3.1 | What we Fake

❝I was crazy in love, and love makes you do crazy things.❞

"So, does that mean if I-if I kissed you tonight, you wouldn't feel a thing?"

Emily barely reacted, focused on trimming her nails, but his question jolted her enough that she almost nicked herself. Without looking up, she replied, "No." Then, with a sharp breath and a smile, she met his eyes. "Absolutely not."

~*~

Liam Wyatt never had the life of an ordinary boy. Between his absent parents, a wildly popular twin, and an even more famous best friend, he always felt like the one who had to keep everything in order-even when nothing was. But despite all of that, he loved his life for what it was, imperfections and all.

There was just one thing he wished he could change: the way his heart raced every time he saw Emily, his best friend, look at her girlfriend. He wished, late at night when no one was around to notice, that she would one day look at him that way. But Liam wasn't selfish-her happiness always came first, even if it meant pushing his own feelings aside.

What We Fake explores the tender and raw complexities of unrequited love, self-identity, and the things we hide from the world-and from ourselves. In a world where we think we know ourselves best, sometimes, we're the ones wearing the best disguise.