The week had come and gone, and it was surprisingly mundane. Liam and I had minimal interactions and I never saw him outside of class — which was fine with me. I needed to stay away from him for my own sake.

Avery however, kept bugging me about Liam, asking me if I liked him. She asked me that question every day as if my answer would suddenly change one morning. She was just curious and skeptical of my answer, and I understood that, but every time she asked, my mind would drift off to his dark eyes and ruffled hair.

It was the afternoon before the fundraiser. My cello sat next to my bed as I laid sprawled on top of it. I could not focus on practicing.

I'd done countless recitals before as a kid so I had plenty of songs memorized by heart, I just needed to practice some of them before. My body would not obey my mind though.

After a great deal of effort, I dragged myself off my bed and onto a chair, grabbing my cello and the bow. Without thinking, my hands flew over the strings, forming the chords as my other hand curled around the bow.

My mind drifted off as muscle memory took over.

I just didn't understand how I could tolerate Liam even after what he did two hundred years ago. I didn't understand how I didn't hate him anymore. After what he did, he still made me feel the same way I felt back then.

I was so happy with him back then, knowing that we'd get married one day. Even though Liam and I were just in the same class, I still felt the same bubbly feeling in my stomach knowing that I'd see him.

Around him, I'd be acting like that same naive girl two centuries back — and I didn't want to be her anymore. I didn't want to be the girl who wrote cute love letters to Liam, or the girl who was so focused on finding a husband.

And for sure, I didn't want to depend or be controlled by my father, or by my husband anymore. Yet, I found that I was letting myself do exactly that with Liam. If things came down to it, I'd trust Liam.

I knew I couldn't let my stomach swarm with butterflies or let myself flush as much as I did with Liam. But I couldn't control myself or my feelings.

As I pulled my bow through the last note, I snapped out of my thoughts. I'd only played one song, but that was all I really needed.

I did make up my mind about one thing: I'd try to avoid Liam tonight. Then when the semester finished, I could go back to my life before I'd met him — as if he never existed. My parents and his parents were business partners but that had nothing to do with to me.

I set my cello back into its stand, satisfied with my decision. My mom had invited many people to this event, I wouldn't even have to see Liam if I didn't want to.

____________________________

My bow slid across the set of strings for the final chord and the room erupted in an applause as I set aside my cello.

I stood up, bending down slightly into a bow before walking off, away from the makeshift stage my mom had set up. The guests turned back to whatever they had been doing before my performance. Soft pop music began playing on the speakers again.

Most of the guests had already written their donations in cheques and given them to me, and in return, I was to perform a few songs on the cello. I was glad there were still people willing to donate since I knew my performance at this event would have made little difference in the outcome.

I had put effort in my appearance today. I had taken the time to curl my hair and to attempt a nice eyeliner. To top it off, I pulled on a lace, crimson red dress. The hem ended right above my knees.

My dad approached me with a bright smile, dressed in a suit and tie himself, "This is my donation to you. I'm glad you're doing this and I wanna help."

He handed me a cheque which I took without hesitation. It was for ten thousand dollars — one of the most I'd gotten for the night.

"Thanks dad," I beamed, placing the cheque carefully into my clutch.

"I'm gonna go socialize, have fun," my dad have me a firm pat on the shoulder before disappearing within the crowd of guests.

I glanced around, taking pride in the amount of families who showed up and donated. The hospitals would be thrilled.

My eyes caught sight of Liam's dark hair within the crowd. He looked charming, even if he was just in a basic outfit — a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up halfway and once again, the top few buttons were left unbuttoned. His hair was combed back, unlike usual, with a few rebellious tendrils that fell over his forehead.

His dark eyes met mine for just a short moment before he tore them away. I lost sight of him as he walked off.

I ignored the sinking feeling in my chest. This was good. This was what I needed.

"Hey," Sam piped up from next to me. I turned to see him standing next to me with his blond hair combed back neatly and dressed in a navy blue suit.

"Sam, I didn't know you'd be here," I greeted. "Thanks for coming."

"Liam wanted me to come, so here I am. I don't usually go to events like these so I've sort of just been drinking wine and champagne the whole night," he rambled. My eyes travelled to his hand, where he held a half empty glass of white wine.

To be fair, those were expensive and delicious drinks.

"Well, I'm glad you like it," I laughed.

"Liam isn't really enjoying himself. He's been sulking around all night," Sam said, taking another sip of his drink. "Maybe you should talk to him, he always seems to be happier when you're with him."

"Oh, maybe," was all I could say as I focused my gaze on the floor. I could feel my cheeks betraying me as they heated up again.

Avery approached me, mouth filled with chocolate cake, "Hey, I think your mom's looking for you. She pulled me aside to tell me she needed you."

I groaned, "What does she want now?"

"I don't know. I wish I was you, there was a man our age next to her. He's pretty cute. She's where the cake is," Avery shrugged, though her eyes glistened as she said it.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you soon," I sighed. Avery nodded, forking another large bite of cake into her mouth.

"Where did you get that?" Sam asked Avery, pointing at her plate.

I muffled my laugh as I walked off to where Avery had said my mom was, weaving around crowds and groups of guests. My eyes landed on my mom, exactly where Avery said she was — by the concession table, with the cakes.

As if on cue, my mom snapped her head in my direction. Her eyes demanded me to move my feet faster.

I resisted a sigh as I made my way over to her. Just as Avery had said there was another family with her, — a boy my age with his auburn hair combed to the side, and dressed in a white shirt and black blazer. His parents were next to him.

With my mom, they chatted away and laughing as if what my mom had said was the funniest thing ever. Suddenly, she was a comedian.

"Thalia, wonderful for you to join us," my mom beamed. She seemed a little to happy.

"Yeah, wonderful," I said flatly.

"This is Tristan," my mom nodded over to the boy. "His parents, Harry and Sarah."

I forced a smile onto my face, offering them a nod of recognition. The parents continued to talk, leaving Tristan and I standing awkwardly as they walked off in the direction of the wine bar. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, trying to ignore the fact that he kept sneaking glances at me every few seconds.

"So, you're in Law school?" Tristan finally broke the ice.

I nodded, "Yeah, you?"

"Business," he responded.

Like Hunter. I thought to myself bitterly.

"You look really pretty today," Tristan said again after a long moment of agonizing silence. "I like your hair."

"Thanks, you're really nice," I kept my gaze to the ground, admiring my silver heels. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

"Who's your new friend, Thalia?"

My eyes widened at the sound of a familiar voice. Liam placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to his side. Like everyone else, he also held a glass of champagne in his hand.

"L-Liam, what are you doing?" I glowered up at him, attempting to loosen myself from his grip, but he kept me close.

"Nothing, just meeting your new friend," he smirked, keeping his gaze on Tristan.

"Oh, hey Liam. I'm Tristan," Tristan held out a hand and Liam took it. "So, are you Thalia's friend?"

I glared at Liam, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he kept that same infuriating smirk on his face as he watched Tristan.

"Oh, we'll be more than that," Liam kept a tight grip on me.

"Nice, nice," Tristan said, shuffling on his feet. "So I'll just... catch you later." He shot me one last smile before he left, disappearing from my line of sight.

I tore myself from Liam's grip, shooting daggers at him. He only returned with an unfazed expression.

"What were you talking about?" I growled.

"The truth, and besides you should thank me," he said, taking a sip from his drink.

"For what?" I spat. "I don't need you speaking for me."

He ignored my question as the smirk returned on his face, "Chill, also, he's not even as attractive as me."

Liam didn't seem to understand that I could speak to whoever I wanted to without anyone's permission. It wasn't the 19th century anymore.

"Well then you must be blind," I rolled my eyes. "I think he is a nice guy."

My lips curled up when Liam's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly, his jaw clenching. Pushing his buttons gave me great joy.

My stare-off with Liam was interrupted when a classical piece blasted from the speakers in the living room. Random couples began taking the dance floor in the middle of the living room, which had conveniently been cleared out.

"Oh perfect, you're already with Liam," my mom appeared next to me. "You both should go out there. Have a dance, I told the DJ specifically to put this song on."

She was over-enthusiastic while I was horrified. There was no way I would dance with Liam, not after what he'd just pulled with Tristan. Not after how he tried to control me. And I was supposed to be avoiding him tonight.

"No," I said quickly.

"Sure," Liam said at the same time. I snapped my head in his direction, but Liam skillfully ignored me.

"Have fun, I'm going to go find your dad for a dance too," my mom said, leaving Liam and I alone next to the dance floor. I had no chance to protest as I stood on the floor, stiff and unmoving.

It was just like two centuries ago in the ballroom, just him and I and the music. It was just like the day we met.

Liam's mouth curled up into a soft smile — one that sent my mind spiraling. It was the same one I fell for so long ago. I could barely notice the butterflies swarming in my stomach as his dark eyes held mine. Like so many times before, I had been captured by the ocean of stars within them. Everyone around us became a blur.

All reason left my mind.

Finally, like two centuries ago, he held out a hand, "Can I have this dance?"

I couldn't help but return his smile, "Yes."

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜 𝑎𝑙𝑙, ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑!

𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜?

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡