ACT 2, SCENE 9

Jackie exhaled a breath and smoothed down her clothes. Liam had asked her on an outing with his friends, the other members of the cross country team as well as the theater group. Her heart skipped a beat. She could scarcely believe what was happening. He was her boyfriend and was having her hang out with his friends. She was giddy in delight. Her wildest daydream had come true. 

She poked her head outside where other kids were messing around in the pool. The lights were on, changing every couple minutes to turn the water into various bright colors. Under the influence of alcohol, people were performing various stunts into the pool to the cheers of observers. Jackie flinched when one backflipped and splashed her with cold water. Still no Liam in sight. 

And there she saw him, blond hair and bright white smile, laughing uncontrollably at what one of his friends said. The group was seated around a round table like King Arthur's band of knights. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and walked closer. Jackie told herself she had nothing to worry about. Surely, Liam's friends would accept her as part of their group. Everything was going to be fine. Her face breaking out into a smile, she was about to tap him on the shoulder when she saw the group's expressions.

Aarav's words from the day before replayed in her mind. Jackie bristled at the memory and frowned. She was convinced he was wrong about Liam. Doubt crept into her mind, that little question that kept worming its way into her thoughts: what if Aarav was right? She shook her head. No, she knew Liam and he would never do that to her. Liam was kind and sweet and loving—the perfect boyfriend. 

"I told you, Jackie fell for it—hook, line, and sinker. She even told me that she loves me. I've got it on recording if you don't believe it," Liam was saying. He slid his phone over. There, digitally recorded, was her own voice. She stood frozen in shock as though her feet were glued to the floor. What was happening?

"So she fell for it completely? You sure?" Damien questioned. 

"Of course. I've won."

Begrudgingly, Damien slid over a wad of cash along with game tickets.

Jackie's mouth opened and closed but the girl couldn't form the words. They hadn't noticed her yet. Her eyes watered. She felt invisible, so insignificant. But she really was insignificant, wasn't she? To them, she meant nothing. Everyone had been lying to Jackie the entire time.

One girl piped up, "When are you going to tell her?"

"I guess she has a point. What you're doing is messed up," Damien conceded but the smile didn't leave his face. 

Then why didn't anyone stop him? Jackie wanted to scream at all of them. And to think she actually believed Liam cared about her. She should've known it was too good to be true. What kind of person knowingly toyed with her heart like that? 

"I'll just continue the relationship for a little longer. She doesn't have to know." 

A strangled noise escaped Jackie's throat. It felt like she'd been kicked in the gut. Her entire relationship with Liam had been fake. She was just a game to him. 

"There's no need. I know everything now."

The group's heads snapped up and they all looked at her with horrified expressions.

"Jackie, wait!" Liam stood and reached out toward her.

She tore her arm away from his grasp. "Don't touch me," she snapped and turned to face everyone else. "So you all knew? All of you were in on this?"

No one met her eyes. There it was, a silent confirmation. Jackie bit down on her lip, hard enough to draw blood. 

"I hate all of you."

"Jackie, wait!" Liam grabbed her wrist. "Can we just talk? Alone?"

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it here in front of them." She swept an arm in the direction of his friends. He had no trouble betting on her heart. This should be no different.

"Please, can we at least go somewhere else?" His blue eyes met hers, his voice pleading. Or was it really? Jackie knew damn well that he was one hell of an actor. He had her completely fooled. 

"The least you could do after everything is give me an explanation." Jackie fought to swallow the rising lump in her throat and blinked away the stinging tears. She couldn't cry, not here, not in front of the traitor she once called a friend.

"You were so happy. And there was this elated look in your eyes… I couldn't bear to tell you that it was fake." Liam's voice cracked and she released a shaky breath. "I just kept hoping that you'd never find out. I just thought that…"

Jackie froze for a moment, gaping at her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. The words cut her like the sharpest knife, stinging like the worst acid.

"You thought what? Were you all expecting to keep laughing about it behind my back, gossiping about what a little fool I was? You really had me fooled. Here I was, thinking that you cared, when it was fake all along." 

Jackie stared flatly, her dark eyes cold. The old Jackie would've shrunk away and let out a meek agreement. Retreat and surrender. But not anymore. This time she was beyond caring.

"I do care! You have to believe me. I'm so sorry, and I wish I could go back in time. I screwed up, I should've tried harder to end it, but I—"

"You're right. You should've tried harder." 

"Listen to me—"

Unable to endure anymore from his poison tongue, Jackie stood abruptly and stepped toward Liam like a viper about to strike. "No, you listen to me. I hate your stupid games, and I'm done falling for all of it." 

"Jackie..."

"Just stop. Aarav was right about you being a liar. He saw through that. And me? I was stupid enough to ignore him."

Liam shook his head and released a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

All apologies boiled down to one five-letter word: sorry. In theory, it made life seem so simple: say one word and everything is all fine and dandy. But it couldn't erase the aching in her chest and the empty void that was swiftly replacing it. Jackie's lips pressed into a thin line.

"It's over. Between me and..." She released a rattling breath and swallowed hard. "And you."

She whirled around and stormed off, footsteps quickening with every second. Only when she found herself a safe distance away did she allow a sob to escape her throat. That girl back there who'd confronted Liam, she'd been strong and not like herself at all. Jackie couldn't keep up the tough facade forever.

So like the coward she was, Jackie retreated to the kitchen

Jackie kept her head lowered. A curtain of hair hid her face and the tears that welled up in her eyes. She blinked them away and stumbled out of the else. The music blared in her ears, and people's reverberated around her. It was too hot, too crowded, too suffocating. 

She collided into a form, solid and unmoving. Hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Jackie?"

A blurry face appeared in Jackie's vision. Dark hair, golden brown skin. Glasses? She caught the familiar whiff of expensive cologne—cardamom and geranium. 

"Aarav." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "You were right about Liam."

"Hold on, what happened?"

"I expected him to be different. I don't know." Her eyes stung with tears again. 

"Jackie, he's not Prince Charming who will sweep you off your feet and carry you to a happy ending." 

His words stung. Not Prince Charming. Jackie knew Aarav wasn't trying to be cruel, but that didn't change the way his statement sliced through her heart like a knife. Cute but not pretty. Good but not great. She was never enough, not for Liam. 

"I didn't mean that." His voice softened. Aarav leaned closer and offered her a bundle of napkins to wipe her face.

"I know that but I can't help thinking so." She dug through the cooler and pulled out a fresh can of beer. She popped open the lid and swallowed a mouthful, ignoring the burn of alcohol in her throat. 

Aarav stared, dumbfounded. "That's beer." 

"I know." Jackie continued drinking it. He sighed and twisted the can out of her grasp, the metal crumpling beneath his fingers. 

"Okay, you're not drinking any more of that." His voice was sharp, harsh.

"Why not?"

"Do you want to leave?" he asked in a gentler tone. 

No. Yes. Her head spun. She didn't know what she wanted. Parties were more Liam's thing. The only reason she'd gone was because he would be there. If it weren't for him, Jackie would be curled up in bed with seaweed snacks and a cheesy romance novel. 

But here she was, irrationally getting drunk in an attempt to forget. She tried to move, but her limbs didn't cooperate the way she wanted them to. Jackie stood and immediately her legs swayed. Aarav set a hand on her arm to steady her and led her outside. 

"I'm taking you home." 

A wave of regret washed over her. She stumbled after him, glad to leave the party behind. It was dumb, Jackie knew, but for so long she had clung to the idea of how this day was supposed to go. She should've known it wouldn't be like a fairytale. Her emotions, heightened by alcohol, brought stinging tears to her eyes that she hurriedly wiped away, further smearing the leftover makeup. 

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Aarav asked once they were in the safety of this car. 

She leaned her head against the window and drew her knees up to her chest. "It's stupid."

"I've heard a lot of stupid things from you before."  

Jackie giggled but the sound felt hollow and fake. "A lot of things just aren't going the way they're supposed to. I guess I just built up this whole dream in my head of the way things will happen and…"

"And it's not what you wanted," he finished. 

"Not only that, but Liam—"

"What did he do?" Aarav's jaw clenched and his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

She remained silent and at her lack of response, he knew.

"Jackie—"

"You don't need to say I told you so." She shook her head and kept her eyes firmly on the road before her. She picked at her nails and absently peeled the dry skin from a cuticle.

"I was actually going to ask if you were alright." Aarav glanced at her from the corner of his eye. 

"Perfectly wonderful. Why do you ask?" Jackie avoided his gaze. She didn't need to see to know his expression was a mixture of pity and concern and confusion. Poor Jackie, the girl stupid enough to fall for Liam. Her legs were shaking. In her lap, the girl clenched and unclenched her fists.

Aarav, thankfully, remained silent and instead drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while he waited for the tremors to subside and her breathing to become regular again. Then he pressed a foot to the pedal, and soon enough they found themselves cruising through a neighborhood.

She didn't know what to say. Hi, how do you like the weather? Every sentence Jackie drafted in her mind wasn't right. There was an invisible wall between them, and she wasn't sure how to overcome it. The last time she was in his car, she'd insinuated that he was a liar. And now look where that'd gotten her: a bruised ego and broken heart. 

"Why is the ribbon so important to you?" Aarav asked while they were cruising down a street. 

A rope, a lifeline of a sentence. A topic to grasp on to. "My dad gave it to me. Red's my favorite color since it's lucky."

"No wonder you made such a big deal about me not losing it." He cast her a quick glance when pausing at a stop sign.

"Don't forget that Peter Kavinsky lost Lara Jean's favorite scrunchie. I take the act of entrusting my ribbon very seriously." She nodded in fake solemnity. 

"Your parents are divorced, right?" 

"Yeah," Jackie confirmed. "I haven't seen him in person for months." They pulled up to his estate. "This is your home." 

"I'm well aware of that, Miss Obvious," he said.

He stepped out the car and walked up the door to type in the passcode. Glancing over his shoulder, Aarav gestured for her to follow him inside to the kitchen where he pulled out a chair for her. He scooped out a portion of rice and chicken into a bowl before heating it in the microwave. Jackie wordlessly took a seat and watched him for a moment.

"I'm fine. You don't have to get food for me." Her voice wavered despite her resolve.

Aarav pushed the warmed rice toward her. "Eat anyway. You'll feel better with something in your stomach."

Gingerly, she slowly chewed it a spoonful and swallowed. Surprisingly, she was hungrier than expected. She took another bite, savoring the rich combination of herbs and spices. "Is that how your therapy sessions work, you offer food so I'll talk?"

"I'm not forcing you to say anything. Just speak whenever you're ready."

A silence settled between them. This one wasn't tense and awkward but natural. Every now and then, Jackie felt her gaze shifting to Aarav. His dark eyes, which once appeared to be so intense, were warm and comforting. Her eyes lowered to his nose then his mouth. His lips were quirked into a subtle smile. On his left cheek was a small spot of gold glitter from rehearsal before. Realizing she was blatantly staring, Jackie coughed into her hand. 

Aarav was quick to fetch her a glass of water. "Actually chew your food. Don't just wolf it down."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment. She bit her lip and tapped her fingers on the table a couple times. "I didn't want to believe you about Liam. I know I should have but..."

"I'm so stupid." Jackie buried her face in her hands. "I had this fairytale in my head. It'd be just like the romantic scenes from the books and movies. In fiction, all it takes is a dramatic kiss and people get happily ever afters. And when Liam looked at me, all I could think of was how he made me feel special. It was like I was the shining star that dazzled him—"

She paused when she noticed Aarav's eyes narrowing almost in anger. "It's his fault. He's the one who screwed up, not you," he growled. "He wasn't smart enough to realize what he had."

"But that wasn't the worst of it. Everyone knew and no one told me." A tear slid down Jackie's face and she furiously wiped it away. "But instead I made you out to be the villain because I was an idiot desperately clinging to this false fairytale."

"Having faith in others doesn't make you stupid. Sure, you could've been more cautious, but don't lose that quality just because of someone else's mistake."

In an instant, Aarav was at her side with arms wrapped around her. Jackie buried her head against her chest and closed her eyes, allowing herself to be enveloped by his scent. For a moment, her problems faded away. She focused on the faint beating of his heart through his heavy knit sweater. It was quick, like he was having an adrenaline rush, though gradually slowed down into a steady drum. 

"I told you it was stupid." 

Aarav's grip relaxed and he turned to face her. "It's not. You're upset and you're not thinking straight."

She wiped her eyes. "This is such an idiotic thing to be crying over."

He dug through the cabinets and pulled out napkins that he handed to her. She gave him a wavering smile and dried her face. "You're nice, you know. Nicer than you acted at first." 

"Am I?"

"You were kinda rude when we first met. Or maybe I was being too sensitive."

"Now I'm nice?"

"Really, really nice."

Aarav snorted and shook his head. "Alright, now I need to get you home."

"You don't like being told you're nice?" 

"Come on." His hand circled around her wrist and he led her to the car. 

When Jackie arrived home, the house was empty. Má and Mr. Aster were out on date night. The lights were off and the air was silent. After Aarav's Lexus pulled out the driveway, she shut the door and stumbled upstairs to her room. A bleary form appeared at the edge of her vision followed by a swinging red ponytail.

Jackie stumbled and clutched the railing, swaying in the air while she gripped the edge. She squinted and Madison's features solidified before her. Her stepsister folded her arms and walked over. "What the hell happened to you?" 

"Stuff." She straightened and wrapped her arms around herself. Her head pounded and she couldn't think straight. The alcohol only led to a growing, throbbing emptiness inside. 

"Like what?" Madison's eyes narrowed. "Were you drinking?"

"I went to a party with Liam." 

"And you drank. So where is he?" 

"We broke up." 

Madison's nostrils flared. "I told you from the start that this would happen. You didn't listen." 

Gritting her teeth, Jackie lunched forward and shoved her stepsister. Her fists flailed with no direction or purpose. Madison stumbled back, head whacking against the wall, her eyes wide. "You were right, okay? Happy now? I admit it, I was stupid!" 

Jackie shoved her shoulder and backed away, almost tripping into the door. "You were right. There's no need to go around gloating with your stupid smile and rubbing it in."  

"That's not what I was trying to do." Her stepsister frowned and walked toward her with an arm stretched out. 

"Go away!" Jackie turned and ran toward her room and slammed the door. She leaned against it and slid to her knees. Furiously, she wiped away the tears dripping on her face and wished she could carve out the sinking feeling in her stomach.