chapter:16,17,18,19,20..(combined chapter).

Chapter 16: The Public Confession

A crowd had gathered around the festival’s main stage. Ethan barely managed to squeeze through the students before he saw her—Sophia Martinez.

Oh.

Of course, it was her.

Ethan watched, stomach twisting, as Sophia stood on stage, microphone in hand, smiling nervously.

Then—

“Liam Carter! I like you! Please go out with me!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Ethan’s heart dropped.

He shouldn’t be panicking. He knew Liam liked him.

But still.

Liam stood in the audience, hands in his pockets, looking completely unimpressed.

The festival host turned to him. “Liam! What’s your answer?”

Liam yawned. YAWNED.

Then he casually turned to Ethan.

“Sorry, but my boyfriend would kill me if I said yes.”

The crowd gasped.

Ethan choked.

Sophia’s face fell. “B-Boyfriend?”

Liam smirked. “Yeah. That guy.”

And then—right there, in front of everyone—he grabbed Ethan’s wrist and pulled him forward.

Ethan almost died.

Everyone was staring.

Someone whispered, “Wait… Ethan?”

Another girl said, “I KNEW IT.”

Sophia turned pale. “Oh.”

Ethan wanted to disappear.

But Liam? Liam just smiled, completely unfazed.

And then, as if it was nothing, he leaned in and kissed Ethan’s cheek.

The crowd LOST IT.

Ethan’s face burst into flames. “LIAM—”

Liam grinned. “What? I’m just answering her question.”

Sophia looked like she was about to cry. “I… I didn’t know you were dating someone.”

Liam shrugged. “Well, now you do.”

Sophia bolted off stage.

The host, flustered, muttered, “W-Well, that was… unexpected! Let’s move on—”

But the damage had already been done.

Because now?

Everyone knew.

Chapter 17: The Fallout

Ethan wanted to die.

Liam, on the other hand, was thriving.

“That was fun,” Liam said, sipping his festival drink.

Ethan glared. “FUN?! You just outed our relationship to the entire SCHOOL!”

Liam smirked. “Well, yeah. But I thought we weren’t hiding?”

Ethan groaned. “There’s a difference between not hiding and—whatever that was.”

Liam leaned closer. “Were you jealous?”

Ethan turned red. “N-No—”

Liam grinned. “You totally were.”

Ethan shoved him. “Shut up.”

Liam just laughed, throwing an arm over Ethan’s shoulder like he owned him.

And honestly?

Maybe he did.

Because despite everything—despite the rumors, the attention, the absolute chaos—Ethan couldn’t deny it anymore.

He was completely, helplessly, in love with Liam Carter.

Chapter 18: The Whole School Knows

By Monday, Ethan had officially lost his status as a background character.

Everywhere he walked, people stared.

Some students whispered, some pointed, and others flat-out gawked.

Ethan hated it.

Liam, on the other hand, loved it.

“Hey, babe,” Liam greeted, loudly, as he slung an arm around Ethan’s shoulder in the hallway.

Ethan groaned. “Can you not?”

Liam smirked. “What? Just embracing my new role as the school’s ‘Taken Heartthrob.’”

“Taken by who?” a girl muttered nearby, looking Ethan up and down.

Ethan heard that.

Liam did too, because he turned to her and said, “By my boyfriend, obviously.”

The girl gasped and scurried away.

Ethan sighed. “I’m never gonna hear the end of this.”

Liam just shrugged. “Eh. They’ll get over it.”

Would they, though?

Because by lunchtime, Ethan found himself surrounded.

“Is it true?!”

“How long have you been dating?”

“Was the confession staged?”

“Who confessed first?”

“How good is Liam at kissing?”

Ethan choked. “W-WHAT?!”

Liam, who had just sat down, laughed. “You wanna find out?”

Ethan smacked him.

Chapter 19: The Jealousy Problem (Again)

Even though most students accepted their relationship, not everyone was happy.

Particularly—the girls who had crushes on Liam.

And Ethan? Ethan could handle whispers and rumors.

But sabotage?

Not so much.

First, his gym uniform mysteriously went missing.

Then, someone spilled soda on his chair.

And finally—

During a class project, Ethan found a note inside his textbook:

"Break up with Liam. Or else."

Ethan’s stomach dropped.

Noah was furious. “This is actual psychopath behavior. Who the hell wrote this?”

Ethan sighed. “I don’t know.”

But Liam?

Liam found out.

And when he did, Ethan saw a whole new side of him.

Chapter 20: Liam Snaps

The next morning, Liam stormed into class, eyes blazing.

Ethan barely had time to react before Liam slammed a piece of paper onto Sophia’s desk.

It was the note.

Ethan’s breath hitched.

Sophia’s eyes widened. “What—”

Liam glared. “Was it you?”

The room went silent.

Sophia’s hands shook. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Liam scoffed. “Don’t lie. You’ve been bitter ever since the festival. If I find out you were behind this—”

Sophia swallowed. “I—I just wanted—”

Liam’s expression hardened. “Let me make something very clear.”

He stepped closer, voice low and dangerous.

“If anyone messes with Ethan, they mess with me. And trust me—you don’t want that.”

The class shivered.

Sophia trembled. “I—”

Liam didn’t wait for a response. He just turned around, grabbed Ethan’s hand, and walked out.

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