Chapter 1

The cursor blinked on the screen. UCLA. My dream school. Or, what used to be.

The "Submit" button for my Statement of Intent to Register was right there.

My hand hovered over the mouse, a tremor running through my arm.

Just a few weeks ago, this would have been a moment of triumph.

Now, it felt like a surrender.

I closed my eyes, and the image of prom night burned behind my eyelids. Olivia and Maya, their arms linked with Liam Spencer, smiling, while I stood alone in my rented tux.

My stomach churned.

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and navigated away from the UCLA portal.

A few clicks later, Yale' s acceptance page was open.

"Confirm Your Enrollment."

This was it. The final hours before the deadline.

My finger clicked down.

A small, almost anticlimactic "Confirmation Successful" message appeared.

I leaned back, a wave of something cold and sharp washing over me. Not regret. Relief. And a hard, new resolve.

I stood up and walked to my desk.

Tucked in the corner was a silver picture frame.

Ethan, Olivia, Maya. Middle school. Grinning, arms slung around each other.

We' d just made that stupid pact. "EOM Forever." UCLA together. And by college, I' d choose.

Choose. Like I was a prize.

Back then, it felt like an adventure, a promise of a future always intertwined.

Now, their faces in the photo seemed to mock me.

Olivia, already so poised. Maya, fiercely protective even then.

I picked up the frame. The glass felt cool.

"EOM Forever," I whispered, the words tasting like ash.

I opened the back, slid the photo out, and tore it into small pieces.

Then, I dropped the empty frame into the trash can.

It made a hollow sound.

"You won't control my life anymore," I said to the empty room.

"Not Olivia. Not Maya."

My voice was steady.

I meant it.

This wasn't just about a college. This was about me.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

The screen lit up: "EOM (and Liam) Forever."

The group chat name still grated. They'd added him months ago.

I picked it up.

Liam: "OMG, guys, just saw the pics from Kendra's pre-grad party! We look SO good. 🔥"

A string of photos followed. Liam, Olivia, and Maya, posing, laughing.

Olivia: "Liam, you' re such a model! That new jacket is killer on you. 😉"

Maya: "Seriously, Liam! You totally outshone everyone. We need to go shopping again soon, my treat!"

My jaw tightened.

I scrolled up, past dozens of their messages, their plans, their inside jokes that now always seemed to involve him.

My own messages were sparse, often ignored.

I remembered the day Liam Spencer transferred to Northwood High. Junior year.

Partial scholarship, he' d made sure everyone knew. Played up the "struggling artist" vibe.

Charming, with that easy smile.

Olivia and Maya were captivated instantly.

"He's so different, Ethan," Olivia had said, her eyes shining. "So much depth."

"Yeah, E," Maya chimed in. "He's been through a lot. We need to look out for him."

Look out for him.

They' d been looking out for him ever since, and I' d become an afterthought.

"Liam, sweetie, anything you need for next week, just say the word," Olivia typed.

"Anything at all," Maya added, with a heart emoji.

I watched the messages pop up, one after another.

It was like watching a movie I was no longer in.

A very bad, very predictable movie.

My friends. My best friends since elementary school.

Gone. Replaced.

I thought back to Thanksgiving. Our annual "Friendsgiving."

Liam had "accidentally" spilled a full glass of red wine on my MacBook Pro.

The one with all my coding projects, my college portfolio.

He' d looked horrified. "Oh, Ethan, I am SO sorry! I' m such a klutz. I don' t know how I' ll ever repay you. I' m completely broke right now."

Olivia and Maya had rushed to his side.

"Liam, don't worry, it was an accident!" Olivia cooed.

"Yeah, Ethan' s laptop was getting old anyway," Maya said, patting Liam' s arm. "He can get it fixed. Or his parents can buy him a new one."

The next day, they presented Liam with a brand-new, top-of-the-line MacBook.

"We chipped in," Olivia announced proudly.

"You deserve it, Liam," Maya beamed.

My "old" laptop cost me three weeks of allowance to get repaired, data partially lost.

They never asked.

Liam posted another photo to the chat.

Him, wearing my favorite Yale sweatshirt. The one I' d left at Olivia' s house last summer.

He was smirking, posing in Olivia' s perfectly decorated living room.

Tagged: @OliviaHayes @MayaChen "Borrowing from the best! 😉 Thanks for letting me crash, Liv!"

My sweatshirt.

He knew it was mine. They knew it was mine.

"Liam," I typed into the chat, my fingers stiff. "That' s my sweatshirt."

A beat of silence.

Then Liam: "Oh, hey Ethan! Yeah, Liv said I could borrow it. It' s super comfy! Hope you don' t mind, bro. We' re practically family, right?"

Family. The word felt like a slap.

Olivia finally chimed in. "Ethan, don' t be like that. Liam was cold. It' s just a sweatshirt."

Maya added, "Seriously, E. It' s not a big deal. We can buy you another one if you' re that upset."

Buy me another one.

Like everything could be fixed with their parents' money.

Like my feelings didn' t matter.

I remembered Olivia defending me in sixth grade when a bully broke my glasses.

She' d stood up to him, fierce and protective.

Maya had helped me pick up the pieces, her hand on my shoulder.

They' d bought me a new pair with their saved allowances, a cheap plastic frame I' d worn for years because it meant so much.

Where were those girls now?

Lost. Or maybe they were never really there. Maybe I' d imagined them.

I typed: "Keep it. Consider it a gift."

My thumb hovered over the "send" button.

Then I deleted the message.

Why bother? They wouldn' t understand. They didn' t want to.

I closed the chat.

"You can have him," I muttered, thinking of Liam. "You can all have each other."

The decision to go to Yale, to cut them out, felt more right than anything had in a long, long time.

This was my escape.