Lie Again! Chapter 67

Chapter 67. I Know, But (2)

 

The next time Jonathan saw Evan was during seventh-period speech class, when their schedules overlapped.

 

In that short span of time, Evan’s mood seemed to have hit rock bottom. Perhaps he no longer had the energy to manage his expression, as he made no effort to hide just how incredibly foul he felt. 

 

Seeing the guy who was always joking around sitting there with a blank face, keeping his mouth shut throughout the entire debate, made not only the students but even the teacher, Ms. Green, break into a cold sweat.

 

Then, for the opposing view… let’s have Jonathan, who’s sitting next to Evan, speak.

 

Thanks to Ms. Green repeatedly steering the wheel in his direction, Jonathan had to wrack his brain for the entire class, covering even Evan’s share.

 

Uh…… the space development race should be restrained. I mean…… isn’t it a bit much to say there’s absolutely no chance that aliens—who got angry because their homes were tampered with after we recklessly developed space—might invade Earth?

 

His cheekbones were still aching from forcing a smile to gloss over that ridiculous nonsense.

 

Stretching his stiff facial muscles as he opened and closed his mouth, Jonathan watched Evan insert his car key into the ignition and then spoke quietly.

 

“Hey.”

 

“….”

 

“Don’t you need it?”

 

“….”

 

He’d definitely heard him, but instead of an answer, the parking lot echoed with the clack-clack of the key hitting metal as Evan fumbled with the ignition.

 

Whether he was frustrated by the stubborn lock or not, his movements as he turned the key were rough. 

 

“You really don’t need it?”

 

“….”

 

“I’m asking if you really don’t need it.”

 

“…Fuck, what is it!”

 

When Jonathan kept talking despite being ignored, Evan finally exploded, releasing the anger he’d been holding back. The key in his hand clanged as it was flung onto the parking lot floor.

 

“Why are you taking it out on me, man?” 

 

Jonathan shrugged lightly at Evan, who was glaring at him fiercely.

 

After standing there in silence for a while, breathing harshly with one hand pressed to his forehead, Evan picked up the key from the ground and opened the door in one swift motion. A moment later, the car lurched forward with a screech of tires against pavement.

 

“What a goddamn mess. He’s certainly making a scene out of his first love.” 

 

Tsk, tsk. Jonathan clicked his tongue while watching the car disappear into the distance, leaving skid marks behind. Then, suddenly, something from a few days ago flashed through his mind, and his mouth snapped shut. 

 

“Is it really… because of me?”

 

No way. There’s no way things would fall apart over something like that, not when Evan had been so serious about it. Even watching from the sidelines, his feelings had been painfully obvious—there was no way the one receiving that affection wouldn’t know.

 

Unless something else had happened.

 

He shook his head vigorously as if to brush the thought away. But unable to shake the lingering, unpleasant sensation, Jonathan headed toward the basketball court feeling uneasy. 

 

It was when the court was noisy with passing drills that Evan called again.

 

Heavy breathing and the squeak of basketball shoes sliding over the floor filled the court, and above it all, a phone rang long and loud.

 

“Who is it.”

 

The coach’s eyes instantly turned fierce at the booming ringtone. His gaze swept the area to find the culprit and landed on the back of someone scurrying toward the bench. It was Jonathan. 

 

“Sorry! It’s an important family call! If I don’t answer this, my parents might get divorced!”

 

Jonathan beat the coach to the punch, shouting as he snatched up his phone. Of course, it was a lie. The caller on the screen wasn’t his parents but, as expected, Evan Butterfield.

 

“Yo.”

 

-Give it to me.

 

“Give what?”

 

When Evan skipped the greeting and jumped straight to business, Jonathan feigned ignorance. Sweat a little, you bastard. It was a small bit of revenge for the guy taking his anger out on him earlier.

 

Even as he answered curtly, his fingers were already moving to paste an address he’d saved into the message window.

 

-Cameron Johnson’s address. Give it to me.

 

Jonathan’s lips curled into a smirk at the voice speaking through suppressed rage. It was funny how the guy was clearly pissed to high heaven but was forcing himself to hold it in.

 

Is he embarrassed too? Look at him, acting like a prick only to end up doing this anyway.

 

“Your one and only friend already sent it.”

 

Jonathan bragged as he hit send to Evan’s number. Evan needed to properly appreciate just how impressive it was that Jonathan had already tracked down Cameron Johnson’s home address right after lunch.

 

Pleased with his own perceptiveness, Jonathan continued,

 

“I knew you’d—”

 

Click.

 

The call ended before he could finish.

 

Jonathan smiled brightly and gave the middle finger to his phone.

 

“Are your parents okay?”

 

“They’re not getting divorced!”

 

Jonathan answered shamelessly to the coach’s question as he hurriedly tidied up his things.

 

* * *

 

Not long after, a dark green Mustang screeched to a rough stop in front of a house. Almost immediately, an uninvited guest flung open a door barely containing the pounding music inside.

 

“Oh—what? Evan!”

 

“Hey, Ev!”

 

“Evan! When did you get here?”

 

In the noisy atmosphere, people who recognized him reached out one after another.

 

Evan shook off the woman grabbing his arm and pushed deeper into the house. As he plowed through a crowd that seemed to be a collection of every idiot imaginable, sweat began to bead along the back of his neck as he frantically scanned the interior.

 

Speaker vibrations booming as if they’d rupture his eardrums, sticky bodies brushing against him from all sides, hot, stagnant air with no ventilation whatsoever.

 

And the hazy smoke clouding his vision made Evan grind his teeth. The smell rising from every corner and stabbing at his nose was nauseating.

 

What the hell does she think she’s doing here? 

 

Evan stepped forward, shoving aside the shoulder of a swaying man blocking his path. But no matter where he turned his eyes, he couldn’t see the face he was looking for. Anxiety rose up to his throat. 

 

This wasn’t a place for that girl to be. It was too dangerous for someone who’d looked awkward even at school-hosted parties to come to a place like this.

 

What were those idiots doing while she came to a place like this? His anger flared toward the fools who hung around Jin. 

 

What if it’s already too late? Fuck, what if something bad happened while I was hesitating?

 

He should have asked Jonathan sooner instead of being stubborn about his pride. No, he should have gone to Jn the moment he heard the talk in the cafeteria, instead of taking his anger out on those guys. 

 

No. If I hadn’t left Jin’s side in the first place.

 

His heart pounded as if someone were forcefully pumping it. Crude images stabbed at his mind, and with every person blocking his way, he felt himself inch closer to the breaking point.

 

The urge boiled up to drag all these idiotic, slack-jawed faces—high on something—and throw them outside.

 

If Jin so much as cried, if someone made her cry, whoever it was—

 

Muttering that he wouldn’t let it slide, not even knowing who he was addressing, Evan squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again in irritation.

 

His head throbbed as if someone were stomping around inside his skull. Pressure surged up through his head and eyes, like his eyeballs might burst.

 

Swallowing a curse, he roughly shoved off someone clinging to him. And then, beyond the man who stumbled back, a glimpse of a scene made him come to an abrupt stop.

 

In the corner of the living room, previously hidden by the crowd, she was there.

 

She had a face that looked somewhat tired and a bit dazed.

 

Jin was seated on a blue couch, reaching out for a cup Cameron Johnson was offering her.

 

Evan’s jaw muscles twitched sharply. Shoving aside the people in front of him, he moved fast.

 

Just before her white fingers could touch the cup, Evan grabbed Jin’s wrist first.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

Jin’s eyes met Evan’s in midair. In the strange silence, Cameron Johnson stared dumbly at Evan and let out a small, “Uh…….”

 

Regardless, Evan swept his gaze over Jin from head to toe, checking her as if to confirm something. Her eyes, which had widened slightly in surprise at his sudden appearance, were about to twist into something sharper when Evan yanked her toward him.

 

Evan forced Jin to her feet and started walking. His large grip firmly bound her slender wrist. As the pressure gradually tightened, Jin frowned, but Evan didn’t realize he was squeezing that hard.

 

Relief that nothing had happened yet, rage at Johnson who’d been making moves on her, and the urgent need to get her out of this place as quickly as possible all tangled together.

 

He was desperate.