Best Served Fake

seventeen // cut his balls off

When I arrived at my new lunch table, there were six sets of eyes glued to me without any subtlety whatsoever. Kai had left to go buy food, leaving me to face the firing squad alone. I turned desperate eyes on Cora, pleading silently for her to save me, but she only had time to offer a sympathetic smile before Isabelle Delaney was grabbing my wrist and hauling me into the seat beside her.

"Valerie!" she said enthusiastically, and her smile was megawatt. "So nice to see you. Is it true that Tommy and Sydney slept together? That sucks. Want me to cut his balls off?"

I blinked at her, lost.

Will Kennedy, Kai's best friend, put a hand on shoulder, leaning over Zara to do so. "Cool the jets, Izzy. You'll scare her off."

Isabelle shook his hand off with a simpering smile and turned back to me. Kai's little sister was gifted with the same dark good looks and easy charm. Long black hair fell in a waterfall over her back, and her legs were a mile long. She had the same angular features and stunning eyes, and would've been intimidating if she wasn't so friendly. "So, balls. On or off? Totally your call."

Behind her, Will rolled his eyes with exasperation. Will Kennedy was just as good looking as Isabelle and Kai, but in a far less graceful way. He was all broad shoulders and dark skin, with deep intelligent eyes that betrayed the easy, relaxed smile he always wore.

"Can I say on?" I asked.

Izzy shrugged. "Totally your call. But this is not a limited time offer. You just say the word, and they're gone. I'll feed them to Will's dog."

I smiled nervously at her, wishing that Isabelle had let me claim the safe seat next to Cora. Instead, Cora was tucked neatly between Jameson and Sebastian, tucking into her roll and oblivious of my plight. These were her friends—her social circle outside Sydney and I—and this interaction would be far easier if I could use her as a human shield. They were intimidating in their effortless coolness, but then again, so was Sydney.

"Thank you, I think?" I said to Isabelle. And then I just waved. "Uh, hi. I'm Valerie, by the way."

"We know," Jameson said with an amused smile. "We've been to school together for years."

"I mean, yeah?" I said lamely.

Objectively, I knew that they all had to know me. For over a decade we'd attended the same school, been in the same classes. But they were bright and loud and funny, and I was far more quietly sarcastic. Every school report since I was eight years old had called me a quiet achiever. I'd spoken to them—I wasn't really shy, just not really boisterous in the way that gets you attention and notoriety—but I'd just never really thought of myself as someone who they'd remember or properly recognise. It was stupid, but I'd grown so comfortable with Sydney and Tommy and our friends that I'd forgotten to consider the rest of the year level.

But I certainly knew them.

Will Kennedy was known for being charming, beautiful and good at everything. He was a sporting star, an academic star and a social star, but he never seemed to need to try to achieve any of them. He smiled reassuringly at me now, and in that small move, I knew why he was Kai's best friend. There was something similar about them; the way they exuded comfort, despite the volatility of their fleeting interests.

Jameson Miller was either friends with you or sleeping with you, and seemed to know everything about everyone. He was just grinning at me with an amusement that seemed permanent with him; as if he loved watching stories unfold, and wanted a front row seat.

"You're weird," Sebastian Torres said, picking at the plate of hot chips in front of him. "Of course, we know you. You broke down in front of Kai's house like four times. I mean, props to you, I guess. It worked."