One Lie at a Time

FIRST IMPRESSIONS (BoNuS cHaPtEr!!)

Three Years Ago

Tyler's POV:

My locker slammed shut and I bounced away just before it hit me in the face. Cody stood in front of me with a big grin, "Smile, I want to see 'em."

I rolled my eyes and checked to see if anyone was nearby. When the coast was clear, I hesitantly smiled. Cody burst into laughter and punched me playfully in the chest, "BRACE FACE, BRACE FACE!!" I shoved him away and hissed, "Shut up, bro!"

He smirked and leaned up against the lockers, "But, seriously, does it hurt..?"

I groaned miserably, "Man, it hurts to eat. I wanted to eat a nice burger from In-N-Out and when I took a bite...my face felt like it was on fire." I looked up at the ceiling, my mouth watering at the thought of a burger. Cody chuckled and said, "It's all good, after a couple weeks, you'll get used to it and then you can eat all the burgers you want."

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against the lockers, "If you say so, but I need it to hurry up, 'cause I'm craving that burger."

Cody laughed and tousled my hair, "Can't imagine getting braces the day before school starts for the year. Yikes." I pushed him away and started walking to class, running my fingers through my hair, "Shut up."

Cody caught up to me, saying 'sup to one of his friends as he passed. "Are you excited for tryouts, man?" I nodded and he went on, "We're gonna knock the socks off of the rest of the team! We scored most of the points last year, we sure as hell can do it this year, too! I wouldn't be surprised if Coach made me quarterback." I gave him a hard punch to the arm and said, "You've got competition for that, Cody."

He laughed and shoved me so hard I fell into the lockers next to us. I ran at him, catching him in a headlock. Cody was like a brother from another mother. We've been inseparable since we were kids and we certainly do fight like brothers.

"Boys, stop that!" My English teacher, Ms. Turner snapped. I shoved Cody away lightly and let out a tiny laugh, "Sorry, Mrs. Turner. Cody attacked me first, honest!" She rolled her eyes and said, "What a shame I have to have both of you hooligans in my first period class. Get inside, now."

We shuffled into her classroom, snickering. We sat at the very back of the classroom, next to these two girls who were leaning into the aisle and chattering on about whoever the heck "Why Don't We" is.

I leaned back in my seat and yawned, "I need tryouts to start already, I've been training all summer for this season." Cody scoffed, "Oh, please. I bet I've trained harder than you."

I narrowed my eyes at him and before I could say something snarky, Mrs. Turner walked into the classroom, clasping her hands together, "Alright, class, to your utter joy, we will be doing lots of group work this year, so we're going to be getting the partnering up thing out of the way today, and that person will be your partner for the rest of the year."

There were excited murmurs that started throughout the classroom. Cody and I looked at each other with a knowing grin, the one you give your best friend when the teacher says 'pick a partner.'

"Sorry to get your hopes up, class, but I never said you get to pick your partners."

Everything erupted into chaos as kids protested and whined, chattering with their friends about how "unfair" it was. I have to admit, I was also pretty bummed out.

"Since there are eight seats in every row, you will be partnered with the person behind you or in front of you. So the first two seats are partners, the next two, until you reach the back seats, do you understand?"

Everyone mumbled miserably and Mrs. Turner continued on cheerfully, "Now, I suggest you use this time to get to know your partners because you will be spending a lot of time with them this year, isn't that wonderful?"

I looked at the girl in front of me. She hadn't turned around yet because she was too busy watching a butterfly dart around outside the window. When she came back to reality, she shook her head and turned around in her seat to look at me.

I was hit by this huge wave of butterflies. She had medium length brown hair that was pulled into two loose braids, her eyes were a pretty color of blue, not too bright and not too deep, and there was this dark blue rim around them that just made them...pop even more. She had the cutest freckles and her smile just made time stop. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment, but she didn't seem to notice.

She stuck her hand out and said cheerfully, "Hi, my name is Lily!"

I desperately searched for words as I shook her hand and all I came up with was, "T-Tyler."

She giggled and my cheeks grew hotter, "Tyler...that's a cool name! So I guess this means we're partners, eh?" I nodded and said, "Mhm."

She spent the rest of class talking to me, asking me questions about what I like, my family, everything. No one ever wanted to know this much about me. Ever. Cody didn't, but that was because he knew everything from the get-go. We've been best friends since like- ever, he just kind of...knows that kind of stuff.

When the bell rang, Lily stood up and waved vigorously, "I'll see you tomorrow, Tyler!"

She looped her arm through her friend's and skipped out of the class, laughing and going on about "Why Don't We" again. Like...what was a Why Don't We?

Her laugh was so contagious. And bubbly. She just seemed so...happy.

Cody pulled me up by the collar and said, "Dude, we need to be partners. That girl- what'd she say her name was? Lily? Well, she and my partner, Zoe, seem to be like- two peas in a pod, so it won't be hard for us to switch, right? I'm sure that'll work perfe-"

"No!" I blurted out, wincing as I waited for his reaction.

"What the hell do you mean, no? Do you not wanna be my partner for the rest of the year?"

I hesitated before saying, "I- I kinda like Lily! She's fun and nice and super absent-minded. It's kinda cute, she was looking at this butterfly and-"

"NOOOO!!" Cody wailed, smacking me, "WE AGREED NO CRUSHES!! NO DATING!! Girls are the worst!!"

"That's ridiculous. Girls aren't that bad. And besides, Lily is nice! She-"

"NOOOO!!!"

"Dude, stop you're causing a scene-"

"You've been corrupted. This Lily girl has fried your brain! You're not thinking rationally! You- you- NOOOO!!!" He wailed against, fleeing the room with his arms wailing.

I stood there, completely dumbfounded. What a moron. And besides, he wasn't right. Lily wasn't corrupting my brain. She was just...well-

I didn't care what Cody said about her. I wasn't just going to ditch her for another partner. She was too...there's not even a word for how amazingly awesome she is.

I would never ditch her.