Chapter 1: What Comes Around...

Amy woke up, an unfamiliar pounding sensation in her head. Where am I? The events of last night were a complete blur to her. She slowly opened her eyes, fearing the worst, only to see the glow-in-the-dark stars that scattered across her ceiling. Okay, I'm in my room. Good. Amy rolled over onto her side, just about to go back to sleep – that is, until she saw who was on the other side of the bed. Lying in bed beside her was none other than Liam Booker, self-proclaimed heartbreaker of Hester High – and Karma's kind-of boyfriend.

With a sharp jolt she sat up, a look of panic clearly evident on her face. If she wasn't awake already, she was now. Fuck. What is Liam doing here?! Rubbing her temples, she thought back to her mom's wedding and tried to piece the events of the night together – which was proving to be a challenge in her hungover state. There was the speech. And then she confessed her true feelings to Karma. Which, admittedly hadn't gone over as well as Amy had thought it would. She sighed despondently. The last thing Amy remembered was sitting at a table with Lauren during the reception, downing glass after glass of champagne. So I guess I got completely wasted…then what?

She thought back to her current situation, hoping it would fill in some blanks. I'm naked and hungover. And Liam's in my bed. Suddenly, the proverbial light bulb went off in Amy's head. Her eyes widened with horror as it all became clear. Holy fuck. Did I sleep with Liam Booker? …Fuck. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! As if on cue, Liam arose from the tangled mess of sheets. He looked over at Amy, rubbing his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Amy frantically grabbed at the bedsheets, pulling them tightly to her chest.

"So…I guess that really happened…I can't believe it."

"Yeah, well that makes two of us," Amy added, wryly.

Liam climbed out of bed, looking around for his clothes from the night before.

"When you put the moves on me I was kind of shocked…I thought you were in love with Karma! "

He grabbed his dress pants from the floor and started tugging them on.

"Unless, y'know…you're faking being a lesbian too."

He haphazardly threw his suit jacket on as he turned to look at Amy, who was obviously surprised.

"Shane filled me in on the whole thing," he admitted.

"Well, what if I told you…" she took a deep breath before continuing, "that I'm not faking it."

"Woah. So you really are…" his voice trailed off.

"I don't know if I'm a lesbian. I'd never even considered being with a girl before this whole mess happened. But kissing Karma was like…"

She thought about it for a minute, trying to find the right words.

"You know when you had your favorite dessert for the very first time? And as soon you tasted the first bite, you found yourself longing for more? And you didn't even know something was missing from your life, but now that you've experienced it you don't know how you ever lived without it?"

Liam looked slightly confused at her analogy, but nodded anyway.

"Well, that's what kissing Karma was like."

Remembering who she was talking to, Amy added, "So was kissing her just as…magical for you?"

"Yeah. The second our lips met, it felt like we were the only two people in the world. That it was just her and me, wrapped up in each other forever."

Liam sighed.

"And I really started to fall for her, too. It's a shame she screwed me over like that."

"Hello? What about me? She broke my heart too, you know!"

"Oh. Right. Well I guess she kind of screwed both of us over then, huh?"

Amy gave a dejected nod.

"Karma's my best friend. Or at least she was…what if she'll never talk to me again? What if I ruined everything by telling her I'm in love with her?"

"You said I'm, not I was."

"Huh?"

Amy looked at Liam with a quizzical expression.

"When you were talking about your feelings for Karma just now…you said "I'm in love with her", not "I was in love with her"."

"That's the thing. Even though she pretty much gave me the biggest stop sign in the universe, my heart just won't listen. I still love her. As more than a friend."

Amy sighed deeply.

"But what she did to me – and to you – really wasn't cool. She played with both of our hearts and honestly, I'm still kind of hurt by it. I thought we told each other everything…guess not."

She remembered the way her heart plummeted when she saw Karma and Liam crawl out from under the table at her mom's wedding.

Suddenly, Liam spoke up.

"What if we could get back at her somehow?"

Amy could tell that a plan was brewing in his head. Most likely a devious one. After all, were there any other kinds of plans that Liam Booker could concoct?

"Okay, I'm game. So what were you thinking, exactly?"

"What if the two of us pretended to be a couple? You know, like how you and Karma were faking it?"

Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Sorry? You want me to pretend to be your fucking girlfriend?"

Liam shot her an apologetic look.

"I know, I know. After everything that's happened, I'm probably the last person you want to see, let alone pretend to be dating. But just think about it. We both felt a spark with Karma, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So what if we show her that two can play at her own game? When she sees you and me together, she's gonna be so jealous. Her best friend and her ex-secret boyfriend hooking up…what sweet, sweet revenge."

"Are we really not going to talk about what happened last night?"

"Oh…the sex, you mean?"

Amy looked at him with a 'duh' expression.

"Right. It was good, not gonna lie. But when Karma and I did it, it was more, uh, passionate."

Just hearing Liam talk about having sex with Karma made her blood boil.

"Well, that's wonderful! Because honestly - I didn't feel a thing."

It wasn't a word of a lie, either. Amy had never really been attracted to Liam and having sex with him sure as hell didn't change that fact. It was a stupid decision, stupider yet since she was wasted beyond belief and feeling heartbroken at the time.

The two of them sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

"Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way... just hear me out, Amy. Karma will be jealous that we're together – but who will she be more jealous of?"

At that point, it dawned on Amy that Liam might actually be on to something.

"She'll have to choose between us."

"Exactly."

"And you know how Hester High feeds on gossip. It won't take long for her to find out about the hottest new couple – Liam and Amy!"

"I never thought I'd say these words, but Liam Booker, you're a genius. Well, an evil genius, but still..."

Liam smirked, clearly pleased with himself.

"Now get the fuck out of here so I can get some clothes on."