"Devin."

He was standing just a few steps away from us. By then, Jake had already backed away and neither of us said anything.

"What are you doing?" Devin asked stiffly.

I swallowed, confused. "What?"

For a split second I forgot about Tom.

Just for a split second.

Then I felt like slapping myself repeatedly.

"It's not what you think-" I started, Devin just shook his head at me.

"What about Tom?"

"I-"

"Nate..." He sounded disappointed more than anything. "What's going on?"

"If you'd let me continue, I would have explained already," I snapped, surprised at my own anger.

Devin seemed shocked too, his lips parting and his eyes widening in surprise.

I remembered how I used to dream of those soft lips, how I wished I could just taste them, feel them against my own, at least once. Maybe twice.

I shook the thought away.   

"Tom and I broke up," I blurted.

"When?" He frowned.

I tried to act natural and said, "A couple of days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I shrugged.

The he glanced at Jake and raised his eyebrows.

I bit my lip. "Uh..."

"We need to talk." He said.

Jake shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other. "I should probably go..."

Talk about awkward.

"No," Devin said, pointing his finger at his chest. "You stay."

I closed my eyes and prayed that I would magically be whisked away to some other place. Anywhere. Back to the time where nothing was complicated, when I didn't have to invest my time and effort in lying to my own best friend.

I opened my eyes but we were still in the same dim lit parking lot, filled with nothing but unmoving cars and the three of standing around, each clearly wanting to do anything but that.

"Let's talk upstairs," I said, rubbing my temples which started to throb as soon as Devin began bombarding me with all those questions.

No one tried to protest.

"What do you want to know?" I asked once we were safe behind my apartment door.

The dog was whining softly in a corner, obscured under a table as if he could smell the awkward tension surrounding him.

"Everything. Where were you for the past few days? Why did you break up with Tom? Why were you kissing your tutor?"

Maybe it was the right time to tell him the truth, I thought. It didn't matter anymore, the only thing stopping me was our years of friendship.

But what if he asked why?

What would I tell him then?

Oh, I had a crush on you. Yeah, I know, my best friend. I chose to lie to you instead of just confronting you because I'm a freakin' coward like that, and I knew it was wrong from the very start but I'm just an idiot so there.

I cleared my throat.

"We were never dating," I finally decided to say.

Devin blinked one.

Then once again.

"What?"

"We were faking it," I admitted, glancing at Jake, who gave me a supportive smile.

"But why would you do that?" He frowned.

I expected this. But I should have prepared a proper answer, something realistic, the truth even, because then I just froze. I could practically feel the gears in my head whirring then cut off completely.

I was stuck.

"Nate?" He asked. "Why did you lie to me?"

When I didn't say anything, he stood up and paced around the living room, his face pinched in confusion.

"Because I told him to."

My head snapped up at the sound of Jake's voice.

"Why would you do that?" Devin stopped pacing.

I watched Jake's chest rise up as he took a deep breath. "I'm not sure of my sexuality, but I really like Nate so I told him to keep us a secret."

"That doesn't explain why he pretended to date Tom," Devin said, exasperated.

"I didn't want to third wheel," I said. "So I asked Tom to come along with us on our dates so I wouldn't feel left out."

"And you were okay with that?" Devin asked, directing the question towards Jake.

"I knew nothing real was going on between them." He shrugged.

"This is insane." Devin shook his head.

"I know," I said, equally as stressed out.

Jake moved closer to me and placed his hand over mine, and in that moment all I wanted to do was curl in his arms and kiss him senseless.

Eventually, Devin sighed and said, "I should get going."

I stood up and walked him to the door.

"Nate, when did we start lying to each other like this?"

I looked up to see his face, and thought how he didn't even know half of it. Guilt rushed through me all over again, eating me up inch by inch.

I shrugged, "I don't know."

He smiled at me sadly, and I watched him bite the inside of his cheek. Something he used to do all the time when he was annoyed. Something he still does.

"Bye, Nate."

I closed the door behind him and walked towards the couch where Jake was sitting.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He shook his head. "Don't. I just made things worse."

He was right, and I knew it.

Because I just dragged someone else in a lie, and it didn't feel so good.

~

Ian texted me a while later, when Jake left the apartment with nothing but a mumbled 'goodnight'.

I was tucked under my covers, all ready for bed, my bedroom's lights turned off as I stared at the dark ceiling.

"U told him?"

I sighed and texted, "Yes."

"He's not happy."

"I know."

"He's confused."

Frustrated, I rapidly texted, "I know."

"He's making me sleep on the couch."

That made me frown and I typed, "Why?"

"We had a small fight."

"Oh."

"This is the part where you apologize."

"It's not my fault!!" But I was sure neither of us believed that.

I waited for him to text again but before I thought he would, my phone vibrated in my hands and his name showed up on the screen.

"It is your fault," he said.

I sat up in bed, positioning a pillow behind me. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Did you make Jake lie to him, too?"

"No!" I exclaimed, solemnly appalled.

"So what he said was true?"

I closed my eyes and swallowed. "Yes."

Lies, again.

Ian didn't say anything, but I heard the sound of him shifting around. "This couch is the most uncomfortable furniture in our apartment."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," he said. "It was actually my fault."

I frowned. "How?"

"I was the one who decided to defend you."

That made me even more confused. "Why'd you do that?"

He chuckled. "I don't know. What I do know is that I regret it."

I felt another wave of nauseating guilt course through me, and I bit my lip to stop myself from saying anything that could hurt him even more.

"Thanks?" I said hesitantly, referring to his previous statement about defending me.

He ignored me. "This is going to backfire, you know that, right?"

"Yeah."

He was silent for a while, and I played with bits of my hair, tugging at them painfully.

"You're weird."

I chocked. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, who lies to their best friend yet still expects them not to find out? I don't think I've ever met a bigger liar." He chuckled.

I bit my lip. "At least I'm a good one?"

I heard him snicker again. "No. Devin's just gullible."

I smiled a little. "Yeah. He is."

"You know him well. Better than I do."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Anyway, I think I bothered you enough for one night..." He trailed off.

"Wait," I said, realizing that I was forgetting something. "I just remembered something. Can you stop calling me Mr. Lone Boy?"

I cringed when I said the name, my nose scrunching up in disgust.

"Why would I do that?" He sounded amused.

"Because, it's annoying!"

"I like it."

I squinted at the darkness as I repositioned my phone. "You're cruel. I don't know what Devin sees in you."

"That wasn't nice of you to say either. But you're right. I don't know what he sees in me, but I have to be doing something right."

"You're not lying to him." I pointed out.

"I was."

"Because I made you."

"No, it was my own choice."

Again, I was lost at words, but before I could say anything, Ian spoke up again.

"Anyway, I like your nickname, so I'll keep calling you by it."

"Of course you do." I scoffed. "You made it up."

"Yeah, and it suits you a lot."

"I'm not alone anymore," I pointed out.

"Are you talking about Jake?"

"Yeah, so?" But I was a little nervous when I said it.

"Look, I'm not saying he's a bad guy-"

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not. I just don't trust him."

"Why?" I said, genuinely confused.

"I just don't, okay? He reminds me of someone."

"He's not who you think he is. I really like him, and...I don't know why I'm talking to you about this," I said, my face flushing.

"Goodnight, then."

"Ian-" I said, not meaning to sound so rude earlier.

"Goodnight, Mr. Lone Boy."

The line went dead.

I sighed and fluffed up the pillow underneath my head before burying myself under the covers.

The nights were definitely getting colder.

Before I even closed my eyes, I heard my phone buzz again.

I huffed, deciding to ignore it.

It buzzed again.

And again.

"Ugh!" I pushed off the covers and reached for my phone.

"Nate."

"I'm sorry."

"Let's talk."

They were all from Jake.

I felt myself relax, and texted, "OK."

He texted me an address and I managed to drag myself out of bed and pull on something a little more presentable than my pair of boxers and oversized hoodie.

I drove for a few minutes until I found the location Jake had sent me.

It was the same park we were at the other day, where they held the fair, and I chided myself for not realizing it sooner.

I stepped out into the cold air, instantly hugging myself.

"Hey."

I glanced up and saw Jake standing before me.

"What's up?"

His hand reached down and he ran it down the side of my face. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "Let's sit."

He let go of my face and I instantly felt deprived of his warmth.

Sucking in a deep breath, I reached for his hand, and he held it in his as we walked over to the nearest bench.

"Talk," I said, shivering, my teeth close to chattering.

"Why didn't you get a jacket?" He asked, frowning down at me.

I brushed him off. "Jake."

"Nate. You'll freeze yourself to death," he said. "Here. Have mine."

He started unzipping his jacket but I stretched out a hand to stop him. "No way."

He stopped. "What?"

"I won't let you just hand over your jacket. This isn't some chick-flick."

He shook his head whilst chuckling. "That's not why-"

"I don't care. I don't need your jacket anyway, I'm used to the cold."

"Nate, this is crazy."

I didn't say anything.

Eventually, he sighed, giving up.

"Anyway," he started, "I want to apologize for just leaving like that earlier."

I shrugged. "You don't have to apologize. I get it, I made you lie for me and you shouldn't have to be forced into that kind of thing."

"I wasn't forced into anything-"

"It was still my fault," I said.

"Would you stop interrupting me?" He snapped.

I frowned. "What's going on?"

He ran his hand down his face, and only then did I notice how tired he looked.

"Jake, you should go rest up. It's been a long day." I said, carefully.

He shook his head. "Remember when we said we're not dating?"

I nodded.

"We just went on a date."

I didn't say anything, because I hadn't thought about it until then.

"So, does this mean we can be..." I trailed.

"Together." He finished.

My heart skipped a beat. "Jake-"

He leaned forward, connecting our lips together. I gasped, his warmth enveloping me like a blanket made of freaking fire. For a second, I found myself moving closer to him, my hand on the back of his neck as his warm lips brought life back to my own.

Then I reeled back in surprise, standing up in the moment.

"Nate."

"I thought...You're...not sure." My cheeks flushed painfully against the cold.

"I wasn't sure before, but now, I think I like you. A lot."

I shook my head, taking a few steps back. "H-how?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!"

"Nate, why are you so upset?"

"Because I barely know you!" I blurted out.

He frowned, confusion painted across his face.

He stood up and moved closer to me.

I took a step back.

Jake's face fell, his eyes losing their glow momentarily.

"Look, I think we're both tired. Let's go home and think about this. Tomorrow, we'll figure things out, okay?" He finally spoke.

I nodded stiffly, my hands rubbing up and down against my arms, sending heat towards my covered skin.

Then I walked away from him, stumbling over my own two feet, my chest numb and not just from the cold.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Ya' see, I like it when you guys comment so I'm gonna try this thing where I 'engage' my readers or whatever. Drum roll please...*drum rolls*.

What do you think is gonna happen next? O.o

That's the question, in case you missed it. Creative, I know. 'Kay, bye.