The past few months were bliss and they passed by in a blur of exams, papers and studying. Of course, I'd spent most of my time doing that with Liam, or more like I tried to bite back the urge to make out with him every time we tried to hunker down and get work done. Unfortunately, we failed most of the time and may have even gone further than that.

I also studied with Avery — whenever she was up for studying. Sam and Avery had become great friends, bonding through corn dogs and surfing, so it was safe to say that I saw my best friend a little less than before. Only a little since Avery needed her fill of girl time quite often.

On the plus side, I hadn't heard from Hunter since that party. My injuries had also healed completely, and I could finally laugh without being in pain.

Now, we were just a few hours from summer vacation.

Things were smooth sailing between Liam and I, and I couldn't see anything going wrong, ever. We were both determined to end the semester with a 4.0 GPA, or at least close to it. It was a struggle for me, but it seemed so easy to Liam.

I'd asked for help from Liam more times than I'd like to admit, simply because his brain absorbed the information that mine couldn't.

Finals had come and gone and after many sleepless nights, I hoped that my hard work paid off.

Liam and I sat at my kitchen table. It had been a couple weeks since our finals and we waited with baited breath for our final marks. Later, we'd go to the beach to meet up with Avery and Sam.

I hung around my student centre on my laptop, refreshing my page every few minutes even though ideally, the grades wouldn't be in so quickly. Liam on the other hand, was stuffing down a sandwich that I'd made for him when he got to my place.

"I swear Ophelia, you make the best food," he said, swallowing. I grinned, flattered. Then, he cackled, "Not as good as I am though."

Liam had started to teach me how to cook, or at least make some basic meals for when I wasn't going out with my parents to dinners, or when our chef wasn't in. It was helpful, and I didn't have to resort to fast food on those days.

"Please, you think too highly of yourself," I rolled my eyes, even though a smile played on my lips. I stretched out my feet, lightly bringing them into contact with his under the table.

My finger pressed down on the mouse to refresh the page again and my heart skipped a beat, my eyes widening.

"Liam, it's up!" I vigorously tapped on his hand with my own as I scrolled down on my student centre page. My heart hammered against my chest and anxious butterflies swarmed in my stomach as my eyes scanned the web page for my final grade.

"Ophelia, calm down," he chuckled. "It'll still be up a second later." Liam opened his laptop calmly.

A gasp escaped my lips when I finally saw it at the bottom right corner of the page. My final GPA was a 3.98. My final exam grade for the class Liam and I shared was a perfect score.

I squealed, shutting my laptop, beaming like a maniac. I peered up at Liam, "I got a 3.98! How did you do?"

His eyes darted across the screen, swallowing hard. I watched as his brows creased in concentration.

"I'd still love you no matter how bad you did on the final," I teased, a slow smirk spreading over my lips.

He finally met my eyes, an amused eyebrow raised at me, "I got a hundred on the exam and a 4.0 final GPA."

"What the hell?" the smirk immediately wiped off my face and my jaw slackened. "How does one get a 4.0? That's— that's impossible."

He grinned cockily, "Definitely not impossible."

His cocky smirk dissipated just a moment later. Liam reached over pushing his laptop, and mine aside to clear a path between us. He slipped my hand into his, weaving his fingers through mine. His thumb stroked over my knuckles in the slightest touch.

"It doesn't even matter, 4.0 or 3.98. We're still on the Dean's List," he said, smiling.

"I'm not mad about my grade," I told him, the corners of my lips curling up to match his. I laughed in disbelief, "I just can't believe you actually did it, I'm so proud of you."

I leaned over the table, standing up from my chair as I gave him a light peck on his lips.

"I'm disappointed in the amount of faith you have in me," he murmured against my lips, his eyes twinkling.

"Shush," I rolled my eyes, pressing my lips onto his again to silence him. His hand moved to the back of my neck to pull me closer.

A loud thud sounded from the foyer as the front doors swung open. Liam and I jumped apart from each other, sitting back on our seats.

I straightened out my shirt as my mom sauntered into the kitchen. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard.

"Liam, nice to see you," she greeted as she poured herself a glass of water on the kitchen counter.

"Hi Mrs. Wilson. Good to see you too," Liam replied with a neutral expression. I was always baffled at how he could act completely calm and normal in any situation. Meanwhile, my cheeks were burning.

She took a long sip from the cup before setting it down onto the counter again.

"Thalia, our maid took the next two weeks off, could you clean the washrooms for me?" my mom asked, as she stalked to the sink, rinsing out the cup. She set it on the rack to dry.

"Now?" my brows furrowed as I leaned back on my chair to look at her. Liam placed his head in his hands on the table across from me.

"Yes right now," she said as it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Liam and I were just about to go to the beach, could I do it after?" I asked.

"We have guests coming in an hour, they have to be cleaned now," she raised an eyebrow, her hands on her hips. I frowned, I guess I'd have to be an hour or so late to the beach.

"You can ask Jackson to do it Mrs. Wilson, he's just upstairs," Liam piped up.

My mom stared between Liam and I, pursing her lips, "Sure, I'll let him know. Have fun at the beach."

With that, she ambled out of the kitchen, her heels clicking against the tiled floors. I watched as she disappeared around the corner, her footsteps fading away as she headed up the stairs.

I turned back to Liam, a cheeky smile stretching over my face.

"Problem solved," he chuckled, picking up his laptop and shoving it into his backpack.

"Thanks," I said, sheepishly. Unlike him, I left my laptop where it was on the table. "I didn't know how I'd get out of that."

I didn't know what it was with Liam, but he always knew what to say with my parents. Most of the time, I was glad he was there to help me get out of things my parents threw at me suddenly, especially their sit down dinners with business associates.

I'd never noticed how wrong I'd been before. Having support from someone, or letting them stand up for me when I couldn't didn't mean that I couldn't still rely on myself, and it definitely didn't mean that I was some damsel in distress or that I was being controlled. Sometimes we just had to let go.

Liam glanced at the watch on his wrist, swiping his keys off the table. It still had the surfboard keychain I'd given him hooked around the ring. Liam stood up from his chair, pushing it back with a shriek against the floor.

He looked at me, grinning, "We should start heading to the beach."

________________________________

My feet dug into the warm golden sand, as I walked back to where Avery, Sam, Liam and I had set out towels and bags. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky seemed as though it were on fire, with hues of red, orange and yellow blended together.

I dissolved into giggles again when I locked eyes with Liam. He'd attempted to show me a trick on his surfboard, but he had ended up slipping off of it. It was funny to see him flustered after he messed up. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head even though a small smile played on his lips. The apple of his cheeks were bright pink.

My body and my bikini was still soaked, water dripping onto the sand and darkening under my wet feet. My dripping hair stuck to my back.

Liam intertwined his hand into mine as we stepped and maneuvered around families. Everyone lounged around on the beach, sunbathing  and eating, talking over each other and laughing obnoxiously.

"Aaaanyways, I made some sandwiches for us and packed juice boxes," he told me, grinning proudly.

"Thanks for doing that," I giggled. Liam seemed to save my life every single day. I would have just bought food from a restaurant.

I plopped down on my towel with Liam doing the same next to me. My eyes fluttered shut as I tilted my head up to the sky. The sun warmed my skin like a blanket, drying the water droplets off of me almost immediately.

We sat in silence for a short moment, my eyes landing on Sam and Avery sitting on the surfboards out in the ocean. Avery bursted out laughing at something Sam had said, throwing her head back.

I took a peek at Liam. He sat, and he seemed to be staring at everything except for me, his rebellious wet hair draping over his forehead. His cheeks were pink as he scratched the back of his head.

"You good?" I asked, shuffling closer to him. My shoulder brushed against his lightly.

Finally, he locked his eyes with mine and he gave me a nervous smile. My brows furrowed in confusion when he turned around, his hands digging around in his bag.

He fished out a small black box about the size of my palm.

"W-what's that?" I asked, swallowing hard. My brain emptied of all thoughts. I truly didn't know what would be inside.

Slowly, Liam curled his fingers over it, flipping the lid open. My eyes widened and my heart felt as though it had stopped beating, like it had skipped more beats than just one.

It had been two hundred years, and still I remembered it like it was yesterday.

Those familiar rhinestones stared back at me, glistening under the sunset, and a single red rose sat in the centre of it all, demanding my attention.

It was my barrette.

It was the barrette Liam had gifted me two centuries ago when we first met. The same barrette that I'd thrown onto the ground in a rage. My heart began to race, pounding against my chest in a steady beat.

"H-how did you find this?" I asked, glancing up at him. His face was a slight blur over the tears that had begun to pool in the rims of my eyes. I blinked them away.

Liam's lips curled into a soft smile, "I looked everywhere for it. Ever since I met you again in September, I'd been searching for it online. I finally found it a month ago and I bought it back."

"How much did it cost you, I can pay you back," I immediately said, my hands clasping around my bag to grab my wallet.

Liam shook his head, placing his hand over mine. I released my bag, my eyes travelling back to the beautiful, twinkling rhinestones on the barrette.

I'd never thought I'd see my barrette again. A large part of me had forgotten about it. Warmth spread over me, and it wasn't from the sun.

"Ophelia," he said, his voice piercing into my thoughts. I tore my eyes away from the box, meeting Liam's eyes again. "I knew I loved you the first time I saw you in the ballroom two hundred years ago. And I knew I loved you when I saw you again in this life."

I swallowed hard, my heart now racing at what felt like a hundred miles per hour. My stomach performed somersaults and flooded with butterflies. His eyes were soft and gentle, swimming with emotion.

"I don't think I ever realized that all my life I'd just been waiting for you. I'd been waiting for you to crash into my life again," he continued, gnawing at his lip. He slipped his hands into mine, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand. His lips curled into a small smile. "Remember the promise I made you back then?"

I nodded, a smile of my own that mirrored his spread over my face. My mind didn't seem capable of forming any speech.

Without realizing, my eyes trailed over his face. A few droplets of water glistened on his bare chest and lined the ends of his wet, messy hair. An ocean of stars twinkled in his eyes. Warmth blossomed in my chest from the sight of him.

We drew closer to one another, and then his lips were on mine. I kissed him back languidly, my hands finding his hair.

My eyes fluttered shut as I tried to commit this moment to my memory. I wanted to always remember the way his lips felt against mine and the way his soft hair felt between my fingers. I ignored everything except for the gentle pressure of his lips on me.

At last, we pulled apart, his forehead pressed on mine as a smile spread over his lips.

"Ophelia, I promise that life after life, it will only ever be you. Whether it's the past life, this life, hell, even the next. Only you," he said quietly, so that I was the only one in this crowded beach who could hear it.

Nothing felt more right than this. I never would have thought that there could be a person who could change my life, someone who could help me let go of the past and all my fears with it. I knew that I could depend on Liam no matter what, and he could do this same with me.

Many people in this world would spend their whole lives trying to find someone like that, and some never do find it in the end. I was lucky enough to have it, with Liam.

With Liam, I felt warm and safe. I felt at home. I felt alive. There was no one I'd rather spend my life with, arguing about mindless things and laughing until my sides ached. There was no other place I'd rather be.

The smile on my face mirrored his, "I promise too."

♡︎

"I have died everyday waiting for you, darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years, and I'll love you for a thousand more."

~ Christina Perri

★★★

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑠𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘!

𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑!

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔!!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡