14 Chapter Thirteen - Liam...

Its Monday evening, Briella enters the house and immediately heads upstairs where she dresses up before heading back downstairs for some food and going back up to do her homework.

Within three hours, she completes her homework.

Its almost eight when her phone chimes, her eyes widen when she sees that its a message from Ryan.

Ryan - "Hey Briella! Are you able to come over? There is someone I'd like you to meet.".

'Oh, there is someone he'd like me- WAIT! THERE IS SOMEONE HE'D LIKE ME TO MEET!?' Briella exclaims in her thoughts. 'It... it must be someone special to him, like a girlfriend, or something!... B-but he did say he was single... but then again, anything could change in a couple of days!! I knew I wouldn't stand a chance!...'.

Briella takes a deep breath before looking back at her phone.

'What should I reply with?... I... I don't want to hint that I am somewhat bothered by this text...' Briella thinks to herself. 'But then... real friends would be happy for their friend's achievements... I should be happy for him!'.

Taking another breath, she presses the bar on her phone before beginning to type in her reply.

Briella - "Oh okay, sure. I am very glad for you, Ryan. I hope that she is the right one for you!". With that, Briella presses send. She feels a lump grow in her throat.

'If this is the price I have to pay to be happy for Ryan, then I'll happily pay it...' She thinks to herself.

Seconds later, her phone chimes once more, signalling a reply.

She quickly opens the message sent.

Ryan - "Oh okay. Thanks. By the way, it's a 'he'.".

'It's a he!?'.

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Briella is right outside Ryan's apartment complex.

"I don't mind, I don't mind if he loves a 'he' or a 'she', or hey, even a 'they'. As long as he is happy..." Briella mutters to herself.

She goes up the stairs before reaching his door.

'I feel nervous... why do I feel nervous???'.

She slowly approaches her hand toward the door. Right before she was about to knock, hesitation rushes through her body. "I knew I was out of his league..." she mutters under her breath. With a sigh, she proceeds on doing what she was called to do...

She knocks on the door.

Within seconds, she can hear the door unlocking before it opens up, revealing Ryan.

"Briella! I am so glad you came!".

"Yeah..." Briella begins, she tries her best to hide her melancholy. "Thank you for inviting me...".

"Go ahead and settle down with the guy, I'll be back in just a moment with yous..." Ryan says as he rushes into his kitchen. Briella takes off her shoes. Immediately, she sees a pair of shoes messily places one on top another.

'They must be from the guy, eh?...'.

Briella goes into the room. Then a tall, broad figure caught her attention. Her eyes nearly pop out of her skull.

'It's that guy that I met on the hallway a few days back, who also modelled for the art class!!' She exclaims in her thoughts.

It takes seconds for the guy to notice her and when he does...

"H-hey, it's you!..." Suddenly he stops. "W-WAIT! HEY! RYAN!! I THOUGHT THAT YOU SAID THAT ME WORKING FOR YOU WAS TO BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL!!!!".

"Okay, now it sounds like you two are doing something illegal together..." Briella says.

Just then, Ryan walks back into the small living room. A sigh is heard from him. "Anyways, Briella, this is who I wanted you to meet. Liam this is Briella, my assistant. And Briella, this is my good friend, Liam...".

'WAIT, GOOD FRIEND!?!'.

"Wait... so, you are Ryan's assistant?" Liam asks.

"Y-yeah..." Briella replies. "And you two are... just friends?".

"Yeah..." Liam answers while looking at Briella with slight oddness. "Why do you ask?".

"Oh... nothing important really..." Briella begins. "Well, I just thought that you guys were together.".

'WHAT!?' Liam exclaims in his thoughts. "I am not into boys!...". He takes a pause to turn toward Ryan. "No offence, Ryan..." he adds in a much smoother tone.

"None taken..." Ryan replies in his signature monotonic tone.

"But yeah, not that its anything bad, but I'm just not into boys..." Liam says.

"Ahh, okay..." Briella replies before letting out a gentle sigh. 'Looks like I still have a chance after all...' she thinks to herself before looking up towards Ryan, only to immediately look elsewhere when Ryan looks back into her eyes.

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"So an assistant, eh?" Liam begins, referring to Briella.

"Yeah..." she begins, a deadpan expression written all over her face. "I thought we went over this already...".

"Yah, we did..." he replies.

'Then why is he bringing the topic back up???' Briella thinks to herself as she continues to look at Liam with a deadpan expression.

"So I guess then you can give me a cup of coffee...".

'The cheek!' Briella says in her thoughts. 'He said it as if he expected me to do whatever he wishes...'.

Liam notices the way Briella keeps her emotionless gaze upon him. He begins to redden.

"W-what!?" He exclaims. "Y-you did say you were Ryan's secretary!".

"ASSISTANT!" Briella shouts a reply, in a frantic attempt to correct him.

"Okay! Okay!!..." Liam says. "I'm sorry...".

This all unfolded while Ryan was in his chair, with a cup of water in his right hand and an open pack of crisps on his lap. He watched the commotion go on as if it was to be a film, eating his crisps and drinking his water...

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"So, what do you guys do?" Briella asks.

"Well, I write while Liam draws and gives me random ideas..." Ryan replies.

"Oh, draws?" she questions.

"Yeah..." Ryan begins. "He does something quite similar to what you are doing, except, instead of giving me ideas, as you do, he illustrates the characters and draws them according to my book," he adds.

"Ah okay..." Briella says. "Wait, since he is the 'illustrator', will his drawing be included in the book, or is that even possible, to include pictures?...".

"Well..." Ryan begins. "I am not quite sure, I have never tampered with stuff like that!" he adds, chuckling as he rubs the back of his head.

'Wait... then why is Liam your... 'illustrator' exactly?...' Briella thinks to herself.

Then, Ryan takes a step closer towards Briella.

"But I think it will be for all of our sakes for me not to include his drawings..." Ryan says a couple of seconds later.

"Wait, why?..." Briella asks.

"Give me a sec..." Ryan replies before turning around and heading over to his desk.

Slowly, Liam's gentle hums as he draws fill the room. He has a smile patched onto his face, as his pencil swiftly moves around the page.

Seconds later, Ryan returns with a paper in his hands.

"This is why..." he says before turning the page and handing it over to Briella.

Instantly, a reaction can be seen. She stares at the page as her left eye begins to twitch and her jaw drops...

'He... he... he draws stick people!...'.

Briella's surprised face and Ryan's monotonic face look at Liam. Seconds later, he lifts up his hand just to reveal...

'More stick people!!' Briella shrieks in her thoughts.

"But what really cracks me up is the fact that he said that he was good at art..." Ryan voices, with a face straighter than a ruler.

"I-I am not sure if you are being serious or sarcastic, Ryan...".