Chapter One - One Dance

Liiza's POV

It's Sunday night and we all know what that means. Holidays are gone. Back to school. I've been binge watching N*****x for hours already, cradling a bag of popcorn and stuffing it into my mouth.

It's only 10:00pm, way too early to go to sleep.

My mom always tells me to sleep early but I never listen and end up suffering every morning. Maybe someday In the future I will see what she meant.

I lay on my stomach, watching 'Enchanted', which I've watched over a hundred times already but never gotten tired of. I knew I was slowly going to fall asleep while watching, so I made sure I made myself comfortable enough. 

As I stare at my laptop, I felt my eyes starting to flickering shut untill darkness finally drowns me.

••

I wake up to the annoying upbeat tune of 'One Dance' by Drake, singing from my alarm. With a deep groan, I roll out of bed and trudge to the washroom.

Quickly, I remove my pajamas and sink into the hot bath I have run for myself, trying not to forget I have to go to school. Taking a warm shower on a school morning is the worst idea due to how hard it is to get out of it.

A few minutes later, I get out and I’m faced with the challenge of picking out what to wear. I quickly chose a pale gray shirt with a V-neck and high waisted skinny jeans, a blue infinity scarf around my neck and white boots.

I do my short makeup routine, applying some mascara, eyeliner and concealer on the "trouble" areas. Finally, I apply some lip balm. As I take the last step to the ground, I see that my breakfast is already prepared, I mutter a greeting to my mom, who is wiping down the bench top.

"Good morning Mom." I say, flashing a small smile and sitting down at the table.

"Morning, dear. Come and eat your food before it gets cold. You don't wanna be late to school on your first day!" She says cheerily.

I just finish eating my eggs and toast when the doorbell rings, so I run to the door and open it.

It's Zach.

"Hey, Muff" I grin, sliding my backpack over one shoulder.

I shout my goodbye down the hall and turn to face him again. "Are you ready to go?"

"No, I'm not ready. I just came here to waste some time." He sarcastically replied, giving me the duh face. I just roll my eyes and walk past him.

"Bye Mrs. Starr" Zach shouts into my house and shuts the door behind me.

Zach is one of the hottest and richest guys at my school. He has dreamy light brown eyes and short, soft hair to match. Unlike the other boys, Zach is not a player. He respects girls and doesn't play around with them, one of the many reasons why I really care about him. Today, he's wearing a white polo shirt with faded blue jeans.

I open the door to Zach's BMW and slip into the padded leather passenger's seat. In case you forgot, Zach is filthy rich, so yeah, he does own a BMW, and a driver.

"Hey Willy." I greet his driver, with a familiar face.

"Hey Liiza, how are you?" He asks.

"I'm good." I smile, and he starts the car.

His real name is William but Zach and I call him Willy in short. He is in his early 40s and has been working in Zach's family for over 10 years. I can just tell, even from the limited time I have with him, he is honest and kind.

"Soooo.... baby girl. How are you?" Zach interrupted my train of thought.

"I'm… Good” I narrowed my eyes and responded, suddenly getting suspicious “What about you?" I ask.

"I'm good. You look nice today." He says with a wink.

"Thanks." I reply dryly.

I'm used to his praises. Often they are just to tease me but sometimes, I think he actually means it.

"Even though you're getting a bit fat" He grins, making me roll my eyes.

I saw that coming.

"Keep rolling your eyes, you might find a brain back there." He and William snort.

"Stop!" I smack him on the arm, a slight smile creeping onto my face.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry baby girl." He chuckles.

He has called me pet names for as long as I can remember, since we were small. And because he does it, so do I. Everyday it's cupcake, baby girl, angel, sweetheart, darling or anything else that comes to mind.

He only ever calls me by my real name, Liiza or Liz, when he's hiding something, angry, or nervous. Zach and I have known each other for 18 years. We have been friends since birth.

We grew up together. Our parents were best friends since high school and are also neighbors. We hang out with each other every day and help each other with homework and stuff. Zach is also that type of annoying friend. You know the ones you bathed with when you were a baby, yup that type.

He annoys me everyday, but he's also so overprotective. I guess I know that if anyone ever hurts me then that person has to wake up in the hospital the next morning.

It's a short ride to school and as soon as we get there, I jump out of the car, leaving Zach behind, with a short farewell. Then, I go straight to my locker to get my books.

After I choose the books I need, and check my makeup in the mirror, I close my locker and see the recognisable blonde hair of Rilee, bouncing towards me.

"Hey, Riles!" I call, waving her over.

"Hey, girl. How's life?" She asks.

Rilee is gorgeous. She has beachy, blonde hair, tan skin and pink, full lips. She has gray eyes and a tiny waistline. Rilee is one of those girls that are just naturally pretty and her nice bubbly personality just makes her even prettier. She's had more boyfriends then I can count in the past five years of our friendship.

Today, she's wearing a strappy, yellow crop top and white, ripped jeans.

"Oh yeah. Life, it sucks." I say, groaning and backing into my locker.

"Ain't that the truth." She smirks, eyeing up Zach as he walks towards us with a group of unknown boys.

"Hey girls." Zach kisses me on the forehead, like usual. He has always treated me like a sister. "So this must be your precious girlfriend." One of the guys says to Zach.

"Um... I'm sorry but-" I start, about to correct them as the affection that Zach and I show each other is usually misunderstood by others, and I honestly don’t blame them.

"Liz, these are my friends from Greenwood." Zach cuts me off, gesturing to the group of guys.

"Hi, I'm Jack" Says one of the boys.

"I'm Caleb. Must have heard of me already" He said, smirking.

"Uh, and I'm Dylan" The last guy nods his head.

I say hi to each one of them with a soothing smile and a small wave "Did you guys just transfer?" Rilee asks. "I haven't seen you around."

"Yeah." Jack replies. "We know Zach from football."

"About what you sai-" I began to correct them.

"Liz, if you don't mind, can I speak to you?" I once again got cut off by Zach. He looks at the guys and Rilee desperately. "Alone?"

"Sure," I agree softly, walking with Zach to an empty classroom.

"What's going on?" I ask, confused, folding my arms across my chest and narrowing my eyes at him.

"Liz. I-I really need your help." He stammers, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Stammering? And calling me by my actual name? Yeah, this guy is up to something, "Spill it, Zach." I stare into his pale brown eyes, unimpressed.

They're just so cute. I can't resist them. Suddenly, he drops down to his knees. That's a bit dramatic.

"Zach, what are you doin-"

"Shut up, Liz. Let me talk. It's not what you think." He puts his hands together, pleading.

"Liz, I have known you my entire life and I have always treated you like my younger sister. I protected you and saved you from all trouble and never asked you for anything until now" He blabbers.

"What is this about, Zach?" I have never seen him act so vulnerable in my life.

"Liz." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "Will you be my fake girlfriend?"

Shocked, I stood there frozen, unable to say a word.