Fooled

Seven

Gifts were handed out and some games were played. Everyone congratulated the to-be wedded couple. I passed out some cookies to the leftover people, and turned on some music to get a bit of festivities going. There were plenty of people already intoxicated, dancing the night away. 

My mom and dad were dancing as well. My mom was holding her drink in her right hand as she swayed with my dad, who was holding her up, both with smiles of content on their faces. I haven't replied to Quinn or Jade, nor has Liam came back to talk to me.

Luke sat beside me out on the front porch swing. He had just came back from dropping off Regina. "Why are you sitting out here by yourself? I thought you were cooking up a talk with that guy Liam."

Oh, no. Now I have to explain everything to Luke! I don't think I have the energy. "We were talking, yes."

"Then, where is he?"

"I don't know? Inside, probably."

"You're acting like he broke your heart already," Luke says. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I can't explain anything right now."

Luke nods as he stands up. He runs a hand through his messy hair before saying, "You do know they're staying the night, right?"

"Wait, what?"

"Melissa, Jacob, and Liam. They're staying the night."

"No, I heard you. I just don't understand why."

Luke laughs at this, and I glance in inside the house through the window beside me. Everyone seems to be happy because of one major reason: the drinks. "Yeah, you don't expect them to drive home in that matter, do you?" With that, he leaves me alone to how I began with. 

I pull out my phone and dial Jade. She answers within a heartbeat. "Who is this?"

"Are you seriously asking who this is? It's my own phone, Jade."

"Oh," her voice deflates. "I was kinda hoping it would be Liam." She cooed his name like it's something worth wooing over. "'Cause you know, anyone could have your phone now. By the way, his voice was very beautiful, I would actually kill to hear it again. Actually, I would kill to see who fits the voice." There it was. I didn't officially have them hooked. For all they know, I could have used a voice editor or it could have been Luke speaking in a deeper tone. I hate that she's still skeptical about this. This is why things are a challenge between us. We don't trust each other to do the impossible.

"You can," I say. "In a little bit, I'll Face Time you, and he'll be with me."

"Are you serious? Oh, this just gets better and better." Her voice perks and I know I've said the right thing. If I told her she couldn't exactly see him at the moment, she would automatically take that as a sign of a lie and completely blow my fool. The measures I would take for this.

"I don't sound like I'm on speaker. Is Quinn still there? I thought she'd want to hear this."

"Oh, yeah, she is. She's doing her nails and talking to some guy on the phone at the same time. I'm glad you called me or else she would have left me alone here, watching her act like a girl."

"I see. Well, I have news-"

"What is it!"

"Jade," I laugh. "I didn't even finish and you interrupted me."

"Well, I want you to get on with it!"

I roll my eyes, aware she can't see me. "He's actually staying over."

"Wait, who? Liam?"

"Yep."

There's a shriek. "Shut up! So what's going to happen? Like, is he going to sneak in your room and ya'll going to go at it again?" I can hear the smile in her voice and I can't help but grin at how excited she sounds. For once, she's not suspecting anything. "Or- or! Or are you guys going to sneak out and be rebellious young things."

"Oh, my God. You did not just say 'young things'."

"Alright-alright, ignore that. But seriously, like is he going to stay there until tomorrow?"

"Well, duh. They're staying over."

"Great," Jade says. There's shuffling and then muttering. Soon, there's another shriek and I can tell that that one came from Quinn. "So, I'll just be waiting for that call then."

She's already ready to hang up? This is so unlike Jade. "Wait, you're done talking? I thought you wanted to ask more questions or something."

"I can do that when you and Liam call me," she clarifies. "Also, I'm going to eat, so I don't think you want to hear me crunching on a sandwich."

"It's like eleven o'clock, Jade. Remember, everything you eat after eleven stays with you."

"Shut up, shut up! I know that bullshit. Stop reminding me. I can't help my hunger."

"Okay. See you later." She hangs up without saying good-bye.

I'm sitting there alone again, thinking abour how I'm going to get Liam to face time two girls he doesn't even know and act like he's interested in me at the same time without getting nervous. If I was in his position, I would have stayed far from him and rejected the offer to be the girl who took his virginity. But I'm not him and he's not me. He's him, and I can't thank him enough for doing what he's doing. 

Liam technically signed up to do everything to make it all seem real, so this face time is just step one. Who knows what else more is to come. Whatever comes, he'll have to agree to do and be perfectly fine with doing  it. The thought of him realizing that agreeing to do this was a mistake began eating me up. I hope he still thinks this is "terribly fun".