After the mess, Toby and I sat in my living room, staring at nothing in particular. We both were wrapped in our thoughts of what happened. I wasn't sure what was going to take place between me and Andrew.

Until Ben tells him, he won't believe us, and as for Ben. He and Toby broke up because Ben still doesn't have the guts to come out.

Blowing a breath of frustration, I got from the couch and picked up the Lily flowers. They were crushed, but I wouldn't throw them away. This was the first time Andrew brought me flowers, and I wondered how he knew they were my favorite.

I walked to the kitchen and picked a glass jar from the cabinet, then filled it with water. Settling the flowers in it, I placed the jar in the middle of the dining table and gazed at them.

"You know what?" Toby rushed into the kitchen. "Let's f**k these boys and have fun."

"What?" I frowned.

"I know perfectly what will cheer our moods." Toby gave a tight smile and walked to the refrigerator. "Ice cream."

He picked out the only oreo cookie ice cream in it and grinned at me. Nodding my head, I picked out two spoons, and we walked back into the living room.

I sat on the couch while Toby searched for a movie for us to watch and stopped on 'Love, Simon'. I didn't know if it was the right choice to watch considering the crisis, but I said nothing.

I paid little attention to the movie as I kept staring at the ice cream. Even the ice cream reminded me of the moment I shared with Andrew after Nate's party.

Andrew has always been there for me and he cares for me so much. It hurts me to see him like that and I feel powerless knowing I couldn't do anything about it. I need to do something, but I'm sure what.

The movie was almost ending when my parents came home. They were surprised to see Toby, and I told them he stayed the night with me. They were happy to know I wasn't alone at home. After that Toby left bidding farewell to my parents. Mom asked him to stay for dinner but he refused, saying he was exhausted and needed to prepare something for tomorrow's school.

Later at night when I was having dinner with my parents and mom asked me about the flowers. I told them Andrew got it and kept the remaining drama to myself. Mom knew something was wrong and I couldn't tell her.

I wanted to burst out my feelings to my mother and tell her everything so she could help me with the situation, but I had my hands tied.

I excused myself and lumbered to my room, then plopped on my bed. Staring at the ceiling, I think of the ways I could talk to Andrew without lying to him or telling him the truth, but I came up with nothing.

Picking up my phone, I looked at the text Chloe sent me in the morning and couldn't help but burst out crying. It was the picture of Andrew and me that Chloe clicked when I was going to his house for dinner.

Love?

I don't know about Andrew, but I sure am in love with him.

The next day, I got up to get ready for school. My eyes were puffy and red from all the crying, and my face was a little swollen. I didn't want to go, but I had no choice.

I needed to submit my assignments and homework as it was the last day and I couldn't take any risk after almost failing my classes.

Few grey clouds covered the sky but didn't hide the sun shining in the middle. I looked at the damage the storm caused in my neighborhood and saw a few trees ripped, but worse.

With a heavy heart, I rode my cycle towards the school. After spring breaks, I always got excited to go to school and see Andrew, but today my stomach clutched just at the thought of seeing the aggrieved look on his face.

Swallowing hard, I parked my bicycle on the stand and looked for Andrew's white Austin Martin which was already parked.

He's here.

Taking a huge gulp of breath, I clenched the bag strap and put it over my shoulder. I walked into the hallway and frowned when I saw it was empty. There was still time for the bell to ring and I knew the students here weren't eager to be in the class before the bell.

I walked to my locker and placed my books inside when I heard the squeaking sounds of shoes. Whirling on my heels, I saw Madeleine and Jordan running toward the hallway.

Last week, I had a chat with Madeleine and asked her if he was keeping her promise. She assured me she hasn't cut herself since she swore to me and even showed me her marks. I was relieved to see there wasn't any new.

"Lilly!" Madeleine exclaimed in surprise when she saw me. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh... I study here." I answered, making them burst out laughing.

"She meant by what are you doing and not in the cafeteria?" Jordan corrected, making my face scrunched in confusion.

"Why would I be-"

"She doesn't know." Madeleine cut me off and yanked me with her. "We need to hurry!"

"What's going on?" I asked as she dragged me with her upstairs.

"We're not sure, but Louis texted us to come immediately to the cafeteria," Jordan replied right behind us.

"Cafeteria?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

"Something is going on there and we don't wanna miss it," Madeleine said and bust inside the cafeteria.

My eyes widened when I saw the whole cafeteria filled with students and they were watching a guy spraying something on the graffiti wall.

"Is... Is that Ben?" I asked, making out of his figure.

"That's him," Madeleine confirmed, and we strode towards the center. "Make way people!" She pushed others out of the way and we stood in front.

"You made it!" Louis came with Chloe.

"What is he doing?" Jordan asked.

"Don't know." Chloe shrugged. "But when we came here in the morning, a guy came running across the hallway saying Ben is up to something."

"They said he's doing something rebellious again to piss off his mother." David came from the crowd with Tiana.

"But I don't think he'll draw 'I' and a 'heart' to piss his mother." Tiana pointed at the wall.

I observed the wall and saw a huge 'I' and 'heart' drawn over it. He was making a 'U' and my eyes bugged out.

He's-

"He's confessing." Chloe completed my sentence.

"Holy shit!" Madeleine screamed and clasped her face. "This is finally f**king happening."

"Are you trying to say?" Jordan glanced at me, then back at Ben.

"Oh, shit, this is not good," Louis mumbled, looking to his left.

I followed his stare and saw Brittany and Andrew standing there with their arms crossed. His eyes were narrowed as he scrutinized Ben. Feeling my eyes on him, he darted his gaze towards me. I broke the contact when Madeleine screamed.

"He's declaring his undying love for Lilly!" But I remained quiet.

"I don't think that's what he's doing," David muttered.

"Uh, dude." Madeleine looked at him deadpan. "He's drawn an 'I' and a 'heart' over the wall."

"Now he's writing a U." Chloe nodded. "He's definitely confessing."

"Finally he got his senses back!" Madeleine grinned.

"What about Drew?" Louis whispered.

"I saw a war coming from the beginning." Madeleine shrugged.

"Why is he writing a 'T'?" Jordan pointed out.

We turned towards the wall again and saw him making T.

"Hey dumba** Lillian starts with a L, not T," Madeleine shouted and I internally slapped myself. "Is he dyslexic?"

"He's writing an 'O' now." Louis frowned.

"Maybe he's writing 'I love you too... my heart or something?" Chloe tilted her head.

I took a deep breath and watched them, assuming things as I waited for Ben to finish. I couldn't believe he was doing this in front of the entire school. Surely Toby will be pleased to see this and makeup with him.

The entire crowd was watching in anticipation of what was going on and recording with their phones. I searched around for Toby but couldn't find him.

"Now I'm officially confused." Louis massaged his forehead. "He's written a 'B'."

"You should have practiced how to write first!" David yelled, and everyone burst out laughing.

Ben flipped him the birds and finally wrote a 'Y'.

"I love you to by..." Tiana read and her face scrunched in confusion. "To by... What?"

"Holy sweet honey mother of cows, and bulls!" Madeleine gawked at Chloe, who had her jaw dropped. "It's not 'to by'..."

"It's TOBY!" they simultaneously screamed.

"Toby?" Jordan frowned. "Why would he love Toby unless he's a..." His eyes widened and his jaw fell to the ground. "Oh..."

There was a pin drop silence in the cafeteria as they stared at Ben. He took a deep breath and finally faced the crowd. His eyes looked and searched for the ones he wanted, but they caught mine. He gave me a sad smile and mouth 'Sorry'.

I chuckled and shook my head and that's when Toby stepped out of the crowd towards Ben with a high grin on his face.

"I know I told you to come out," Toby smirked with glossy eyes. "But you didn't have to be this dramatic."

"Dramatic is my middle name." Ben grinned and grabbed his face. The whole cafeteria gasped when he slammed his lips to Toby's.

"Go, Benjamin!" Brittany let out a wolf whistle, making everyone snap out.

The whole cafeteria erupt in cheers and began chanting their names.

"TOBY! BEN! TOBY! BEN!"

"Wait... What..."

The Clichés had their jaws dropped as they gawked at Ben and Toby, making out in the center like they were the only ones in the room.

"Ben is... He is..." Madeleine and Chloe gaped at each other, baffled.

"We were shipping him and Lillian!" They looked like they were struck by lightning.

"F**k, all this time we were sailing the wrong boat." Madeleine slapped her forehead.

"You were trying to sail a sinking boat." I finally said, making them turn towards me.

"Sorry Lilly." Chloe shuddered. "We didn't know-"

"F**k!" Madeleine cursed. "I even named your future kids!"

"If Ben's gay, that means all along he wasn't interested in Lilly," Tiana mumbled and David's eyes widened like he just realized something.

"Give me back my hundred bucks!" He shouted at Madeleine.

"What money?" She acted oblivious and crossed her arms.

"The bet money you took from me saying you won since they didn't sleep together," David grumbled.

"You guys bet on us?" I frowned, but they ignored me and continued to fight.

"They bet on you and Ben before Valentine's day," Louis answered my confusion. "But since the opposite happened on that day." He referred to the Singletine's party. "Maddie took money from David, saying she won."

I opened and closed my mouth, but nothing came out. I watched as David and Maddie bickered over a hundred bucks. It was shocking to see them fighting over that when they were so rich.

"Guys?" Jordan came between them and pointed at Ben and Toby. "We are missing the main point here."

"Oh, right." David and Madeleine backed.

"First, you are not getting your money back." Madeleine eyed David. "And second... Benjamin f**king Forbes!" She screamed, turning towards them. "How could you do this to me?!"

I sighed and shook my head as they walked toward Ben and Toby. My heart almost stopped when I saw Andrew with them. He looked relaxed, opposite of what he was yesterday. Our eyes met, and I halted.

The truth is out so...

What now?

'I <3 U TOBY'

Rubbing my eyes, I reread it, again and again, to make sure I wasn't dreaming and this was real.

I couldn't sleep last night after the fight and kept having nightmares of Ben and Lillian getting married and I was the best man in it. It was the horrible nightmare I ever had in my entire life.

In the morning I got ready and thought of different seniors to confront Ben and Lillian, but when I reached West High, I got a call from Brittany and she told me to come to the cafeteria.

At first, I thought she wanted to talk, but when I stepped inside; I saw Ben with a spray can near the graffiti wall. Frowning at him, I walked to Brittany, and she told me to watch Ben.

"I told you to wait, right?" Brittany smirked, looking at Ben. "Guess you don't have to wait for long."

"What is he doing?" I asked, plopping my hands in the front pockets.

"You'll find out." She sounded oddly cheerful, making me curious.

Ben took a breath and began drawing on the wall. Gradually the cafeteria began filling with students thinking that Ben was doing something wild to make his mother furious again, which the twins did now and then, but that wasn't the case this time. I narrowed my eyes when he finished writing a 'U'.

I felt eyes on me and when I glanced in the direction; I saw Lillian already staring at me. She looked like she wanted to say something, but I knew her better. I always complained about girls being talkative all the time, but after knowing Lillian, I just wanted her to say something to me... anything.

But she knows how to keep her mouth shut.

Maddie screamed, cutting off our contact and my eyes grew big.

"He's declaring his undying love for Lilly!"

"Is that what he's doing?" I turned to Brittany, who rolled her eyes.

"Maddie is about to have the shock of her life." She snorted.

"You know something that I don't." I squinted my eyes at Brittany and she gave me an innocent smile.

"You're about to find out, too."

"Hey dumba** Lillian starts with a L, not T," Madeleine shouted, making me turn towards the wall again.

"What exactly is he writing?" I frowned as he began writing an 'O'.

"You should have practiced how to write first!" David yelled, and everyone burst out laughing.

I shook my head at my friends and groaned. Ben flipped him the birds and finally wrote a 'Y'.

"Is that..." I tried to make of what he wrote when I heard Chloe and Maddie simultaneously scream.

"TOBY!"

Wait... What?

Toby stepped out of the crowd and stepped toward Ben.

"I know I told you to come out," Toby smirked. "But you didn't have to be this dramatic."

"Dramatic is my middle name." Ben grinned and grabbed his face.

The whole cafeteria gasped when he slammed his lips to Toby's. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the wide eyes again.

Holy mother-

"Go, Benjamin!" Brittany let out a wolf whistle, making my head map towards her.

"You knew?!" I shrieked, and she gave me a lopsided grin then walked towards Ben and I followed her.

"Benjamin Forbes." Brittany clapped her hands, standing in front of Ben as he let go of Toby's face. "That was an impressive way of coming out."

"You don't look so surprised." Ben narrowed his eyes at her.

"She knew," Toby said, making Brittany smirk.

"Of course, I knew." She scoffed. "I'm your f**king twin sister!"

"Right." Ben rolled his eyes.

"How long?" Toby inquired.

"Now that's a secret I'm going to keep." She gave him a sly grin.

"Drew..." I looked at Ben as he watched me with a serious expression. "Nothing happened between me and Lillian and like I've been saying from the beginning. We're just friends."

"Then what were you doing at her house?" I crossed my arms trying to look tough, but inside I felt relieved.

"We were camping, and the storm came..." Ben told me the story of what happened.

"You couldn't have told me that yesterday," I growled. "That would have saved you from that punch."

"I wasn't ready to come out, but guess this was the push." He shrugged. "And don't blame Lillian. I asked her to keep it a secret."

"Why would you-" I was about to ask him the details but was cut off by a shrill scream.

"Benjamin f**king Forbes!" We turned at Maddie's voice as she came rushing toward us. "How could you do this to me?!"

My eyes went to Lillian, and I ignored the others as they began questioning Ben. She stood behind them, watching me with her nervous gaze.

"Can we talk?" I asked, and she nodded her head.

I extended my hand towards her, hoping she'll take and I signed in relief when she did. We walked out of the commotion into the empty hallway and I took her towards the windows.

"Lillian I..." I trailed, looking down at my shoes.

F**k, this is embarrassing.

"I'm sorry Andrew." She whispered, and my eyes snapped to her. "I know I should have said something, but I couldn't-"

"You have nothing to apologize for." I shook my head. "I was the one who jumped to conclusions and I'm sorry. I should have trusted you, but I got..." I gulped but still said the words. "Jealous of Ben."

"You didn't have to feel that way."

"I know that now." I sighed. "Lillian, I'm sorry, but I got furious. When I asked you to say something and you remained quiet. It made me think that maybe something was going on between you two."

"Anyone in your situation would have thought that." She adjusted her glasses. "I promised Ben I won't tell anyone, and I didn't want to lie to you, Andrew. That's why I kept my mouth shut."

"But..." I asked the question that has been swirling in my head. "How long did you know about him?"

"Since..." She gulped. "Since the beginning of this year."

"What?" I watched her dumbfounded.

"I found out about him on the first day of this semester and that's how Ben and I came to know each other..." She told me how the incident happened and she caught them making out in the library.

"Wow..." it bewildered me she knew about this all this time. "I... Uh... That's um... That's a long time."

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, Andrew. I had to keep his promise." She ducked her head.

My shoulders slumped, and I groaned. It wasn't her fault that she was caught in that moment and had to keep it with her all this time.

"Like I said... You have nothing to apologize for, Lillian." I grabbed her hands and kissed the back of them.

"Does that mean... We are ok?" she asked in a hopeful voice that make me chuckle.

"Of course we are ok." I grinned and liked the way she was worried about us.

Glad to know I'm not the only one.

"Good." She beamed, and the bell rang. "It's time for class."

"Unfortunately," I groaned and let go of her hand. "Are you free tonight?"

"Yes." She bobbed her head.

"Do you... Want to go out on a date?" I asked. "We have gone nowhere since the spring break and I wanted to ask you before-"

"I'd love to." She grinned, and I returned it.

"See you at lunch break then."

A lot to take in one chapter? 👀

Imagine what the Clichés will be going through when they'll find