Best Friends

"Ah... Pretending to be crazy is for sure hard but I guess it worked. Based on his actions, he probably hates me by now," Jennie sighed deeply as she rubbed her temples.

She recalled Ryan's gentle eyes and finally giggled. 'He seems cute and kind. I feel bad now,' Jennie thought conflicted. 'Now that I met him, I wouldn't mind having him for myself. Though, I already promised Lisa…'

It was already too late for her anyway so she could only bite the bullet and continue with their plan. She laid back down on the bed and called one of the numbers in her favorites.

A sweet female voice answered the call immediately, asking anxiously, "Jennie? Did something happen? You called so early…"

"Lisa, don't worry," Jennie assured and explained the situation, "I just finished my part earlier. He called me crazy and rushed out of the room. I think he is attending classes right now."

"Ah! Did you overdo it? What if he starts to hate you?" Lisa asked worriedly. "You didn't have to do it at all… I said I'm fine with fair competition."

"It's okay, you said you like him, right? It should be easier for you to get him now. Just don't forget your best friend once you become Mrs. Morgan, hehe." Jennie reminded him with a giggle.

"Sigh, you are always treating me like a younger sister even when I'm older than you. I will not forget you, Jennie. I wanted to work with you even without this sudden opportunity," Lisa promised and asked after a moment of silence. "How is he…?"

"He is not that bad. He is quite easy-going and I can tell he respects women a lot," Jennie replied honestly. "You two should match perfectly together."

"Don't jinx it... I only find him attractive. I'm still yet to meet him…" Lisa muttered. "Though, I'm calmer now that I know your opinion. Thank you, Jennie."

"Oh, there is one thing you should know about. He said that he already has a girlfriend. He admitted to his mother that he is single earlier this noon so I think he was just bluffing to get rid of me. I just wanted to inform you," Jennie reported what she knew as she finally stood up. She didn't plan on staying in his place and waiting for him.

"Alright, thanks for telling me. I want to talk more but I am going to drive now. We can talk about the details later," Lisa suggested and Jennie didn't mind it, knowing Lisa was coming as well.

Jennie ended the call after exchanging last goodbyes and wore her clothes back on, She looked around the room as if to engrave this sight in her mind so she doesn't forget it and followed Ryan's footsteps out of the room.

Huh?

Just as she was about to grab her handbag, she noticed keys laying on the table.

"He ran out without his keys… Should I tease him one more time?" Jennie thought out loud and didn't hesitate much, taking the keys with her. The playful character she had didn't allow her to waste such an opportunity.

Closing the doors, she walked down to the base floor and happened to find a student who seemed to be returning back from his morning classes.

She immediately approached him and asked sweetly, "Excuse me, would you be so kind as to lead me where fifth-year students have classes?"

The boy froze, not expecting such a hot girl to talk to him and stuttered, "O-of course…"

"Great! Let's go!" Jennie called out excitedly but then looked out of the entrance glass door and saw Ryan outside, slowly walking away with a phone by his ear.

"Nevermind, I found what I was looking for," Jennie called out to the boy and ran towards Ryan, wanting to surprise him.

At first, a plan to visit him in his class crossed her mind but it seemed he didn't walk far so she had to drop it.

Is he complaining to his mother? So cute...

Jennie smiled and sneaked behind Ryan as he was busy talking.

———

Ryan found it hard to contact his mother as she didn't pick up her phone and only after his third try did he finally get connected. Though, after hearing his mother's first words, his eyes rolled uncontrollably.

"Hi son! Did you have fun? Why are you done so quickly?" his mother asked in a cheerful mood. "Should I consider Jennie as your choice already? I knew you would like spicy girls like your father did."

Ryan didn't really want to comment on that and instead scolded, "Mom, why did you tell them where I live before I even decided anything? Everything involves me so this should be my decision. You are not going to date any of those girls."

"Oh, come on. I only gave them freehand with you because I knew you will stall your decision. This way you can meet them earlier and decide faster. I did it for you." His mother explained herself as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

"Anyway, how is Jennie? She might be a bit playful but she is a good girl," she added, trying to get as much from him as she could.

"I don't want to talk bad about her but we are just not meant to be together. I have my own girl already so you don't need to send your candidates over," Ryan admitted without talking about Jennie. He didn't feel like shaming her behavior even though she asked for it.

Talking about Jennie, he suddenly realized something and started checking his pockets. He forgot his keys!

'Damn, I really need to kick her out somehow first. What if she—' Ryan thought as he turned around to return back to his room but his mind froze when he saw Jennie standing right behind him.

"Is this what you are looking for?" She asked with a gentle smile on her face while playing with his keys, spinning them on her finger.

At the same time, his mom exploded with questions. "What?! How?! You said you don't have anyone just four hours ago. Did you go out for a run and grab some random girl from the streets?" Her voice had a bit of disbelief to it.

Ryan naturally put the phone call on mute and nodded, "Jennie… Yes, I was about to go back to take them. Can I please have my keys?"

Jennie ignored his question and asked curiously, "Did you think I will do something bad to them?" She approached Ryan even closer, changing her smile to a playful one which forced Ryan to take a step back.

"Yes. You are too unpredictable," Ryan replied honestly before unmuting the call with his mother.

"Sorry, my friend walked by so I was greeting him. You actually got it right. I did go out and met this girl. We clicked right away and I even ate dinner with her family just now. I learned she is really into fashion so that's another plus," Ryan explained his experiences today to his mom before muting the call again.

Jennie was still approaching him but he kept his distance of at least two steps away from her. With how pushy she was, Jennie could easily trigger his urges and he couldn't afford such a mistake.

Seeing that he was escaping endlessly, she finally stopped.

"You are right, I'm unpredictable. One second I do one thing and in the next my plan changes," Jennie agreed with him, looking into his eyes with interest. "I'm really curious as to why you didn't trash talk about me to your mom. Didn't you say I am crazy?"

"Wait a moment," Ryan stopped her and talked to his mother who started another assault with multiple questions, "Mom, I'm serious about her and I'm not joking. My classes are starting right now and I need to go. Let's meet tomorrow morning to discuss everything, alright?"

"Argh, fine!" His mother agreed with reluctance, hating Ryan for the cliffhanger but she understood classes were important. "Come to my work tomorrow around lunch. I am busy on weekdays."

"Bye Mom!" Ryan noted in his mind and said quick goodbyes as he ended the call. He still needed to handle Jennie.

"I'm already late for classes," Ryan informed as he extended his hand for the keys but Jennie shook her head. "No, answer my question first."

They were standing at the entrance to the park and there was no one around them but Ryan didn't expect her to attack him in public which gave him some confidence.

"Is there even a point in talking bad about you? Even though I don't like how you blackmailed your way into my room or how you tried to trick my mom with the photo, I don't wish to ruin your image even further. You are already good at doing it on your own," Ryan expressed himself honestly and added while reaching out to her hand, "Can I have my keys now?"

She didn't resist, letting him take them before commenting, "You know what? You are not that bad... I kind of want you for myself now…"

Swoosh!

As she spoke her words, a gentle waft of wind blew against Jennie's dark brown hair. Ryan looked at her face as she held a few strands of her hair and stared back at him. He had to admit that Jennie was beautiful but she already ruined her first impression for him. Compared to Rose, there was no competition.

"I'm sorry, I need to go. I wish you great successes in the future," Ryan called out, not knowing how to reject her and simply ran away, already late.

Just as he was about to enter the class, his phone buzzed. He checked it out of instinct and realized It was a message from an unknown number.

'Hey Ryan, it's Rose… How is your class going? I hope you made it on time. Do you want to chat later? We can talk about tomorrow… Anyway, if you are reading this in class, focus! Listen to your professor or I will kick your butt. Only message back when you are free!'