dakota's pov +

i returned back upstairs to see that jack wasn't where i left him, so i came back down with his two shots in my hands then spotted sam through the large crowd.

"sam," i tried to get his attention over the music as he sat surrounded by a bunch of girls. "sam, have you seen jack?".

"he's gone outside to wait for that girl" he finally answered me, so i walked back through the crowd and towards the front door.

i came outside and saw jack sitting on one of the steps that lead up to the house.

"hey" i handed him the glasses and sat beside him. "i got you two".

"thanks" he said before downing them both in less than ten seconds. "and actually, it's great that you're here. i need a friendly face to keep me sane right now".

i somewhat smiled at him before we both sat quietly under the dark, hearing the beats of the loud music playing from inside.

my strong feeling of guilt continued to grow as i watched jack wait for something that was never going to arrive. but i knew that i'd have to let go of this lie sooner or later.

"why do you like this olivia?" i suddenly inquired. "i'm just curious, i mean, you've never even met her or heard her voice".

jack dropped his head as he chuckled to myself lightly.

"wow, it sounds more stupid when someone else says it aloud. but i guess it's because she's easy to talk to, like i feel as though i can tell her anything....she tells me things too, which just shows that she trusts me as well. um, she's funny, she knows how to take a joke and we have similar interests too".

jack began to tell me all the things that he admired about the girl i was pretending to be with this shy smile staying plastered on his face.

"...she's passionate too like really passionate about her future and about society in general. she's also had a rough past and i don't know, maybe that's why she's so hesitant about talking on the phone and things because it's hard for her to let people in" he added.

and suddenly, it felt so weird to have someone who understood me this much.

"sorry, you asked one question and i went on and on" jack shook his head.

"no, no, it's fine. i'm interested".

"but be honest with me, dakota, because these days i feel like you're the only one who ever is," he turned to me and i gulped a little. "am i being ridiculous? is wanting a girl that i've only sent words to worth it?".

i could easily take this chance to say no and help jack distance himself from olivia, just like jonah advised.

but then i stared at his face and the way his dark eyes lit up, and how he could barely suppress a smile when he talked about olivia - there's no way i could crush that. not yet.

i took a small breath, closing my eyes for a few seconds, "yes, it is. if you feel like she's the one then sure".

he nodded and warmly smiled, "okay. thanks".

jack began to shake his leg up and down impatiently as he stared out at the street to see if any cars were coming along.

"maybe i should call her. i know she always denies it, but it's worth a shot" he told and at this moment, i was glad that i had left my bag back inside the house.

he put the phone to his ear and i could hear it ringing a few times until jack gave up and ended the call.

"no answer" he said, looking down at his clasped hands. "maybe she's stuck in traffic or can't find the house".

"yeah" i bit against the inside of my cheek. "i'm sure that's it".

about an hour had past, maybe even a little more and jack and i were still sat on the step as he waited for olivia.

countless times i insisted that he waited inside so that he could at least get distracted by something else, but he refused every time i spoke unless it was to get a quick drink then come back.

breaking our silence, jack suddenly scoffed.

"she's not coming" he quietly stated.

"i-i'm sorry" i said, not knowing what else to say to him.

he quickly forced out a smile for me, "hey, it's not your fault. it's okay".

he took no time to stand up, then give me his hand to help me up too. he brushed off the back of his pants, before going back inside sam's house without a second look.

i pushed my hair back, finally feeling like i could breath again after lying to jack for a whole hour, then eventually followed him back inside the party too.

+

throughout the rest of the night, i was forced to watch jack get completely wasted, then make out and dance inappropriately with a different girl every minute.

i tried my best to ignore it by talking to people and drinking as much as i could handle, but it was becoming pretty difficult to avoid and stop myself from becoming extremely annoyed.

i couldn't take it anymore, so i turned to jonah.

"i'm heading off" i announced close to his ear.

he danced to the playing song with a red cup in one hand and placed the other on my shoulder.

"what?! no! please stay" he begged me, evidently drunk from the amount of vodka he had.

"i'm really tired and i'll just catch an uber home. i'll be fine, you stay" i insisted over the music.

he pouted, "are you sure, dee?".

"yeah, tell kelsey i said bye too".

"text me when you get home, okay?" he hugged me with his free arm.

"i will" i told and tried my best to weave through everyone, so that i could finally meet the fresh air outside.

as i was heading home in my uber, i took out my olivia phone to send an apology text to jack for not coming to party and used the family issues lie as an excuse.

jack obviously didn't respond straight away, because i'm sure that his face was preoccupied with someone else's lips at the moment, but i soon received a text on my actual phone.

it was from liam, reading: so you'll never guess what?.

i opened the message and began typing:

me:

what???

liam

i'm locked out of my house, my parents aren't home and you'll feel lucky to know that you're the next best thing.

me:

you're such an idiot 😂  i'm currently in an uber on my way home so i'll be there in 5 mins

liam:

good👌🏼 i'll be waiting kota

me:

oh please don't start with that again 🙄

liam:

what?

liam:

kota's cute 😌

i didn't respond to the message and just laughed to myself instead. but it wasn't long until i reached home and saw liam sitting at my doorstep through the window.

he stood up as i stepped out of the car and walked towards him.

"kota, you made it" he teased with his arms open and i glared at him as i tried finding my keys in my bag.

"stop" i harmlessly told and he chuckled before i unlocked the door and we entered the house. "hey, you know where we keep the spare key, why didn't you just let yourself in?".

"and scare the fuck out of your mom, nate and possibly you, when you came back?" he questioned as i switched on the lights in the kitchen.

"well, you'd only scare me because it looks like my mom is doing the night shift today" i said after reading the note that she left on the counter. "and nate is out tonight too".

liam sat up on one of the bar chairs, "so, where did you go at this time of night?".

i took out two apple juice boxes from the fridge and he smirked at my childish choice as he took the carton from my hands.

"i was at sam wilkinson's party" i told, piercing the straw through the hole.

"woah, the sam wilkinson?" he raised his brows in surprise. "so is that what tutoring his best friend gets you? you get invited to the most popular parties, hang out with the most popular kids, get drunk with the most popular kids—"

"i was only invited because of connor, who invited jonah" i corrected him. "if it wasn't for jonah then i'm sure i wouldn't be on the guest list".

he slurped some of his drink before speaking, "wouldn't jack have invited you?".

"i doubt it. he would be too busy shoving his tongue down a bunch of girls' throats to even consider it" i spoke almost under my breath as i fiddled with my straw.

i looked up to see liam staring at me questioningly, so i just shook my head to brush it off.

"never mind" i told just before he followed me out of the kitchen and we went upstairs to my room.

he shut the door behind him and i settled my juice box down on the nightstand. i then lay flat onto my bed and sighed a loud.

"hey, can i ask you something?" i questioned, looking over at liam sat on my desk chair.

"sure".

i propped myself up on my elbow, "have you ever watched the tv show catfish?".

he chuckled awkwardly at my random query, "of course, who hasn't?".

"okay, well the catfish - the people who don't look like how they do in pictures, but everything else is 100% true, expect for a few harmless lies. do you think that the person is being too harsh when they say that they don't forgive them?".

he spun around on the chair a few times, seeming as if he was in a deep thought process until he stopped the chair in my direction again.

"well, no one likes to be lied to, especially by a person that they thought they could trust" he answered. "why? are you being catfished?".

i shook my head, "no, i was just wondering".

"that seems pretty far fetched for you to suddenly think about right now" liam told, sauntering over to sit right beside me.

i sat up in front of him, "well, i have a huge mind, liam. i think of the most bizarre things at the most random of times".

he smirked, slowly licking his lips, "so what are you thinking of now?".

he asked in a near whisper and the first thought that popped into my head caused me to move my attention from his eyes and look down at my lap.

"jack" i replied. "and how much it frustrated me to see him making out with all those girls".

he huffed at my answer, scratching the back of his neck.

"why do you torture yourself like this, dakota? he'd clearly rather catch stds from random girls than realise that you are right in front of his eyes".

"let's just face it. i have nothing on them and that's final" i dramatically concluded, getting up and heading to my en-suite bathroom to start removing some of this make up.

"that's not true! you've got the whole package, dakota. i mean why else would i hang out with you?" i heard liam say, so i peered my head back through the door to give him a quick glare.

i took out a clean wipe and started rubbing it against my face.

"and if it's any consolation, i think that you're awesome and jack's stupid for not realising that" liam added.

i stopped wiping my make up and took a quick moment to smile helplessly at his comment.

"are you smiling? did i make you smile?" he pestered.

"yes, liam. you made me smile" i laughed, rolling my eyes.

"good and keep smiling, because it kills me when you don't" he said and i creased my brows before splashing water on my face and patting it dry with a towel.

i left my bathroom and walked back out to my room whilst tying my hair up into a messy bun.

"it kills you?" i recalled.

he shrugged, "yeah, i care about you a lot and i just don't wanna see you get hurt".

i smiled lightly at his words as i thought back to what jonah said earlier in the week.

"you know, um, jonah said the most weirdest thing the other day" i mentioned, going to my closet to find some pyjamas. "he said that you liked me".

"he did?".

i pushed past numerous clothing on the rack, "yeah, like in a romantic way, but i told him that there's no way that's true".

liam cleared his throat, "of course, it's not. why would he even say that?".

"i don't know. it's crazy, right?" i glanced at him behind me and he nodded.

"yeah, crazy".

i finally found an old shirt and shorts, throwing them onto my bed and shutting my closet.

"so, what time are your parents getting back?".

he fiddled with his phone in his hands, "i'm not sure. they went to a family friend's wedding and it's a pretty long drive".

"oh, well i don't mind if you sleep over. it'll be like old times when you'd be in your sleeping bag beside my bed" i reminded him with a grin.

"and we'd stay up looking at the glowing stars that you used to have stuck on your ceiling, planning our adventure to space one day" liam laughed and i did the same as i thought back to how spontaneous we were as kids.

"so, are you staying or not? because i'm so ready to get into my pjs" i groaned.

he pointed his finger at me, "only if you promise to make me your special hot chocolate with the secret ingredient before bed".

"of course, it's my specialty that i only share with you" i agreed and he excitedly smiled, before i took my pyjamas to the bathroom to get changed.

-

this was rushed i'm sorry

but omg i already planned out how jack is going to find out about olivia

and a jack pov will be coming up soon

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