3. Best Of Friends

Liam and I were sitting across each other on the table, chatting the night away while we keep an eye on my brother.

"You're letting me stay for tonight, yeah?" He asks as he chews the last bite of his tuna sandwich.

"No, your girlfriend will pester me all night if I let you stay here." I glance back at Joe. I wish I know the spell to wake him from his sleep.

"No, she won't. She flew to London last night. She won't be back until next week."

"Okay? She can call long distance. She can Skype."

"Not tonight. She's having jetlag for sure."

"Why am I getting this strange feeling that you don't want to talk to Lizzy?"

He arches a brow, his free hand brushing the overgrown spot of his brown hair just above his forehead. Yeah, some sort of nervous habit. "Of course not, we're doing great, Dan. Don't make it look like we're not."

"If that is so, Skype her." I tell him with a shrug. "You always do that."

"It's past nine."

"Bullshit. The last time I checked, you Skyped me around 3am."

He leans toward the food on the table, seemingly focused on the plate of beignets like they're the ones he's actually talking to. "She's not like you, okay? I can't s**t around with her."

"Yeah, right, I forgot you're with the Miss Perfect of your class."

He makes a snorting sound and narrows his already-tapered eyes at me.

"Speaking of Miss Perfect, how is yours?"

I wag a finger at him. "This conversation is not happening."

"Oh come on, Dan. Don't f**k with me. I know something's up between you and Miss Goody-goody."

"Don't call her that." Though I call her that all the time just to tease her. I'm her girlfriend so I can call her the hell I want.

"Okay, so what happened? She wasn't all over you when she got here, not hugging and sucking your face so I---."

"Sucking my face?" I repeat like it's the most ludicrous thing to hear. "I'm the one who does that, not her."

"Sure you do." He laughs. "She wears the dress but you're way more timid in terms of display of affection."

"And your point is?" Liam can get really annoying sometimes, no, all the time.

He shrugs. "It's like you're the girl and she's the lesbian."

"She's bi, okay? She likes boys. Well, I don't. And that's not the way it goes.

It doesn't matter who acts the girl and who doesn't. You won't understand because you're straight." I sigh in disgust. "Please remind me why we're having this s****y conversation."

"I don't know. It's just that... sometimes, it feels like you're just putting up a show."

And I'm totally losing it. "Seriously, Liam, you're picking this most horrible day of my life to question my sexuality?"

He turns to me, his eyes flashing regret and guilt. He leans forward and grabs my hand from my lap. "I don't mean it that way. I'm such a prick. I'm sorry."

I've known Liam more than half of my life and I don't remember staying angry at him more than a day. Except those times when I used to think his life was perfect and mine was a wreck that I bullied him really bad in seventh grade. He was always the sweet and nice one. He didn't even think twice accepting my apology before we moved on to high school. We've been real good friends ever since and now, he's the one bullying me, asking me ridiculous things and annoying the hell out of me.

"Okay." I simply respond. I mean it. It's okay. He's just being Liam. He's questioned my sexuality many times before, claiming that he's known me inside out and that he never once thought that I would turn out to be the way I am now. I don't know what gives him that idea. I've never been with any guy except him, though I might have told him before if I'd find a man cool and attractive. I developed few crushes way back in grade school and even less than few in high school. But that's just about it. I've never thought of any man in a romantic way. Some boys tried to woo me, but... it just didn't feel right.

"Will you at least give me a hug to show you're okay?" He presses, an adorable grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Sure, sure." I lift myself from my seat and moves around the table to hug him.

His embrace is warm and comfortable. I've always loved the easy vibe of his arms around me. He makes me feel calm and safe. "I don't want my toothless Danny getting pissed off."

He confessed that he used to call me that secretly when I was being terrible to him in grade school. I wasn't really toothless then. I just missed one milk tooth but he'd never give me a break about it. I fake a wide smile at him, just showing how complete and perfectly intact my teeth are. "Shut the hell up, piggy Liam. You know I've got good teeth now."

"Yeah and you sure as hell know too that I'm f*****g sexy now."

"Oh my God." I mutter while faking a sour expression. Yeah, he's indeed what he claims himself to be, not anymore the piggy Liam I used to tease way, way back. "Suit yourself."

He laughs and we go back to being at ease with each other. We chat until we find ourselves unable to comprehend what one is saying that we both decide we have to call it a day.

LIAM'S P.O.V.

I wake up to the sound of slight snoring beside me, seeing Dan's figure hovered over the table, her messy bun now completely loose, causing more strands of her hair to fall over her creamy white cheeks, over those soft cherries that are her lips, and over those eyes that never fail to have me reeling in circles of undecipherable emotions. It's only her eyes that affect me in a way I don't quite understand. I can't put my finger on it. I have no plans of finding out. I just want to stay that way, to feel confused and happy at the same time, something only those pair of bright blue eyes can do. Not even Lizzie's can. Only hers, and

I'm pretty sure this is not the perfect time to be thinking about it when she might wake up any minute only to find out her best friend has been gawking at her like forever. If she finds out, she's going to kick me out of the hospital right before I know it.

And like a wish that has been granted, her eyes flutter open. I straighten up, brushing my messed up hair with my tremulous fingers. S**t, since when have my fingers gotten so f*****g shaky? She gets up from the table, standing with one of her hands pressed against her forehead. Of course I would know. I've been watching her and clearly, she shouldn't know.

"What time is it?" She asks, her mouth open in a big yawn.

She's never realized how cute she looks in the morning. I've grown up seeing her wake up. Her long brown hair would usually look like a stack of hay like it is now and her clothes, always crumpled like s**t, but none of those has ever stopped her from looking so amazing in the morning. I've seen Lizzie a couple of times that way too but... no one simply compares to the beauty of Dan. I'm doomed. But I have always been. Ever since she told me she was a f*****g lesbian.

"Liam." She sounds a bit angry. I'm totally lost. Why would she even be? "Are you okay? You seem off, like you're elsewhere."

I literally have to shake my head to cope with the uneasy situation I just put myself in. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." I didn't forget to look at my watch so I can give her an answer. "Past nine."

"S**t!" She exclaims, rushing back and forth to Joe who still looks sound asleep and the bathroom. She comes back with her silky brown hair neatly tied up, her face washed.

"What's the rush?" I ask, rising to my feet and inching closer to her obviously unsettled form. She's been fishing inside her backpack like a mad man and it's disgusting yet amusing altogether.

"I have work to do." She answers simply.

"It's Sunday, Dan, and besides, Joe isn't well---."

"Exactly, Joe isn't well. I'd have to render extra hours at work to make sure he'll get through this."

I put my hands over her shoulders, making her look my way. "You don't have to, really. I can pay half of the bill tomorrow if that---."

"How am I supposed to pay you if I don't work?"

She can be really hard-headed sometimes, no, most of the time and I'm not sure if I find that attractive or just plain annoying about her. "Can you just at least skip work today? You're definitely not in your element. I bet your first and only meal yesterday was your meal with me. S**t, Dan, I swear it, I'm not letting you go past that door today."

She huffs and rolls her eyes. She does that when she knows she has no good comeback or when she knows it's time to give up. "Fine, I've never known you can be this infuriating, Liam."

"Really now?" I mutter, not actually asking, just teasing.

"Yep, and for that I'm going to make sure you pay for it. Have you called Lizzie?"

And she surely has hit me on the right spot. I don't want to talk about her, at least when I'm with Dan. Lizzie is a bit whiny and never really trusts me. I've never given her any reason not to, except that I seem to care more about Dan than her, which, I know I really do. Dan has always been with me since childhood and nothing can change the way she means to me.

"Perfect way to start on me, Dan. Where's Joana?" I bite back, earning a sour expression from her.

"I asked you first. Have you called Lizzie? If you don't right at this moment, I will and I will tell her you don't want---."

I lift my phone toward her. "Here, call her yourself and tell her whatever you want." Whenever I do reverse psychology on her, she would always retreat.

She looks away and drops her gaze. "Fine, I won't call her. But don't ask me about Joana because it's a pain in the a*s."

"Sure, sure, I won't." I murmur, can't help but smile in victory at how easy it is to turn the tide with her. She's hardheaded, but she's pretty easy to tame and impossibly soft-hearted at times. I'm starting to worry that if other guys know that about her, they might actually do some moves on her and take advantage of her. She's quite the gullible one. Yes, she is. She's one hard-headed yet soft-hearted, gullible, pretty lesbian.

And any man can hold those weak spots against her anytime if they be exposed. She has to be protected. She's never been in any relationship with a man, except his friendship with me. I have not realized I've been ogling at her with something like a determined expression until she snaps her fingers right at me. What the hell am I doing, looking so confused in front of her?

Dan's P.O.V.

Liam's phone has been ringing nonstop now since the clock strikes two in the afternoon and I'm not having any of it anymore. He's acting like no one's been calling him, worse is he's been overstaying her with me and Joe like he doesn't have a life of his own. "I swear it, Liam, if you don't pick up your phone I'm going to kick you out of the hospital now." I warn him, earning a rather amused expression from him.

He doesn't answer, instead he does the thing I've been wanting him to do since 2pm. "Lizzie." Right after that, he pulls his phone away from his ear, as if emphasizing how loud his girlfriend on the other line can be. "I'm in the hospital right now, okay? Calm down." And he pulls his phone away again. "My friend's brother is in coma and I can't leave them alone." More minutes pass with their nonstop bickering, I mean, chattering. When he ends the call, I can't be more grateful.

I look at him. He only shrugs his shoulders as if nothing has just passed between him and Lizzie. "I think you should get going now before Lizzie sends a spy over us."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "No, she won't do that."

"She will. She did it once."

"I can handle her, Dan. Chill out."

I shake my head at him and decide to just turn on the television. Just in time, the news is about a raid that has happened in an illegal casino in Metairie. I know that place. That's like six blocks from the uni. Good thing it's been raided. There are many lads wasting their money and basically their lives on it. I look at Liam and he seems to be nonchalant, scrolling through his phone, probably checking messages. I turn back to the tv and see guys with their hands cuffed to their backs as they're being taken to the police cars. Well, have fun in jail!

After what seems like forever, Liam has finally risen to his feet and picked up his bag from the table. "I'm going to shop at Target. Want to come?"

I want to laugh out loud at his enthusiasm of inviting me to shop with him even after having a fight with Lizzie but I decide not to. "No, I don't want to go to Target."

He shrugs and smiles his famous Liam smile. When I say Liam smile, it's the overly wide, dazzling-to-the-girls-at-heart smile. "I'll be back."

"Seriously, are you planning on camping here or something?" I tease him. He's never failed to be so caring. That's my best friend, Liam.

"Ah, shut up with the teasing, Dan." He says and heads out of the room.

Anonymous P.O.V.

I've managed to escape that raid last night and I sure as hell will not be linked to it at any cost. I've made sure of it. I paid quite a lot of men to keep quiet about my identity. But I can't be quite optimistic now that I will stay safe for long, since one of the men that's in the loose I've not paid. In fact, I owe him half a hundred thousand bucks. And I know he intends to come after me. I have to do everything I can to get that amount before it's too late. I've planned on disappointing everyone that has caused me pain but it doesn't mean I will have to spend several f*****g years in jail as my chastisement. No f*****g way.

Author's Note

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