Thank goodness it's Friday, I think as I get out of the car, listening to my brothers chatter about nothing interesting. As we approach the building, I hear a slightly familiar voice call my name. It's a female. The only girl that bothers to associate with me is Diana and it's definitely not her. I turn around, furrowing my eyebrows as I scan the parking lot. It isn't until I see Sage standing before Webster, Quincy, and Diego that I realize she is the owner of that voice. She waves me over with a large smile on her face. 

"You talk to them?" Nate asks curiously and I shrug before turn and slowly approach the small crowd. I glance at my phone. There are fifteen minutes until the first bell, so I guess I can converse for a moment or two.

"Hi," I greet them all with a polite smile.

"Want to come get coffee with us?" she asks and I attempt to calculate how long I have, considering the walk to my class.

"You have time, Orion," Diego pipes as if aware of the direction my thoughts are going in.

"Okay," I mumble as I step out to cross the street. Diego's arm shoots out and pushes me back as a car speeds around the corner from inside the parking lot. My eyes are wide when I look at him. "Thanks."

Diego swears as he shakes his head. "Do I need to hold your hand, Orion?"

"Shut up," I mumble. This time I wait to cross the street. My cheeks are pink from embarrassment as everyone chuckles behind us.

Upon entering the small diner, I find that it smells strongly of coffee, orange juice, and maple syrup. It's an odd mix but I don't question it. Instead, I contemplate whether or not I should get something. I had a few bites of a bagel before I left but I only drank half my orange juice. Now, I'm in the mood for a warm drink but not coffee. I go for it's watery counterpart- tea.

I order a green tea, pay for it, and receive it only moments later. I approach the booth where Webster is waiting. I hesitate for a moment before sitting down across from him. He's texting on his phone but offers me a smile when he looks up. I shift my gaze to my drink, only turning away when I hear a whistle. It's one of those mocking whistles that your friend does when they see you with the person you like. As expected, the whistle slid from Diego's lips as he stands before the booth.

"Should I leave you two alone?" he asks suggestively.  I sigh and shake my head as Webster laughs. A few seconds later, he slides into the seat beside me and allows his leg to lightly press against mine. I stare at the table, contemplating whether or not I should move my knee. I decide against it and slowly drink my tea. 

The three of us wait for the rest of the group to join us. I want to know the time but the clock is behind me and in order to see it I'll have to twist around and come in close proximity to Diego's face. And if I want to reach my phone, I'd have to go in the pocket that is pressed against Diego's leg.

A few moments pass and Sage arrives with a large stack of pancakes on her plate. Quincy appears shortly after and sits on the same side as her and Webster. I want to ask Diego to move over, seeing as we we're now the only ones on our side of the booth and we have more than enough space to stretch out but I can't bring myself to speak. I'm too focused on the warmth his leg is producing.

"You're practically sitting on her," Quincy blurts as he looks at me and Diego. Rather than moving away (like I'd hoped), Diego shifts so that he's actually on my lap. My eyes widen and I slap his back, urging him to move. A few seconds later, he moves back to his place beside me and I'm sure my face is bright red. Webster and Quincy's laughter prove my beliefs to be true. I simply sigh, gulp my tea, and shake my head. 

A short while later, Diego looks at me and smirks. "What?" I mumble and avert my gaze out the window.

"It's 7:45," he informs me and my eyes widen as I snap my neck to look at him. We're fifteen minutes late. Oh no.

"We're late!" I hiss. I begin shoving him to move and he slowly slides from his spot in the booth. He stands and stretches as if we have all the time in the world. I, on the other hand, am out of the door before he even finishes yawning. Unfortunately, the semi-busy street keeps me from the school and I'm forced to impatiently wait before I can cross. By the time traffic stops, Diego is exiting the diner with his bag over his shoulder and a careless look on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me when it was 7:25?" I ask him in annoyance and he smiles at me, examining my face.

"I lost track of time," he responds. "Why didn't you check?" He asks the question as if he already knows the answer. When I turn away, he chuckles. "Cross."

I practically run towards the school, not even bothering to hold the door open for him as I bolt towards Chemistry. I arrive twenty minutes late with no pass and no plausible excuse. Mr. Adams seems a bit surprised at my tardiness but luckily for me, he doesn't question it. I just hope my parents won't be notified because I'd definitely be interrogated. I make my way over to my table with Diana, who looks astonished.

"Look who decided to show up," she whispers as I sit down, pulling out my notebook. "Where were you?"

"At that stupid little diner across the street," I hiss and her eyebrows shoot upward.

"For thirty minutes?" she asks and my eyes widen. We were there for that long? "What could you possibly have been doing?"

A knock sounds from the door and Mr. Adams opens it, annoyed at the fact that he'd just reached the board. Diego appears with his coffee and he says something to Mr. Adams, who looks at him with narrowed eyes. Diego strolls towards his seat. He makes eye contact with me before sitting down a few tables away, where he stretches out lazily.

"I see..." Diana whispers and I look at her to find a knowing smile lining her face. Lowering her voice even more, she leans towards me. "Was it a date?"

"What? No!" I hiss with narrowed eyes. "His friends were there."

"You wished they weren't, didn't you?" she asks.

"Yes-no-yes-I don't know how to answer that!" I retort. "Can I just copy down the notes?"

Diana smirks at me before slowly nodding and sliding her sloppy notes in my direction. "Yeah, Orion. Of course, you can."

+++

"My friends like you," Diego informs me from his place on the floor beside my desk. He is relaxing with his homework scattered around him. Normally, I'd complain about the mess but I'm relieved he's bothering to catch up on his work at all. He's skipped out on our every other day homework sessions for a few days so when he showed up today without me having to ask him or remind him, I feel a sense of pride in my chest.

"They do?" I ask, slightly surprised. I thought they'd dislike me for my nerdy ways and my apparent obsession with school.

"Yeah. They think you're funny," he assures me and I furrow my eyebrows. I rarely talk around them.

"How?" I question as I scribble the answers on my Chemistry homework.

"Because you're so innocent," he answers and I raise both of my eyebrows.

"That makes me funny?" I glance at him. He continues working on his Pre-Calculus work, not bothering to look back at me.

"Yes," he responds, leaving it at that.

"Well, I like them, too," I tell him. It isn't exactly a lie. They aren't mean. They wave at me in the hallways when they see me and they always invite me to skip class with them, which is a nice gesture from rebels, I guess. And though I never take them up on the offers, they still provide them regardless.

"Especially Webster, right," he replies in amusement and I let out a frustrated groan.

"I don't like him," I complain.

"Are you sure?" he laughs and I groan once again.

"I'm positive, Diego," I assure him.

"I'm just trying to help you in your journey to finding love," he responds in a sickly sweet tone, putting extra emphasis on the word 'love'.

"I don't want to find love, and if I did, I would have to like the person to begin with," I start.

"Understandable," he replies.

"Anyway, let's see those grades..." I trail in an attempt to change the topic. After approving his grades, though there is a slight drop in Chemistry due to a failed test, we continue to do our homework together. About an hour and a half later, he looks at his phone and grabs his book-bag.

"My ride's here," he grins at me mischievously.

"My dad isn't home yet," I respond in a slight whisper. The door is halfway open, like it usually is when we do our homework together.

"I got your mom's permission to go to a friend's house," he replies.

"Whose house?" I ask before I realize that 'a friend's house' is just a cover up for doing things I probably shouldn't ask about. I roll my eyes at him and he laughs.

"You'll cover for me though if they get suspicious, right?" he asks and I sigh, earning a smirk in response. "Oh, right, you're a horrible liar."

As the night goes on and my father arrives home, I find myself being subtly questioned by him. "Hey, honey," my father greets me as he stands in my doorway. I glance up at him and smile before going back to my work. He doesn't take the hint, though. "Diego left already?"

"Yeah," I answer casually.

"His bike is still in the garage, though," my father replies and I nod.

"He got a ride there," I clarify earning a noise of confirmation.

"You haven't taken a ride on that bike, right?" my father asks and I know the answer I'm supposed to give, the answer Diego would approve of. But should I lie to my father? He specifically told me not to get on that bike, but I did. But should I just throw Diego under the bus like that? And should I just throw myself under the bus like that?

"No," I answer quietly, praying that he doesn't noticed the pink tinge pf my cheeks and the awkwardness of my hand motions. I can barely hold my pencil due to the moisture of my palms.

"Really?" my father presses and I nod, incapable of responding verbally.

"I'm scared of that thing," I assure him when I find my voice again.

"Okay, good. Those things are dangerous. I don't even feel comfortable letting him ride it, never mind my little girl," my dad replies and I know I'm in the clear. "Can you text him and ask when he's coming home?"

What do my parents think I am? His best friend? "I don't have his number," I reply. My father mumbles something about having to get his number from Joseph.

"Well, do you know whose house he's at?" my dad asks.

Think, think, think. "Webster," I answer. If Diego could hear me, he'd probably scoff and make a slick comment about me liking Webster.

"You know this Webster kid?" my father investigates and I nod. "Is he well behaved?" I nod yet again, not quite sure as to whether or not I'm lying.

"Alright, thanks, Ri," my dad replies before slapping my door frame and reaching in to grab the doorknob. "And thanks again for keeping him on the right track." As the door clicks shut, I let out the breath I was holding in.

+++

The familiar knock sounds on the door of my room at nearly two in the morning and I jump out of bed and jog over, opening it quickly. I find Diego there and I usher him in and close the door quietly behind him. I stayed awake in hopes that he'd step in to talk to me. I need to ask something of him.

"Why so eager to talk to me?" Diego asks and I cross my arms over my blue t-shirt.

"I need you to do me a favor," I blurt, cutting straight to the chase. Dropping down on my bed, he nods. "Teach me how to lie."

"Teach you how to lie?" Diego asks as he scans my face with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. "Let me get this straight- you want me to teach you how to lie?"

"I thought I made that pretty clear," I reply and he smiles at me.

"You know that's impossible, right?" he responds.

"What? I'm not that bad at it," I retort.

"It's not that..." he trails. "I just...I don't want to corrupt you."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I think I should let you know that every now and again, my father comes to me to talk about you and occasionally, I lie for you. Now, I don't have to do that, but I do. Who knows if he even believes me? What if he sees right through me? My poor lying skills put you at risk of getting in trouble. Now, you can let me sit and lie to my father poorly and possibly get yourself in much more trouble seeing as you got an innocent girl to lie for you, or you can teach me how to lie properly and avoid any potential setbacks from me fibbing on your behalf. Which one sounds more desirable?"

"Maybe you should go to whoever taught you how to guilt trip and get them to teach you how to lie," he mumbles and I place my hands on my hips. He stares up at me before sighing. "I just don't see why it's so hard for you to lie."

"Are you going to do it or not?" I ask, growing impatient and he sighs again before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess I have no choice," he responds.

+++

"Class is in session," Diego announces as he barges  into my room on Saturday morning. I'm trying to sleep in seeing as I'd finished all my homework last night. Diego apparently has other plans.

"What?" I mumble tiredly, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"You want me to teach you how to lie," he retorts. "We're doing it on my time."

"You can't wait, like, two hours?" I ask as I stare at him pleadingly.

"Now or never," he replies and I groan as I put my head in my pillow before sitting up completely. He's pacing around my room, rubbing his hands together.

"So what's on the agenda today, Teach?" I question as I brush my hair out of my face. I grab a hairband from my bedside table and put it to use.

"The first step to lying is to completely disregard the feelings of the person you're lying to," he starts. "This is the most important step, might I add."

"But...that's mean," I respond, fighting back a yawn.

"Lying isn't exactly nice, now is it?" he asks. I pucker out my lower lip as I stare at him.

"Look," he starts. "I'm not going to teach you all of this if you're not going to use it. Lying is an art. So tell me Orion, are you an artist?" He leans close to me and I hold my breath for two reasons: one, I'm sure it smells gross because I just woke up and two, I'm not used to having boys, especially cute ones, this close to me. I release my breath when he bounces back to his normal position, scanning my room. He surprises me by grabbing my desk chair, swinging it forward and sitting down in it with his chest pressed against it's back.

"I guess..." I trail awkwardly as I stare at him. I'm sure I look like trash. I reach for the water bottle beside my bed and take a large gulp, hoping it'll wake me up a bit more.

"So, like I said, pretend their feelings don't exist," he reminds me. "Step two is also key. Ask yourself these questions. What are you lying about? What are you trying to hide? Why? What are you trying to protect? Why?"

"I have to think about all of that in the few seconds after a question is asked?" I mumble and he nods.

"You get better at it with time," he explains with a wave. "And the third step, lie."

"Just like that?" I ask. "No other preparations?"

"When you lie, it's obvious. So maybe try to hide the signs that you're lying," he shrugs. I give him a clueless look and he sighs as he looks up at the ceiling. "You avoid eye contact. You rub your hands together or on your pants. You stutter. You get all red."

I know I'm see through but I didn't realize it's to that extent. "Any other steps?"

"Step four, consistency," he responds. "This step makes you want to avoid lying because it can essentially tear down the web you've formed around yourself. You've got to keep up with your lies."

"Keep up as in?" I trail.

"Remember your lies. Don't make them so specific that if you change the slightest detail, you're caught. Instead of telling your parents you're going to Diana's house to do your math project that's due in five days, just say you're going to do some work. Broad lies, basically," he explains.

I let out a sigh. "That's a lot of work," I respond.

"Yeah, well, it takes time to become as good of a liar as me," he grins. I frown in response as I start to wonder if he's ever lied to me. The obvious, logical side of me says most likely yes but the side that aspires to believe we're friends says that he hasn't. Standing up and shoving my chair back under my desk, he taps the wooden surface. "You've got to get up, by the way. You have twenty minutes to get ready for work before Calum and I leave without you."

I sigh as he leaves my room. I forgot about work. Heaving myself out of bed, I quickly get dressed and washed up. Realizing I still have ten minutes left before I start receiving threats of being left behind, I approach my makeup. I manage to do my face and eyes before my phone starts ringing. I grunt when I see that it's Calum. I quickly put on tinted lip-gloss before I shove my belongings in my pocket and grab my sweater. I make my way to the car only to find that Diego is sitting in the front seat. I crawl into the back and allow silence fill the car as we drive in the direction of the plaza. Diego and I get out and approach the book store after thanking Calum.

I turn to find Diego staring at me curiously with furrowed eyebrows. "What?" I ask as I stare back at him. He assesses my face with his eyes, making me slightly self conscious.

"Are you wearing makeup?" he asks me, earning a nod in response. "Do you always wear makeup?" He says it in a way that says: 'how have I not noticed this before?'

"Not really. I only wear it if I have time to put it on in the morning," I explain, feeling embarrassed. Do I look stupid?

"Interesting," he nods as he looks at me.

A moment later, the door to the store opens and J.D. walks in. I feel a surge of panic run through me for some odd reason. Diana mumbles from her spot beside me a muffled, "uh oh."

As he approaches the counter, Diego moves to make room for him. "Hey, J.D," Diana greets him and I smile at him.

"Hey, Diana," he nods at her before standing across from me.

"Hey," I greet him, feeling the need to introduce him to Diego, who is inspecting him curiously. "This is Diego."

"I'm J.D," he introduces as he extends his hand. Diego shakes his hand with a slightly confused smile. J.D. looks between me and Diego before turning his attention back to me. "So are you guys a thing?"

I'm surprised at his bluntness, as is Diana, who coughs from a couple feet away. Diego is the one who answers, seeing as my face turns bright red. "Oh no, Orion's like a sister to me," he replies and I feel something in my chest shatter. I repress the urge to cringe at his words and instead, force a laugh. "Are you guys a thing?"

"No, we're friends," I answer quickly, scared of what J.D. would say.

"Well, I better get going," Diego says, sensing the awkwardness in the air. "It was nice meeting you."

J.D. replies similarly, staring at Diego as he leaves. We continue on with conversation but I can't focus much. I'm too busy thinking about how Diego said I'm like a sister. Ouch. It isn't until the end of the conversation that I tune in and it's only because J.D. asks me a question about the boy on my mind.

"Are you sure you've got nothing going on with Diego?" he inquires.

"You heard him; I'm like a sister to him," I reply.

"But is he like a brother to you?" J.D. asks and I don't want to make a big deal of it.

"Yeah," I answer, not exactly in the mood to open up to him.

"Well, do you think he'd mind if I ask you for your number? I've been wanting to ask for a long time but I always punk out last minute," he says sheepishly.

Deciding not to bother with excuses, I take his phone, which he holds out for me hopefully. I put my number in, name the contact, and slowly urge him to leave. I just want to be alone with my thoughts and occasional customers. Luckily, he realizes he has somewhere to be soon so he tells me he'll see me soon before exiting the shop.

When it's time for my break, I walk to the coffee shop. Hurt is probably the best word to describe what I'm feeling after hearing Diego compare me to a sister. I'm not quite sure why, or maybe I do know but I don't want to admit it. Either way, I have to go about my routine as though nothing changed or else he'll suspect something's wrong. After placing my order with Sue, I make my way to my familiar seat. Plopping down, I wait for Diego to bring my drink. When he does, he takes the seat across from me.

"Hi," I greet him, unsure of what to say.

He smirks at me and I can already tell what he's going to bring up. "So...J.D?" he asks and I wait for him to continue but he doesn't.

"What about him?" I ask.

"You didn't tell me about him," Diego replies.

"What's there to tell?" I say with a shrug as I gulp my hot cocoa.

"I asked if any guys were interested in you and you said no," he replies. "And he seems pretty interested in you."

I shrug instead of providing him with an answer. "He's just...J.D."

"Does he go to our school?" Diego asks.

"No, he's in college," I answer and Diego's eyebrows shoot up.

"A college boy is after you and you're not interested?" he inquires and I shrug again.

"I don't know him too well. He stops by once a week to just talk and he'll occasionally buy a book," I tell Diego, who wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"He totally likes you," he explains and I sigh. "What do you know about him?"

"He's 18," I tell Diego. "He's way more experienced than me."

"Everyone is more experienced than you. How are you going to gain experience if you don't put yourself out there?" Diego retorts.

"No...I mean experienced, experienced," I tell him, widening my eyes a little bit. "One day, Calum dropped me off and saw him hanging around and told me that when J.D. was a senior in high school, he was wild, especially with the ladies."

"Ohhhh," he nods. "Well..."

"Yeah, besides, he's in college," I tell Diego. "Who knows what he's getting into?"

"Neither of us. But you can get to know him. Who knows? Maybe he's as big of a nerd as you," he jokes.

"I don't know..." I say with narrowed eyes.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you can't judge him based on what you think you know about guys his age. Maybe he's different. But you won't know unless you get to know him."

I feel an ache in my chest as I listen to Diego, the boy I originally considered getting to know in a romantic way, advise me to get together with J.D. "Whatever..."

"Next time he comes around, get his number," Diego instructs and I sigh yet again.

"I already have it," I reply. "He gave it to me today." This earns an encouraging smile from Diego and I want to sigh.

+++

"So did you text him?" Diego asks as he pops his head into my room. I have a pile of binders in my lap, trying to decide which assignment I should complete next.

"Who?" I ask before I realize who he is talking about. "J.D?"

"Yes," he continues.

"No..." I trail as I narrow the decision down to AP Stats or AP Calculus.

He walks over to my bed and sit down. It takes me a minute to realize that he snagged my phone from it's place beside my pillow. I move to get my binders off of my lap but before I can even get up, he places my phone down onto my bed. With a grin on his face, he stands up and walks past me. "I'm going to go shower. I'll check back when I get out to see how the conversation is going."

I look at my conversations to find J.D. as the most recent. He texted me after I gave him my number earlier so I could save his contact. 'Hey.' I stare at the message for a moment with no intentions of continuing the conversation. Putting my phone down, I return to the work in my lap, saving the conversation for Diego. My phone buzzes not too long later but I leave it in it's place.

"Did he text back?" Diego asks twenty minutes later when he barges in my room.

"Yes," I answer as I continue writing.

"What'd he say? And what'd you say?" Diego asks.

"See for yourself," I tell Diego and he grabs my phone from the edge of my desk and taps on the screen a bit.

"You didn't reply?" he asks with narrowed eyes. "Why not?"

"I didn't know what to say," I mumble. I don't want to talk to him.

"How about 'what's up?'" Diego retorts.

"You reply for me," I insist as I continue to write.

He stares at me before sighing. He responds to the message and only a moment later does it vibrate again. "He texts back fast. He's definitely interested."

"I guess," I mumble. Diego sprawls out on my bed with my phone in his hands.

After a couple of moments, he lets out a laugh. "He's like a boy version of you."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," I say as I look at him. He's smirking at my phone. "Don't flirt with him."

"What do you mean? Isn't that the whole point of this?" Diego asks as he stops typing.

"No! The whole point is to get to know him," I snap. He stares at me as if he'd messed up and I gaze at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing too extreme. I just, you know..." he says as he holds my phone in his hands. I grab it from him and read the messages.

J.D: What's up?

Me: Not much, just thinking about you.

J.D: What about me?

Me: What does the D stand for?

I immediately cringe after reading that message. I shoot a glance towards Diego, who is staring at me with a nervous look on his face.

J.D: Drew.

Me: Cute name.

J.D: Orion is a cute name. It reminds me of the stars.

Me: You're a star.

I gasp at the message, allowing my eyes to reread it twice before looking up at Diego. The winking emojis that follow aren't making the situation any better.

J.D: Why thank you. You aren't too shabby yourself.

Me: So how's the college life treating you?

J.D: Not too bad. It's fun, I guess. A lot of work.

Me: Wild parties, right?

J.D: I don't really go to many parties if I'm being honest; that was what my high school days were for. I stay in my dorm most of the time, reading and watching movies. I'm a nerd.

Me: Me too!

"I'm not a nerd!" I snap at Diego, who allows his eyebrows to rise.

"Sure you're not," he mumble.

J.D: Really? That's cute.

Me: Kind of like you.

"Are you serious, Diego?" I ask him. "You make me sound so desperate!"

"I'm sorry! I just had to make it obvious that you're interested. You do a horrible job of showing it in person," Diego retorts. I sigh as I continue reading. The messages that follow are basically just J.D. telling me about himself. As much as I hate to say it, I have a lot in common with him. I won't go as far as to say that he's a male version of me but then again, what do I know?

"And you do that by making me seem like a super flirt?" I hiss as I type out a calm, collected, non-flirtatious response.

"At least he was reciprocating it!" Diego notes, earning an eye-roll from me.

"I'm not even interested in him in a romantic way," I sigh. "Now he's going to think I like him!"

"I don't know why you're complaining so much. You said it yourself; you're looking for romance. Why not J.D? I know you think he's cute. You guys have stuff in common. Yeah, he's a little older but he doesn't seem wild and crazy. What's stopping you?"

I shrug as I look at my binder. "I'm just not interested in him specifically..." I mumble.

"Why not?" Diego asks. Sensing my discomfort, he lets out an airy chuckle. "I see...you're still not over Webster."

"Go away," I whine and he slowly gets up. I want to tell him to sit down but decide not to.

"You've barely been talking to this boy for an hour and you're already abandoning your friends," he sighs jokingly.

"Friends?" I ask him and he looks at me and slowly nods.

"Yeah...friends," he responds. "What? You don't think so?"

"No...it's just...I don't know," I shrug.

"It's just what?" Diego asks as he stands in my doorway.

"I just didn't think I was the type of friend you'd keep," I tell him and he laughs.

"I don't seem to be the type of friend you'd keep, either," he replies.

"I guess..." I mumble.

"So, friends?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, friends," I reply and he grins at me. I give him a forced smile back

"Look at that. You've just made yourself a second friend," he notes. I roll my eyes at him and try to be a bit happier.

"Keep it up and I'll be back down to one," I retort.

Smirking at me, he closes the door and disappears behind it. I continue to stare, shaking my head. I've known this stupid boy for all of two weeks and he's already making drastic changes to my life. Just great.