On Monday, we didn't mention it. His parents saw me out and that just pressured Lance into kissing my cheek. I was lucky I didn't pass out right there and then. When I met up with Lance at school, we greeted each other with a high-five and a couple of broad smiles. Nothing felt different. "I need help with the maths homework..." was one of the first things he said. I had already done the homework so I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and was happy to help.

"Of course!" We headed into the library together which was empty so early on a Monday morning. The librarian was sat at her desk, as usual, reading a book to pass the time. Didn't she ever get sick of books? She was practically surrounded by them 24/7. I sent her a small smile as I passed and sat down on the table. Lance pulled out his maths book and dropped it onto the table before pulling out the worksheet.

He had written his name. That was always a good start. Of course he had doodled on the sheet too, something he always did when his mind drifted as he was trying to work. This time it was a robot and another lion. Next to it, he had written the word 'Blue'. "What's this?" I questioned out of curiosity. Lance blushed slightly and looked down at his lap.

"I named the lion Blue. I thought it was suiting since I drew her in blue pen." I nodded. That was the cutest thing ever. I already knew Lance's favourite animal was a lion but him doodling one out and then naming it was just precious.

"Okay, so the first question..." I leaned forward as my eyes scanned the text. "This is actually pretty easy. I'll explain it in steps, alright?"

"Make it as basic as you can."

"Will do." Considering he had aced maths at GCSE, he should also have been smashing it at A-Level. Sadly, something went wrong somewhere in between and now he was failing. Badly. I then started to explain the question in the simplest way possible, making sure he nodded after each step so I knew to continue. It only took us half an hour but we managed to get through it. In all honesty, I had pretty much done every question for him but I didn't mind.

"We have maths first, yeah?" He asked, just after shoving his book back into his bag. When I nodded, he groaned and rolled his eyes in a way that was so exaggerated it made me chuckle.

-

"Lance," Somebody said, dramatically hitting the table as they sat down. It was a girl I recognised from my maths and chemistry. I think her name was Allura or something but I had never talked to her before. She leaned forward and balanced her head on her hands, her long, silver hair hanging down in front of her. "Is it true that you're gay?" Lance sunk down in his chair but I just sat up.

"Is that some stupid rumour going around?" I responded for Lance. If he wasn't going to defend himself, I sure was. He was my best friend and fake boyfriend so it was my duty to protect him from all evil, including students spreading rumours.

"Apparently Ashley overheard you two talking about Lance being gay."

"And you believe rumours? Rumours tear people down. They're just shit people make up to hurt others. So what if someone's gay? It doesn't hurt you at all and they'll come out when they want to come out; not when you decide they should. Do you remember when Ashley spread that rumour about Katie and Lotor? She lied and almost fucked up your relationship. You still trust her after that?" Long story short, Allura was dating Lotor. Ashley said she saw Katie and Lotor making out behind the school which was a complete lie. Ashley was just jealous of them so she made shit up to tear them down. Allura found out Ashley had lied and hated her for a grand total of four days before making up with her. Why Allura still trusted Ashley, no one knew.

Allura huffed. "Take a chill pill, gosh. I was just wondering. No one really cares if Lance's gay or not. I was just wondering." Then she stood up and walked away.

"Thanks..." Lance murmured, standing up and throwing his half-eaten sandwich in the bin. I frowned as I watched.

-

"Are you okay?" I questioned in a hushed tone because Lance was acting extremely off. I knew my best friend and so I knew when something was bothering him. He was extra fidgety and kept daydreaming as if he was in another world mentally. We were in maths so some fidgeting and daydreaming were to be expected but this was an excessive amount.

His worksheet didn't even have his name written at the top. I had been watching him (in the least creepy way possible) for the past ten minutes and he hadn't even made the effort to grab his pen, his fingers instead constantly drumming against the table. The student in front of him had turned around and told him to stop. Lance had apologised but, a couple of minutes later, he started to do it again without even realising. He was also constantly shifting in his seat and was unable to settle his gaze on anything for more than a minute.

"Yes." He muttered and, for a few moments, I believed him because he stayed still. Then he went back to the fidgeting. Tap. Tap. Shift in seat. Glance. Tap. Tap. Shift in seat. Glance.

"Something's bothering you. You're fidgeting so much."

"I have ADHD, Keith." Lance responded as if it was an excuse. Usually, it would have been but today it was much worse than usual... unless he forgot to take his medication.

"Did you take your medication?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Go back to your work." I sent him a worried glance but did, eventually, go back to my work.

He continued to move around much more than necessary but I stopped saying anything.

-

"Hey Sarah," I said with my usual charming smile. I have been told by Louise countless times that my smile was extremely charming and could leave a positive impact on almost anybody. I thought that was kind of ironic, considering I rarely smiled and usually just wore the same neutral expression, regardless of my mood. Since I realised my feelings for Lance, I had started to smile a bit more; especially around the boy himself. I guess Lance just brought out the best in me. I suppose my smile was actually one of my favourite things about myself (along with my eyes: they were cool). Lance's mum waved, holding out a plate of fresh cookies. Lance's little sister was standing behind her, begging me to try the baked good. I didn't need her to beg because I really wanted a cookie anyway. They looked amazing and I almost started to drool just looking at them.

Veronica (that was his little sister's name) was literally the polar opposite of Lance. She had long, brown hair that cascaded past her shoulders and matched her dark skin perfectly and was a genius when it came to maths. She was eleven-years-old and much more popular than me and Lance too. Whilst Lance and I were the definition of 'uncool' (not that that's a word), she was the definition of 'cool'. "Thank you." I mumbled as I took one that was shaped like a Pikachu something.

"It's a penguin! Can you see it?" She questioned. I turned the 'penguin' around and could just about make out a beak. Originally I had thought it was Pikachu's ear. If you squinted, it did look like penguin a little bit... you just needed a good imagination.

"Oh, yeah! It's really cute."

"Hey, Keith!" I looked up as Lance walked into the hallway and nicked a cookie. He paid no attention to its shape, just shoving the entire thing into his large mouth. I took a smaller bite to be polite in front of a family that wasn't my own.

"Lance! Don't you have something to ask Keith?" Veronica randomly exclaimed, a smirk on her face. Lance sent her the harshest glare imaginable. If looks could kill...

"I do but not in front of you two. Get out: this is a private moment," He shooed them all away whilst I just watched in utter confusion. Lance looked quite nervous and that was making me nervous too. I pondered what he could possibly be wanting to ask but I drew a blank. "I need you to come to prom with me."

"Oh," My mouth dropped open slightly. The question explained Lance's excessive fidgeting all day. Technically it wasn't a prom. Our school just held a mini disco type thing at the end of the year. The students ran it and it usually sucked, to be completely blunt. They raised money for it with bake sales and that meant there was never much of a budget. The lights were always temperamental and the DJ non-existent. It was usually just a cheap speaker, blaring shitty rap music. I had only been to one in Year 10. It was a mistake and I only really went to see what they were like. I ended up leaving and going to bed early. "Why?"

"Mum wants me to take you. She suggested it and I tried to tell her I didn't want to go. She wouldn't listen to me and then dad and Veronica got involved. I couldn't say no."

"Well... yeah. I guess." I'm not going to lie, that was not how I imagined him asking me to prom in my fantasies. If things went the way I really wanted, he'd take me out for dinner and ask me all romantically with flowers, chocolate and lots of kisses. I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I really wanted to go to the prom with Lance for real but I knew that wasn't possible; even in an alternate universe. There weren't any realities in which Lance liked me back because I was nothing whilst Lance was absolutely everything.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. I melted into his arms and never wanted to let go. I closed my eyes and, for a moment, I could imagine that this was real. We pulled apart much too soon for my liking.

"Did he say yes?" Veronica questioned in a very loud voice, her head poking out into the hallway. Lance nodded with a wide grin on his face and it looked fairly genuine. I think I was smiling wider because my cheeks were beginning to hurt. "You guys should totally kiss!"

"Hell no," At least Lance was the one to say no because I didn't think I could handle a kiss. If he had actually kissed me, I probably would have died on the spot. His kiss would be the equivalent of a gun being held against my head. "You need to mind your own business, V."

"It is so my business! You're my big bro!"

"It's my love life, not yours."

Veronica glanced down at her pink socks, a pout on her face. "...Just one kiss? Then I'll leave you alone."

"You're so creepy. Go away before I shove you out of here."

"Mum!" Veronica screamed, running back into the living room. Lance and I just laughed which just made my head spin in a way that made me feel nauseated and dizzy. I really wanted to kiss him. For real. And I couldn't get the image of us kissing out of my head.