^^West High Cafeteria

I peeked from my window curtain and watched Andrew drive away. When he was gone, I walked towards my living room and saw my dad watching the news on TV.

"Hi, Dad." He turned his head towards me and frowned.

"You're home early." He glanced at the clock. "Is the event over already?"

"No..." I mumbled, playing with my finger. "I just got tired."

"Alright. How was it?"

"Memorable," I answered, at which he chuckled.

"Don't worry. I won't make you spill everything like your mom." I gave him a grateful smile.

"She isn't home yet?" I asked, looking around.

"No." He shook his head. "I called her and she said it'll still take a few hours."

"And you're going to wait for her."

"I can't sleep until she gets home safely." He answered.

"I know." I smiled. "I'm going to go change..." I yawned, suddenly feeling drained. "And sleep."

"Do you want to eat something?"

"No. I'm full." I went to him and kissed his cheek.

"Alright." He kissed me back. "Have sweet dreams."

I lumbered to my room and took my plain grey shirt and black trousers out of my closet. I was about to walk out of my room but stopped when my phone blared.

I squeezed my eyes shut when I saw Chloe's name on it, and I knew I was in trouble. Picking up my phone, I sat on my bed.

"Hi, Chloe-"

"Don't 'Hi' me!" I winced and pulled my phone away from my ear at her shrilling angry voice. "Where are you?!"

"Home."

"Home...? Why are you at home when you should be here with me?!" There were few murmuring sounds in the background. She must be outside the ballroom, that's why I could hear her clearly.

"I-"

"I've been looking everywhere for you and Toby and Ben, but I found no one! And then out of the blue Toby texted me you all are going home because you are tired! They just announced the group category award and guess what?" She paused, and I knew she was waiting for me to ask.

"What?"

"We didn't win! And you know why?" She paused again.

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"Because my group wasn't present for the awards?!"

I sighed. "I'm sorry Chloe."

"No. This is wrong Lillian." She used my full name, which meant she was annoyed. "You can't leave me alone like this."

"She's not alone!" I heard Madeleine's voice from behind.

"What I meant is..." Chloe gritted and I could imagine her giving Madeleine her mad look. "You can't leave a zombie with a Frankenstein couple! We are a group of zombies and we need to stay together!"

"I'm so sorry Chloe..." I ducked my head, feeling guilty. "I was looking for you but then things got... rough."

"What happened?" Her voice turned curious.

"Ah..." I trailed off, not sure if I should tell her or not.

"What happened?" She repeated.

"Ben and Andrew got in a fight." I blurted.

"What?!" she shrieked. "How? Why?"

"What happened?" Madeleine asked Chloe.

"Ben and Andrew got in a fight." She answered.

"What?!" Madeleine and Jordan screamed, and they started questioning Chloe about what happened.

"Wait, let me ask her first," Chloe answered them, then asked me. "How did this happen?"

"They were both mad about something and then they got into a fight. Ben beat Andrew, and he was injured severely, so I went to the store with Andrew and helped him. Then I asked him to drop me home." I told her the half-truth.

"Why did you go with Andrew?!" Chloe screamed and I heard some movement, then Madeleine's voice blared.

"You should have stayed with Ben!"

"Ben wasn't hurt much and Toby was with him."

"What would Toby do?" Madeleine questioned. "It is your job."

"Well..."

"Ask her why did they fight?" Jordan asked, and Madeleine repeated his question.

"They fought over Ben's dad."

"Oh..." Madeleine whispered, and there was some movement again.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked, and I heard Madeleine talking to Jordan in the background.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You should have come to us. We could have helped you."

"It all happened really fast, and I got confused," I mumbled.

"Aww, my poor baby had to see the horror." Chloe cooed. Her anger just vanished in an instant. "Now you take care of yourself and sleep well. We'll discuss this tomorrow at school."

"Ok." We said our byes and hang-up.

I stared at my phone and debated if I should call Ben. After a few minutes, I called him. The bang rang for a while before Ben answered.

"What did he do?" Ben rushed.

"'Andrew' did nothing, Ben."

"Are you still with him?"

"No. He dropped me home. I called to check up on you."

"I'm calm now." He sighed. "I'm at Toby's house. I don't want to see my dad and his date at home."

"Where's Toby?"

"Downstairs with his parents."

"His parents know about you two?"

"No. I climbed the window." He chuckled.

"Oh..." I bit my lip, not sure if it was a joke or not.

"Just to remind you, you're the only one who knows."

"Can I ask you something?" I asked curiously. There was a movement that sounded like he was moving on the bed. Then he spoke.

"Shoot."

"Why haven't you told your friends about ... you?" The line went silent, and I thought maybe I crossed the line. "I mean... Like you know... Wouldn't it be easy if they knew...?"

"Honestly..." He blew a deep breath. "I don't know... Maybe I don't want them to think differently of me just because I'm gay."

"But they're your friends. They wouldn't judge you," I repeated Andrew's words.

"You never know." He said. "They are my friends... and even though they're weird and all, I love them, but... I'm not just ready to tell anyone about this. You never know the consequences of things. I'll tell them someday... But that day isn't close."

"Ok..." I nodded.

"I expected no one to find either, but you did."

"Trust me, Ben. I didn't ask for this." I thought of all the secrets I'm keeping. No one knew about them, but somehow I got caught up in them. I cut my thoughts off when out of the blue, Ben said.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I... I'm sorry that you're in this mess." He sighed. "You have to hide things from everyone because of me."

"It's alright-"

"No, it isn't." He cut me off. "And I promise I'll make up this to you." My lips automatically curved into a smile.

"You are really sweet Ben."

"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, and I giggled.

"Hey..." I heard Toby's whisper. "Who is it?"

"It's Lilly," Ben answered and put the phone on speaker.

"Hi, Lilly, did Chloe call you? I told her about us leaving and... She wasn't happy."

"Yeah, I talked to her and she'll be fine."

"I'm feeling bad now." Ben groaned. "I was supposed to drop you all and now Chloe has to look for a ride back."

Like a bulb, an idea clicked in my head. "You can do one thing to make up for her."

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

"Ask Louis to drop her..." I suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Toby exclaimed.

"How will that help?" Ben questioned.

"You're an idiot," Toby grumbled. "Don't worry about it Lilly, consider it done."

"Good." I smiled. "Now I'll leave you two alone." I teased them.

"It's alright. Not like we're going to do anything." Toby said, but Ben laughed.

"We'll see about that."

"And that's my cue," I said, and they laughed. "Bye guys."

"Bye Lilly."

I was about to hang up but stopped. "Wait!"

"Yeah?" Ben asked.

"Can you send me Andrew's number? I want to make sure if he got home."

"Sure and don't tell him I gave it to you," Ben muttered. "Let that a**hole rot."

"You shouldn't have beaten him," Toby complained.

"You heard what he called me. He knew how much I hate him and he still did."

"People say things all the time but that doesn't mean you go around breaking their bones."

"I wish I broke this bone." There was silence after that, so I cleared my throat. "Yeah sorry. I'll text you his number."

"Thank you." We hang up and I waited for his text.

After a minute, I got Andrew's number and saved his name in my contacts. Opening the chat, I stared at my phone, thinking about how I should ask him.

I didn't want to sound awkward because there were only a few times we actually talked and I didn't want to cross any boundaries. With that, I began writing.

After deleting few times and debating with myself, I came up with a perfect text.

Me: Hello Andrew. This is Lillian. Ben and I were worried about you and wanted to make sure you got home safely_

Writing Ben's name will make him think that even though they fought, he still cares about him. I hit the send button and put my phone down. Grabbing my clothes again, I went to my bathroom and change out of my costume, and washed the makeup off. After finishing, I walked back to my room and picked up my phone to see zero messages.

Maybe he's still on his way.

Closing my eyes, I lay on my bed to sleep but kept tossing and turning. My eyes went to my phone again and again.

What if he got in an accident or some kind of trouble?

I shook my head to get the bad thoughts out of my head and tried to sleep again, but jolted up when my phone pinged. In a swift motion, I grabbed my phone and saw a text from Andrew.

Andrew: Sorry I was in the shower and just saw your text. I'm glad to know that 'you' were worried about me and yes, I got home safely.

A breath of relief left my lips, and I smiled. I opened my keyboard and think of a reply. I should answer him something, otherwise, it'll look weird.

Me: Good *thumbs up*

I got a reply in an instant.

Andrew: :)

The emoji made me think of his cute smile and I frowned.

There's something wrong with me.

After a few minutes of what to answer, I got nothing. Maybe the emoji was the end of the conversation. With that thought, I put my phone away and lay on my bed again and this time when I closed my eyes I fell into a deep slumber.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

"Ouch, Mom. It hurts."

"Good. It should hurt more." She glared. We were sitting at the dining table and mom was putting medicine on my swelling cheek.

"Ben beat you to a pulp." Abigail giggled, eating her breakfast, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

I shouldn't have told her that Ben did this to my face. Now she won't stop making fun of me.

"Why did you get into a fight with him?" My dad asked as he sipped his tea.

"I already told you we got in an argument," I murmured.

Last night when I got home, Abigail and Dad were watching some Disney princess movies. Cause of my costume, they paid little attention, and I went to my room. When I woke up today, my face was swelling, and I thought of skipping school. But when mom came to my room to wake me up and saw my face, she freaked out. I told her I got in a fight with Ben and it calmed her down a bit, but she was forcing me to go to school as a punishment.

"You must have done something." Mom said, finishing with the bandage.

"Why do you think I did something?!" I shrieked.

"Because Ben is a good kid," Dad said.

"That doesn't make any scene," I said deadpan.

"What your father meant is that Ben and you are best friends, so there must be a reason you got into a fight." Mom said, getting up to put the medicine kit away.

"It was just a silly fight, Mom." I rolled my eyes, eating my eggs. "Not like this is the first time we fought."

"This was Ben, and that's why I let it slide," Dad said sternly.

"But that doesn't mean you won't be punished." Mom intervened. "You are grounded for a week."

"Mom, I'm eighteen, not eight." I groaned. "You can't ground me."

"Yes, she can," Dad said, getting up from his seat. "You need to learn from your mistakes." I rolled my eyes. "Let's go, sweetheart."

"Okay, daddy." Abigail jumped from her seat. I ignored my parents as they kissed and eyed Abigail, who gave me a smirk.

Grounded. She mouthed. I squinted my eyes at my devil of a sister. Before I could say something, dad turned around, and she gave him her sweetest smile as they walked out of the dining room.

Twat.

I ate my breakfast as my mom post her pictures from the fundraiser. Bidding bye to my mom, I ran outside.

"Woof!" AJ barked as I went to his doghouse.

"Hi, Buddy." I patted him and gave him food. "I'll see you after school!" Waving at him, I walked to my car. Ignition my car and putting some songs on it, I drove towards West High school.

~•~ • ~•~ • ~•~

Reaching the school, I narrowed my eyes when I saw Ben in the parking lot getting out of his car. I parked my car in my usual spot, which was next to his, and got out. Ben's eyes were on me as I wore my bag strap on one shoulder.

We stood glaring at each other and rolled our eyes. Without talking, we both walked toward our school, keeping a distance between us. On our way, everyone was staring at us and I knew they were all already aware of what happened.

I bet they don't know the reason.

We entered the school and went to our lockers which were in the same hall but a few lockers apart. Everyone went silent when we walked past them and whispered among themselves. I sighed and quickly got my things while Ben dwelled. Without another look, I walked to my first class.

Hours went by and I was sitting in my history class waiting for the bell to ring for the break. I tapped my foot and watched as some black and white video about history played on the screen. I glared at the projector and wished I had a laser gaze to burn that thing.

I peeked to my side and saw Fiona already looking at me when she noticed my gaze. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair.

Bit*h.

It was all her fault that I got into the fight with Ben. She crossed her arms, making her chest more pop, and I scoffed.

How does she even breathe with a tight shirt on?

As soon as the bell rang, everyone jumped off their seats and ran outside. I grabbed my stuff and walked out with Nate.

"So..." He side glanced at me as we walked to our cafeteria. "What happened?" He eyed my beat-up face.

"I don't want to talk about it." I scowled, and he puts his hands in surrender.

"Alright." We quietly walked and when we turned around the corner, we saw Lillian walking toward us with her head ducked.

I remembered her message last night. It felt good to know she was worried about me even though she used Ben's name too.

"Hi!" I greeted, getting her attention. She glanced up and smile at me but it faltered as her eyes darted to Nate.

"Hi... Guys." She stopped in front of us. Nate smiled at her and nodded.

"Where are you going?" I asked, tilting my head. It was lunchtime, and she was walking in the opposite direction.

"Outside." I frowned, and she added. "I eat lunch out with Chloe and Toby."

"Oh..." Now I thought about it I had never seen her in the cafeteria before, only on the day when Gabrielle created the scene.

"I uh need to go..." she said, walking around. "See you guys later."

"Bye." Nate and I said. She waved, and we watched her until she disappeared around the corner.

"What was that?" Nate pointed at my face.

"What?" I glanced at him.

"Dude, you were scowling and your face literally lit up at the sight of Lillian."

"I don't know what you are talking about," I walked toward the cafeteria.

What does that even mean?

"But I know." He smirked."You like her."

"Ex-excuse me?" I choked.

"You like Lillian." He said again, emphasizing each word.

"No, I don't," I argued. "I mean, she's a nice girl and all, but she isn't exactly my type."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night, but I know what I saw." He chuckled.

"You are delusional."

"You are oblivious." He retorted. "It's better if you realize what that was before it's too late."

"You call me Casanova and now you say that I like a girl."

"You only need one to change." He shrugged.

"I like the way I am."

"Fine, but I know what I saw and whatever you say won't change it." He said firmly, and we walked into the cafeteria.

I rolled my eyes at him and they went to the clean graffiti wall. Every week the wall gets clean so the students could make new things. We walked to our table, and I groaned when I saw Maddie and Brittany eying my face.

"You look bad." Maddie clicked her tongue.

"What the f**k happen between you two?" Brittany growled. "Last night you both just vanished and Maddie told me you guys were in a fight-"

"-Lillian told us-"

"-Ben didn't come home last night, and I called you thousands of times but you didn't pick, and then when I saw Ben at home in the morning he wouldn't tell me anything and I let it slide because he just had a little mark on his jaw and I thought.... ok maybe it was a little fight nothing much, but now look at you!" She heaved.

"B, Breath with me." Nate sat in front of her. "In and out-" She shot him a look. "Alright." He shut his mouth and leaned back on the couch.

"It wasn't a big deal," I mumbled, sitting next to her.

"Why won't anyone tells me anything?!"

"I'll tell you one thing." Louis came grinning with Jordan, who looked frustrated.

"Here we go again." He groaned.

Louis ignored him and shoved his trophy in front of us. "Look at this magnificent award 'I' got and what about you all?" Louis let out a nasty laugh. "None of you win! Only I did!"

"We know it, Louis." Maddie rolled her eyes. "You have been constantly shoving that on our faces!"

"Of course, I'm going to show off this beauty." He smirked. "You all were making fun of me, but guess what... I won! In your faces a**holes!"

"Oh my God..." Nate shook his head.

"You'll all remember this defeat and me for the rest of your lives." Louis burst to laugh.

"Louis..." Brittany calmly said, making him halt. "I'm not in the mood. So shut up before I bang your head on the wall."

"Alright..." he ducked his head and sat down.

"Why don't you sleep," Maddie suggested. "You always sleep during lunch."

"Now that you mention." He yawned. "I'm feeling sleepy."

"All that pride must have exhausted you," I said, and he turned towards me, but his mouth hung open when he saw my face.

"Dude..." He winced along with Jordan.

"I heard about this..." Jordan observed my face. "But you look... Awful."

"Enough," I said, sitting straight and narrowing my eyes at them. "No one is going to bring this again. Understood?" They nodded their heads while Brittany scoffed.

"I'm not leaving this that easily. Especially when dear Lillian is involved." She said, looking determined.

"Why don't you practice your cheer routine with Tiana." I offered.

"She didn't come today." Brittany blew a breath.