Chapter 4: Trapped.

“Lily is that you?"

Her heart nearly stopped beating for a split second as her feet were suddenly glued to the ground. Whoever it was, he knew her name and that could either be good or bad news.

Lily slowly turned her head towards the car, the tinted front glass now rolled down. And there was an attractive face with strong features watching her intently.

Relief washed over her face as it turned out to be Mark’s voice, he was sitting in the front passenger seat, curious about who was driving the car. Lily bent her head lower, seeing Ethan behind the wheel.

"Yeah, it's me," Lily said. She was more relaxed, at least they were guys from school.

"Why don't you get in? We'll drop you off," Mark said, tilting his head towards the back seat.

Looking at the tinted glass, Lily hesitated.

Mark's offer to give her a ride home was tempting, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to get into a car with two strong guys she barely knew. Lily's eyes shifted from Mark to Ethan, then to Mark again, her eyes giving away her unease.

Mark, noticing her fear, chortled, "We don’t bite … Lily," while Ethan smiled at her.

She hesitated for a moment, but after a little coaxing from Mark and Ethan, Lily eventually relented and nodded her head.

As she got into the back seat, she was overwhelmed by the cool AC and the sweet scent of the car. Feeling the coolness of the air conditioning on her skin, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. But as she opened her eyes, she caught Ethan's gaze in the rearview mirror. She quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing as she recalled their past experiences.

Ethan smirked at her cute reaction, and Mark noticed Lily's reaction.

“What’s wrong?” He asked Ethan, who only responded with a shrug. Mark glared at him.

"So, how do you guys know each other?" Lily asked, hoping to ease the tension and relieve her curiosity.

Mark's bitterness was palpable. "We used to be friends until Ethan moved away without saying goodbye,"

"I already apologized for that," Ethan immediately replied,

"Don’t you think it's too late, like dude, 6 years?"

Ethan chuckled, "If it was too late, you wouldn't be in my car."

Mark laughed, "Haa! I couldn't help seeing my childhood best friend lonely. Seems like everyone you know in this town has either moved or forgotten about you."

Ethan sighed, "I don't blame them. I was quiet."

"And you still are."

"Can't help it," Ethan snapped.

"You're a loser, bro," Mark said, not holding back.

Ethan only let out a laugh. "I won't argue with you."

"Because I'm right," Mark said, with a smug look on his face.

Watching as they bickered back and forth with their exchanges filled with both bitterness and humor. Lily laughed along, enjoying the chemistry between the two.

Mark turned back and exclaimed with admiration, "Oooh, it's cute!" Lily wondered what he was referring to.

"What's cute?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

"Your laugh," Ethan answered, causing Lily's face to redden immediately. They both just called her cute!

Trying to change the subject and hide her shyness, Lily said, "Uhm… my house is on Cowan Ave Street, to the left."

"I almost forgot we were going to drop you off," Mark said, turning to Lily. "You're also really quiet. When did you enter this school?"

"About two years ago, sophomore year" Lily replied.

"Ah, yes, I remember now. You were the girl everyone thought was Madison's younger sister," Mark recalled.

Lily couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. "Yeah..."

Mark continued, "I think I recognized you from last year. You and Madison had a fight, right?"

Lily nodded in agreement, recalling the altercation with Maddison, feeling a mix of sadness and embarrassment. "Yeah, that was me."

"You never really paid attention to girls in your grade," Lily commented, trying to avoid more questions about the fight she had shut off her memory. "You're always into senior girls."

"I still am," Mark admitted with a smirk.

Lily felt conflicted. "But now we're the seniors, I suppose things must be hard for you?"

Ethan laughed while Mark glared at Lily. She turned her face to the window and ignored Mark's presence. Despite that, she felt drawn to him.

'Not again.'

"Wow, Lily," Mark said, his tone teasing. "I never thought you were this brave! ... I'll play around with the girls in our grade... since I have no other choice, starting with you." Lily could feel the smirk on his face.

Ethan chimed in, "And what do you say, Lily? Do you want him to play with you?"

Lily's face heated up again. Mark glanced at Ethan with a dangerous smile. How could a smile be dangerous?

Feeling dumbstruck at the moment, Lily recalled her crush on Mark from when she first entered the school. However, he never noticed her, so her feelings died before they could ever develop into anything. Now he seemed interested in her, and she sensed her feelings coming back again, feelings that she didn’t want to ever come back. Also, with the feelings she had for Ethan, whom she had just met.

‘Why did I get in this car?’ Lily thought to herself, feeling trapped, not knowing how to answer their cocky questions.

"See, she definitely wants it," Mark told Ethan. He assumed her silence meant agreement.

"Seems like it," Ethan sighed.

Lily, who was at a loss for words, kept thinking that Mark and Ethan were alike in the way they talked. One was an extrovert, and the other was an introvert. She wondered what to say next to their cocky banter.

"Why are you quiet all of a sudden?" Mark asked, breaking Lily's train of thought.

"I didn't want to interrupt your delusional fantasy," Lily replied, feeling proud of herself for finding something to say.

Ethan tried to hold it in but ended up laughing, impressed by Lily's quick wit. "You're actually very funny."

Mark was surprised by Lily's response. "She's a tough one," he told Ethan. "And here I was thinking she was shy and tiny."

"Over there," Lily said, pointing towards her house. "Thanks," she added, as they finally reached her destination.

"This is where the smoothie girl leaves," Mark said, smirking. "I'll keep it in my memory since I'll be coming over to play."

Ethan laughed, and Lily rolled her eyes at Mark.

"I'm getting off now," Lily said as she opened the car door.

Ethan waved goodbye, and Lily did the same. Then she looked at Mark, and as their eyes met, a smirk formed on Mark's face. "Make sure to leave the doors open," he said as he wound up the glass and they drove off.

As the car drove off, Lily couldn't help but think about the dynamics between Ethan and Mark. Even though Mark acted like he hated Ethan, he couldn't hide the excitement of reuniting with his childhood best friend. As laughter filled the car, Lily felt comfortable in their company despite Mark's silly and annoying jokes.

* * *

At evening in the middle of a huge bedroom with white walls and pink wallpaper adorned with posters of female celebrities, there was a bed dressed in violet cotton sheets, and on the bed sat Lily, sketching away in her notebook as the sounds of her parents arguing filtered up through the floorboards. She tried to focus on her drawing, letting her pencil glide across the page as she lost herself in the details.

Drawing had always been her escape - a way to block out the noise and chaos of the world around her. And as she sketched, she felt a sense of calm wash over her.

But even as she drew, her mind kept drifting back to the events of the past few days. Ethan's sudden appearance in her life had left her feeling unsettled, and the memory of his piercing blue eyes haunted her.

And then there was Mark. The way he had looked at her in class had left her feeling uneasy, but also strangely intrigued, but he felt more friendly and different in the car. She couldn't explain it, but there was something about his icy demeanor that drew her in and she didn’t like it.

As she sat there, lost in thought, she heard a knock at her door. "Lily, sweetie, can we come in?" her mother's voice called out.

"Yeah, sure," Lily replied quickly, shoving her sketchbook under her pillow.

Her parents stepped into the room, their faces tense and serious. "Lily, we need to talk to you," her father began.

Whenever her parents used that tone, it usually meant trouble.

"We've been having some financial difficulties lately," her mother, Mrs. Davis, added. "And we're afraid we might have to cut back on some things."

Lily knew exactly what that meant. Her art classes and piano lessons were expensive, and she knew her dad had made some risky investments that left him in huge debt.

"I can stop taking the lessons," Lily offered, her heart sinking at the thought of giving up the two things she loved most in the world.

Her parents exchanged a look. "We don't want to take away something you enjoy," her father, Mr. Davis, said. "But we might have to find a way to cut back on some other things."

Lily nodded, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She knew her parents were doing the best they could, but it didn't make the situation any less painful.

After her parents left, Lily laid on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling designed with star shapes. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her creative outlets - the only things that made her truly happy.

Suddenly, she remembered something - Mark's I*******m page. She had heard from some classmates that he was quite popular on the platform, and something inside her stirred with curiosity.

When Lily entered school in her sophomore year, she often stalked his I*******m page for fun. She soon later stopped when she found out he had no interest in her. But now that they are no longer senior girls, maybe, just maybe he might look at her… No wait, not like it mattered.

With a trembling hand, she reached for her phone and opened the app. She searched for Mark's username ‘markluvs69’ and scrolled through his photos, her heart racing as she tried to control the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her when last did she do this? two years.

As she looked at his recent uploads of pictures, she felt a strange mix of envy and fascination. Mark seemed to have everything - looks, popularity, and a seemingly perfect life. And yet, there was something about the way he looked at the camera, with a hint of coldness in his eyes, that sent shivers down her spine.

She mistakenly liked one of his pictures. She panicked and unliked it, then liked it again when she noticed she was using her fake account.

Hehe.

She closed the app and set her phone aside, lost in thought. Her mind kept returning to the strange dynamic between Mark and Ethan. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something they were both hiding, something that she wasn't supposed to know. Mark warned Lily about Ethan, but the same Mark was still very close to him. She wasn’t sure if he was being serious or joking, but it did sound serious for a split second.

Ethan, the guy she felt so comfortable to be with, does she really have to be careful around him?