"She kissed him back?!"
I slammed my notebook shut and glared at Sienna.
Yup Sienna mason from class A5.
Basically a gossip queen plus mean girls plus queen bee.
She was gossiping and passing her phone around to her partners-in-crime.
Enca and Toche.
I planted both hands on the lunch table and hissed,
"Who told you that?!"
Zera, calm as ever beside me, just watched like she was at a free drama show.
Sienna flicked her silky ponytail with all the attitude in the world.
"Oh, I've seen it."
"NO I DIDN'T!!" I quickly squealed when I lunged at her.
Oh no. no no no.
If she knows, the whole school will know by tomorrow morning.
Sienna is literally a top-tier gossip queen!
I grabbed her phone.
"Let me see that!" yup, I was going to delete it right now.
But when I looked...
It was just a dumb drama clip they were giggling over.
"WHAT—?!" My whole face burned up.
Everyone in the canteen turned to look.
A burst of laughter exploded at our table.
"Why are you so panicked, Rose?!"
Sienna cackled. Look at me as if she knows my secret.
"Relax everyone knows she kiss him eventually!"
Enca and Toche squealed like fangirls.
I laughed nervously. "Hehehe... yeah, I just wanted to see... for myself..."
I quickly fixed my hair, pretending my soul hadn't just left my body.
After lunch.
Zera and I walked down the hallway.
"Geeeez! I seriously thought they were talking about me!"
I half-dragged my soul behind me, whining dramatically.
Zera burst out laughing.
"Yeah, Rose next time, think before you do anything dumb!"
"I know! But if anyone really saw it I'm dead!" I shrieked.
Then.
"Looking for this?"
I froze.
Zera froze.
We both turned.
Lucas.
Standing there like the smug villain he is holding up his phone.
A crystal-clear picture on his screen:
Me. Him. Kissing.
My heart plummeted to my feet.
"Lucas! No—no way! Delete that!!"
I lunged, reaching desperately, but he caught my wrists mid-air.
Phone raised high, smirk even higher.
The worst part?
He looked like he was enjoying this way too much.
"If you want me to keep it a secret..."
He stepped closer, eyes locked on mine.
"Be my girlfriend."
My face turned pale like every drop of blood had abandoned my body.
"I swear, Lucas! Don't you dare press that send button!"
Lucas just smiled that wicked, infuriating smile and looked me dead in the eyes.
"Then choose," he said calmly.
Out of sheer desperation, I blurted it out.
"Fine! Yes! YES! I'll be your stupid girlfriend, you demon!!"
I swear, in that moment, I regretted not strangling him the day he was born.
Lucas's grin widened. releases my hand.
Then patted my head like I was his pet, and whispered,
"Good girl. See you after class, babe."
Then he walked off. Leaving me to dramatically collapse into Zera's arms.
"Zeraaa! Help meee!!" I wailed, clutching her for dear life.
She just giggled, the traitor.
"Oh come on, Rose. You like him too. Just admit it and give him a chance~"
My eyes sharpened to knives.
"I swear, Zera. I should kill you too. Both of you. Right now."
Yup. My best friend was officially useless.
After the bell rang.
School ended. Students poured out like a flood everyone laughing, chatting, normal.
Meanwhile, I spotted him striding straight towards me.
"Hey babe. Let's walk home together."
Lucas smirked, voice dripping honey.
I shot Zera a silent SOS look. My eyes practically begged her to save me with any excuse.
Zera just smiled, picked up her bag sweetly, and said,
"Well, I'll be going home first! Have fun, you two!"
"ZERA!!" I shrieked.
She winked like an evil angel and vanished into the crowd.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Now I had a fake devil boyfriend...
And an evil angel best friend.
My life was sooo great!
Lucas picked up my bag without even asking and tossed it over his shoulder.
He leaned in, smirked, and said in that annoyingly sweet voice,
"Come on. Let's go, girlfriend."
The whole walk home?
It felt like a funeral procession.
A very public, humiliating, impossible-to-explain funeral.
At the street corner, we stopped.
Lucas leaned a bit closer, still wearing that smug grin.
"See you tomorrow at school babe."
Then he walked off, whistling.
I stood frozen for a moment. Then stomped home like an angry hippo.
Welcome to my home.
I have a small landed property with a cozy gate at the entrance.
Once you step inside, the main door is tucked in the right corner.
Open it up, and straight ahead you'll see a staircase leading up to the second floor that's where my room is.
To your left, there's a mini sliding door that opens into my living room. It's simple but comfy an L-shaped sofa, a coffee table, and a TV for lazy days.
To the right, there's a railing and a small step up into the kitchen area.
that's where my sister's battlefield is! She might look small, but trust me, she eats a lot!
Oh yeah, that lady standing there at the kitchen?
Red hair like me. That's my mom, Anna.
"Welcome home, dear!" she called out with her usual gentle smile.
Well... I must say,
My home is heaven.
Almost.
No Lucas here to haunt my life for now.
But... my sis-
"SISTERRRR!!!"
Yup. That wild 10-year-old tornado is my little sister Lily.
Wait you're probably wondering.
How is my sister 10 while I'm 18?
Well... maybe half of you don't care. But for the curious 10% here's my family drama in a nutshell.
Eighteen years ago, my mom had me.
My father? Rich man. My mom? ...Well, let's just say she was surviving on the streets, doing God knows what.
One day, Dad left us. I never asked why. Maybe he was too rich for my mom. Who knows? Not my business anymore.
Anyway, life moved on.
Mom married a new man my current dad petter (and hopefully my last dad, thank you very much).
Then, boom! Little sister.
Thats why her hair is yellow, just like my current dad's.
When we go out together, people always ask.
"Are you two friends?"
NO, SHOPKEEPER SIR SHE'S MY SISTER, MISTER!
Yes, I actually shout at people. Don't ask why.
So! Back to present chaos my sister launched herself at me the second I stepped inside.
"Sister!!! You're back!!"
She tackled me with a hug like I'd been gone a thousand years.
"Welcome home! Did you bring me anything? A cookie?"
Yup. Cookies. She's addicted to the chocolate chip cookies my evil angel best friend makes.
Zera yes, she's basically my best friend and my sister's personal cookie dealer at this point.
"Marien, let your sister rest first she hasn't even taken off her shoes yet," Mom chided gently.
Oh. Right. My shoes were still on.
"Okay, Mom..." my sister pouted, then scampered back to her room.
Dinner was nice.
Just the four of us Mom, Dad, lily, and my fluffy cat, Blue.
Please don't ask why I named her Blue.
Maybe I thought I'd get an actual blue cat one day. My dreams were confusing.
I might not have my biological father anymore.
But this family? It's good enough for me.
Good night. I'll see you tomorrow.