Lily came out of the classroom and saw Riley and the others walking toward her.
"Hey, guys!" she called.
"We've been looking for you. Where were you?" Riley asked.
"Oh, I was just saying goodbye to my friends," Lily said. "Are you okay, Jake?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. The injury isn't that serious," Jake said, poking his ribs.
Riley eyed him. "Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure you broke your ribs."
"At least I didn't break a leg like you told me to," Jake muttered.
Alex burst out laughing. "Dude…"
"That wasn't what I meant, you dumbass," Riley said, glaring at him.
"If you aren't feeling too good, we can cancel it," Lily suggested.
Jake shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Let's go."
Riley stared at him. "You sure?"
"Let's just get going. He said he's fine," Liam, who had been quiet all along, said, walking past them.
---
The group arrived at Heaven's Café. Jake slid into the booth first, wincing slightly as he pressed a hand against his ribs. Lily followed after him, with Liam, Riley, and Alex taking the opposite seats.
"Finally," Jake said, relaxing. "A reward for almost breaking a rib."
"More like it already broke," Liam said, rolling his eyes.
Lily giggled. "At least he scored a goal before the injury. Riley was proud," she said, smirking.
"I never said that! And how was I proud of him when he was injured?" Riley said.
"Yeah, she stood up so fast when you got hit," Alex said.
"You're right, she was worried about him," Lily added with a knowing smile.
"Really? I didn't know you cared that much, Riley," Jake said, grinning at her.
"I don't! L...Let's just order," Riley said, quickly averting her eyes, which made Jake grin wider.
Lily's lips curved slightly before returning to her normal expression, while Liam's hands clenched tightly under the table.
Alex grinned. "Yeah, let's order. So, who's paying before I start?"
"Obviously Lily, she's the one who suggested this," Jake said.
Lily eyed him. "Fine, I'm paying."
Liam's phone buzzed. He opened it and saw a text message from Amelia:
> Your tutor is here. Come home quickly.
He stared at it and quickly shoved the phone back into his pocket.
The waiter came and took their orders: burgers, loaded fries, and milkshakes. They laughed and joked around while they ate. Liam's phone kept vibrating in his pocket, but he ignored it.
"Can you guys scoot over? It feels like I'm about to fall," Riley said.
Alex moved a bit. "Hey Liam, can you move over?"
"There's no space... "
"You can sit next to me, Riley. There's enough space since Lily's small," Jake said, cutting Liam off.
Lily glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Liam cursed under his breath. He was about to say something when his phone buzzed again. He sighed and pulled it out, seeing 15 messages from Amelia:
"Where the hell are you? The tutor is waiting."
"Come home quickly. Dad's getting angry."
"Stop being stubborn, Liam. Don't mess this up."
"The tutor left. Are you happy now? Dad is furious, Mom can't calm him down."
"Shit, he's going into your room. You know what's in there."
Liam's eyes widened. His heart pounded. He quickly stood up, panic rising. "Move!, I need to go!"
Everyone stared at him, confused.
"Is there a problem?" Riley asked, worried.
Liam grew impatient, his heartbeat racing. "Just move! I need to go!" he shouted, drawing attention.
Riley quickly stood up, followed by Alex. Liam bolted out of the diner.
"What's wrong with him?" Riley asked, bewildered. She had never seen that look on Liam's face, he was always the unserious type.
"I don't know. I'll go after him," Alex said, hurrying out.
"That was weird," Lily muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Jake agreed.
Riley slowly sat down. "Maybe something happened. He looked… off."
Lily sighed, eyeing both Jake and Riley. "Looks like we'll have to start heading home now."
"Yeah. Want me to walk you girls home?" Jake asked with a smile.
"Just say you wanna walk Riley home. Simple," Lily teased.
Riley choked, staring at Lily. "Seriously?"
"Well, she isn't that wrong," Jake said with a small smile.
Riley sighed, shaking her head. "You're something else."
Lily stood up, holding her phone. "I have to take this call. I'll be right back."
Riley looked at her suspiciously. "I hope you're not trying to escape the bill."
"Whaaat?" Lily scoffed. "Here, you can hold my bag. I promise it's really a call."
Riley took her bag. "Fine."
They fell silent as Lily left. Jake stared at Riley before looking away.
"Well, this is awkward," Riley said, chuckling.
"Yeah," Jake replied, smiling faintly as he tried to find a topic. "So… are you still going to Mia's party?" he asked, then immediately regretted it. "I didn't..."
Riley shook her head. "No. I don't really feel like it. Even if I hadn't rejected the offer, I probably wouldn't have gone."
"Why's that?" Jake asked.
"I can't stand the noise and crowded places. Besides, if I go, people might start talking again," Riley said, sighing.
"I forgot about that part. You know, you're pretty strong for going through all this without breaking down," Jake said with a gentle smile.
Riley chuckled. "I did break down. But I picked myself up quickly. At least they toned down a bit."
Jake looked at her warmly. "I wish everyone would stop saying mean things about you. You're funny, kind, sometimes violent,since you keep smacking me and beautiful, inside and out."
Riley froze, a smile tugging at her lips. No one had ever said that to her before. She was genuinely happy he didn't define her by what others said.
"Thanks, Jake. And I'm not violent. Thank God I met someone like you."
Jake smiled softly. "Me too."
Lily came back grinning. She paid for the food and walked over to them.
"Let's get going, guys. I'm exhausted," she said.
"Me too. I need to lie down. My sides hurt like hell," Jake said, wincing as he stood up.
Riley rolled her eyes. "But you said it didn't hurt."
"It does now," Jake said, smirking.
Riley smacked his arm before walking out of the diner, the others following behind.
As they walked, Riley smiled beside Jake. Despite the rough days, she was glad to have made new friends, it helped her forget the negative things.
Behind them, Lily scrolled through her phone, a sly grin forming on her lips.
"Let the game begin," she mumbled, smirking.