I dragged myself out of the car along with Jackson and my dad, stepping into the crisp, cool night. The crescent moon was bright, illuminating the dark sky.

"Give me one second," my mom stayed seated in the passengers' seat, the mirror opened as she slapped on another layer of deep red lipstick.

I glanced down at my own outfit, from my tight black sweater to my plaid skirt and pumps.

My mom had specifically bought those shoes for me, insisting that I wear them for tonight. I didn't mind heels, just that most of them pinched my heel and toes uncomfortably. I'd also followed my dad's suggestion and curled my dark hair.

Both my dad and brother put in effort and put on a dress shirt and pants, while my mom was dressed in a plain black dress.

My family had been given the honour of being invited by their investor to watch a play — Macbeth. I had read it in high school, and I remembered it being quite ridiculous.

"Alright, I'm ready," my mom stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her. "How's my hair?"

"You look great, honey," my dad said immediately and Jackson rolled his eyes. "Now come on, we don't want to be late."

Together, we headed into the theatre, stepping onto the carpeted floor. The walls were plastered with posters introducing the performances that would be going on.

Crowds of people gathered, just like my family and all dressed elegantly. They talked with one another, bright smiles adorning their faces. I knew those smiles were fake, probably just to suck up to another person. It was hard to find genuine people in life after all.

"The Riveras are here already too," my dad beamed, walking in ahead of my mom, Jackson and I.

I glanced in the direction of where my dad was heading, to see Liam with his parents. I should have known I'd see Liam here, after all, his parents and mine shared the same investor.

"You're so lucky," Jackson spoke up from next to me as we followed my dad to where Liam was.

"Why?" I rolled my eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"Cause your friend is always there wherever we go," he replied, straightening out the collar on his shirt. "At least you got someone to talk to during this stupid thing. I hate Macbeth."

"Liam is not my friend," I glared at Jackson for even thinking that. He only looked at me like I was insane.

We brushed past different groups of people as we walked, before finally stopping in front of the Riveras, where Susan and Robert immediately began chatting away with my parents. My ears automatically tuned their greetings out and instead, my eyes landed on Liam.

A grin spread over his face as he approached me, "Fancy seeing you here."

"You know, I've been wondering why it's always you," I gave him a blank stare to which he only let out a light chuckle. He had also dressed elegantly in a black suit, though he was missing a tie. My eyes trailed down to his hand, where he held onto a woman's purse.

His eyes followed mine to his hand, and for a split second, they widened, "It's my mom's, I'm just holding it for her."

"Calm down, I didn't think it was yours," I muffled my laugh. A moment of silence settled between us as I shuffled between my feet, gaining the courage to say what I needed. Finally, I swallowed hard, "Thanks for what you did at school, with Hunter."

"Don't worry about it, he's an ass anyways," Liam shrugged it off.

We turned our attention to our parents, where my mom was waving for me to come over. There was another man with them, one I'd never met before. He was much older than my dad, with his hair already greying, dressed in a brown suit.

"This is Mr. Victor Torres. He's the one we have to thank for our invitation tonight," my dad beamed.

I cleared my throat, plastering a smile on my face as well, "Hello Mr. Torres, it's so nice to meet you."

Jackson and Liam took their turns greeting Mr. Torres. Finally, my parents, along with everyone else began walking into the direction of the theatre. My eyes met Liam's for a short moment before we followed along.

The theatre was beautiful, with a large stage at the front and rows and rows of rising red leather seats.
The chandeliers on the ceiling illuminated the theatre as the seats were slowly occupied.

I'd been told that our seats were near the front, reserved by my parents' investor — Mr. Torres himself.

I followed my parents, along with Liam down the many steps in the aisle that it took to get to our spots. I kept my eyes trained on the floor to prevent tripping in my heels. My mom would never let me live it down if I did.

"This takes me back," Liam said next to me, glancing around the theatre.

"I try not to think of it," I replied, keeping my gaze low. Now that Liam had brought it up, it did remind me of many things. Two centuries ago, my family would always go to plays like this and operas.

It was a way we flaunted our wealth. I'd thought it was interesting back then and a privilege, now I was just irritated that I had to attend this.

"Why?" Liam asked, laughing lightly.

I looked at him, gnawing at my lip, "Because, it wasn't always glitz and glam."

In fact, it was never glitz and glam for anyone else besides the wealthy.

"Yeah, that's true," was all Liam said.

Finally, my parents turned and walked down a row that was three rows from the front of the stage. They filled the four seats further into the centre of the row. Jackson followed them and took a seat next to my mom, leaving two empty seats at the end of the row.

Liam nodded his head over to the seat and I walked into the row ahead of him, taking the spot next to Jackson. Liam sat next to me, his shoulder brushing against mine as he did so, causing my cheeks to heat up against my will. The seats were a lot tighter than I had thought.

Jackson fidgeted next to me, his hand flying to touch his phone that was in his front pocket, and then retracting it. I chortled to myself. Jackson wanted so bad to go on his phone, but he wouldn't dare with my mom next to him.

"Here, pass my mom's purse to her will you?" Liam handed me his mom's large black, leather handbag.

"Uh okay," I took it in my hands, glancing over only to realize Liam's mom was three seats away. I turned to Jackson. "Pass this to Mrs. Rivera."

Jackson eyed the purse weirdly, taking it into his hands, "Sure."

I gave Jackson a smile before turning back to the front. I let out a breath as I watched the closed red velvet curtains on the stage ruffle, indicating that the show would start soon.

My body sprung up in surprise when Liam dug an elbow into my side.

"Ow, what —" I scowled at him, but he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was focused elsewhere.

"Isn't that..." he trailed off. I followed his eyes, to see Hunter walking past our row, with his parents.

My eyes widened when Hunter's eyes met mine. His smile quickly curled down and his eyes hardened when he noticed Liam next to me.

"Hunter," I finished for Liam, bitterly. I glanced over at Liam, to see him engaged in some sort of stare-off with Hunter. "Um... Liam?" I whispered, my brows furrowing.

I gasped when Liam placed his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. His cologne drifted up my nose, muddling my brain momentarily.

"Liam, what are you—" I started, attempting to wriggle myself free. I stopped when Hunter's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly at the sight. He swallowed hard before storming off, following his parents.

I tore myself away from Liam's hold, glaring at him, "What was that for?"

"Well, he's gone now. You should thank me," Liam's eyebrow raised, a cocky smile spreading over his face.

"Well, now he thinks we're together," I gritted my teeth.

He grinned, "Is that so bad?"

I pressed my mouth shut, not knowing what to say as I avoided his eyes. I turned my attention to the front, feeling my cheeks burn.

The lights in the theatre dimmed and the curtains swung open. The crowd immediately grew silent as the show began. I kept my gaze on the play, even though the events flew over my brain. My mind was elsewhere.

Liam's shoulder brushed against mine, light enough that it sent shivers up my spine. His usual sandalwood cologne drifted up my nose, along with a scent that was uniquely his — one that I'd never really noticed before.

Butterflies filled my stomach, and it wasn't the bad kind. I swallowed hard, breathing deeply through my nose in a futile attempt to calm my blazing cheeks. Liam wasn't even speaking to me, or deliberately doing anything and I was already so flustered.

The play went on, but I was barely even noticing what was happening. All I knew was that Lady Macbeth couldn't get the blood off of her hands.

Liam shifted, his hand lightly skimming over mine. I froze, my body stiffening. I couldn't fathom how his touch could feel so electrifying. It had been two centuries ago and it still was.

He moved again, his shoulder grazing over mine and I jumped from the contact. My stomach was now a gymnastics gold medalist with all the flips it'd been performing.

I snuck a glance at Liam, my face still ablaze. He faced forward, paying me no mind. My gaze burned through the side of his head and finally, he turned his head, meeting my eyes.

"You good?" he asked, an infuriating smirk on his face.

"Just peachy," I said, my lips pressed into a thin line.

I turned my attention back to the front, my jaw clenching in irritation. He was messing with me, no doubt. There was plenty of room for him to sit without making contact with my arm and hand.

My mouth curved up into a mischievous smile. Two could play this game.

I located Liam's leg next to the foot of his seat and I stole another glance at him. He was oblivious, his eyes concentrated on the show that I was completely ignoring.

I shifted closer to Liam, brushing my foot over his leg, slowly and lightly. I moved my foot up and then back down along his leg, biting my lip almost to the point of drawing blood to keep myself from laughing. I repeated the action two more times.

It had only been a short moment before Liam spun around, gaping at me. His cheeks were flushed, his breaths quick.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding out of breath.

I blinked at him, feigning an confused expression, "What do you mean? I'm just watching the play."

He took a deep breath, turning back to the front, facing the stage. Liam crossed his legs, his jaw tightening as he moved his arms from the armrest, crossing them over his lap.

My brows furrowed, this time, actually confused, when I realized that it wasn't just his face that was flushed, but as were the tips of his ears and his neck.

"Liam?" I whispered.

"I gotta go," he said quickly, standing up.

He didn't look at me, or say another word before he jogged down the aisle. Liam disappeared from my sight as he left the theatre.

I sank back down onto my seat, frowning. The theatre felt much emptier without Liam next to me, like I was missing something. I blinked, shaking my head. I needed to get Liam out of my brain before I did something I'd regret.

But even then, I found myself rolling my eyes. Who actually would just run out of a theatre at random?

Only Liam.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒! 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡