GETTING OVER YOU

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lillian shut her eyes as she spoke. She opened it slowly and saw Nathan's confused face. "W-wait, you spoke too fast, I didn't catch that. Can I what?," he said scratching the back of his head. "I said, can you pretend to be my boyfriend?...even for a while?," Lillian almost whispered her last sentence. "What is this? One of your pranks?" Nathan said his arms rose in disbelief. Lillian stood up and went in front of him. "Look, Nathan, I'm fully aware were not kids anymore, but please. I really need your help with this," Lillian pleaded.

"Sorry, I'm not doing this," Nathan said with finality. He stood up and started for the door. Lillian needed to seal the deal before it's too late. She sauntered to  block the door, "Won’t you listen first? You’re the only one whom I can trust," she said not losing hope. It has been days since they last talked. Nathan observed the pleading look in Lillian's eyes. Yes, they were friends, and he used to follow all Lillian's plans when they were young during play time.  Lillian held her breath, willing him to give in. "Fine, talk," Nathan said looking defeated returning to his seat. Lillian sighed silently, thankful for the moment.

Lillian explained Nathan's role in her scheme. He is to pretend to be her boyfriend to make Conrad die of jealousy. She knew Conrad to be a little possessive with his past relationships a few weeks during the break-up period which made her still belong in his radar.

"How do you plan on starting this?" Nathan said testily. "Good question," Lillian replied pulling her drawer to pick a folder and passed it to him. She clasped her hand together, her eyes glowing with delight. "Hugo Schmidt?" Nathan asked. "Yup, that's going to be your stage name," Lillian said. "So…what do you think?" Nathan stared at her and touched his eyeglasses as if it'll give him a verdict. "What's in it for me if I ever do this?" Lillian smiled as she knew how to counter this. "Do you remember how dad said he wanted you to be in the same school as me? Well, that's one reason. I promise you'll enjoy studying there. I know you're an aspiring theater actor and joined Theater Club in your school, so why don't you grasp this opportunity of becoming one?" She smiled triumphantly, hoping this will finally seal the deal.

"You mean to make me a con artist?" Nathan said sarcastically. Lillian let out sigh, her shoulders began to slouch. "I'm concerned," Nathan said quietly as he leaned forward, both palms on the table for emphasis. "If we get caught, I don't know what my parents will do. More than that, Mr. & Mrs. Carter.." It was Lillian's turn to look at him in the eye. "Two things. One, you'll have your reward once it's done, so name it. Two, I'm to blame when everything else falls." Nathan's blue eyes widened a bit then sensed she's putting her life on the line. The reward part was very inviting and he's going to call the shots for it. "Count me in," Nathan simply said. Lillian kept her face neutral, scared to blow everything with an evil laugh in obtaining success. What made him agree in her insane notion. "But make sure we're not getting caught," he went on firmly. He offered his hand to Lillian. She took it, a warm smile finally forming on her face," Thank you, Nathan really. This means so much to me."

As the following days passed, Lillian was back to her radiant self. It was that gleeful moment when electricity returns from an outage for weeks. The mansion let out a breath of relief as things finally went to normal. Inches from Lillian's room, music was heard as she liked to play loud music. She's been dancing full energy to Icona Pop all morning. At last she settled herself on the bed, her legs raised and swayed following the tune. Then she lay like a star flat on her bed, breathless. Her phone rang suddenly - her friend Veronica called in. "Hey!" Lillian greeted. "You free later tonight at Laura's?" Veronica asked. "Um, nope. Gotta work from mom," Lillian lied automatically. "Oh..Ok," was all her friend's reply. "Well then I'll tell her that. See you at school then."