After covering for the girl my two childhood best friends liked for the umpteenth time, they stopped me with smiles as I was leaving school. "Cover for her just one more time today? We're going on a date tonight. Please?" I looked up and whispered: "Not today. I have a date too." One friend's smile instantly vanished, replaced by a cold smirk. "If you don't want to do her chores, at least come up with a better excuse. Who could you possibly have a date with?" Seeing my silence, the other friend's smile disappeared completely. He slammed his hand against the wall, pinning me there. "You're really going on a date? "With who?!" 1 After class, I was taking out my umbrella to head home when Lucas grabbed my arm. "Don't go yet. Do the cleaning duty first." I looked back. Chloe's name was written on the blackboard under "Cleaning Duty." "It's not my turn today—" "Chloe has cramps," Lucas smirked, his handsome fox-like eyes curving up. He naturally patted my shoulder. "So, I'm counting on you. I'm gonna take Chloe home first." Saying that, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and moved to give Chloe a piggyback ride. A hint of amusement flashed in Chloe's eyes as she playfully hit him. "I don't need you to carry me. I said it's nothing serious. You're making a big deal out of nothing." Lucas half-knelt in front of her, looking up. "How is it nothing? Girls need to rest when they have cramps. Harper is a girl too, she'll understand. "Right, Harper?" I pressed my lips together. "...Fine." As soon as I put down my backpack, the umbrella tucked on the side was pulled out by a long, pale hand. Ethan took off his rimless glasses and frowned at Lucas. "Are you planning to let Chloe walk in the rain? She can't catch a cold." He glanced at me. "I'm taking the umbrella. The rain looks like it'll stop soon. You can leave when it stops." With that, one carried Chloe while the other held the umbrella over her, and they walked out together. Chloe turned back, a slightly apologetic look on her exquisite face. "Harper, we'll be going then." ... Their figures quickly disappeared into the rain. I withdrew my gaze and started cleaning. This was the third time this month I had covered for Chloe, and she was only scheduled three times a month. The time before last, she had a piano lesson. before I could even agree, Lucas agreed for me. "Piano lessons are important. You have your level test coming up. Harper doesn't have anything to do anyway." Last time, a new movie Chloe liked was released. Both Lucas and Ethan wanted to watch it with her, so the cleaning duty was left to me. I silently swept the entire classroom, mopped it once, and started erasing the blackboard. The blackboard was too high. I couldn't reach the top words even after jumping a few times. Just as I was about to get a chair, a hand reached out from behind me. A hand with defined knuckles, clean and beautiful. It took the eraser from me and wiped away the words in a few strokes. Startled, I turned around abruptly and found Julian, the academic representative, standing behind me. He was so close I could smell the scent of sea salt and lemon on him—light, dry, and completely out of place with the humidity. Before I could speak, he said: "It doesn't seem to be your turn today?" The girls at school always argued about who was the hottest: Ethan, Lucas, or Julian. But maybe because I was with Ethan and Lucas every day, seeing Julian up close felt more impactful. His light brown eyes were clear and clean, his eyelashes long and light like butterfly wings. "Chloe isn't feeling well, so I'm helping her. "Why haven't you left yet?" Julian didn't show much expression, just helped me erase the entire board. "Went to the office to drop off papers. Came back and saw you—" he seemed to chuckle, "jumping." I blushed. "Thanks." "No problem." Julian put the eraser on the podium. "Done? Shall we go?" I waved my hand. "You go ahead. I don't have an umbrella. I'll wait for the rain to stop." He pulled out a black umbrella. "Let's go together. I have one." ... "You often cover for Chloe? I've seen it before." "Yeah, she... has things to do." "She has a lot of things to do," Julian tilted the umbrella towards me. "You seem pretty close with Ethan and Lucas?" "Yeah, we're all friends. Including Chloe." "If you're friends, why do you do all the work alone?" I was speechless, kicking a small stone. "You're busy too, right? I heard you have cram school at night. Why don't you refuse her?" I paused. "If I refuse, they'll be unhappy. We're friends." "What happens if they're unhappy?" "We won't be friends anymore?" I blurted out. "I only have these three friends." "Then be friends with me." We stopped at the entrance of my apartment building simultaneously. The jacaranda blossoms in the complex were beaten down by the rain, petals blowing in the wind. Julian held the black umbrella and smiled at me. "Are we friends now?" No one could say no to that face. I nodded. "Of course. Thanks for walking me home today." "Just a verbal thanks?" I froze, looking up at Julian. The right side of his uniform, away from me, was completely soaked, while I was barely wet. But he didn't seem to feel it at all, his smile gentle. "Then accompany me to the library the day after tomorrow. You wouldn't refuse a friend, right?" 3 After showering that night, I saw Chloe's message tagging me in the group chat. "Harper, are you home? Sorry for troubling you again. It's all because those two insisted on sending me home. I said it was nothing, but they made it so tense." I dried my hair. "I'm home." "You didn't have an umbrella. How did you get back?" Lucas suddenly asked. "Someone walked me home." "Who was it?" Chloe sent a voice message with a laugh. "Is our Harper dating?" Ethan rarely sent messages in the group, usually only replying after Chloe spoke. "Impossible. Who would date Harper?" Lucas chimed in: "Exactly. She's a nerd. Who would be interested in her?" Chloe laughed louder. "Why do you say that about Harper? She's great, pretty and smart." "Pretty?" Lucas scoffed. "Far worse than you. If she's pretty, what are you?" Ethan: "Chloe, you're just too kind. If you don't tell the truth, she won't see herself clearly. What if she gets tricked?" Messages popped up one after another. My mood, which had improved because of Julian, hit rock bottom again. I put down my phone and lay down gloomily. This wasn't the first time. I knew that in our so-called clique, they actually looked down on me. I could understand. Ethan, Lucas, and Chloe were the dazzling types. Good-looking, wealthy families, excellent themselves. Only I was the most inconspicuous one. If we hadn't grown up together, I might never have crossed paths with people like them in my life. Ethan and Lucas both liked Chloe. When the four of us were together, I was always transparent. It had been this way since childhood. I seemed to have gotten used to not refusing them. I rolled over, remembering what Julian said before leaving. "Treating you like this... do they really consider you a friend?" 4 On the day of Chloe's cleaning duty, Lucas shoved the broom into my hands again. "We're taking Chloe to the movies tonight. Cover for her." Ethan had already picked up Chloe's bag. Chloe waved at me with a smile. "Thanks, Harper!" I paused, then handed the broom back to Lucas. "Sorry, but I have a date today too." The smiles on their three faces froze simultaneously. "A date?" Chloe curled her lip, putting on a generous act. "Haha, Harper, you just don't want to cover for me, right? True, I've troubled you a lot this month." Lucas frowned, his thick eyebrows knitting together. "A date? With who? Harper, if you're making an excuse, find a better one. Who else do you know besides us?" Ethan turned his inorganic-looking eyes behind the rimless glasses towards me. "Harper, stop messing around. Chloe really wants to see this movie. Just cover for her once, it's not like you haven't done it before." "It's true," I lowered my head. "We agreed to go to the library. I'm not messing around." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Can't you do the cleaning first? It won't take long." "No," I glanced at my watch. "It's almost time. I'm leaving first." Chloe's smile faded. She tugged lightly at Lucas. "Can you and Ethan persuade Harper? Is she angry because I trouble her too much? "Or is she... really dating? Is it the person who walked her home last time?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan and Lucas's expressions darken. Ethan blocked my path. "Who walked you home last time? Who are you meeting?" Before I could speak, Lucas pinned me against the wall. "In such a hurry to leave? Harper, speak clearly. Are you really dating?" He lowered his brow, eyes dark. "Who is it?!" "Me." Julian walked in, pulling me away from Lucas. He was about the same height as Lucas, looking at him levelly with a smile. "Harper is going out with me today. "Let's go." Saying that, he helped me with my bag. As we left, his gaze swept over Ethan without a ripple.
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