"For the thousandth time, I'm not going!" Lissette Thompson cried. She grimaced as felt a small twinge of guilt, not meaning to come across so hostile, especially towards her friends, but she came to the conclusion that the amount of times she had been forced to have this conversation was a sufficient enough excuse for the outburst.

"Pretty please. Ettie, it'll be fun," Greta Carls whined, dramatically throwing back her auburn-haired head. Greta was the only person Lissette allowed to call her "Ettie." Lissette figured that being her best and closest friend since kindergarten gave Greta the right to nickname her however she felt best, even if the nickname was ridiculous.

"I just don't understand why this is so important to you all," Lissette sighed.

"Um, maybe because we care about you?" Talulla Richards scoffed. "And maybe because this will be ultra-good for you?"

"'Ultra,'" Lissette snorted doubtfully. "Yes, Talulla, going to a sweaty high school party will be good for me. Ultra."

"You know what I mean," Talulla said. "Babe, we love you, but you've been moping around for three months now. You're never going to get over you-know-who like this, hiding in your bedroom. Trust me, I know breakups suck, but you've got to get back out there, girl. This is just, like... sad." Lissette winced at the cold truth being thrown in her face. She knew that while Talulla was a little too brutally honest for her own good, not a word she had uttered was false.

"Holy shit, Talulla, way to put it gently," Kirsten Douglas rolled her eyes. Kirsten turned back to Lissette and her expression softened in such a Kirsten way. If the color pastel pink was a person, it would be Kirsten. "Take that with a grain of salt, Liss. We don't think you're sad," Kirsten pointedly glared at Talulla, "we just want you to have fun again. Like you used to."

"I still have fun," Lissette grumbled, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Yeah, sure, Liss, if your version of 'fun' is spending every weekend night cooped up in your bedroom, crying to rom coms, and stuffing yourself with non-dairy ice cream," Talulla said. Lissette could detect the judgment in her voice from a mile away.

Lissette cringed, but she had no response. Once again, Talulla was harsh, but correct. Lissette was well aware of how pathetic she was and that lousy feeling only increased every time she took a bite of ice cream. Non-dairy ice cream.

Lissette already had another excuse to rattle off, something that had indeed been filling her with anxiety since the mention of the party first came up. "Aaron is Dean's best friend — he's definitely going to be at his best friend's party. You guys are all liars if you say that sounds like it'd be a fun time for me." Just the idea of being in the proximity of Aaron Abbott consumed Lissette with trepidation and a hint of nauseousness.

"Yeah, well, Dean is my boyfriend and you're my friend so you have just as much reason to be there as Aaron does, to be honest," Kirsten shrugged. Lissette almost laughed at how untrue that statement was. "Please don't let that tool be your deciding factor, Liss. I promise we can just avoid him the whole time!"

Greta plopped down next to Lissette on the edge of her bed. "Just this one party. Please, Ettie? If we're there and you hate it, you can tell me and you and I will leave, you'll only have to say the word. But I think this will be good for you and I definitely think you'll enjoy it. Aaron isn't a part of your life anymore, so don't let him control it."

Greta had such a hopeful gaze in her blue eyes, such a warm and honest smile on her face. Lissette always had such a weak spot for Greta.

Lissette sighed. "Fine. I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine. I'll go."

Greta, Talulla, and Kirsten all cheered, simultaneously crashing in on Lissette for a group hug. Lissette couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh, but dread was already filling her over the party as reality sunk in, a knot twisting itself in her stomach.

~

"I want to leave," Lissette loudly announced the second the girls climbed out of Talulla's car, whipping her head around to stare at Greta.

"Oh no, no, no. You have to at least try to have fun first," Greta said, shaking her head.

"You said that if I hate the party, I would only have to say the word and we would leave," Lissette pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"For the record, only Greta agreed to that. I am not leaving early," Talulla butted in.

"Not necessary, Talulla," Greta muttered. She faced Lissette again. "Yeah, I did say if you hate the party we can leave, but we haven't even gotten into the party. Be for real, Ettie. Just... we don't have to stay for long, but attempt to try to enjoy yourself. Please?"

"Get back out there!" Kirsten added enthusiastically, clearly in an attempt to be encouraging.

In the back of her mind, Lissette remarked how it was so unnecessary to "get back out there" when she was only a junior in high school and she had plenty of time to do so, but there was no point in saying it out loud. Her friends only wanted what was best for her in the end, and plus, she was sick of this conversation. At this point, it was just easier for her to go along with what they wanted. Ideally, she'll just go to the party, act like she's having fun for an hour, leave, and then they'll all drop the subject of Aaron, parties, and how pathetic she's become over the past three months.

Pursing her lips, Lissette proceeded to follow her friends into Dean Clarke's home, which was definitely more "mansion" than "house." Talulla always liked to joke that Kirsten was a gold digger for dating him, but Kirsten didn't let that bother her. Lissette had never been the lovey-dovey, hopeless romantic type, but it was clear as day how in love Dean and Kirsten were. Even Lissette had to admit that they were cute together.

"Whatever," Lissette sighed. There was no escaping that night.

Even though she hadn't gone out in the past three months, Lissette had still experienced her fair share of high school parties in the past, so she wasn't anticipating to be that surprised or overwhelmed. Unfortunately for her, the second the door to Dean's home was opened, Lissette realized she should have arrived much more mentally prepared. Rainbow strobe lights were flashing, some Nicki Minaj song was blasting over the giant speaker setup, the place reeked of cheap beer, and Lissette was wondering how she would even be able to make her way around due to the absurd amount of teenagers taking up space, dancing, shouting, and drinking. Lissette was disoriented, to say the least.

"Is the entire school here?" Lissette gaped, forced to shout to be able to be heard by her friends. "This has to be a fire hazard, right?"

"I told you this party would be insane!" Greta exclaimed with a huge grin. "Kirsten's boyfriend throws the best parties."

"I've been to Dean's parties before. They've never been ragers like this," Lissette said, still a little bit overstimulated.

"Yeah, because the last time you went to one of Dean's parties was three months ago when he still lived in Elmbrook before his family moved to a three story mansion in a gated community. His parties are a little bit more desirable now," Talulla snorted.

"His parents are okay with this?" Lissette wondered in disbelief. Her own parents were wary if she invited just Greta, Talulla, and Kirsten over. She couldn't imagine them being chill with this many people inside their home.

"His parents are in New York on a work trip," Kirsten said.

"They just left him home alone?"

"He's seventeen and his parents trust him," Kirsten shrugged.

"Speaking of Dean!" Kirsten suddenly perked up. She began to push her way through a crowd of sweaty people, leading the way for the other girls, until she arrived at a ping pong table that Dean was playing beer pong on. The minute Dean saw Kirsten, he stopped everything he was doing, sliding his arms around Kirsten's waist and pulling her in for a swoon-worthy kiss.

Kirsten waited a few moments of leaning into the kiss before pulling away. "Your breath smells like beer," she teased with a smile. Dean grinned and opened his mouth wide to blow air on Kirsten's face, causing her to squeal and giggle and swat at his chest. A few seconds later, and the couple began to make out again. Greta smirked, Talulla rolled her eyes, and Lissette simply stared. She wasn't even close to jealous, of course, but she couldn't help but be reminded of the relationship she once had, not so different from theirs.

A guy on the other side of the table loudly cleared his throat. "Dean, dude, we were in the middle of something?" he said.

Dean slowly pulled away from Kirsten and turned to look at the boy. "Right. Sorry," he laughed. Judging by the huge grin on his face, he wasn't the slightest bit apologetic. Dean faced Kirsten again. "I need a beer pong partner. Play with me?"

Kirsten looked over at her friends to make sure it was okay and they all gave a nod to assure her. Kirsten smiled appreciatively and joined Dean on the other side of him. "I am a beer pong champ," she proclaimed.

"They're so gross," Talulla said, once she, Lissette, and Greta had walked a far enough distance away from the couple, not that she even cared if they heard.

"They're cute," Greta defended.

Talulla just scoffed.

"Hey, let's dance!" suggested Greta.

"Oh, yes!" Talulla brightened up.

Lissette really didn't want to, but she wasn't opposed to it enough to ruin her friends' fun. She flashed a fake smile, signaling she was cool with it, and the three girls walked out onto the "dance floor" that was really just Dean's living room.

The song changed to "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado. The three girls immediately began to dance, Talulla jokingly exclaiming how this song was about her. Well, more accurately, Greta and Talulla began to dance while Lissette awkwardly bobbed up and down.

Of all the things Lissette hated in the world, dancing had to be in her Top 10. She always just felt so stiff and embarrassed, unnatural. Of course she knew logically that no one was paying attention to her and she should just let loose and have fun, but there was always a haunting dread deep inside of her that made her feel like everyone's eyes in the room were on her, judging her. Feeling like she was being critiqued by her peers while she awkwardly tried to figure out what to do with her body wasn't really Lissette's definition of fun.

Talulla loudly began to shout along with the song, more than slightly tone deaf. "She's a maneater! Make you work hard, make you spend hard, make you want all of her love!" Talulla excitedly pointed at herself. She swayed her hips and swished her dark hair as she went on, Greta dancing similarly. Whenever Lissette tried to dance like that, she just looked like a broken robot.

As she forced a laugh, Lissette realized how sweaty she was becoming... and nauseous. She didn't know if it was from the continuous bouncing up and down, the insanely large amount of people surrounding and bumping into her, the stench, the noise level, or the anxiety of the moment. Probably everything. Whatever it was, though, was beginning to make her feel like the walls were caving in.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Lissette announced abruptly. It was a complete lie, and Greta and Talulla could definitely tell, but she just hoped they didn't notice how panicky her breath was starting to become.

"Okay," Greta said slowly. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, no, it's okay. Stay here. Dance. I'll be back, just have fun," Lissette assured, not so convincingly.

Greta and Talulla glanced at each other warily. They knew when something was off with Lissette, it was just about the most obvious thing in the world, but they could also tell when she needed space. Lissette wasn't exactly difficult to read.

"Alright," Greta said, "just be careful."

"Of course," Lissette said, feigning another smile. Spinning around, she began to shove her way through the hoard of people. Lissette didn't know where the bathroom was, she didn't care. She just needed air, fresh air. It felt like it was getting louder in there, hotter. At last, she made it to a sliding glass door in the kitchen. She fumbled to open it, running outside once she finally did.

There were still a bunch of people outside, some swimming in the pool fully clothed, some by the bonfire, some playing basketball, lots just loitering, but at least there was space. At least she could finally breathe.

Lissette took a sigh of relief, leaning against the house and closing her eyes as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Don't doze off, Thompson. We wouldn't want everyone to see you drooling, now would we?"

Lissette's eyes snapped open, recognizing the masculine voice immediately. That was all it took to get her blood boiling. There, in front of her, stood the person Lissette truly despised most in this world: Henley Rhodes.

Lissette couldn't recall a single positive interaction she ever experienced with Henley. From the moment they met, way back in kindergarten when Henley splattered black paint on Lissette's finger painting of a flower, it seemed as though the two were born with personal vendettas against each other. It was just impossible for them to find it in themselves to get along, and on and on it went. What started off as childish prank wars in elementary school, eventually developed into nasty rumor-spreading in middle school, which finally transitioned into high school academic rivalry. Freshman year they competed for top of the class in AP Human Geography (Henley won that), sophomore year they competed for the top in AP European History (Lissette won that), and already this junior year, they were competing in AP Chemistry (Lissette knew she was off to a good start).

Lissette wasn't the kind of person to hate someone just because of an academic rivalry. She was a strong believer in the importance of healthy competition. Lissette could probably even find it in herself to forgive all those hundreds of past pranks and rumors, even that rumor Henley started and spread to the entire school not to eat hard boiled eggs around her because she allegedly had a "hard boiled egg obsession" and would hiss until you gave them to her. Everyone believed it too. No, Lissette could probably manage to forgive him for all of that. It was the fact that on top of all that very questionable stuff, Henley was simply a terrible human being.

Henley had to have the worst personality of anyone Lissette ever had the displeasure of meeting. He was an arrogant, cynical, smug, temperamental smart ass with a larger than life ego. Henley truly believed that he was superior to literally everyone and didn't hesitate to rub it in their faces.

He wasn't afraid to push people (specifically Lissette) down to get him where he wanted to go. Henley was a thoughtless, insensitive, self-serving, greedy, conniving egomaniac (so many negative adjectives). Example? Somehow, Henley and Lissette had been assigned as lab partners in AP Chem. After their very first lab, when Henley was supposed to be recording the data, he intentionally gave Lissette the wrong information. Thank God Lissette was completely paranoid when it came to Henley or else she wouldn't have redone the lab herself to double check the results. She got an A+ on that assignment.

Perhaps that was why Lissette and Henley made for such perfect rivals. Henley was a born sabotager, and Lissette was great at avoiding sabotage.

Yeah, Lissette hated Aaron, of course she would after everything that happened, but this hate for Henley was pure, stemming over years and years of getting on nerves. No one could ever compare to a history like that — an awful history.

A scowl was already fixed on Lissette's face as she responded. "I wasn't dozing off and I absolutely do not drool," she said sternly, straightening.

Lissette could see the smirk tugging at the corner of Henley's mouth and she clenched her fists. She hated it when Henley got to her, because he loved getting to her, messing with her. It was exactly what he wanted. He was a sadist.

"You sure?" Henley raised his eyebrows. "Because you have a little something here..." He tapped on the left corner of his mouth.

Instinctively, Lissette reached up to touch her own mouth. It was dry. Obviously. She knew it would be dry and she knew she didn't drool. Angry, Lissette ripped her hand away from her mouth, causing Henley to laugh. "Fuck you," Lissette said bitterly.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Henley said smugly. He had without a doubt been waiting to use that line forever.

Lissette, scowling in frustration and disgust, turned her back to him and began to storm away, biting back a groan when she heard footsteps and Henley soon joined her side. His legs were so long that one of his strides was equivalent to two of hers, and he even slowed down a bit to match her pace casually, his hands clasped behind his back.

Lissette kept her eyes trained on the ground. If she looked at his face, looked him in those heavy-lidded black eyes, she would just be consumed with an urge to slap that cocky expression he was always wearing off of him. Plus, he was almost an entire foot taller than her; she couldn't even look him in the eyes without getting a crick in her neck.

"What do you want, Henley?" Lissette said, irritation apparent in her voice. He could never just get a hint.

"Oh, Thompson, it's that hard to believe that I just wanted to talk to you? But you're such lovely company!" he said sarcastically. Lissette rolled her eyes. "Someone needs to work on their self esteem," he faked concern, pouting as he patted Lissette's shoulder. Lissette recoiled.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Lissette repeated, running out of patience. This time she looked up at Henley. God, she hated how perfect his side profile was, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow on it, catching each feature just right, illuminating every chiseled edge, like sculpted marble. Why did it always have to be the worst people that were the most attractive? A jawline sharp enough to cut through glass, high cheekbones, tan-skinned, long-limbed, and a strong, slightly crooked nose that looked like it might have been broken once, with hair inky black and floppy, but in a way most girls described as cute. If one looked at Henley, their first thought would most likely be revolving around how good looking he was and not that he looked like a total asshole... unless that "one" was Lissette, of course.

"I told you, Thompson," he chided, shaking his head, "I just wanted to ta-"

"Leaving," Lissette said abruptly. Once again, she whirled away from him, intent on leaving him behind, but was stopped in her tracks when Henley suddenly flung his hand out and gripped Lissette's arm tightly. Not tight enough to hurt her, but definitely tight enough to make her halt everything she was doing.

"Wait," Henley said quickly.

Yeah, Lissette was perplexed. Confused, she turned back around to face him, eyebrows furrowed together, and yanked her arm out of his grasp, but she stayed. "What?" she said dryly.

"I just haven't seen you out in public since the..." Henley trailed off, clearly stopping himself from saying "the breakup." God, even Henley, someone who without a doubt hated and didn't care about her, tiptoed around the subject, as if she was some delicate loser that would break apart from just hearing the words "breakup" or "Aaron." This is the way it had been for the past three months, everyone, including Lissette's greatest friends and greatest enemy, treating her like a frail victim. Sure, it hadn't left her with the highest spirits, and sure, she had been crying exceptionally more than usual, and maybe she had become a slightly more pathetic version of herself, but she didn't want to be perceived that way. Then again, she kind of did this to herself by staying cooped up in her bedroom. She was basically broadcasting to the whole school that she was heartbroken... which she was. Lissette knew she had reached an all time low when even her nemesis was afraid of hurting her feelings or her having some emotional outburst.

Henley cleared his throat. "I haven't seen you out in public in forever," he restated.

Lissette rolled her eyes. "You're allowed to say 'breakup,' you know. The world won't combust," she said.

Henley looked surprised for about a second but Lissette was barely even able to register the expression before it was replaced with his usual smugness. "Is that so? Because you hiding out for three months didn't really indicate that," he said. Well at least Henley was back to normal and done with tiptoeing around Lissette — that didn't take long. "Let me guess, you spent every weekend night watching romcoms by yourself? I bet your favorite is 10 Things I Hate About You. Am I right?"

Yes. You are completely, 100% right, down to every single detail, especially 10 Things I Hate About You, Lissette thought.

"No," Lissette scoffed. "You couldn't be more off-base."

Henley looked doubtful. "Fine. Anyways, though, I just wanted to acknowledge that I haven't seen you in awhile outside of AP Chem. This is interesting. Definitely unexpected. The hermit lives!" He smirked and threw his hands in the air with the exclamation.

"It's great to know that I've interested you, Henley. I'm honored."

Henley carried on. "You do know this is your ex's best friend's party, right? Maybe not the best choice for your reintroduction into a social life, Thompson, since your ex is the reason you don't have a social life."

"It's my friend's boyfriend's party."

"Wow. Small world."

"Not really. Dean is the one that introduced me to Aaron, so, like, obviously."

"That must suck, huh? Your friend's boyfriend's best friend is your ex."

"I'm aware of the situation. And no, it doesn't make a difference to me."

"Liar. It totally makes a difference to you, Thompson. I bet it makes the biggest difference to you."

"No. It doesn't. It's pretty easy to avoid being around someone," Lissette said, then slowly looked at Henley, accusingly. "Except for you, clearly. It's impossible to avoid you. It's super annoying."

"Ouch," Henley grinned, dimples indenting themselves into his cheeks. Of course he had to have dimples.

"So that's it, then? You just decided to bother me because you thought it was interesting and unexpected that I dare show up at a party?" Lissette said.

"That's exactly it," Henley nodded confidently. "You also looked like you were out cold against the wall. Who would nag me if you were dead?"

Right. That. "Aw, so you were concerned for me?" Lissette feigned endearment, touching her hand to her heart.

"Concerned? More so amused, but call it what you want," Henley shrugged.

"Ettie?" Lissette turned around to face Greta, who had magically appeared out of nowhere. Both concern and confusion were mapped across Greta's face. "Where the hell have you been?" Greta's eyes flickered over to Henley and it was in that moment that Lissette realized how close she and Henley were. Lissette couldn't have taken a step back quicker.

"Sorry, I just needed a breath of fresh air," Lissette explained.

"Well you've been gone forever," Greta said, crossing her arms. She glanced at Henley again. "I've been alone for the past ten minutes because Talulla left me to go play beer pong and I thought I should wait for you."

Lissette winced. "I really am sorry, G. I didn't realize you were on your own."

"Whatever," Greta huffed. "I blame Talulla. Anyways, I can't believe I'm saying this before you, but do you want to leave right now? I'm so ready to go."

Lissette brightened up. She definitely wanted to leave. "Yes, please," she said, relieved. This had been a 0/10 experience but at least she could say she "got out" for once.

"Thank God," Greta groaned. She grabbed Lissette's hand and began to lead them away, but not before wishing Henley goodnight, which he returned politely. Henley was nice to everyone but Lissette. "So much happened after you left, Ettie. You know Vance McCoy? He totally tried hitting on Talulla and I. Both of us. At the same time. Get this: he asked if we wanted to come home with him. It was so obvious, he might as well have just straight up asked for a threesome. Like, what the hell does he think this is? Riverdale? It was so bizarre, and then Talulla completely told him off, but he was so weird and would not give up, so then I dumped my beer on him and he finally got the hint and left. But then Talulla was like 'I want to go play beer pong,' and I was like 'we should wait here for Ettie so she knows where to find us,' and she was like 'screw that, she'll find us, I want to play beer pong.' Then she left. It was so annoying. And you know what happened after that, obviously."

Lissette blanched. "Ugh, Vance is so creepy. Sorry again for leaving you."

"It's okay. It was a lot in there, and you looked like you were about to be sick," Greta shrugged.

Lissette wondered if she should explain to her best friend what had been going through her mind. How she wasn't used to being at parties and around so many people ever since everything with Aaron happened, how she felt like the world was caving in on her, how it felt as though her lungs were closing up, how there was this sinking feeling that millions of eyes were on her, judging her. Would Greta understand? Most importantly, would Greta feel guilty? Lissette knew for sure that of course it wasn't Greta's fault whatsoever, but she also knew Greta well enough to know she would blame herself for bringing Lissette to the party. Lissette didn't want her to feel guilty, especially since Lissette was fine now.

Before Lissette could even make up her mind, Greta began speaking again. "So... you were hanging out with Henley Rhodes?" The shock was painted across her face.

Lissette scowled just at the mention of Henley. "No, he just approached me and then bothered me. He wouldn't leave. Henley's a pest."

"He's a hot pest though."

Lissette swatted Greta's arm. "Gross, G!"

"Oh, please. I know you hate him but there's no way you've never thought he was hot before. It's not like I'm choosing him over you, it's just a fact. Henley is so hot," Greta said bluntly.

Lissette gagged. "No, Greta, I have never thought he was hot!" That was a bit of a white lie. It had definitely occurred to Lissette before how blessed Henley was when it came to his looks, but there was zero chance she would go around saying it out loud. No way was she ever complimenting him.

"Lies," Greta scoffed.

"You need to sto—" Lissette gasped as she suddenly ran directly into someone, too focused on Greta to remember to pay attention. She stumbled back a bit, immediately rushing to apologize, cringing at herself out of embarrassment. "Oh my God, I am so sorry, I didn't see you th— oh."

Oh.

Oh, she had run straight into Aaron. Aaron, who she had been in a relationship with for over two, almost three, years. Aaron, who she gave her first everything too. Aaron, who she used to be completely and irrevocably in love with. Aaron, who turned his back and cheated on her after years of commitment. Aaron, who she had been avoiding for three months ever since she caught him hooking up with another girl and ended things. Aaron.

Even after all that time, even with knowing how big of a dirtbag Aaron really was, Lissette was still hung up on him, and she hated herself for it. She still hadn't moved on. The image of Aaron and that girl making out was burned into her mind. She never stopped thinking about the way Aaron hadn't even attempted to apologize or explain the situation to Lissette, not filled with an ounce of regret or remorse. Had all those years meant nothing to Aaron? Because they meant everything to Lissette. Lissette just hadn't been enough for him?

Aaron looked the same as always, neatly groomed blonde hair, wide blue eyes, dressed in his usual form fitting Ralph Lauren polo and khakis, but it was with horror that Lissette realized he wasn't alone. No, hanging on his arm was the beautiful, auburn haired girl he had cheated on Lissette with. Both Aaron and the girl looked stunned, their mouths slightly open as they gazed at Lissette as if she were some alien.

Aaron cleared his throat. "Lissette. Hello. It's been... a while."

Lissette was too shocked to speak. She took a step backwards and glanced at Greta, who, to her surprise, looked extremely pissed, glaring daggers at Aaron.

"A while?" Greta scoffed. "Yeah, you're right, it's been a while since you cheated."

Lissette's mouth dropped open. She didn't know if she should hug Greta for standing up for her, or scold her for making things ten times more awkward. Aaron and the girl clearly didn't know how to process Greta's outburst either.

Aaron coughed. "Jesus," he muttered.

There was a long awkward silence when the auburn girl suddenly stuck her hand out, the one that wasn't wrapped around Aaron's bicep. She beamed, a beautiful, pearly white smile. "I'm Ensley," she introduced herself.

Lissette just stared at her perfectly manicured hand. She couldn't believe this girl. Was she for real? Was she seriously introducing herself right now? She knew who Lissette was, right? That she hooked up with Aaron when he was still dating Lissette? Sure, it sounded like Ensley had good intentions when she introduced herself, it didn't really seem like she was maliciously trying to rub anything in Lissette's face, but how clueless could a person possibly be?

After a couple moments of Lissette not reciprocating the handshake, Ensley awkwardly pulled her hand back, smoothing out her skirt.

"Lissette," Aaron said slowly, carefully, "Ensley is my girlfriend." He was talking to Lissette like she was a toddler.

"You're not introducing her as the girl you cheated on Lissette with? Hm," Greta said pointedly, tilting her chin up. Lissette had to physically stop herself from facepalming. Ensley went pale.

Aaron clearly had it with Greta's judgemental outbursts because his eyes flashed angrily and he snapped, "Greta, if I may, you're completely making an issue out of something that's not one, and frankly, this isn't even any of your business. There's no need to force petty drama." There was a time when Lissette thought Aaron's eloquent way of speech was charming and intelligent, even cute, but now it just made her cringe. He really was a pretentious douchebag.

"It's plenty of my business! She's my best friend," Greta said, narrowing her eyes. "And you started the 'petty drama' after what you did to Lissette." Lissette glanced at Ensley who looked beyond uncomfortable and awkward — they were in the same boat there.

"Look, Greta, it's fantastic that you're sticking up for Lissette. Yay girl power, or whatever, but just because I've moved on and she hasn't doesn't give you the right to act like an overly emotional child," Aaron snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Greta said loudly, throwing her hands up as if to say stop right there. "Lissette has absolutely moved on, you cocky little shit. She has an amazing boyfriend, way better than you ever were!"

Lissette wanted to scream at Greta, to shake her shoulders and demand for her to stop talking for God's sake. Lissette couldn't do that though, so instead she just nervously stood there, panic increasing by the second, twirling a strand of brunette hair around her finger, an anxious habit.

"Is that so?" Aaron said doubtfully. "Who's the lucky man, then, Lissette?"

Lissette frowned. Sure, she definitely hadn't moved on, but why was it so difficult for Aaron to believe that she had? Was he really that confident that while it was a piece of cake for him to forget about Lissette, she could never dare forget about him? Who could ever move on from the Amazing Aaron?

Lissette's heart was beating, but she didn't really have an option here. If she told the truth, that Greta was full of crap and she hadn't technically moved on, it would probably be the most humiliating thing to ever happen to her. Plus, for once, Lissette just really didn't want Aaron to win. She had to lie.

Everyone was staring at Lissette. Aaron looked smug, about to catch her in a lie. Ensley couldn't look like she wanted to get out of there more. Greta wasn't even trying to hide how apologetic she looked – for putting Lissette in that position, not for yelling at Aaron, of course.

"Well?" Aaron said, crossing his arms.

"He's, um..." Lissette had reached full panic mode. Shit. Shit. Aaron would know she was lying if she just made up a name or said he went to a different school. Everyone was waiting for her answer. She was taking too long to answer. Shit, just say the name of the first person you s— "Henley. Henley Rhodes. I am dating Henley Rhodes."