The next day, I told myself one thing:
Stay out of trouble.
No bumping into random strangers.
No arguing with annoyingly attractive guys.
No chaos.
Just peace.
That was the plan.
And like every bad plan I've ever made… it failed immediately.
I had barely stepped into the boutique down the street—just a quick stop to distract myself—when everything went wrong.
Again.
"Wait—no, no, NO—don't touch that—!"
Something crashed.
I turned just in time to see a pile of neatly folded clothes collapse like a mini earthquake had hit the store.
And right in the middle of the disaster…
A girl.
She stood there, frozen for exactly two seconds. Then she slowly turned—and our eyes met.
"Oh."
Pause.
Then suddenly—
"Oh my God, YOU'RE HER."
I blinked. "I'm… who?"
Before I could take a step back, she rushed toward me, grabbed my arm, and stared at my face like she was trying to confirm something important.
"It's you," she said dramatically. "The girl."
"What girl?"
"The girl from yesterday," she said, lowering her voice like it was some top-secret gossip. "The one who almost fought Jaxon in public."
My heart dropped.
"You—how do you even—"
"Lily," she said quickly, flashing me a bright, unstoppable smile. "That's my name. And don't worry, I know everything."
"That's… not comforting."
"It should be!" she insisted. "Because now we're friends."
"Wait—what?"
"Yes," she said, nodding like it was already decided. "You're interesting. I like interesting people. My life was getting boring."
"I'm not—"
"You are," she cut in. "Trust me."
Before I could escape, another voice joined us.
"Lily," he said calmly, "you're scaring her."
I turned.
He was tall, relaxed, holding a cup of coffee like he had all the time in the world. His expression was amused, like he'd seen this exact situation happen a hundred times before.
"And you are?" I asked.
"Ethan," he said simply. "Her handler."
"I am not—!" Lily snapped, turning to him.
"You knocked over half the store," he pointed out.
"That was an accident."
"You say that every time."
I tried not to laugh. Failed.
Ethan noticed and smirked slightly. "See? She gets it."
Lily rolled her eyes dramatically before turning back to me like nothing had happened.
"Anyway," she said, grabbing my hand again, "ignore him. He's boring. I'm the fun one."
"I can see that," I muttered.
"Good," she said proudly. "You learn fast."
Within minutes, I had somehow been dragged deeper into the store, surrounded by clothes I didn't plan to buy and people I didn't plan to meet.
Lily was everywhere—picking outfits, throwing comments, talking non-stop.
"This one is cute."
"No, wait—this one is better."
"Oh my God, try this!"
"Lily—"
"No arguments!"
Ethan stayed close, watching the whole thing like it was a show.
"You're handling this better than most," he said to me quietly.
"Most?"
"Most people run."
"I'm considering it."
"Too late," he said. "She's claimed you."
"I heard that!" Lily shouted from across the rack.
Of course she did.
At some point, she shoved a jacket into my hands. "Try it."
"I don't—"
"Try it."
I sighed and slipped it on.
Lily gasped like I had just transformed into a completely different person. "See?! I have taste!"
Ethan looked me over briefly. "It works."
"That's it?" Lily snapped. "That's your review?"
"I'm a simple man."
"You're a useless man."
I laughed again, shaking my head.
This was insane.
Completely insane.
And yet…
I wasn't uncomfortable.
Somehow, between Lily's wild energy and Ethan's calm sarcasm, everything felt… easy.
Like I'd known them longer than a few minutes.
"Okay," Lily said suddenly, clapping her hands. "Important question."
I narrowed my eyes. "That sounds dangerous."
"It is," Ethan confirmed.
She ignored him. "Are you always this dramatic, or was yesterday a special performance?"
I froze slightly.
"Yesterday?"
"With Jaxon," she said casually, like his name didn't carry weight. "That was entertaining."
I looked away. "It wasn't that serious."
"Mmm," she hummed, clearly not believing me.
Ethan sipped his coffee. "He doesn't usually argue like that."
I frowned. "Meaning?"
"Meaning," he said, glancing at me, "you got his attention."
My stomach did something weird.
"I don't care," I said quickly.
"Sure," Lily said, smiling knowingly. "We believe you."
"You don't."
"Not even a little."
I sighed, pulling the jacket off and handing it back.
"Can we not talk about him?" I muttered.
"Of course," she said immediately.
Pause.
"...We'll talk about him later."
"Lily."
"Kidding!"
She wasn't.
By the time I finally left the boutique, my head was spinning.
I had walked in alone, expecting a quiet moment.