:Believe Me, I'm Lying: 23

“Is this the place?” Will asked, pulling his car into the parking lot of a small business complex.

I frowned looking at the signs hanging from each door on the building. The sign on the far left of the building read Side Street Café. “This is the place,” I told Will, reaching over to unbuckle my seat belt.

“Is your date here?”

“Will, why do you think every time I go somewhere with a guy that it’s a date?” I inquired, rolling my eyes at him.

He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “In case one of these times you reply with a affirmative answer.”

“Well it’s a negative.”

Will grinned. “Get out.”

“On it,” I replied, pushing the car door open. A frigid blast of air met my face and I was tempted to slam the door shut again. Resisting the urge, I hopped out of my car, my feet sinking in the two inches of fresh snow on the ground.

“Be safe!” Will called right before I shut the door.

It was a horrible, freezing thirty-second period in the snow before I burst through the café’s door, already shivering. A few people sitting closest to the door gave me strange looks as I brushed snow off of my coat. Suddenly I felt a hand ruffling the hair on my head. I glanced up to see Arden grinning down at me.

“Hey,” he greeted, retracting his hand. “You had some snow…” He gestured to the top of his head.

I quickly ran my hand over the top of my head, feeling wetness. “Um, thanks.”

Arden dropped his grin. “Follow me,” he ordered, gesturing with his hand towards the back of the café. “I got us a table near the back.”

We maneuvered our way through the crowded room to the far back corner. Arden pulled out a chair for me at a small, two-person table. I couldn’t help by smile at his chivalry. He grinned back, taking a seat across from me.

“So, this place has amazing smoothies,” Arden told me, looking excited. “They have this 911 smoothie that has watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and a bunch of other things. It’s good.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it too cold for smoothies?”

“It’s warm in here,” he counted with a shrug. “But you can order a hot cocoa if you want… wussy.”

I stared at him in disbelief. He was going to sit there and tease me? “I’ll have a smoothie,” I snapped, determined not to give Arden any satisfaction.

He smiled broadly, pushing himself away from the table. “I’ll go order. It’s on me.”

Five minutes later he returned with two tall glasses filled with a pink slush, as well as two plates with what looked like chocolate cake. He placed a smoothie and a piece of cake in front of me before sitting back down.

“Are you sucking up?”

Arden’s expression immediately dropped. He ducked his head. “No.”

“Uh-huh,” I responded, pulling my smoothie closer to me. I took a sip cautiously, trying to determine whether or not I was going to like it or not. To my surprise, it was surprisingly sweet— and delicious. “This is really good!”

Arden looked back up, excited again? “Isn’t it?”

Boy was he resilient. Like a puppy… I shook my head. Arden was not a puppy. “So, how has your weekend been?” I inquired, picking a chocolate curl off my cake and eating it.

Arden shrugged. “Okay. Yours?”

“Interesting,” I responded, seeing this conversation going nowhere. I hesitated a moment before speaking again. “About Friday—”

“I really wasn’t lying,” Arden interjected, giving me a serious. “If there’s one thing I don’t do, it’s lie.”

I blinked at his forwardness. “Uh…”

“I don’t know what Zak or Oliver told you, but don’t listen to them,” he continued, making an annoyed face. “Especially Oliver.”

“Oliver wouldn’t lie,” I protested.

Arden gave me a hard look. “You sure about that?”

“I’m positive.”

“Well, I’m not going to try to change your belief in him,” he told me with another shrug. “However, I do want you to reconsider your belief in me.”

I chewed on my lip, cupping my hands around my smoothie glass. “I do believe you.”

“You do?” He sounded surprised.

I nodded. “You haven’t given me a reason not to believe you.”

Arden ran a hand through his hair, looking relieved. “Good. I’m glad. You’d have to be a real as—”

“Jerk,” I interjected quickly.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Okay… You’d have to be a real jerk to lie about your grandma dying. And while I can be a jerk, I’d like to think I’m not that bad.”

I ducked my head, blushing in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Arden. I shouldn’t have said that.”

He snorted. “Especially after you dropped the my-parents-are-dead bomb. I felt like the biggest cad in the world.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized again, frowning at him. “It’s just what Joel said threw me off.”

Arden took a sip of his smoothie, staring at the table for a moment. “Well, that’s partially my fault. I did tell him I was skipping first period for a reason other than my grandma’s funeral.”

“Playing with girls?”

Arden suddenly started choking on his smoothie. He coughed for a few moments, turning his back to me.

“Are you… okay?” I asked hesitantly.

He held up his hand. “I’m fine,” he responded in a hoarse voice, turning back to me. He quickly rubbed his eyes, cleaning his throat. “What did Joel tell you I was doing?”

“He told me you were skipping to hang out with your girlfriends.”

Arden scowled. “Did he now?”

“Is that not what you told him?” I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows.

“I told him I had to go into work,” Arden explained, looking displeased. “The place where I work has a lot of girl customers, so Joel is always joking around saying they’re my girlfriends because I like older women. However, I don’t like them that old.” He made a face. “Higher than twenty-five is off limits.”

“So Joel was joking,” I repeated to myself, feeling like a complete idiot. After the story they told me, I should have known.

Arden must have taken my words as sarcastic because he sighed, giving me an exasperated look. “Harley, what do I have to do to get you to believe me?”

“I do—”

“Have I ever told you why I have to go to this school?”

I cocked my head to the side, dropping my protest. “No, why?”

“I beat up my dad,” Arden admitted, adverting his gaze. “Long story short, he was cheating on my mom with a girl almost half his age, and lying about it. All his trips to the grocery store, or the pharmacy, even the doctors— they were all to visit this twenty-seven year old girl who worked at the hair salon. He even told my mom he was working late to get a bonus because we were having a tough time with money.” Arden paused for a moment. “Well, my mom and I still are having a tough time, but my that’s why I have my job. It helps.”

I stayed silent, absorbing this new information. Arden had beat up his dad? His own father? But after what his father did, could I blame him? My brain was thrust in turmoil. My parents had never been around to cheat on each other. I didn’t know what it was like. “I don’t know what to say,” I finally admitted quietly, dragging my smoothie closer again. “I’m sorry.”

Arden laughed. “Don’t apologize. It isn’t your fault my father is lying scum. But do you believe me now? I would never lie. I hate liars.”

The steely edge to his voice made me flinch. Guilt rose in me and I tried to shove it away, but I couldn’t. If Arden hated liars, would that mean he hated me?

“I also don’t like girls younger than me,” he added as an after thought. “I really don’t want to be like my dad.”

I winced. Double whammy. I nervously took a sip of my smoothie, not even tasting it anymore. The cold liquid slid down my throat, making my back hurt from the chill. I was an awful person.

“Are you going to say something?” Arden glanced at me looking anxious. “Do you still think I’m lying?”

I shook my head vehemently. “No! No, Arden, I believe you. I definitely believe you,” I assured him, clenching my fists so hard I could feel my fingernails digging into them. “I’m sorry, too. I never should have doubted you.”

Arden gave me a hearty grin. “Don’t worry about that. As long as you believe me now.”

I returned his smile with a forced one. “Yeah.”

He held out his hand. I stared at it curiously and looked back up at Arden.

“Let’s make a promise,” he started, sticking his hand closer to me. “To not lie to each other.”

My heart dropped into my gut. “Um…”

Arden’s face dropped. “Er… You don’t have to.”

“No, it’s not…” I quickly put my hand in Arden’s, grasping it tightly. I was definitely going to regret this later. “No lies.”

“No lies,” he agreed, squeezing my hand. “And um, don’t tell Oliver about, you know. My parents.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Why?”

“No reason. Just promise.”

“I promise,” I vowed.

Arden nodded, dropping my hand. “Thank you.”

I smiled at him. “No problem.”

“You know, if you weren’t my teacher, I wouldn’t have a problem dating you,” Arden told me, a smirk appearing on his face.

Immediately my face flushed. Arden would want to date me? Did that mean he liked me? I quickly berated myself. I could not have those thoughts. “Um, Arden… Don’t say that.”

Arden laughed at my expression. “Calm down. I said if. It’s just… I haven’t met anyone as honest as you in a long time. And hey, I have a thing for elder women.”

“Oh,” I responded, dropping my gaze again, my guilt coming back full force. As honest as me? I fought the urge to snort. I really was an awful person.

“Now,” Arden started, leaning over the table and closer to me. “Try the cake. I’m positive you’ll like it.”

I gave him a curious look. “Who says I don’t like chocolate?”

Arden rolled his eyes. “Come on. Anyone in who paid any attention to you in class would know you love chocolate. Every time we make something with it, you want to taste test it.”

“I do not,” I denied, feeling my face heat up. “I just want to make sure you cook it right. That’s my job.”

“And it’s your job to eat half of my desert too, right?” he teased, picking up my fork and cutting a small piece off. “Come on. If you don’t eat it, I will.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could speak Arden shoved the fork in my mouth. He grinned while I choked in surprise, grabbing the fork away from him. After the shock of nearly being choked, I began to taste the cake. And it was good. Very good. Arden’s grin grew as he surveyed my reaction.

“I knew you’d like it!”

“It’s alright,” I admitted demurely, ducking my head.

“You can have mine if you want!”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Why are you excited?”

Arden shrugged, taking a long drink from his smoothie. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. I smiled at his childish— especially because there were napkins not even a foot away. “I don’t really have any friends that like to go out places,” he told me, tapping his smoothie glass with a finger. “So I don’t really get to come here. It’s not as fun by yourself.”

“I totally know what you mean!”

Arden looked at me, a surprised look crossing his face. “Really?”

“I’m— I mean, I was home-schooled awhile in high school, and all my friends from when I did go to school kind of ditched me because I moved to a different town,” I explained, quickly dropping my gaze. “I haven’t gone out with friends in awhile. It is more fun this way.”

Arden gave me a broad smile. “Really? Then we’ll have to do this more often. I have some other places I want you to try.”

“Yeah!” I responded enthusiastically. “I would definitely be up for that… Oh. But I’m your teacher.” My shoulders sagged. We couldn’t be the friends we would have been if I wasn’t a teacher.

Arden waved his hand. “Who cares? If someone sees us, we tell them we just ran into each other. It won’t be that big of a deal. We can also stay out of public eye if it makes you feel better.”

“That works,” I agreed quickly.

Arden smirked. “Excited?”

“Like your not?” I countered, giving him a teasing look. “Maybe Oliver could come with us one day.”

“Maybe,” Arden responded, shocking me. Then he seemed to realize what he said. He glared at me. “No.”

“Aw, come on Arden. Maybe he wants to be friends again?”

“Well I don’t.”

I pouted. “Why not?”

“Because he’s the one who ditched his friends. Why would I want to be friends with him? So he can do it again?” Arden retorted, clenching his jaw.

“Wait. What exactly happened between you two?”

Arden shrugged, stabbing his own fork into his cake. He took a giant piece and shoved in his mouth, trying to avoid answering me.

“That’s not a Twix bar,” I joked.

Arden cocked his head, not seeming to get it. I sighed. “Never mind. Just tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Arden said simply. “Oliver just suddenly started to all of us— Me, Tucker, and Zak. He cut all ties with no explanation. He moved too. But I moved as well, so I’d be hypocritical if I said that was part of the reason why he’s no longer my friend. It just so happened we all ended up at the same delinquent school, together again.”

“Just not as friends,” I pointed out.

Arden shrugged. “Tucker and I are friends. And you seem to be forcing Tucker and Zak to be friends again too.”

“I’m not forcing them,” I protested. “I just want everyone to get along.”

“Which I do appreciate,” Arden said quickly. “Tucker and Zak used to be as good as friends as Oliver and me. It’s nice to see them getting along again. Tucker has always been a little…. Well, bluntly, rude and spiteful.”

I laughed. “I disagree. Tucker’s sweet once you get to know him.”

“But with the front he puts up, how can anyone get to know him? Not everyone is as pushy as you are.”

“I’m not pushy!”

Arden grinned again. “Okay.”

I scowled at him, turning my attention to my cake. Some of the chocolate curls fell to the plate as I cut off a piece. Arden propped his elbow on the table, putting his hand in his chin, watching me intently. Feeling self-conscious, I lowered my hand.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Arden responded casually. “Just looking.”

“Well stop, I don’t like it when people watch me eat.”

“Okay.” Arden continued to stare at me, still grinning like a maniac. I turned my back to him to eat my cake. “Aww,” he complained.

I shook my head at him. “Creep.”

We spent the rest of the time in the café eating and drinking and talking. More than once I did a spit-take— Arden thought it’d be funny to try and make me laugh every time I took a sip. Which he succeeded in. Eventually the café manager got fed up and we were kicked out.

Arden shivered, wrapping his arms closer around him as we stood outside the café in the snow. “Do you need a ride home?”

I shook my head. “No, Will’s coming to get me after he goes grocery shopping. Oh, speak of the devil,” I added as I watched Will’s car pull into the parking lot. “Perfect timing.”

Arden frowned. “We should have made plans to hang out longer.”

“I agree,” I told him honestly. “But since… What is he doing?” My eyes were stuck on Will, who had gotten out of the car, and was coming towards us with a grin on his face, Elliot in tow.

“Boyfriend?” Arden guessed.

I shook my head quickly. “No.”

Arden’s eyes widened. “Wait. Is he your husband? Is that your son?”

“No, no, no! That’s Will, my neighbor, and Elliot, my brother,” I explained quickly as the said people climbed the steps. “Will, what are you doing?”

“Elliot wanted a pastry,” Will told me. His eyes slide over to Arden. “Hello.”

Arden bowed his head. “Hello, sir.”

Will laughed. “Sir? Call me Will. Are you Harley’s boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“No,” I interjected, shooting a wary look at Arden. “He’s my friend, Arden.”

Will nodded, grinning widely. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, but it’s cold, so if you don’t mind, Elliot and I are just going to scoot by and go inside. You guys can say your goodbyes.”

Arden nodded, moving out of the way. “Go right ahead.”

Will and Elliot disappeared into the shop, leaving Arden and I alone in the flurry again. I pulled my jacket closer around me, clearing my throat. “So, um. See you in study hall?”

Arden moved forwards and pulled me into a bear hug. “Of course.”

I blushed, being nearly suffocated by his chest. After a minute of struggling he let me go and I took a deep breath. “Thanks for almost killing me.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

Arden gave me a smile— a whole hearted one, not one of his silly grins. “I’m lucky to have met a person like you.”

My gut dropped. “Um, yeah.”

“I’ve never met someone I could trust as much as you,” he continued, a small trickle of melted snow sloping down his cheek. “So, um, thanks,” he muttered, dropping his head. “It means a lot.”

I clenched my fists. “No problem. Anytime.”

Arden brought his head back up and grinned. “Alright! I’m going to go now before I get frostbite. I suggest you go inside.”

“I will,” I told him, forcing a smile.

“See ya!”

Arden turned his back to me and began hurrying towards the parking lot. My shoulders sagged and I had the sudden urge to cry. I had to be the worst person on the world. Arden said he trusted me when I had been lying to him all along. I bit my lip hard, clenching my fists. The café door opened and Will and Elliot appeared, both holding a small brown bag. Will’s smile dropped when he saw me.

“Harley, what’s wrong?”

Without saying anything, I flung myself towards him, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as I could.

“What’s wrong?” he repeated, sounding concerned. He used his free hand to rub my back soothingly.

I inhaled, taking in the scent of his clothing mixed with the smell from the café. It was relaxing. But it didn’t make me feel any better.

“I’m a terrible person,” I murmured into his chest. “The worst kind.”

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Aw, Arden ): Gee, I wonder if Harley's going to tell him the truth after that...

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