it.
"Come on, why would I ever put that label on you? Honestly, I like being your servant, I'll do anything for you."
As he spoke, Liam raised his hand like he was taking an oath, acting all dramatic and goofy, which totally cracked me up.
"Then why are you saying I insulted you? You were the one who started calling yourself my little househusband in class," I shot back.
"I don't know. Maybe I just got annoyed because everyone kept saying it? But honestly, it shouldn't bother me."
"But it's so weird, these past few days, every time you guys joke about me being your little househusband at school, I get this random wave of annoyance for no reason."
Liam's brows knitted together, his eyes clouded with confusion and a touch of self-blame.
I wanted so badly to tell him that it was because we were just characters written into this story.
But he was the dark, troubled hero, destined to be saved by the heroine.
And I was just the expendable NPC who existed only to make his life miserable.
My mouth opened and closed, but not a single word could escape.
In the end, Liam just shoved the biggest strawberry straight into my mouth.
"You really are the lord around here, even when it comes to strawberries, you want me to feed you," he joked.
With my cheeks puffed out from the strawberry, Liam cracked up, saying I looked just like a hamster.
With that goofy grin, he didn't look anything like the gloomy male lead the heroine's fangirls kept ranting about in the bullet comments.
He just liked to put on that cool, distant act at school, like any guy his age.
But the second he stepped through the door and was around me, all that childishness just spilled out.
In the end, I could only chalk up everything that happened at school to a big misunderstanding, and pulled Liam over to sit down and walk me through my questions.
"Oh, and here's your two bucks back. Buying water for Serena is honestly an honor," Liam said, handing me the money.
I shot him a sideways look and gave a playful, proud little snort. "Nope, keep it. Let it be a lesson for you."
Liam scratched his head and laughed. "Alright, I'll carry it with me. It'll remind me not to bully our Serena at school."
When Liam smiled, his eyes lit up, like I was the only person in his whole world.
*****
Just then, my parents came home.
They brought back takeout and told us to come eat.
While we were eating, they also video called Liam's mom.
Liam's dad passed away when he was little, and his mom was always busy with her research job.
When Liam was ten, his mom left him in the care of her best friend, my mom.
For years, Liam and I have been going to and from school together.
He always wanted me to watch him play basketball, and whenever I went shopping, he was the one stuck carrying all my bags.
Being together all the time just feels natural now.
We even made a promise to go to the same college after the SATs.
Too bad, back when we made that promise, I had no clue Liam was the guy the main girl in those school romance stories had her sights set on.
I never imagined his college choices would change.
School really did feel like it had some kind of magic, or maybe the real magic was Lillian, the school romance lead.
Liam and I were having a blast on our way to school, laughing together. Just as we reached the classroom door, Lillian shot us a look.
That single glance was all it took, Liam's whole vibe instantly shifted.
His smile disappeared, he dropped his head, letting his bangs fall over his eyes, and walked right past me, heading straight to his desk.
Again?
I froze, totally clueless and anxious, staring at Lillian.
Sure enough, the bullet comments were flooding her screen again.
[Poor male lead, our sweetpea just saved him, but after one weekend, he's already been messed up by the cannon fodder childhood friend's family.]
[Ugh, it's hopeless. Even if sweetpea gives it her all, she can't stop the childhood friend's family from messing with his head.]
[Well, the male lead finally pulled himself together last week, but now he's back to his brooding self again.]
[No worries! According to the plot, the cannon fodder side chick is about to treat the male lead like her servant again, but our sweetpea's got his back. His affection for her is about to skyrocket!]
I dragged myself to my seat, feeling lost and helpless, not sure what to do.
I wonder if Liam would catch feelings for Lillian.
'Did he already forget what he promised me yesterday?' The thought stung.
The whole morning, my mind was all over the place, I couldn't stop thinking about Liam and Lillian.
I couldn't focus in class, and couldn't answer any of the questions.
My thoughts were a mess, I was so frustrated, I just wanted to explode!
"Hey Serena, let's grab lunch," Liam called out.
Morning classes were finally done, but I was so fed up I couldn't even bring myself to get up.
"Liam, help me..." I turned my head and blurted it out, barely thinking.
But right then, a line popped into my mind: [According to the plot, the cannon fodder side chick is about to treat the male lead like her servant again, but our sweetpea's got his back. His affection for her is about to skyrocket!]