Never In A Million Years

Chapter Nine

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and look down.

'I don't know what I did wrong. Whatever it was, I need you to talk to me about it. This distance you're putting between us is tearing me apart.' -Drew

*•*•*

'We have a meeting today for the magazine article, everyone be at my house by four.' -Brendan

I shake my head in disbelief. No way.

'You're kidding right?'

'No...?' -Brendan

'If you think I'll ever take a step near you again, you're crazy.'

'Funny.' -Brendan

'Funny? I'm serious. Take me off your contacts. Go back to your happy little life.'

'You signed a contract. You'll be here at four.' -Brendan

'You have got to be kidding me.'

'I'm not. See you then, Lili.' -Brendan

I throw my phone back on my bed and push my hair back with my hands. He can't seriously want me there. He can't honestly think I'm clueless about everything he's done. His mom must be making him keep me as photographer.

I look at the clock on my phone and see that it's a quarter to four and groan.

I get myself up out of bed and brush out the knots of my hair before pulling on a jacket and heading out the door. Since my mom is not home and I don't have my own car right now, I'm walking.

It's feeling cooler outside now, and the leaves are starting to change colors. I walk down the streets with my arms crossed and the wind blowing against my cheeks.

"Need a lift?"

I turn around, and surprise surprise, there's Drew. I turn away from him and keep walking.

"Lili, you can't walk all the way there," he says, pulling forward again.

"I have before. I can now."

"Get in this car now," he says.

I ignore him and keep walking. I don't want to even look at his face. He knows what he did, and acting like he did nothing is doing nothing to help him.

"Lili, you need a ride and we need to talk. Get in or I'll drag you," Drew says with a sigh.

"There's nothing to talk about."

His car stops and he walks out. Before I know what's happening, he has me over his shoulder and is carrying me to his car. I thrash around and kick, trying to get him to put me down, but he doesn't. He throws me in the passenger seat and locks the door. He starts driving before I can even think about getting out. And there's no way I'm jumping out of a moving car.

"What's up with you, Lili?" Drew asks, looking concerned. "Something's bothering you. I don't know what I did wrong."

Oh, funny. You don't know what you did wrong. Yeah, because I'll believe you. Sure.

"Look, I can't do anything about it until you tell me what I did wrong. I want to fix this. Just talk to me," he says with a frustrated sigh.

I keep my focus out the window. Playing games will do nothing. Pretending I'm blind to the things he does is useless. I know what I saw. I know he planned the whole video thing. I know he wanted me to appear as a loser in front of the school.

As soon as the car hits the driveway of Brendan's house, I'm out of the car. It hasn't even stopped yet, but I don't want to be in there a moment longer.

The front door opens before I can get to it. Shelby and Missy are standing there looking smug. I try to shove past them, but they stand in my way.

"What?" I ask, irritated.

"What's up with you and Drew?" Shelby asks, looking confused.

"Shut up. I know you worked it all out with him. Don't play dumb," I roll my eyes and push through them.

Brendan, Danny, Karen, and Brendan's mom are all in the living room waiting for us to begin. I sit beside Danny, the only one that I haven't yet proven guilty. As soon as everyone's settled, Brendan's mom begins.

"Alright, welcome everyone. Thank you, again, for your participation in this project. Lili, your pictures you sent me were wonderful," she says with a nod. So I was right, she must have forced Brendan to keep me as photographer. "I really like the looks of how fun you guys are having, but I think it needs a little jazzing up."

"What did I tell you from the beginning?" Shelby says. "There's got to be some romance."

"Shelby, that's so stupid, nobody-" Danny starts.

"No, that could actually work," Brendan's mom nods her head, looking up in thought. "But who could pull it off?"

"Brendan and I could!" Shelby blurts out, and she stands from her chair.

"No, not my son. That would never be believable. Everyone would know from the get go that it was planned if it were him," she shakes her head.

"Lili and I could do it."

I flip my head around to see Drew shrugging. My mouth is open in objection, but Brendan's mom beats me to it.

"That could work."

"But-" I begin.

"No, it's not the likely couple. It's actually perfect. Thank you for that, Drew. Now, Lili an Drew, you're going to be spending some time alone together to get photos and conversations. Understood? I want it to be real. Believable," she says.

"Alright, that works," Drew says.

And I don't get a say in it, no matter how many times I try. I've got no choice. I'm fake-dating the guy who turned against me.