╔.𖥸. .════════════════╗

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬

chapter one
call me ally

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ALYSSA LIU WALKED down the hallway of West Valley High School, barely awake and a Starbucks cup in her hand. No, do not judge her — ever since her mom had started to allow her drive to school, she had picked up a dependence on a coffee on Mondays.

She wasn't from a rich family, not at all. They were just comfortable. Their house wasn't in the Hills, but it was a small, two-story house, which was enough for three people. Selena Liu was a nurse and worked long shifts. Alyssa was often in charge of looking after her younger brother, Jackson. After watching her mom be a single mother of two, Alyssa had built up a lot of respect for her mother. She would gladly look after Jackson — even if he was annoying most of the time — so her mom could provide for them. That also meant driving him places he needed to go.

Her mother had also gotten her a car for her birthday. It wasn't the fanciest car with all of the new technological advancements, but it had Bluetooth and a sunroof, so it was all good. Apparently, Selena had been saving a portion of every paycheck to put towards this birthday present. Alyssa honestly couldn't have been more grateful. A car wasn't even on her mind.

Anyways, back to her walking down the hallway. A couple people gave her small smiles here and there. She wasn't necessarily popular, but she knew some people. Besides, she didn't really want to hang around that sort of crowd, anyways. She was perfectly fine with her two best friends, Eli Moskowitz and Demetri Alexopoulos.

Speaking of them, she spotted them down the hallway, Demetri leaning next to Eli as Eli rummaged through his locker. Alyssa smiled slightly at the sweater Eli was wearing — it made him look extremely adorable. She approached them.

"Morning," Alyssa greeted.

Eli looked over at her and gave her a shy smile, his eyes basically telling that he believed she hung the moon and the stars in the universe. "Morning, Lys."

Lys. A lot of people normally called her Ally, which is a nickname that her brother Jackson started when he was younger because he couldn't say her full name. However, Eli was the only one who called her Lys. It was going to stay that way, too — it was a sort of thing with them.

Within their little trio, it was no doubt that Alyssa and Eli just understood each other more. Sure, Demetri had been friends with Eli for longer, and Alyssa and Demetri had a brother-sister type of relationship, but Alyssa and Eli were just a force to be reckoned with . . . well, Eli was shy, but Alyssa had enough personality for the two of them.

"What's with the coffee?" Demetri instantly asked.

Alyssa offered it out to him. "Want a sip?"

Demetri took it and drank some, but his face immediately contorted in disgust. "What, did you put forty pounds of sugar in there, or something?"

"Yeah, I did, actually." Alyssa took it back and shrugged. "I stopped on the way here."

Demetri frowned. "You didn't give us a ride."

"I had to drive Jack to the middle school. He was whining the whole time that I got him water instead of a coffee when he damn well knows that if I give him even an ounce of caffeine, he's going to be off of the walls."

Demetri nodded in understanding. "I'm suddenly very glad I got a ride with Eli's mom."

Alyssa let out a small laugh. "You'll get your rides soon. It's just my mom's taking night shifts right now, so I've gotta take Jack to school. He also told me he would hate me forever if I made him take the bus."

"Jack would never hate you," Eli protested, shutting his locker door.

"I'm not taking my chances." Alyssa took another sip of her coffee. "Anyways, I have to get to bio, because Kyler somehow always manages to sit in my seat, even though they're literally assigned. I'll see you two at lunch."

"Bye, Ally," Demetri replied.

Eli gave her a small wave, which was unnoticed by her because she had already started to walk away with a fleeting smile. "Bye, Lys."

Demetri elbowed Eli's side, watching him watch Alyssa walk away. "I know we're friends with a pretty girl, but you don't have to stare."

Eli's face flushed a brilliant shade of red. "Shut up."

Kyler had indeed taken Alyssa's seat again, which kind of got her morning off to a bad start, but at least she still had her coffee. The next couple of classes went all right. Alyssa didn't really pay attention too much, just copying notes with her chin in the palm of her hand and drawing the occasional doodle.

Finally, the bell signaling that lunch began rang. Alyssa packed her things away in her backpack before following the crowd out into the halls. She headed over to her locker to get her books for the second half of the day, only to see that Sam LaRusso was standing right in front of her locker.

Her and Sam weren't exactly friends, but the LaRusso girl was sweet. They had talked in class and in the hallway a couple of times. It just always felt strange talking with her considering the kind of people she hung around with. Alyssa took a deep breath and approached the girl.

"Hey, Sam, do you mind moving?" Alyssa asked. "It's just, you're standing in front of my locker, and—"

"Oh, sure, no problem," Sam responded. She moved out of the way, and Alyssa smiled at her before opening up her locker. "I like your sweater, Alyssa."

Alyssa glanced down at her light pink sweater. "Oh, thank you. And you don't have to call me Alyssa, by the way. Just call me Ally."

Sam nodded. "Got it . . . Ally."

She shut her locker and turned back to Sam. "I'm headed off to lunch, but I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, definitely."

Alyssa's grin widened slightly before she wandered off towards the cafeteria. Eli and Demetri were already sitting at their usual table with their lunch trays. Alyssa walked up to them and sat down in her seat next to Eli, slinging her backpack on the floor.

"I despise math," Alyssa revealed as she took the lunch she had packed this morning out of her bag. "Why the hell do I need to learn about algebra? Makes no sense."

"Don't you have an A in that class?" Demetri questioned.

Alyssa put her straw through the juice box she had. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it."

A new presence suddenly appeared next to her, and Alyssa looked up. It was a boy she had never seen before, standing by their table and holding his lunch tray in his hands. She gave him a small smile in greeting.

"Is it cool if I sit here?" the boy inquired.

"Ooh, sorry, table's really blowing up right now," Demetri replied. "I can put you on the waitlist, but it's probably next semester at the earliest."

The boy nodded in understanding and went to walk away. "Okay."

"Hey," Alyssa cut in. "Don't listen to him, he's an idiot. Come sit."

He sat down next to Alyssa. "Miguel."

"Demetri," Demetri said. He then gestured to the boy next to him. "This is Eli." Eli gave Miguel a slight nod. "He's a man of few words. And that's—"

"Alyssa," Alyssa voiced, her smile brightening. "But you can call me Ally, nobody really calls me Alyssa."

Suddenly, Yasmine, one of the most popular girls in school, and Sam walked past their table. Sam caught eyes with Alyssa and gave her a small grin. Alyssa grinned back at her. At least Sam was sweet. Yasmine, on the other hand . . . yikes.

Demetri caught Miguel looking at them as they sat down at their own table. "Dude, don't torture yourself. Those are the rich girls."

"Do you ever talk to them, or . . ." Miguel trailed off.

"Oh, yeah, all the time. We hang out after school, make out, give each other hand jobs.

Alyssa tilted her head in thought. "I don't think you can give girls hand jobs. That's not really how it works."

Demetri ignored her. "Eli here is the homecoming king. Gets laid more than anyone. Isn't that right, Eli? And then Miss Alyssa over here is just best friends with them. They have sleepovers, go to the mall—"

"Shut up, Dem."

"Talk to them?" Demetri repeated. "You realize what table you're sitting at, right? You've pretty much signed away all hopes of losing your virginity before college."

Alyssa rolled her eyes at him and turned to Miguel. "Don't listen to Demetri, he's such a drama queen."

"Oh shit, Yasmine's looking at us," Eli said quietly. "Probably just making fun of me again."

Eli covered the scar on his lip with his pointer finger, shrinking down into himself when the girls at the table started to giggle with each other. Alyssa sighed and reached over, taking his hand in hers gently and lowering it. Eli looked over at her with big blue eyes, gripping her hand a little tighter as they went under the table. Alyssa gave him a reassuring nod back, squeezing his hand once before letting go.

"I don't think she's making fun of you," Miguel voiced. "I mean, just because they're hot doesn't mean they're mean. Take Alyssa for example."

Alyssa smirked to herself as she turned to Miguel, her cheeks feeling warm. "So you think I'm hot?"

Miguel's eyes widened. "Oh, I — I didn't—"

"No, thank you, Miguel. My self-esteem actually just skyrocketed because of that."

"Dude, come on," Demetri complained. "You're going to inflate her ego more than it already has. We're going to have to pull her back down to Earth."

Alyssa scowled at him. "I hate you."

"No, you don't."

She shook her head. "Besides, Demetri's kind of right. Sam's a sweetheart, and Moon is too, even if she has her moments. It's Yasmine who's ruthless."

Demetri then exhaled, looking over at Yasmine at her table. "I don't care if Yasmine is the meanest girl at school. I'd kill all three of you just to get her to spit in my face."

Alyssa scoffed. "Desperate, much?"

"Yeah, well, if you don't make a move, you're never gonna have a shot," Miguel insisted.

Demetri pointed at him in agreement. "True, but I'll also never suffer a humiliating rejection. I'm at peace with my depression. Last thing I need to be is suicidal."

Miguel then suddenly pushed his tray farther into the table and stood up. Alyssa sipped her juice through her straw, raising an eyebrow as she stared up at him.

"What are you doing?" Demetri asked.

"Striking first," Miguel explained.

"Oh shit," Demetri commented. "Hope we don't get hit with the shrapnel."

Miguel then started to approach Sam. Alyssa slightly squirmed in her seat. Oh God, she could not watch, everything was about to go wrong, she could feel it—

"Hey, tell me when it's over?" Alyssa questioned, leaning over and looking at her backpack on the floor, unzipping the top to grab her planner. "The second-hand embarrassment is too much for me to handle."

"I can't believe you can feel so much second-hand embarrassment," Demetri admitted.

Alyssa stared down at her planner as she placed it on the table. "Yeah, it's 'cause I hang around you so much."

"Guys," Eli interjected quietly. He then tapped Alyssa's thigh gently. "It's over, you can look."

She looked back up. A very defeated-looking Miguel was heading back to the table, slipping back into his seat. Alyssa looked over at the other table to see Kyler Park had sat down next to Sam with his arm around her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Alyssa hated Kyler. She definitely believed Sam could do so much better.

"So, how'd it go?" Demetri inquired as Miguel sipped on his chocolate milk.

"You'll get 'em next time," Alyssa reassured him.

"No, he won't," Demetri said.

"Shut up, Demetri."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

ALYSSA WAS SCROLLING through her camera roll in boredom, smiling slightly at all the pictures. It was mostly of her, Eli, Demetri, Jackson, and her mother, along with some random photos of nature that she had taken. Suddenly, her camera roll went away, and a screen showing that Eli was calling her showed up. Alyssa's grin widened and she answered the phone.

"Hey, you," Alyssa greeted.

Nothing. And then a sniffle.

Alyssa straightened up in concern. "Eli?"

"Can you come over, Lys?" Eli asked, and even over the phone, Alyssa could tell that he had been crying.

Alyssa immediately stood up and slipped on a pair of shoes. "Yeah, absolutely. I'll be there in five."

Eli sniffled again. "Thank you."

"Of course. I'll drive as fast as I need to."

The line went silent on the other end, signaling that Eli ended the call. Alyssa raced down the stairs and grabbed her car keys off of the kitchen counter. Jackson was watching TV in the living room while her mother, now awake for her night shift, was making them dinner in the kitchen.

"Going to Eli's!" Alyssa called. "Be back soon!"

"Drive safe," her mother instructed.

"Yes, mom."

Alyssa got in her car and quickly buckled her seatbelt before turning it on. She reversed out of the driveway and headed down towards the street on the familiar path that would take her to Eli's house. It was a route she had taken many times in her life and was practically engrained in her brain.

Her hands clenched around the steering wheel as she drove. Alyssa could practically hear the tears rolling down his cheeks on that call. It wasn't uncommon to see him like that — Eli had cried in front of her plenty of times before, but it still managed to break her heart every time.

She finally made it in just under five minutes and parked outside his house. Alyssa walked quickly up the driveway to the familiar house, locking her car with her key as she did so. She knocked on the front door, and a moment later, it opened to reveal Eli's mom.

"Hi, Alyssa," Mrs. Moskowitz said, stepping aside to let her in. Alyssa took off her shoes by the front door. "He's in his room and won't come out."

Alyssa gave her a tight smile. "I assumed as much."

Mrs. Moskowitz gestured towards the direction of Eli's room with her head. "If anyone can make him feel better, it's you."

Alyssa nodded once and walked up to the door. She let out a deep breath, knowing that whatever she saw inside was going to be an absolute sucker-punch to the stomach.

She was right.

Alyssa opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it behind her. She was instantly met with the sight of Eli laying on his stomach on his bed, his face buried in his arms. His body was shaking with sobs as he cried all of his emotions out.

"E," Alyssa stated softly. She approached his bed and sat on the edge, not wanting to intrude on his space. He would come to her if he wanted to. "Hey, come on."

Eli pushed himself to sit up, now facing her. Alyssa instantly frowned. His eyes were red, and tears were falling freely down his cheeks. He then surged forwards, throwing his arms around the girl and burying his head into her shoulder. Alyssa momentarily froze from the sudden contact before she relaxed into it, wrapping her arms around him tight like she was trying to hold the broken pieces of him together.

"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" Alyssa questioned.

Eli sobbed into her shoulder, and Alyssa could feel his tears soaking into her shirt. "I hate being the kid with the weird lip, I hate being bullied. This stupid scar makes me a freak, and because of it, I'm never going to have any friends besides you and Demetri."

Alyssa let the words sink in. It wasn't the first time he had cried over this, but it seemed way more intense than the last ones. Alyssa slightly pulled back, only to take his face in her hands. He stared up at her, letting out another sniffle. Alyssa gave him a small, sad smile and wiped away some of the tears on his cheeks with her thumbs.

"You're not a freak," Alyssa told him seriously. "I know you think that scar ruins you, but you're so beautiful, Eli. I wish that everyone else could see that, but they don't know you like I do. You're sweet, you're caring, and you don't even care when I go on my weird rants about random things." Alyssa looked straight into his eyes. "And I wish that you could see that you're beautiful, too."

"It's hard," Eli admitted quietly.

"I know," Alyssa agreed. She dropped her hands from his face and pulled him back in, hugging him again. "You know you can talk to me at any time, right?"

He nodded against her shoulder. Eli held onto her tight, like he was afraid she would go. Alyssa held him back just as tight, also not wanting him to disappear. They both believed that they wouldn't do that, never in a million years.

But one of them would.

•─•°•❀•°•─•

HELLO HELLO HELLO

my self control is gone we don't know her <3

anyways HI welcome to clarity (previously titled I'm trying (not friends)) :) I'm v v V excited for this book because I love my boy eli and I love my girl alyssa and I love them TOGETHER

so obviously bc of eli's character arc him and miss alyssa's relationship has to break apart before they can come back together . . . season three is going to especially fun to write bc of the tension so BUCKLE UP

and you guessed it, back with another friends to lovers <3 but this one is kind of different because it's friends to enemies (kind of?) to lovers

anyways this is only the beginning of the alyssa and sam bff agenda they'll start to get there in part ii !