"So, you must be the legendary 'girl best friend,' right?" "Let me guess, next you're going to tell me a bunch of Liam's little secrets?" "Then you'll swear up and down you're just 'one of the guys'?" "Listen, I've read a hundred stories just like this. Your little act won't work on me." She said it with a smirk, like she had me all figured out. I was speechless. I turned to Liam. "You need to tell your girlfriend to delete Wattpad." 1 Hailey chewed on her straw, tilting her head as she looked at me. Curled up in Liam’s arms, she cooed, "Zoe, honey, when you're a guy's 'girl best friend,' is it like in the stories? Do you guys, like, sleep in the same bed and play video games all night?" She sighed dramatically. "I'm so jealous. I can't even talk to a guy without blushing!" My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. Liam, who had been texting, chuckled without looking up. "What are you talking about? Back in middle school when she came over to study, my mom kicked me out to the living room couch." "But in the stories, the girl best friend always sneaks in to tuck the guy in," Hailey pouted, her eyes suddenly welling up. "And she'll pretend to be drunk and lean on his shoulder… Zoe, you wouldn't do something like that, would you?" The private dining room went silent. Under the table, our friend Ryan kicked me, his eyes wide as he gestured toward my phone. The group chat was blowing up. "Is this girl for real? Is she auditioning for a soap opera?" "Zoe, DESTROY HER." I slowly lifted my gaze. Hailey was blinking her big, innocent eyes, waiting for my answer. I put down my fork and turned to Liam. "Tell your girlfriend to delete Wattpad." Hailey's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Liam, did I say something wrong? Is Zoe mad at me?" she whimpered. "Does she think I'm intruding? Does she want you to send me home?" "It's all my fault, I'm so stupid, I don't know how to talk to people! Please don't let me make things awkward for you and Zoe, okay? I'll be more careful next time!" Liam dropped the shrimp he was peeling for her and fumbled for a napkin. He shot me a glare filled with reproach. "Zoe! Why would you joke like that? Can't you see she's about to cry?" He pulled Hailey into a hug, murmuring sweet nothings. "Baby, don't cry, she's just messing with you. She didn't mean it." Then, he started making frantic faces at me. "Apologize to Hailey! Now!" 2 I sighed. It was the first time Liam had brought a girlfriend to meet us. I forced a tight smile in Hailey's direction. "It was just a joke. Don't take it seriously." I added, "Just a suggestion, maybe try reading something else. Sci-fi, history… you know, expand your horizons." The rest of the guys at the table choked back laughter. Hailey's face went from pale to beet red. The rest of the meal gave me indigestion. When we were leaving, I grabbed a big paper bag from my car and tossed it to Liam. "Here. Your sneakers." His eyes lit up. "Whoa, Zoe, you're the best! I thought for sure you didn't manage to get them!" He was about to tear open the box when Hailey let out a loud sob. "Is that… a gift from Zoe? They're so beautiful…" she wailed. "It's not like me… my family doesn't have much money. All I could afford to get you was a twenty-dollar keychain. I'm so sorry, Liam!" I had no idea what she was on about now. I frowned. "It's not a gift. He has to pay me back. He asked me to pick them up for him when I was studying abroad this summer." But Hailey acted like she hadn't heard a word. Tears streamed down her face like a broken faucet. "Zoe, I know you don't mean to, but when you do things like this… are you trying to remind me that I'm not in the same world as you guys? That I can't afford to buy Liam limited-edition sneakers? That I'm not good enough for him?" She turned back to Liam, her crying escalating. "Liam, this is your secret little world with Zoe, isn't it? I feel like such an outsider. Maybe I should just leave and stop bothering you two!" Liam stood there, helplessly trying to wipe her tears with his sleeve, the sneaker box in his hand feeling like a hot potato. "Liam, how could you accept a gift from another woman?" she accused. "You just like having her pop in and out of your life whenever she wants, don't you?" He turned to me, his voice deliberately low. "Zoe, did you have to give them to me right in front of her? You know how she overthinks things." He shot me another desperate look, silently pleading. I locked eyes with Ryan. He shivered and practically ran back to his own car. I rolled my eyes. "Do whatever you want with them. But you're still paying me. They were expensive." 3 In the end, Liam didn't have the heart to get rid of the sneakers. He sent me the money right away, along with a sticker of a cartoon character groveling for forgiveness. I figured that was the end of it. We were all in different majors, so it wasn't like we'd see each other often. But the next day, I went viral on the university's confessions page. Ryan sent me the link. "Zoe, you're famous." I clicked on it. It was a long, rambling post, every line dripping with manufactured angst: *"Am I being too sensitive and petty? My boyfriend has a 'girl best friend' he's known for years, and I honestly don't know how to deal with her…"* *"We just started dating, and she's already given him a pair of sneakers that cost more than my budget for an entire semester. I'm not jealous, really, I'm just… feeling a little insecure and sad."* *"It's my fault for coming from a normal family. I can't just casually drop that kind of money on a gift to maintain a friendship. I've been saving up to buy him something for a couple hundred dollars, but compared to her gift, mine feels so pathetic…"* *"My boyfriend said it was an old promise they made. It turns out they have so many secrets and so much history I don't know about… Is she doing this to remind me that I'm the outsider?"* *"I really, really like my boyfriend, and I want to try to get along with his best friend, but I feel so anxious all the time. I'm so scared every day. What should I do? Should I just break up with him so they can be together after all these years?"* The comments section was already a warzone with hundreds of replies. "Wait, isn't the OP Hailey, the prettiest girl in the English department? Then Z.L. must be Zoe Lin!" "Definitely! I saw Liam wearing a new pair of Jordans today that have like, a four-figure price tag!" "Seriously, can the 'girl best friend' just disappear already?!" Before I could even finish reading, I got a friend request. The profile picture was a girl in a white dress with long, straight black hair. The second I accepted, a message popped up: *"Zoe, don't get the wrong idea! I forgot to post it anonymously! I was just sharing something from a story I read."* 4 I replied: *"Then you should probably clarify that on the page."* The message was sent. And then, radio silence. Hailey never wrote back. The next day, Liam dragged Hailey to my dorm to ambush me. He looked apologetic. Hailey hid behind him, her eyes red and puffy. "Zoe, I'm so sorry, Hailey didn't mean to…" Liam started. "Then she can go to the confessions page, delete the post, and issue a clarification," I interrupted. Hailey's shoulders trembled, and tears immediately started rolling down her cheeks. Liam instantly shielded her. "Hailey's very timid. If she deletes it and apologizes now, think of what people will say about her! Come on, Zoe, be the bigger person and let it go! Look how scared she is!" As if on cue, Hailey suddenly gagged and covered her mouth. I took a step back, not wanting to get blamed for whatever this was. "I'm sorry, Zoe, please don't be mad at me… I… I didn't mean to," she gasped. "It's just, when I see that you hate me, I get so anxious my stomach turns… I'm sorry, my body is just so weak…" She stumbled dramatically into Liam's arms. I almost laughed. With acting skills like that, why was she an English major? She should have gone to film school. "Maybe you should lay off the romance novels for a while. And stop making things up." I turned and walked away. Behind me, I could hear Liam's soft, comforting words, and Hailey's faint, whimpering voice. "Liam… you're not going to listen to Zoe and break up with me, are you?" 5 During our shared elective class, Ryan nudged me. "Are you really just going to let this go?" he whispered. I was focused on the professor's PowerPoint. "He's going to put his girlfriend before his friends," I said without looking away. "It's understandable." The words had barely left my mouth when we heard a sob from the row behind us. Ryan and I turned around. Hailey was sitting there, clutching a textbook, tears streaming down her face. She looked at me, her lips trembling. Then she shot up, covered her mouth, and ran crying from the lecture hall. "What's her problem now?" Ryan asked, completely bewildered. I just shrugged and went back to my notes. I found out that afternoon. I was in the dining hall when Liam stormed up to my table, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. "Zoe, do you have to be like this? Hailey is trying so hard to be your friend, and you're making passive-aggressive digs at her behind her back? Now she's so upset she couldn't even stay in class. Are you happy now?" Ryan and I exchanged baffled looks. Ryan frowned. "Liam, what the hell are you talking about? All Zoe said was that she understands you have to prioritize your girlfriend. How is that a dig?" Hearing that only made Liam angrier. He sneered, his eyes darting between me and Ryan. "Of course, you two stick together! You've been friends since you were kids, so now you're ganging up on the outsider, is that it?" His gaze landed back on me, full of disappointment. "Zoe, I never thought you were that kind of person…" I pursed my lips. "What kind of person is that?" 6 Liam opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Ryan had seen enough. He grabbed Liam's arm. "Alright, I'm done eating. Let's go shoot some hoops." He dragged him away without waiting for an answer. Staring at my now-cold food, I suddenly lost my appetite. When I got back to my dorm, Hailey was there, talking to my roommate. The second she saw me, she rushed over, her eyes red. "Zoe, I'm so sorry, I came here to apologize… I didn't realize you and Liam were so close. It's my fault for ruining your friendship… If you want, I can break up with him! Just please, don't tell his parents bad things about me, okay?" She spoke between sobs, making it sound like I was bullying her, but the message was crystal clear. My roommate was staring at us with a weird expression. "What you and he do has nothing to do with me," I said flatly. "And for the record, Liam and I are just friends. Our parents don't get involved in our personal lives. And I have no interest in guys who already have girlfriends. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap." Hailey's face flushed, and she started crying even harder. I pulled a tissue from the box on my desk and handed it to her. "Don't cry in here. I'm not Liam. I'm allergic to your tears." I knew explaining was pointless. I didn't want to waste another breath on her, so I kicked her out. 7 The week after Fall Break was Liam's birthday. Ryan insisted on organizing a party, dragging me along because he didn't want our friend group to fall apart. When I walked into the private room at the karaoke bar, Liam and Hailey were already there. As soon as she saw me, Hailey let go of Liam's hand and started nervously twisting her fingers. "I know this is supposed to be a friends' thing, and I shouldn't be here…" she began, her voice soft and sweet. "But it's the first birthday I'm celebrating with Liam…" Liam, his heart melting, pulled her into his arms but looked at me. "Don't be silly. You're my girlfriend, of course you're supposed to be at my birthday party. Zoe's my best friend. She won't mind, right, Zoe?" I didn't say anything, just pointedly sat as far away from them as possible. When it was time for the cake, Hailey clapped her hands together before Liam could. "Liam, I want to make a wish with you!" Naturally, he agreed. Through the flickering candlelight, Hailey's gaze locked onto mine. "I wish," she said, "that Liam and his best friend can stay… purely platonic. Forever." She drew out the word "platonic," her voice slow and sweet. The air in the room froze. But Liam just laughed. He ruffled Hailey's hair and added, "You hear that, Zoe? Hailey made a wish for us. We'd better keep our friendship purely platonic!" Ryan broke the awkward silence. "Blow out the candles, man!" A little later, Hailey approached me, holding a glass of wine. "Zoe, I'd like to make a toast to you." She staggered, then lunged straight at me. Before I could react, there was a dull thud, followed by her piercing shriek. Liam was on his feet in a second. He shoved me back, hard, and glared at me. "Zoe, what the hell?! She was trying to be nice to you! Even if you don't like her, did you have to push her?" 8 Hailey collapsed into Liam's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Zoe, why did you push me? I was just trying to toast to your friendship!" For the first time, Liam looked at me with genuine anger. "Zoe, you went too far this time! Hailey told me before we even got here that she wanted to properly apologize to you!" He shielded her with his body, his brow furrowed. "You know she's fragile! I never thought you could be so vicious!" I didn't even bother raising an eyebrow. "I didn't push her." My gaze went past him, to the corner of the ceiling. I lifted my chin. "This room has a security camera. I don't appreciate being framed." The moment I said that, Hailey's crying stopped cold. Liam instinctively started to look for a waiter. But Hailey grabbed his sleeve. "Liam… don't! I… I mean, it's fine. Let's just say I lost my footing!" I watched her act, saying nothing. Hailey's voice grew more frantic. "It's your birthday! Let's not ruin everyone's night over something so small." She was still sniffling, trying to move on. But the more she tried to stop him, the calmer Liam became. "It's okay, Hailey," he said, his voice steady. "I need to clear your name." He might be in love with Hailey, but he wasn't an idiot. As he said it, he gave her a long, hard look. Then he pulled his arm free and walked out of the room to find the manager and check the security footage.
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