0.3

~ Skye

I swear my body can't move as I stare at the TV screen. The video of me and Ethan kissing is still playing. Could someone just kill me already? How many things did I have to put up with in just one day? The senseless human who had the guts to upload this video...

I blinked twice, and I was expecting the video to disappear. It doesn't...

Mum turns to me, her eyebrow still raised, she has dropped the remote on the table. She's not mad at me. She's just studying me and I know she's waiting for an explanation.

"Care to explain?" She asks again, with a neutral voice.

I open my mouth to speak, I close it. I don't even know where to begin. How on earth do I tell her that this is all fake? How do I explain that I kissed Ethan to get back at Liam and now the entire school—and, apparently, the news—thinks we're a thing?

Mum sighs when I don't answer and she folds her arms. "So... Ethan is..."

"Mum, it's not what it looks like," I say.

"I mean, he's cute," she continues like I didn't just speak, and a grin is on her face. "A little cocky, but I can see the appeal."

“Mum.”

Mum lifts her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I just didn't see this coming. Especially since, oh, I don't know, the years you spent complaining about how much you couldn't stand him."

I suck in a breath, my hands in my hair as I say... "Nothing has changed."

Mum gives me that look. The kind of look that says I have raised you, fed you, and know when you're lying. "Right," she says, drawing out the word. Then lowering her voice, she asks. "Skye, are you okay?"

My body stiffens. She's not asking about Ethan. She's asking about Liam. I want to say yes so bad. I want to just pretend this whole day didn't matter, that seeing Liam with Ava didn't hurt. But my throat contracts and Mum's eyes are still on me, a knowing look.

She walks to me, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You don't have to be fine, you know."

I hate it when she gets so worried about me. I clear my throat and nod. "I'm okay," I lie.

Mum studies me for a bit longer, then she shrugs and nods at the same time, and I know she's letting me get away with it. "Just know that if you're ready to talk about it, I'm here." She smiles and then gestures to the TV. "And, uh, just so you know? Your boyfriend' just called you baby on national television."

I buried my face in my hands as Mum laughed. "You might want to text your boyfriend before this gets out of hand."

I stare at her in disbelief. "You don't believe this, do you?"

Mum shrugs. "I don't know, Skye. But from the way he looked at you in that clip..." She smiles again. "If it's fake, he's good at pretending."

I have no response to that as I go back upstairs, headed for my room. I'll have to stop by next door and have a small talk with Ethan. By the time I get to Ethan's house, I've thought of ten different ways to murder him. He deliberately ignored the text messages I sent. The nerve of that guy. Boldly saying we were officially dating? He had some serious explanation to do.

I climb the porch and ring the doorbell. I hear footsteps, quick ones, and the door swings open.

"Skye!"

Small arms wrap around my waist, hugging me tightly and it takes a split second to understand what's happening. Ethan's sister. Mia. I had completely forgotten he had a little sister. When she pulls back from the hug, grinning at me, her big brown eyes full of life.

"I knew it. I knew you and Ethan liked each other."

I blink thrice, unable to catch up. "Uh..."

"This is so cool," Mia says. "I always told my brother you weren't just some annoying girl next door. And just as if I knew you were dating. For real,"

Oh. No.

I'm about to correct her when a new voice cuts in. "Mia, give the poor girl some space." It's Mrs. Reid, standing in the entryway, smiling warmly. She looks... thrilled. Great! This just keeps getting worse.

Mia lets go of my arm, and she spins around and yells over her shoulder. "Daddy, Ethan's girlfriend is here."

The word girlfriend makes my stomach churn. I smile nervously before opening my mouth to say something, but I barely say a word when Mr Reid appears from the living room. I force a smile, thinking of how messed up my life could get. I'm supposed to be confronting Ethan and not getting welcomed by his family like... like I'm some long-lost daughter-in-law.

And then, finally, the devil himself walks in, looking so unbothered and completely shirtless. Ethan freezes when he sees me. A slow smirk tugs at his lips, but I don’t miss the flicker of oh, shit in his eyes. And my eyes betray me before I can even think of stopping them. My damn eyes drop straight to his torso-oh, hell-and it's just muscle. Hard, glistening sweaty skin, cut abs, lean lines, and a deep V leading beneath his sweatpants.

My cheeks flushed as I realized I'd just checked out Ethan Reid in front of his family. I slowly look up at him and the smug look on his face is not helping.

"Well," he drawls, arms crossing over his chest which only made his biceps flex. "If you wanted a show, Anderson, you could've just asked."

"Put a shirt on," His Dad slaps against his chest.

"Ouch, Dad." He grins. "Oh, looks at that. My girlfriend came to visit."

I am going to kill him.

But before I can even say a word to bring down this whole mess. Mia grabs my hand, pulling me inside. "Skye, you have to stay for dinner!"

"Mia, I can't."

"Please?" She gives me a look kind of loom little sisters have perfected since the dawn of time. Ethan leans casually against the wall, and from the look on his face, he's enjoying this.

I bit the insides of my mouth. If I bring up the fake dating thing now, I'll not only have to deal with his smugness but also the heartbreaking disappointment on Mia's cute face, not to mention whatever his parents will say. So, instead, I did the worst possible thing I could do.

I step inside Ethan Reid's home.

---

It's Monday morning again, and Mum's car rolls to a stop in front of Lincoln High, and I exhale. "You okay, honey?" She asks me.

"Yeah, Mum. I love you," I say, forcing out a smile.

She reaches for my hand, squeezing it. "Remember what I said. You don't owe anyone an explanation. If this thing with Ethan makes you happy..."

"Mum—" I start saying.

"—then that’s all that matters." She winks.

I groan, unbuckling my seatbelt. "I’m getting out before you say something worse."

She laughs. "Have a good day, sweetie."

I step out, and just as I shut the door, I spot Harper climbing out of her mum’s car a few feet away.

"Skye!" she calls, jogging toward me.

Her red hair is in a French braid, and she's got her signature iced coffee in one hand. "So, tell me everything. From the dinner to how his family received you..."

I shove her. "Shut up."

She grins. "Seriously, I want to know everything. How was it? Did you tell them the truth?"

"No. His entire family was so happy about the relationship, I didn't know how to say it. And the... Mia is obsessed with us." I say.

Harper gasps dramatically. "Oh no. You have a fourteen-year-old fangirl."

I glare at her. "You're not helping. And Mia is thirteen,"

She laughs. "Fine, fine. But we are so talking about this later. I have to check in with Mrs. Carter about my makeup test. Meet me by our lockers?"

"Yeah, sure."

She waves as she hurries off, leaving me alone in the hallway. Pulling out my phone, I mindlessly scroll as I wait, until a hand grips my wrist. I yelp as I'm being pulled into a corner. It's Liam. And he's staring down at me with a clenched jaw, and his eyes are dark, with an emotion I'm trying to place. Anger? Hurt? Disgust? Maybe all three.

"What the hell is going on, Skye?" He asks.

I free my arm from his hold, taking a step back. "What is your problem?" I ask in a tiny voice.

"My problem?" He laughs out loud, a hollow laugh. "You were just crying over me, and now what? You're screwing Ethan Reid?"

Disgust makes my stomach twist as I try to fathom if he'd just said those lines. "I'm not..."

"You moved on that fast? Or were you into him this whole time?"

Liam's words had the desired effect. It hit deep, brutally, and I tried speaking but said nothing. The truth remained. I was crying over him. I was hurt. And suddenly, I'm fake-dating the one guy he hates the most.

"You're unbelievable, Skye." Liam shakes his head.

I swallow hard before saying. "You don’t get to be mad. You cheated on me."

His expression hardened. "Yeah? Well, at least I didn’t throw myself at my enemy the second we broke up."

Tears sting the back of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I refuse to let Liam see me cry, not ever again. So I bit my lips, fighting the tears back until...

"That’s enough, Parker."

Liam’s eyes shone with anger as Ethan stepped beside me, pulling me into his arms and looking so calm and composed.

I blinked but relaxed in his arms, feeling unusually grateful for his support. I've never seen Ethan like this before. Not cocky, not smirking and showing off his dimples, not trying to get under my skin. This version of Ethan is... dangerous. I can tell he's trying to control his rage because his jaw is tight as he sizes Liam up.

"Didn’t take you for the jealous type," Ethan smirks coldly.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Liam's fist clench. "Stay out of this, Reid."

Ethan shrugs. "Can’t. See, my girlfriend doesn’t need to waste another second listening to your bullshit."

I swear, I see the exact moment the words register in his head. His eyes snap to mine and he's furious. And then he walks away and my chest rises and falls fast. I glance at Ethan. I can tell I'm visibly shaken. Ethan watches Liam walk away while I watch him with something other than anger for the first time.

I swallowed hard before calling. "Ethan."

He turns to me, with a more relaxed posture. "You okay?" He asks.

I nod, even though I feel like I might throw up. Ethan doesn't say anything else. He just reaches out and gently takes my wrist, rubbing his thumb over the spot Liam had grabbed. It’s the softest he’s ever been. I don't know how long we stand there like that, his fingers tracing slow, featherlight circles on my wrists.

Then he leans in, in such a low voice that sends shivers down my spine. "You need to be more careful, Anderson."

I blink, confused. "What?"

He looks at me before saying... "You keep looking at me like that, and I might start thinking you like me."

I can't think of a response before he steps back, dropping my wrists like it suddenly burned him. And his smirk returns, cocky and infuriating. I scoff, what did I think? A fool like Ethan Reid would always remain a fool. Just when I was starting to get a little feeling other than anger toward him.

He winks. "See you in class, baby."

And just like that, he turns and walks off, leaving me standing there alone. I hate him. I hate him. And maybe it was destined to be so because I didn't know what Ethan would do that would make me stop hating him. I'd like to see him try though.

"Why was that?"

"Harper, he's so annoying. Can't believe I thought he wasn't a jerk for once." I sigh, throwing my hands up and walking away from a stunned Harper.