Chapter six
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"Go along with everything I do, okay?"
Liam intertwined our hands as we walked around the crowded area. People stared, and I could tell it was because he was good looking. Liam Braxton was one of those people that you saw at the grocery store, then felt genuine sadness because you'd never see such a perfect person ever again.
The guy was that good looking. Even I had to admit.
I felt my cheeks heating up as I tried looking at floor and following the brunette wherever he was leading me. "Since when are you so cool about our fake relationship? I thought it was super exhausting or something."
"It is." Liam chuckled. "But..." he turned to look at me for a second as we continued to walk hand in hand. "I've met so many people just in the short time we've been at this party. Your family... they know an abundance of powerful people. I'm starting to see being your fake boyfriend has a lot more perks than I thought."
I couldn't help the small smile that grazed my lips as I looked down again. Thank God he was having a relatively decent time. I had dragged this guy into such a ridiculous situation, it felt good knowing he was at least having an okay time.
"By the way, we're going to a Halloween party next week."he continued.
"What?"
"Your sister introduced me to a ton of models and started telling them how our six month anniversary was on Halloween, so they invited us to a party." He chuckled. "Can you believe that?"
Before I could even think about what he'd just told me, we finally came to a stop. My eyes widened a bit as I finally saw the people in front me.
Oh no.
I turned to Liam, and he gave my hand a slight squeeze. He did this in purpose. Why? Was he seriously just.. looking for Amy and Russell through the crowd so he could come and talk to them? Again, whyyyyyy?
"Noah, we were just talking about you!" Lily smiled widely as she turned to the two of us. "I literally just bumped into Amy and I was about to call you to come bring Liam!" I opened my mouth, only to close it as I looked around. Relax. I repeated in my head. Relax. You knew you'd eventually have to do this. Of course you did.
Amy stood next to Russell and a pretty brunette girl I'd seen talking to Liam earlier with some other girls I'd assumed were models. She looked like she was about to say something, but her phone suddenly began to ring.
"Oh." She gasped, pulling out the small device from her purse. "Please excuse me." She smiled at us and began walking away.
Leaving me with my sister, Amy and Russell.
Fuck.
I looked at Amy and noticed her eyes widen as she stared at Liam next to me. She looked so beautiful with her fitted white dress that allowed her body to be outlined perfectly. She'd straightened her long blonde hair, parting it in the middle and tucking it behind her ears. Russell looked between Liam and I with an innocent smile, even going as far as acting surprised to see us like he hadn't just told me off a couple minutes ago.
I hated this guy, I really did.
"Oh," Liam cleared his throat. "I know we saw each other a couple days ago, and Noah has told me so much about you, but I have yet to introduce myself." He reached his hand out towards Amy. "Liam Braxton. You must be Amelia Young." He flashed my best friend a bright smile. "And... Russell, right?"
"Hi." Amy spoke softly, smiling sweetly after a second of what looked like confusion flashed before her eyes. You could tell she wasn't expecting to talk to us, probably going out of her way to ignore us. Yet here we were. Russell shook Liams hand too, giving him a polite smile. "I hope Noah's told you good things." Amy chuckled lightly.
"Of course," Liam turned to me. "I've been meaning to meet you for a while now, considering you're my Noah's best friend, but the chance never presented itself."
My Noah. How cheesy. I stared at the floor, not wanting to look at Amy, let alone Russell. My heart rate was through the roof and I felt my head begin to throb as the realization that I had to get it together and LIE my ass off finally hit me.
I was already this far. What else was I suppose to do?
"You know," Russell voice sounded full of curiosity. "I can't believe Noah never mentioned anything about you before. Amy and I were, just, beyond surprised when we heard you two were dating."
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
"I mean," he continued. "He's known Amy for, what? Eight years? I thought you told her everything Noah."
I finally looked up, clenching my jaw as Russell stared at me with such innocent eyes.
Wow. This guy was a dick.
I turned to Amy who now had a small frown as she looked down in thought.
"Oh my gosh," Lily gasped loudly. "I said the same thing! Like, these two have been dating for six months and you're telling me Noah never told us?" My sister turned to me with a smirk. "Why would even want to keep this guys a secret!" She grinned at Liam.
"Six months?" Amy looked up at me with furrowed brows.
"Um," I cleared my throat. Don't freeze. Don't you dare fucking freeze! You did this to yourself, so get it together. "Technically, yes." I nodded, trying to sound and relaxed as possible. "It'll be six months on the 31st."
"Really?" Russell raises an amused brow at me.
"Well," Liam spoke almost instantly. He gave my hand a slight squeeze, so I turned and watched as he gave Russell a smile that looked... so genuine. He was good at this. Too good. "Technically, we've been "dating" for maybe three months." Liam shrugged.
"Oh?" Amy turned to him confused.
"Yeah," I picked up the conversation. "The first couple months of our little "relationship" were mainly just... physical." Lily raised her brows and smirked at me. "Liam would come in and out from California so we weren't really anything more than just..."
"Friends with benefits?" Lily finished for me with a chuckle. You could tell she wasn't expecting me, her little brother, to be saying stuff like that.
"Basically, yeah." I nodded. "It wasn't until like three months ago that I finally realized I had real feelings for him. But it was still really weird for me, you know?" I turned to Amy who was already staring at me intently. "I'd never really been with a guy intimately, and then suddenly I was basically falling for him and my thoughts were going crazy for a while because I just... I don't know. I never thought I'd end up loving a guy, let alone my roommates brother."
"Aww." Lily swooned.
"I told him it would be best to tell you once I moved out here from California." Liam spoke up. "I wanted to officially meet everyone once I was settled in, but then unfortunately we had to meet the way we did."
"Hmm." Russell nodded slowly as he looked from me Liam.
"Yeah," I cleared my throat. "So technically we don't have to count the first couple months of us being together, but we still do, because why not, you know? So yeah. Six months next week."
I was going to hell for lying so much. I really was.
"You two are the cutest!" Lily turned and rubbed Liams arm in a friendly manner.
"Noah." Amy took a step closer. "I wish..." she furrowed her brows. "I know we've both been busy with our lives and work, and things aren't like when we were in high school or anything, but... I wish you could have trusted me enough to tell me something like this."
"I'm sorry." The words left my mouth before I could even register. I was lost in her eyes, and honestly I wasn't sure if I was apologizing for not telling her about my Liam, or the fact that I had made this whole thing up.
"I love you Noah." Her lips tilted into such a sweet smile, it made my chest feel heavy knowing I was nothing but I liar. "Whatever makes you happy. Whatever you decide to do with your life, I will always support you. You... You trust me. Don't you?"
"Of course I do." My voice came out much lower than I intended it to. Although Amy smiled, I could still see the turmoil of emotions her eyes held. She looked... betrayed. She looked kind of hesitant to even speak.
She didn't believe me,
I knew she didn't believe me and I couldn't blame her. How convenient that the day after I confess my feelings to my best friend of eight years, I randomly come out of the closet with a full on secret boyfriend?
She wasn't stupid. But she still went along with this, like Russell had said, almost like she was trying to convince herself I was telling her the truth. She wasn't like her fiancé. She would never corner me somewhere and try to belittle me until I confessed that I was a liar and secretly in love with her. She wanted to believe me. She wanted to believe that my voicemail was all a joke, and I had finally come out of the closet and found happiness in a relationship with a man.
Although Russell's words from earlier hurt, this was truly much worse. Her eyes gave me a look I'd never seen directed at me, and it hurt more than any shitty thing Russell could ever say to me.
"That was my fault." Liam spoke, taking me out of my thoughts. "Noah was already struggling a lot with his sexuality, and me being in California and doing the long distance thing was a bit difficult. I asked him to wait until I moved out here to Seattle so we could tell everyone together."
"You're very sweet Liam." Amy smiled at him. "Just like your sister."
"And you're much more beautiful and kind than how Noah described you to be."
"I hope you can make it to the wedding." Russell had a smirk back on his lips. "I'm sure Noah or April were already planning to bring you as a plus one, but still. Take this as a formal invitation."
"Thank you." Liam nodded politely.
"Of course. I truly consider Noah a.. close friend." Russell shot me a smug look, his stupidly arrogant smirk never leaving his lips. "If he's happy with you Liam, then that's all we need to hear."
Why was he like this? Like, okay. We get it. You don't believe us. Stop being a dick!
How could Amy even be with this guy? He was the complete opposite of her, it didn't make any sense!
Just before I could even open my mouth to respond, someone called my name.
"Micky!" I cringed as I heard the ridiculous nickname that only one person in this entire world ever called me. It was short for my middle name, Mickangelo. Which, by the way, who in their right mind names their child Mickangelo???? My parents were on drugs or something when they named me.
I turned around to see non other than my mother walking toward me with a large smile. Trailing next to her was my dad and April.
I felt my stomach begin to physically throb, almost like someone had punched me, with how anxious I was feelings. I thought they weren't coming! How long had they been here? What the Fuck!
"Elijah, Anastasia." Liam spoke up beside me.
Elijah? Anastasia? Huh? What?
"Sorry I ran off before, but Noah wasn't feeling all too well, I had to check on him." Liam continued.
"Don't worry about it Honey." My mom smiled warmly at Liam. "We understood."
HE SPOKE TO MY PARENTS?!
What the hell?! When????
My parents and April all said their polite greetings to Amy and Russell, then everyone turned their eyes to me.
"Noah." I looked up with wide eyes as my dad came beside me on the small circled we'd created. "We were wondering when we'd see you."
"I..." I blinked a couple times, instinctively trying to run my hands through my hair, but stopping when I felt Liam tightened his grip on my left hand. "I wasn't sure if you two were even coming." I responded with a chuckle.
"We haven't been here long." My mom gave me a small shrug. "But, surprise surprise! Lily came up to us and introduced us to Liam!" My moms large smile only grew as her eyes darted from Liam to me. "And, oh my gosh Noah, this boy is a keeper."
I felt my cheeks heat up and my chest rising and lowering heavily. They weren't even... gonna question the fact that I was with a guy?
"Why wouldn't you tell us about him?" My dad smiled at Liam, then turned to me with a a scowl. "He's a great guy."
"Uhhh-" I couldn't speak. I simply couldn't.
"Sorry Elijah." Liam spoke up beside me. "We wanted to wait until I was settled in to announce our relationship openly."
They were on first name bases... Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh. My. God. What is going on?
My dad nodded slowly, a small smile coming back to his lips.
"If I'm being honestly I always knew you'd end up with a guy Micky, I mean, you've never brought a girl home before, not once, but I'm honestly so happy you're with someone like Liam Braxton. April, you and your brother are both just marvelous." My mom gushed. I faintly hard Russell trying not to laugh, so I lowered my head in embarrassment.
She always knew what?
That... just wasn't true. And I didn't like that she said that at all... it felt very backhanded. Very weird. And just... it didn't make sense. Just because I didn't date much didn't automatically mean I was gay! Ugh. Things just kept going from bad to worse. I hated this. Today was going on record for one of the worst days of my life.
"Exactly." My dad shook his head in amusement. "He's a hard worker. On his way to becoming a successful psychiatrist. Comes from a good home." He smiled at April. "Noah, If anything you should be shouting at the rooftops a boy like this wants to be with you!"
This time a heard Russell's chuckle very clearly. I turned and saw his more than amused face. Amy looked at me with pity from all the second hand embarrassment, and Lily simply stood there nodding, seemingly to agree with everything my parents were saying.
"I..." I shut my eyes tightly, looking down at the ground and inhaling sharply. This was too much embarrassment for one day. It really was. "Im gonna grab something to drink." I shook my head, not even wanting to look at anyone's expression as I turned around to walk away. I let go of Liams hand, not wanting to look at him either. I know it was ridiculously rude of me to do, but this was too much.
Too much for one person to take.
I began walking towards one of the tables filled with champagne, ready to take a whole bottle.
"Noah." I heard the familiar voice speak behind me, but I didn't really care. "Hey! Stop."
I almost tripped as Liams strong hand latched onto my arm, forcing me to stop in my tracks. I turned around to glare at him, but stoped once I saw he was already glaring much harsher.
His cool and happy exterior from less than a minute ago was completely gone as he shot daggers my way.
"What are-"
"Are you fucking serious right now?" He came inches from my face and whispered full of annoyance. His back was to my family so they wouldn't see his expression, but as I turned I could see they were all still staring at us. Probably talking about us too.
"I couldn't be around them right now, okay?" I whispered harshly right back.
"So you were just gonna leave me alone? Again?" Liam shut his eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "You're so fucking selfish."
"Do you have any idea how I feel after that conversation we just had with Amy? Then all of a sudden my parents show up telling me how I should be lucky to be with you? Hell, when did you even talk to them?"
"Do you have any idea how I feel?" He shook his head. "I have no goddam need to be going out of my way to find Russell and Amy to try and smooth things over for you. To try and make our ridiculous fake relationship seem a bit real to them so Amy doesn't hate you or something."
I opened my mouth, only to close it as the brunette in front of me continued to shoot daggers at me with his eyes.
"Do you have any fucking idea how I feel being around people that have been nothing but nice to me, and lying to their faces?" Liam rolled his eyes. "Hmm?!"
"I-" I blinked a couple times trying to take in everything he'd just said and failing to come up with a coherent phrase.
Oh.
"Your sister, for a reason I will never know, loves me Noah." Liam finally sighed, stepping away from me a bit to give himself some space. "She has been pampering me with compliments, taking me around to meet everyone. She's so... Nice. I've known her for a matter of days, and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met! And you're parents..." he scoffed. "I talked to them for less than ten minutes, and they're already trying to help me find a good program for my residency. Your dad was about to make a phone call to bring all my belongings from California so I didn't have to go through the trouble of moving!"
"They did?" I frowned, looking at the ground and hating the sting that invaded my chest at the realization that I was being... selfish again.
"Yes." Liam sighed. "So stop being so... rude. It's not cool when you try and leave me to do all the talking and the explaining. Just because I don't look it, doesn't mean I'm not nervous as hell."
I stared down at the floor, my eyes beginning to sting once more as I felt tears coming again. How could I be so shitty I didn't even take a second to consider his feelings? I was the definition of selfish and arrogant. "I'm sorry." I whispered as I shut my eyes tightly.
I was horrible. I was a bad person. I was a liar and a bad friend. Bad son. I was even a bad fake-boyfriend!
I was horrible, and that was probably why I was alone.
"Hey..." Liams voice came out much softer this time. I looked up, my eyes still watery as I stared into a pool of blue already looking at me. "I'm sorry," Liam opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. "Don't cry Noah. I'm sorry."
Liam stepped forward, hastily wrapping his arms around me and pressing me against his strong chest. I couldn't bring myself to move, so I just rested my head on his shoulder. This was a bit awkward, considering Liam and I weren't really that close, but I honestly needed some contact right now.
As pathetic as that sounded.
"No." I shook my head into the fabric of his clothes. "You haven't done anything wrong. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-" I stopped talking feeling my throat begin to burn.
"It's okay." His voice was soft, so delicate as he tightened his hold on me. I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my hands on his black shirt under his blazer. He was so warm. So... comfortable. He smelled like cologne, the scent filling my nostrils as I began nuzzling myself closer to him without thinking, settling myself on the crook of his neck. His chest felt ridiculously firm against mine, and the muscles from his back could be outlined by my hands as I began rubbing small circles.
We stayed in that position for what felt like hours, but was actually only mere seconds. As Liam slowly pulled back, I was brought back to reality, feeling my cheeks warm up in embarrassment from the position I had put myself in against him.
"We can tell everyone the truth." I cleared my throat as I ignored my body getting upset over the lack of contact once Liam finally let go of me.
"Are you kidding?" Liam smirked, shaking his head in disbelief. "Noah, your parents and your sister are a Godsend."
"But-"
"We can't." He placed both his hands on my shoulders. "Things are different now. Being your fake-boyfriend is helping me. If we tell your parents or Lily this was all a lie..." he furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes filling with dread. "No. No, no, no. Too late now. I've met your family. They love me. We can't tell anyone."
"Oh." I bit my lip. Yeah, he had a point... I looked behind him, groaning as I noticed everyone was still staring at us, talking as they did so. Russell even had that stupid arrogant smirk back on his face, like he knew that we'd come back and tell anyone this was a lie. That id cracked under the pressure, and was ready to come clean.
"Are they still staring?" Liam asked, knowing exactly were my eyes were.
"Yup."
Before I could even register what he was doing, Liam surprised me by crashing his lips on mine, his hands cupping the sides of my face.
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