How To Play the Player (COMPLETED)

If Love Is A Game

I don't think I've ever felt as much love for someone as I did when I spotted Bryan holding a Java Jen's cup in front of my locker. When I'd walked in after my late night venture into the wild with the mysterious alter ego of Liam Scott, it was just after four. I hadn't even bothered to try and get a couple hours asleep, there wasn't any use. Not with my thoughts and heart racing million miles per hour as I tried to figure out a different angle to approach Liam from after seeing his guard drop last night. Not when my father came stalking out of the bedroom at five-thirty, stirring my mother awake just to start an argument.

"Oh, Bryan." I gasped, tearing the cup from his grasp the second I approached. "I could seriously kiss you right now. I love you so much."

Brianna, who was leaning against the locker beside mine, peeked over her phone to take in the scene before her. Seeing it wasn't anything of interest, she dropped her hazel eyes and full attention to her phone, a Andrew Wilde induced smile touching at her lips.

"I figured when you texted me at three in the morning telling me that Liam Scott was kidnapping you that you'd be an exhausted mess this morning." He considered what he said for a minute, looking toward the ceiling with a frown. "Or possibly dead, but of course I was hoping for the former."

I jabbed my finger into his side as soon as the words broke passed his lips. Brianna perked up, suddenly on high alert after hearing about my late-night escapade. This had been the only reason I had texted Bryan instead of her about my whereabouts; her inquisitive nature always left her asking millions of questions and expecting an answer to every last one of them.

"Wow, wow, hold up." She slipped her phone into the back pocket of her red jeans, eyes wide. "Why was I not told about this? What happened? What did you guys do? Did you make out?"

I started to respond, but Bryan cut me off before I could get a full, coherent word out. "What the hell are you wearing? Is that Liam's Letterman?"

My own eyes grew a little as I looked down. I had been in such a tired daze this morning I'd grabbed whatever clothes I could find, shoved all my stuff into my backpack, then left. I hadn't even bothered running a brush through my hair, but thrown it into a messy, and most definitely tangled, bun.

"Oh My God!" Brianna squealed, grasping my shoulders in her hands as she hopped up and down like an excited child in a toy store. "You didn't!"

"Let me talk guys!" I held up a hand, taking a swing from the coffee cup, then looked at Brianna. "No, I didn't. It was cold last night so Liam let me borrow it."

The twins opened their mouths at the same time to speak, but I shot them a look that had them shutting it seconds later so I could continue.

"He just drove us to like a cliff overlooking the city and we talked."

"Talked about what?" Bryan inquired.

Brianna was still bouncing on the balls of her feet, but the look in her eyes was conflicting. As if she didn't know whether to be excited or worried.

"Nothing, really. We just talked in the back of the truck." I could see the skepticism in my best friend's eyes and pointed a finger against my chest. "There is nothing going on between Liam and me, I solemnly swear it, Bryan. Don't you know who you're talking to? I'm the matchmaker, but I don't believe in love."

He reached out and grabbed a fistful of Liam's Letterman in his hand. "Well, then you might want to take this off before people think something is going on."

"He's probably right." Brianna added after a moment of thought, "We don't really need to make an enemy out of Nicola."

Thrusting my cup into Bryan's hand, I slid out of the jacket and draped it over my forearm, but Bryan was staring at my shirt with an irritated look. "That's my shirt."