Chapter 3: My Boyfriend

This is it, Liv! 

This is do or die! 

You have to confess now! 

You can do it, girl! 

Come on!

“Ryan?” I tapped his shoulder to get his attention. 

He turned around and smiled when he saw me. His smile made me blush as I fidgeted with my hands. 

“Umm… I-I wanted t-to tell y-you s-something…” I mentally slapped myself to Jupiter for stuttering like a fool in front of him. 

Words, Liv! Speak words! 

And don’t you dare stutter again! 

“Me too, Liv.” Ryan replied. 

Oh my gosh! 

What do I say to that? 

“W-what?” I asked. 

This time, I mentally kicked myself off to Pluto for being so nervous with the guy I’ve known for as long as I can remember.

I would have actually slapped myself if Ryan wasn’t standing right in front of me.

“I am really sorry for not talking to you all those years, Liv. And I want to rectify that mistake now.” Ryan told me. 

“Wait… What?!” I raised an eyebrow at him, raising an eyebrow at Ryan. 

Purple Pigeons! 

Did I just hear him say that?! 

I suddenly started laughing as I looked around. 

“Okay, you can ask the person with the camera to come out of the crowd now, Ry.” I told him, still chuckling. “That was a good one!” I added. 

“What are you talking about, Liv?” Ryan frowned at me in confusion. 

“You are obviously trying to prank me.” I shrugged. “Who put you up to this? Was it Kaylee?” I asked him as I placed my hands on my hips, trying to look a little bossy. 

“It’s not a prank, sweetheart.” Kaylee’s voice said as she came out of nowhere and stood next to Ryan. 

“What is happening here?” I frowned when Ryan wrapped his arm around Kaylee’s shoulders. “Have the mind-controlling aliens taken over?!” I questioned as I felt myself panicking. 

Oh god! What if they take over my brain?! 

What if they’ve already taken over my brain?! 

If that’s true, then it perfectly explains my thoughts while talking to Hunter a few minutes ago! 

Oh my goodness! They have taken over my brain! 

But then why are they letting me think that they have?

Okay, this is officially super crazy and super freaky!

“What are you-” Ryan was asking something as he frowned in confusion but Kaylee cut him off impatiently. 

“Oh for the love of god!” She exclaimed, bringing my attention to her. “Ryan and I are dating!” She informed me. 

Blank… 

That’s what my brain was like… 

Completely and utterly blank. 

The only thought in my mind was:

If some alien was controlling my brain, would that give me some kind of superpower? 

But then Kaylee’s words finally sunk in and my mouth formed an ‘o’. I nodded my head in realisation when I saw how she was clinging to his side while he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. 

Ry was dating Kaylee… 

The guy I had a humongous crush on, liked the girl who bullied me all through my high school years. 

Ryan Anderson, the star quarterback, was dating Kaylee Hart, the head-cheerleader. 

Well that last line did make sense… 

“And, Kaylee wants to say something to you.” Ryan told me as he looked at Kaylee with an expectant grin. 

“I’m sorry for treating you the way I did during the past few years.” Kaylee told me in a sweet, too sweet to be real, tone as she took my hands in hers. “Please forgive me, Liv.” She gave me her puppy-dog expression. 

“Huh?” I gaped at her. 

Brain! You need to start up again! Don’t leave me alone here! 

Thoughts. I needed to form complete and coherent thoughts and then speak. 

How do humans even create sound through their voice box? 

Sneaky soup! 

I cannot live if I cannot speak! 

Paige! Can you hear my thoughts? Rescue me! 

Dan! Help! 

Can my friends not hear my mental messages?! 

Those dumbos! 

“I am apologising, Liv. I want us all to be friends again.” Kaylee explained. “Well, Ryan won’t be my friend. He’s my boyfriend.” She added as she smiled back at Ryan who returned the smile. 

What is this? A freaking smile fest? 

“You want us all to be friends? As in Hunter too?” I asked. “Is that why he was talking to me now?” I frowned as I thought about it. 

“You were talking with Hunter?” Ryan asked me, suddenly sounding serious and angry. 

“Yeah, he saved me from a creep and then he was saying stuff like he knows me or something.” I rolled my eyes as I remembered the conversation we had. 

“Liv, I want the three of us to be friends again. Not him. He’s bad news, Liv. Don’t ever talk to him again.” Ryan told me. 

“And you dating my bully is good news?” I mocked but then realised that I forgot to use my mental voice. 

Oops! Too late to take it back now… 

“Liv, she is apologising!” Ryan defended his girlfriend. “We were going to go to your house and tell you about it all. But since you were here, I thought that we could do it here. Now I think we do need to go somewhere and talk about everything.” he said as he wrapped his arm around Kaylee’s waist. 

“I can’t leave without telling Paige first.” I said as I looked around for an exit. 

I was so not looking forward to the conversation I knew we were going to have. 

I could sense the fakeness in Kaylee’s smile as she looked at me. I grew up with that girl and I knew when she was faking a smile and when it was genuine.

And the one she was giving me now was far far far away from being genuine… 

“Just text your friend that you’re leaving with us.” Kaylee suggested. 

“Kaylee’s right. Just text your friend.” Ryan told me. Kaylee beamed at his words as she stood up on her toes and kissed Ryan on his lips. 

I looked away still trying to look for an exit. I was in no mood to be anywhere near them. Not today. 

It took me so long to just get the courage to walk up to Ryan today. And he already had a girlfriend. 

I needed at least a few hours to just sit and stare at the ceiling of my room while being depressed about my stupid bad luck.

Kaylee smirked at me when she pulled away from the boy I had a crush on. 

The person who caught my eye at that moment, who stood right behind Kaylee, almost made me cry out in joy. 

A certain wicked idea popped into my brain as I looked from Kaylee’s smirk to his confused eyes. 

I took a deep breath as my feet moved on their own to him. 

Now or never, Liv! 

Just like a very intelligent woman once said, ‘Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow’.

Well, not exactly the most sensible thing to say in this situation but you get the point… 

“Guys, this is my boyfriend.” I told Kaylee and Ryan with a smile on my face as I clung to my saviour’s arm. 

“He’s your… What?” Kaylee frowned in confusion. 

“Yup, this is my boyfriend.” I lied. “Right, Dan?” I smiled up at him as he looked at me with fear in his eyes. 

Just play along, dumbo! 

“I… I umm…” Dan struggled to say something as he looked from me to Ryan who had narrowed his eyes on Dan. 

“He’s just nervous.” I spoke up, giggling as I playfully slapped Dan’s shoulder. “We decided not to tell anyone yet but… Well, when do I ever listen to anyone?!” I added with a playful eye roll. 

“What?!” A voice exclaimed behind us. I turned around to find Paige staring at us with wide eyes. 

Oh boy!