I stepped out of Liam's car, shutting the door behind me. Yesterday, there was a quiz in the one class Liam and I shared and we had no time to say as much as one word to each other.

For some reason, the sun was extra bright this morning, warming my skin and causing the car door handle to burn. The lot was already almost full.

It was now the middle of the week, and Liam had surprised me with a ride to school. By surprise, I meant that he honked his horn at me while I was still getting ready. I slipped out just before my mom had noticed who was in the car on our driveway.

I'd also narrowly escaped my mom's interrogation after our date since I sprinted up to my room before she even noticed I'd returned.

"So, what do we tell Avery and Sam?" I asked, glancing over at Liam as he shut his door. We hadn't talked about where we stood yet, or whether we were together or not. I was dying to have that conversation and I could tell Liam was itching to as well.

"Maybe nothing for now?" he answered, though it sounded more like a question. I nodded in agreement, my eyes meeting his over the top of his car. He grinned, "We will once I ask you to be my girlfriend."

Immediately, my cheeks heated up from his words — or more so after hearing that magical word.

"You're confident that I'd say yes," I muffled my laugh.

"Well of course," he scoffed, a cocky grin on his lips as he approached me. I only rolled my eyes in response.

"So, if you drove me to school, is it implied that you'll pick me up too?" I asked, smirking as we headed towards the school.

Liam glanced over at me, an eyebrow raised, "Well, yeah."

"Oh, so this was just a trick to get me alone with you?" I grinned, teasingly.

"I can get you alone in many other ways," he said mischievously, his eyes glistening. I rolled my eyes again, even though a smile played on my lips.

Liam slipped his hand over mine and instinctively, I curled my fingers to clasp over his hand. My heart skipped a beat from the contact and I bit back a smile. I didn't want to seem like a creep in the halls.

We walked down the hall together, weaving around other students who were all rushing off to their classes. I glanced around, not even surprised to see a few napping on the benches leaning against the wall.

My eyes landed on Avery, who was jogging towards us from across the hall. She was grinning from ear to ear, her backpack smacking against her back as an a ran.

"Is-is that Avery?" Liam asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared down the hall at my best friend.

"Yes," I said, releasing Liam's hand. I stuffed them into the pocket of my jeans and Liam did the same. Within seconds, Avery was in front of us.

"You can't hide that Thalia, I saw that," she wheezed, pointing at our hands that were once intertwined. She was breathing heavily, winded from her short run.

"Well, in that case..." Liam reached over, clasping his hand over mine again, raising it to be level with Avery's eyes.

"Liam!" I snapped my head in his direction, scandalized. He shot me a sheepish smile. What we'd talked about had lasted a good two minutes.

Avery's eyes bulged out of their sockets, her lips spreading out into an even larger grin than before.

"O-kay!" I piped up before Avery could say anything. I turned to Liam, "I'll meet you in class, Avery and I will go get coffee. Want anything?"

"A regular coffee is fine," Liam told me. I grabbed his hand when he started to walk off and he turned back to me, expectantly.

"I forgot, you don't have to pick me up this afternoon. I'm staying late in the library so there's no need to wait," I said.

"Okay," he nodded, giving me one last smile before he walked off, leaving Avery and I alone in the hall. She stared at me with a knowing smile and I gave her a flat expression.

"Are you guys together now?" she wriggled her eyebrows at me.

"No, we're not," I told her, pulling on the sleeve of her sweater as we began walking to the food court.

"So then when are you two official?" Avery asked as we swerved around a group who stood, blocking the halls.

I shrugged, "I don't know."

"Okay so would you be fine with another girl going on a date with Liam?" her lips spread out into a slow grin.

I gritted my teeth. The thought of another girl having as much fun as I did with Liam when we went on our date had my blood boiling.

"No," I frowned.

"You're so lucky to have a guy like him, I'd die for someone like Liam," she sighed. Then her eyebrows shot up. "So, what are you waiting for then?"

I shrugged. This wasn't just for me to decide. I hated the thought of another girl with Liam. From that, I knew I needed to talk to Liam about us as soon as possible.

____________________________

It was nearing nine o'clock at night. From the window next to me, I could see that the sky was pitch black.

I closed my laptop, pushing it aside with a hand as I rested my head on the table, shutting my eyes.

My parents were holding another event at our house and Jackson was having his friends over. It seemed as if the library was the only quiet place I could go to study.

My eyes shot open when the steady thump of someone's sneakers sounded on the hardwood floor of the library.

My heart rate sped up, drumming against my chest when I remembered the night I had gotten the nasty bruise on my cheek, and those men who gave it to me. I mentally scolded myself. Once again, I could have made a smarter decision, then no creep could touch me again.

I glanced around, straining my eyes to make out who it could be in the library with me. I could only make out the rows and rows of books under the dim lighting.

"What a wonderful coincidence."

I jumped at the voice behind me, before letting out a breath of relief at who it belonged to.

"Liam," I rolled my eyes, turning around to face him.

He leaned against a bookshelf, his arms behind his back. His eyes held that same mischievous glint that they always carried. He'd changed his outfit from before, now sporting a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans. His hair was ruffled and dishevelled as always.

"What coincidence? You knew I'd be here," I suppressed my smile. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned, "I'm here to pick you up, with gifts."

Liam revealed a bouquet of red roses, handing them to me. Within a few strides, he was in front of me. My stomach grew wild with butterflies, my cheeks burning as I took it into my hands. I gnawed at my lower lip, "You didn't have to."

"Well, it's the only way I can get you alone throughout the day," he smirked, his tongue swiping over his lower lip. I set the flowers gently onto the table to shove my laptop into my backpack.

"And why would you want that?" I teased, standing up as I set my bag aside.

I sucked in a deep breath when he brought his hand up, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.

"I'm not waiting around for someone to swoop in before me," he said quietly. His eyes flickered from my lips and then to my eyes. "I want you to be mine."

"W-what does that mean?" I asked with a shaky voice, swallowing hard.

"Be my girlfriend," he said, tilting my chin up to be level with his eyes.

My lips curled into a smile as I met his dark eyes. Those eyes that had pulled me in so many years ago. Those eyes that mirrored the bright specks in the sky.

There would be no one else who could make me feel the way he did — all the butterflies and the smiles. And the way that I knew no one could hurt me with him there. With Liam, I knew he wouldn't try to control me, or take advantage of me in any way.

"Of course," I smiled, letting out a laugh.

"God, you're so beautiful," his lips spread out into a Cheshire grin as he leaned in, pressing a light kiss onto my lips.

He pulled apart and my brows furrowed when Liam's eyes seemed to be staring intently at something next to us — which happened to be a random bookshelf.

"Liam? You good?" I asked, slipping my hands into his.

"You know what really bugs me?" he turned his attention back to me, an irritated expression on his face. I blinked at him and he continued, "When people don't put the books back where it belongs."

"What?" I glanced over at the bookshelf, following Liam's line of vision.

"Why is Aristotle where the M's are?" his voice was an octave higher in his frustration.

"Liam, oh my god," I rolled my eyes, smiling as I placed my hand on his cheek. Gently, I rotated his face back towards me, and his eyes met mine. "Just kiss me."

I placed my hand around his neck, pulling him closer. Time seemed to stop when I crashed my lips into his and without delay, he wrapped his arms around my waist. I melted into his arms as the fluttering intensified in my heart.

My eyes flitted shut and the only thing I could feel were his soft lips and his hair as I threaded my fingers through it. His cologne drifted up my nose, and my mind blanked out momentarily. Liam had invaded all my senses. The feeling of his lips against mine was addicting.

Warmth washed over me, from my lips and all the way down to my curled toes. The kiss grew more intense as he kissed me hungrily and my knees went weak, almost giving in.

We broke apart and in one swift motion, Liam's arm found the back of my knees and he scooped me up, placing my back against the table.

My eyes took in his tousled hair, ruined by my fingers, and his flushed cheeks. His eyes seemed darker than usual as they stared into mine, his breaths shaky and quick.

He leaned over me, his lips crashing into mine again. He laced his hands with mine while my other hand travelled under his shirt, tracing the muscles on his stomach.

I sighed into his mouth and he took that chance to slip his tongue inside, kissing me deeply. My head spun and my stomach swarmed with butterflies. I shivered as the tingles spread throughout my whole body.

It was as if no one else existed except for Liam. His kisses were a red, blazing fire and yet it was so gentle like a light drizzle of rain. It sent me into oblivion.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑡!

𝑊𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒'𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟?!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡