My Fake Fiancé

Chapter 21 - Real best friend

Was I hugging Noah?

The realization hit me like a bullet train as I hastily broke away from him. Still, I was elated by his presence and felt the headache slightly loosen its lead in the fight with my happiness.

Noah was staring at me, eyes wide, and I beamed at him before turning back to the stunned Alex and Jamie. I had a lot to figure out with Jamie, but my mind pushed everything to the back. Noah was officially included as the first priority and the much-needed vent for all the crazy things happening in my life.

I quickly mumbled an apology to my still-staring friend and the-boy-I-kissed-yesterday, grabbed Noah by his hands, and bolted away from there, dragging him with me. Finally, when I found a silent, creepy corner, I stopped and released my grip on his hand.

"You have absolutely no idea how happy I am." I couldn't hide my wide smile.

"Wait a second. Who are you?" Though his tone insisted that he was joking, his face betrayed the shock he was feeling. I wouldn't blame him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure anymore." I said, averting his eyes as my face grew glum.

"Whoa. There's the Lilly I know. Thought you were her evil twin or something." He smiled, and my heart eased.

"Are you implying that I was always sad?" I acted offended, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"Believe it or not. You were."

I went silent, unsure of what to say. It was true. I was a depressed girl for the majority of college. In fact, I was gloomy for the majority of my whole life. Only the time I spent with him was an exception. And even for that, I suffered twice as badly in the aftermath. That was when I met Noah. So yeah. I was constantly at my lowest when Noah was around.

When he realized I was not going to say anything, he changed the subject. Like he always did. I smiled at the reminder. But I was not the girl I used to be.

"Who's that guy?"

I was prepared to comment on his previous remark, but his question caught me off guard.

"Which guy?"

"The one you kissed yesterday." He said it so casually that it took a second to register in my mind.

I stared at him, feeling all at once. Embarrassment. Fear. Self-pity. Anger. But mostly, I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide myself for the rest of my life.

"You saw that?" My bewilderment was evident in my voice.

He let out a disgraceful snort. "I guess the whole city saw it." He was pissed. I frowned.

"I don't care." Liar.

"I don't care about who saw you too, Lilly, but I would very much like to know why you kissed that jerk."

"He's not a jerk." I protested.

"Of course, he isn't." He gave me a wry smile, then continued. "Do you remember when someone saved your ass from being face-planted in the middle of the pub?"

I was shocked. Noah never spoke to me like that. He always treated me delicately, as if I were fragile and brittle, like a dying cancer patient. Though that treatment brought us closer back then, I would detest it now.

He sighed in regret, pushing away his tension as he did.

"That was you?" I asked, remembering to answer his question.

"Really?" He gawked at me, and irritation crept up my bones. "Oh, right!" he said, feigning realization. "You had eyes only for one guy in the crowd and he didn't even deserve it. You probably also don't remember poking me in the eyes, which continues to irritate even after I treated it." He rubbed his eyes so roughly, and I saw the red seeping through the whites of his right eye.