Fooled

Nine

"You're going to text Jade. She'll probably think it's me, but then out of no where, text, 'it's Liam', or something. After that, she'll be in disbelief, so she'll probably call you through face time. Let it ring for a couple seconds, then answer. When you answer, she'll probably be shocked, so act as serious as you can. If you release a smile, she'll sense something is up. If she asks for me, just look over at me and then say I'm asleep. You'll just talk to her for the rest of the night, alright? I'll still be awake, listening, but she's more interested in you."

We're sitting in the living room alone. There's not a single sound, and we're whispering because of how quiet it is. Both of our parents knocked out the second they slipped in bed, but Luke was still lingering somewhere upstairs. Apparently, Liam was to be sharing the room with him, so that's going to be his excuse to stay up and eavesdrop. Luke still doesn't know about our prank.

"That's thoroughly planned," Liam says in the same volume as my voice. "Why can't I just call her and get it over with? I am tired too, you know."

I groan and toss him my phone. "Just do what I said. Trust me, it'll all go by fast. Jade's a very impatient girl and since she senses things are off, she'll be on the prowl."

"It's almost two in the morning. Why is she still awake?"

"Are you serious? It's a Saturday. What the hell do you do on Saturdays?"

"Sleep?"

I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Just text her."

Some time has passed in silence when Liam finally speaks. "Okay, she asked a question about me and I replied with 'This has been Liam the whole time'. I sent that message like five minutes ago, and she still hasn't responded. I thought you said she was quick with things."

At that exact moment, my phone chimed. "She also knows when she's being talked about." I say.

Liam laughs a bit as he checks the message. My phone is ridiculously small in his big hands. "She says, 'prove it'." Now, he's laughing full on. "It took that long for her to reply two words?"

"She had to get ready," I say. "Call her now."

"I thought you said to wait a few seconds."

"You talking is the correct amount of time of stalling, so call her now."

He looks down at the phone and does the whole sitch where the phone is now ringing. He turns down the volume since I had it fully up. I'm sitting on the love seat adjacent to him, waiting impatiently. There's butterflies in my stomach and my palms are beginning to get sweaty. This is all happening, and there's no turning back now.

The ringing stops and my heart stops in my chest. I'm able to hear the beginning statics showing a face time has started. Liam is looking at the screen with his eyes beaded. It's a great look on him actually. He's not smiling and it's creating a whole different demeanor on him. "Hello?" He asks the screen. What's going on? Can he see her?

"Hey!" It's Jade's voice. She's quite loud for it to be the middle of the night. I'm observing Liam's face as all of this is happening. Finally, his eyes are back to normal and he gives a quick smile, doing as I said. "So, you're Liam."

"So you're Jade." He dishes back.

"But I can be anyone you want," Jade says. I bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud. Liam raises his eyebrows, his mouth agape with incredulity. He glances over at me and begins laughing. I want to yell at him for looking at me, but I don't and it's a good thing I didn't, or I would have blown everything. "Is April there?" Jade asks. "Hey, April!"

"No, no," Liam says in a calmer voice. "She's asleep."

"Oh," Jade says. There's a hint of mischief in her voice. "Well then, Liam, care to tell me a bit about yourself?" 

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"What school do you go to?" Jade's fast with this question.

"Perkley." Liam says.

"Perkley high? As in the one that's ten minutes away from Staten?"

"I guess so."

"Why don't you go to Staten? I mean, April goes to Staten."

Liam glances at me once again. It's only a second, but it felt like an eternity. "I live closer to Perkley."

"Okay," Jade says. "Do you play sports?"

"Yes, soccer."

"Are you in the school's team?"

"No, I play outside of school."

She's thinking of something else to say. She's thinking of things to ask that would get down to how this all started and how we hooked up. "How did you and April meet?"

I hold my breath and I'm able to hear my heartbeat clear in my ears. Liam doesn't glance at me, instead he licks his lips and sits straighter on the couch. "Her mom and my mom are best friends. Sometimes April, her mom and Luke would come over," Bonus points for bringing Luke into this. "And sometimes it would be the other way around."

"Hm, I wonder why she's never mentioned you before. You're cute, I'm sure she would have said something." Liam laughs again, only it didn't sound as real as the first one did. "Maybe she did," Jade says suddenly. "Yeah, I think she did mention you, but she just didn't mention a name."

"She did?" Liam asks. He sounds a bit too interested in the conversation now.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure." That's not true! I didn't even know about Liam until today- well yesterday. I talk about cute guys all the time but there's no way I was talking about Liam. This is taking a different turn. What is she doing? Is she doing this to get a rifle out of me? Is this her way of trying to prove she knows I'm listening and she wants me to say something? "So, what are you?" Jade asks.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you and April? Like are you guys just hooking up or are you in a relationship?" A bazillion thoughts go through my mind once Jade asks this question. If he says we're just hooking up, it would make him feel bad, or that's what I think. I would feel bad. If he says we're in a relationship, things just got complicated. Firstly, he has a girlfriend and I can't also be his girlfriend. Secondly, how in the world are we going to prove we're in a relationship if he goes to a different school? Another thought that courses through is the way he answers. If he hesitates, Jade will know something is up. If he doesn't hesitate, she'll be confused for a second, but then jump right back on track to blowing everything up. Instead of Liam answering, Jade continues and I begin to think if she is really trying to bust me based on what she says, "Because I thought she was playing a prank on us since it's April Fool's, it's a long story, but it turns out she's not because you're real."

I close my eyes and wait for what Liam says. It's all up to him where this goes. I'm sure he was thinking about what to answer as well, but it's him who's choosing the fate. Time feels like it's moving in slow motion and I can't seem to feel my heartbeat or breaths.

"We're dating." says Liam, and I'm not sure if the gasp is from me or Jade.