Chapter 4

"Ethan Miller! What do you think you' re doing?!"

Olivia' s voice was sharp, furious.

Maya rushed to Liam' s side, her face a mask of concern. "Liam, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

They didn' t even look at me. Their immediate assumption was that I was the aggressor.

Liam, master manipulator that he was, seized the moment.

He looked up, tears streaming down his face. "I... I don' t know what happened. He just... attacked me. I only wanted to admire the flower. It was so beautiful."

He sniffled, a picture of wronged innocence.

"I can' t believe you, Ethan," Maya said, her voice dripping with disgust. "He' s been through so much, and you treat him like this?"

"He' s lying," I said, my voice hoarse. "That was my boutonniere. You gave it to him."

I felt like I was in some surreal play. The absurdity of it was overwhelming.

How could they not see through him?

"Apologize to Liam, Ethan," Olivia commanded, her arms crossed, her eyes cold as ice. "Right now."

Apologize? To him?

"You want me to apologize?" I asked, incredulous. "Look at the flower! It' s ruined! That was supposed to be for our graduation!"

I pointed to the scattered blue petals on the floor.

Liam let out a choked sob. "Oh, the beautiful flower... I' m so sorry. It' s all my fault. I shouldn' t have accepted it. I just... I don' t want to cause any trouble between you all."

He looked from Olivia to Maya, his eyes pleading. "Maybe I should just go. I don' t want to ruin your special day."

Olivia immediately softened. "No, Liam, don' t be silly. You' re not ruining anything."

Maya glared at me. "Ethan is. He' s always so dramatic."

She turned back to Liam, her voice gentle. "Don' t listen to him, Liam. You' re a much better friend than he' ll ever be."

A much better friend.

The words echoed in my head.

I felt a profound weariness settle over me.

It was over. Whatever bond we' d had, it was well and truly severed.

There was nothing left to fight for.

Graduation day. The day I was supposed to make my "choice."

Well, I' d made it. And it wasn' t either of them.

The graduation ceremony itself was a blur.

I sat through the speeches, the awards, the endless parade of names.

I didn' t look at Olivia or Maya. I didn' t need to. I knew they' d be flanking Liam, fussing over him.

Afterward, at the reception in the school gym, the air was thick with congratulations and forced smiles.

Classmates I barely knew came up to me.

"Hey, Ethan! Where are Olivia and Maya? Aren' t you guys, like, a package deal?"

"Heard you three are all off to UCLA. Party central, man!"

Then came the whispers, the snickers.

"Look, it' s Ethan. All alone."

"Guess O&M finally upgraded. Spencer' s way hotter."

"Poor Ethan. Ditched on graduation day."

I just smiled, a polite, meaningless smile. Their words bounced off me.

I was already somewhere else, in my mind. New Haven. A fresh start.

Then, they made their entrance.

Olivia, Maya, and Liam. Arms linked. Beaming.

Liam was wearing a new boutonniere – a perfect white rose, identical to Olivia' s and Maya' s.

They' d replaced the "flawed" iris. Replaced me.

The taunts around me intensified.

"Aw, look, they got matching flowers. Ethan must feel like a third wheel."

"More like a flat tire," someone snorted.

I ignored them.

The class monitor, a perpetually stressed girl named Chloe, clapped her hands for attention.

"Okay, everyone! Time for the 'senior prophecies' slideshow! And then, the 'truth or dare' confessions!"

A groan went through the crowd, mixed with excited murmurs.

Olivia and Maya were now fussing over Liam' s cap, adjusting his tassel, laughing at something he said.

They didn' t even glance in my direction. It was as if I didn' t exist.

I watched them, a strange sense of calm washing over me.

This was it. The final act of their betrayal. And my liberation.

The "truth or dare" game started.

Someone dared a jock to confess his crush on a teacher.

Someone else had to reveal their most embarrassing moment.

Then, it was my turn.

Chloe spun the bottle. It landed on me.

"Ethan! Truth or dare?"

"Truth," I said, my voice clear.

A hush fell over the group. Olivia and Maya finally looked at me, a flicker of apprehension in their eyes.

"Okay, Ethan," Chloe said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "The rumor mill has been buzzing. On May 31st, Decision Day, did you or did you not change your top college choice at the last minute?"

May 31st. That was tomorrow. My official "choice" day for them.

I smiled. "On May 31st," I said, my voice ringing out in the sudden silence, "I will be discarding two very significant things from my life."

I looked directly at Olivia, then at Maya.

Their smiles froze.