Chapter 3

The next few weeks passed in a blur of graduation rehearsals and end-of-year parties.

I packed my bags, not for UCLA, but for New Haven.

Winter clothes for the East Coast. Textbooks for courses Olivia and Maya wouldn' t even know I was taking.

It felt good, this secret preparation.

One afternoon, Maya found me sorting through a box of old hoodies.

"Getting rid of more stuff, E?" she asked, eyeing a faded blue Yale hoodie I' d bought on a family trip years ago. "You should donate that. You won' t need it at UCLA. Too hot."

She assumed, like always.

I just smiled. "Maybe. Just making sure I have what I need."

"Good," she said, satisfied. "You need to focus on the important stuff. Like our dorm room assignments. Olivia and I are trying to get us all on the same floor."

I didn't tell her I hadn't even looked at the UCLA housing forms.

Liam, meanwhile, was playing the sympathy card harder than ever.

A few days before graduation, he showed up at Olivia' s house, looking pale and distressed.

"My landlord... he' s kicking me out," he announced, his voice trembling. "Something about needing the apartment for his nephew. I have nowhere to go."

He looked so vulnerable, so lost.

Olivia and Maya immediately sprang into action.

"Oh, Liam, you poor thing!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Don' t worry," Maya said, her arm around his shoulder. "You can stay with one of us. My parents have that guest suite over the garage, you' d have total privacy."

"Or my place," Olivia offered. "We have plenty of room."

Liam looked at them, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "You guys are... you' re too good to me."

He glanced at me, a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips before it vanished.

I saw it.

He knew I saw it.

I just leaned against the doorframe, watching the drama unfold.

My indifference seemed to fuel their protective instincts towards him.

I didn't care anymore.

Let them have their project.

Their charity case.

Their pet.

My parents, however, were starting to notice the shift in my friendships.

"Ethan, honey," my mom said one evening, "are you sure about UCLA? You seem... distant from Olivia and Maya lately."

My dad nodded. "They' ve been your best friends for so long. It' s a big change, going to college. You' ll need your support system."

They were worried. I could see it in their eyes.

They didn' t know the half of it.

"I' m sure, Mom," I said. "UCLA is a great school." I wasn' t lying about that.

"But what about Olivia and Maya?" Dad pressed. "That pact you kids made... I know it was a long time ago, but..."

"Things change, Dad," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "People change."

I then explained everything. The constant slights, the prom disaster, Liam' s manipulations, their blindness. I told them about the sweatshirt, the laptop, the way they made me feel like an outsider.

They listened, their expressions growing serious.

When I finished, my mom reached out and took my hand. "Oh, Ethan. I had no idea it was that bad."

"If Yale is what you want, son," my dad said, his voice firm, "then Yale is what you' ll do. We support you."

The next day, my dad handed me a small, beautifully wrapped gift.

"A little something for your new adventure," he said, smiling.

Inside was a brand-new, top-of-the-line camera.

"For your photography," Mom said. "Yale has a great arts program too, you know."

I felt a warmth spread through my chest. Real support. Unconditional.

Graduation day.

I was supposed to wear the custom boutonniere Olivia and Maya had ordered for the three of us – a tradition.

White roses for them, a blue iris for me.

I went to pick it up from Olivia' s house, as planned.

Mrs. Hayes let me in, looking flustered. "Ethan, dear, Olivia and Maya are in a bit of a tizzy. Liam' s here."

I found them in the living room, fussing over Liam.

He was sitting on the sofa, holding a damp cloth to his forehead, looking pale.

My boutonniere was nowhere in sight.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Liam... he fainted," Olivia said, her voice tight with concern. "He said he hasn' t been eating properly, stressed about everything."

"The heat in his rented room is unbearable, and he didn' t want to impose," Maya added, glaring at me as if it were somehow my fault.

I looked around. "Where' s my boutonniere?"

Olivia waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, that. Liam needed something to cheer him up. He loved the blue iris, said it reminded him of his mother' s favorite flower. So I gave it to him. It looks much better on his suit anyway."

Liam was now wearing my boutonniere. Pinned to the lapel of his expensive, designer suit.

He gave me a weak, apologetic smile. "Hope you don' t mind, Ethan. It really did lift my spirits."

I stared at him. At them.

The audacity.

"You gave him my boutonniere?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.

"Ethan, don' t make a scene," Olivia hissed. "It' s just a flower. Liam needed it more."

"Needed it?" I repeated.

Liam started to sniffle. "I... I just thought... it was such a kind gesture from Olivia..."

Tears welled in his eyes.

"Now look what you' ve done, Ethan!" Maya snapped. "You' ve upset him!"

I felt something snap inside me.

I lunged for Liam, for the flower. "Give it back."

"Ethan!" Olivia shrieked.

Liam cowered, holding up his hands. "Don't hurt me!"

I grabbed for the boutonniere. He twisted away.

There was a ripping sound.

The iris, my iris, was torn, its petals scattering on the plush carpet.

Liam gasped, clutching his lapel. "My suit! You ripped my suit!"

It was a tiny, almost invisible snag. But he acted like I' d stabbed him.