Yesterday was the hardest day for me, from realizing I was being emotionally manipulated by two guys, to fleeing from them which escalated in me stumbling into an alley of some hotel building to ugly cry.

What has my life become into? A thought occurred to me at that moment that this was never the way I planned my life out to be. The beginning of my junior year wasn't supposed to go this way.

When I felt my life was about to spiral out of control, I had a pleasant conversation with Mom where she opened my mind, soothed my soul, and comforted me with her wisdom.

Agitation was rife within me — coursing throughout my entire body with each passing step I made. Yet, there was a demanding voice at the back of my head instructing me to stay imperturbable.

I was greeted by an unpredicted light tap upon my shoulder. As I braced myself, I whirled around thinking it was either Ethan or Kaleb wanting to feed me with more of their shit which I had enough but it wasn't.

It was Elle, dressed in a navy blue blazer over a white shirt which she topped off with a red bow, her mid-thigh skirt hugged her curves in all the right places, and her heels showed off her enviably long legs.

The girl stood rigid, arms crossed and lips pursed into a thin line while looking at me with her head tilted back a bit. Just from the body language of her, I knew she wasn't in a good mood.

"Where is Ethan?" Elle pulled me from my thoughts, causing my brows to pucker.

It came to my attention that she had a stack of envelopes in her hand. "I don't know," I answered.

Elle wore a skeptical expression on her face. "You mean, you didn't come with him?"

"No."

"No, what?" she pressed.

I groaned because her attitude was beginning to tick me off. "No, I didn't come with him."

"And did he happen to be at your house again last night?" she came out with another question, moving her face closer.

"What?" I asked back confusedly.

Elle uncrossed her arms and moved them to her hips. "You know I hate it when I have to repeat myself."

"No, he didn't come over to my place," I told her with sincerity.

Elle wasn't convinced. "Yeah, right."

I found that acceptable. I didn't expect her to believe in me directly after what Ethan and I had done to her. Once you lie to people, they wouldn't be able to keep trust in you and it'll be hard for them to believe you anymore.

"Hi, you guys are invited to my birthday party," Elle said to two passing seniors and handed the envelopes over to them.

"Elle, I swear he wasn't," I spoke a second later with more force. "Did you guys get into a fight again?"

Elle shook her head at me. "Why is that always the first thing on your mind? You make it sound like you'd wish for it to happen."

"Stop talking nonsense," I hurriedly said and my reaction silenced her.

Turning on my heel, I joined the flow of students as they headed to the first-period class. Elle followed me, handing out the invitation cards to the crowd in the process.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of upset at me for just asking a simple question," Elle inquired.

I cocked my head to the side and caught her gaze. "I'm fine. It's just whatever is the issue between you two, leave me out of it."

Elle chuckled softly. "Chill out, we have no issue," she said with optimism and booped me on the nose.

"Don't do that," I groaned, pinching my eyes shut in annoyance and letting her walked ahead of me.

"I'm not supposed to ask this but have you bought me a present yet?" Elle asked in a curious tone, looking at me over her shoulder.

"I thought you mentioned you didn't need one," I reminded her. "You said, and I quote, 'you don't have to get me anything, Andy. The best kind of present for me is seeing my friends there.'"

Elle snorted out a laugh and shook her head as she walked. "Come on, you know I had to say that. What type of girlfriend would I be if I told you the kind of gift I'd like to receive in my boyfriend's face when I know he couldn't afford it."

"That's mean," I pointed out.

Elle glanced over at me. "I'm being sensible."

I was well aware of the huge difference in their parents' social status. Elle is the daughter of a wealthy widowed businessman who lived in a three-story glasshouse, meanwhile, Ethan was raised by two parents working as postal clerks in a low-middle-class neighborhood.

"Now it's just you and me, you can tell me what you want for your birthday," I said to her.

Elle batted her eyelashes at me, her hand slipped into her sling bag and she fished out her phone. I watched a bunch of random pictures flashed quickly as she swiped the screen.

"Alright, so I saw this brown vintage faux fur coat at a store in..." was all I could hear because at that moment some asshole went and grabbed me away without her noticing.

It all happened so fast. The next thing I realized was me being in a dim supply closet. My breath hitching after the door I had came in through shut behind me as I was pushed against it. As the person was locking the door hurriedly, I had the pleasure to know who it was.

"Ethan, what the —" he covered my mouth with his hand, shutting me down. His body pressed against mine, trapping me with his whole frame. There was nothing else I could do other than to obey.

"Andy, are you in there?" came Elle's muffled voice on the other side, she twisted the doorknob a few times before giving up and left.

Ethan removed his hand and drew back one step from me. He looked tired under the light, his skin somehow paler than normal, his once perfect hair was a mess, eyes were bloodshot from stress and lack of sleep.

"I know this is a little stalker-ish but I need to talk to you," he said, his tone pleading and desperate.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Eat shit, Ethan."

Ethan's eyes seemed to bug out of his head. "Just hear me out first alright?"

"I have more things to do than hear you bitching about your control freak girlfriend, which gives you the urge to cheat on her with me and feel guilty about it the next day," I replied, firm and level.

"I'm sorry if I was so complicated and messed everything up," he said, remorse and misery written across his face as he spoke. "But please, listen to what I have to say."

Ethan appeared sad and subdued with his lips settled in a soft pout, green eyes that of a sad puppy and a deep frown creasing his perfect brows. How could I ever say no to that face?

"You have until the first bell rings," I told him, and his smile spread in response.

"Thank you," he said with glee and started coming closer, arms wide open presumably to hug me.

"Ah, ah, ah, stay back," I chided. It caused his excitement to falter.

Ethan started to say something before stopping and somewhat dramatically looked down. He drew in a breath as if he was searching for the strength within him to speak.

"I meant to tell you this yesterday before you decided to hop into Kaleb's car and let him drive you away," he said with his undivided attention on my face.

I pulled my eyes away from him. "Sorry I was just excited to see the rekindling love of my favorite couple."

"I was putting on an act. God knows I wanted to tell her about breaking up but it felt wrong at the time 'cause she's all hyped up about her party," he explained.

I raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you aren't faking it with me too?"

"I can never fake my feelings for you. If I say I like you, I mean it honestly," he replied.

"I don't know, Ethan." I leaned my back against the door and folded my arms. "I'm not sure who to believe now."

Ethan took a step closer to me. "I like you, I like you so, so much. I just had a horrible way of showing it."

Ethan paused a bit before he continued.

"Elle and I have been together for almost a year. I can't bear to break her heart and ruin her birthday week. Even though I don't have feelings for her anymore I still..."

"Care about her," I finished for him. "I understand that."

"I just need to get over this week first and I promise you, I'll tell Elle that I want to end our relationship," he said in a low tone, almost like a whisper.

I nodded in agreement to which Ethan smiled back. His hand took a gentle hold on my chin, his thumb now softly tracing over my lower lip while he looked down at me. I knew what he had on his mind.

"Until then, we shouldn't be doing this, in secret or not. I can't keep sneaking around and stabbing my friend in the back, alright?" I said and pushed him back.

And as if on cue the school bell blared signaling his time was up. Ethan didn't look quite pleased with it. However, for the sake of lifting back his mood, I gave him a peck on the cheek before unlocking the door and walking out of there.