LOOK WHO'S HERE

An excited Jean pulled Lily to another busy corner—much closer to the foyer. She was almost dragging her best friend on their way there.

Lily was dreading the reason why. "What is it now? Is it Milo?"

"No, silly. Look! You can see Frankie, right? Gosh! He's so hot!"

How many times did she have to roll her eyes tonight? Lily complained to herself. "Will you stop pinching my arm? And stop yelling in my ear. I can hear you well enough."

Jean pouted, "I was yelling? Sorry. Anyway. Look at him. Look... look. He is so handsome. It pisses me off to hear he's still dating Missy though. What does he see in that cheerleader anyway?"

"I thought they broke up last month."

"They did! Rumor has it that he seduced him and now they're back together. Goodbye, my precious Spring Dance, goodbye."

"Jean, Spring Dance is next year. You can find someone else to be your date by then. It doesn't have to be Frankie, you know."

Lily caught her best friend's reaction. Was that another pout just now? She continued, "Oh, I get it. Okay? He's your ultimate crush. Blond, tall, abs and legs, and, what else? A jock! He's Chris Hemsworth in your crush list, I get it, but have I already told you that he's a jerk?"

Jean could only pout and say nothing stubbornly so because she knew Lily was right about Frankie Bosworth.

"I know, Lil. I've always known that fact. It's obvious. But you also know that I have a weakness for jocks like him. He plays for the school's baseball team! That's like... super cool in my standards of men to date."

Lily never liked lychee. She also never liked to admit that girls in Fram Hill High had a thing for baseball players.

Who didn't anyway? Nobody. Lily answered her own question.

When Lily thought of girls in her high school, she meant girls like Jean and her.

Ugh! Lily knew she was a shameless soul to fangirl over boys especially the ones from the baseball team. She would never admit or show it. Only her best friend knew this secret.

Whenever she heard the team's name, Fram Hill High-Arrows Baseball Team, she risked getting a migraine episode. The team meant work for her. And work, for her, meant writing about them in the school's paper, The Bugle.

And, boy oh boy, most of the articles were about them. All the team's games, schedules, and practices were featured in the paper.

Gossips about girlfriends were excluded, supposedly. Lily was at first against writing about them. After so much non-stop convincing by the paper's editor-in-chief, she failed. She had no choice but to comply. There were times she wished Duncan, the said EOC, would take her side for once.

Beside Lily was Jean. The latter was also drinking what was left of her beer—she was slowly becoming a wallflower too. She was feeling defeated because Frankie was so out of her reach.

Lily wanted to say something to cheer Jean up, but what could she say? In her honest opinion since the day she came to Fram Hill High, Frankie Bosworth was a jerk. His ego was as big as the entire baseball field. And what else could she say? It did not matter how many logical reasons Lily gave. Her best friend's feelings for Frankie did not change.

Jean's feelings for Frankie were older than her friendship with Lily. A fact that Lily never dared to question too much.

So Lily was only ever there to make sure Jean did not torture herself over her crush more than what was necessary.

Patting her friend's shoulder as a small gesture to comfort, Lily smiled. And Jean smiled back.

No words were needed to be exchanged between the two friends. They knew each other so well. Jean knew that, even though Lily was not a fan of her crushing on Frankie, the petite black-haired girl was there to offer her support. No matter how silly and long and intense her "crush list" could get.

After watching people dance and heckle at one another for a long while, Lily had enough beer and partying for the night. It was time to go home. She only had a few drinks of beer but was already fast drunk. She felt awful.

How could Douglas serve cheap stuff like this? She asked herself, scrutinizing the bottle of beer and its contents. From what little she knew about the folks in town, Douglas and his family were one of the richest families in Fram Hill. They probably owned major shares in the town's real estate. Old money and power. Bragging rights and all.

Maybe, Douglas is a cheapskate. Maybe, he is just not into the details of things, she speculated. She couldn't think of a reason why she was drinking beer when she could have been given something fancier.

Having enough of partying—or the lack of it—she began her leave and said to Jean, "So... I'm going home now. Please tell Milo that I have stomach flu. Like a severe one. I can't dance, date, or talk to him. I already overstayed my welcome to this party. While you, party girl, have fun. And stay away from the jerk. Don't give Missy the death glare. You know she loves it when you're jealous. Okay?" Lily hugged Jean.

When Lily turned to leave, Jean grabbed her arm for the second time that night and dragged her even closer to the crowd. To the center of the room where the life of the party was at.

"What are you doing? I am leaving. I'm not dancing. Okay? Let go of my arm. It's too crowded in there. Jean... please," she was almost whining.

Jean replied, her eyes showing excitement and her lips smirking, "I heard you the first time. You don't want to dance with Milo. Blah, blah, blah. You want me to lie to Milo that you have stomach flu. Blah, blah, blah. Fine. You hate the beer. It's cheap. Yuck! You are bored to death and a wallflower. Fine. But look at who else came to tonight's party?"

Ugh! Not again. Who is it now this time? Her eyes searching for a face, Lily couldn't think of anyone else.

***