"Thalia, Avery is here!" my mom's voice boomed from downstairs.

"Crap," I glanced down at the mess on my bathroom sink, scattered with my make up and the straightener I was supposed to use this morning.

Avery was early, almost half an hour early and I was yet to be presentable. I shrugged, Avery could wait just a few more minutes.

Last night, I'd slept like a log. Liam had helped me call someone to tow my motorcycle and to get the tire fixed. He left not too long after that and I was so exhausted that I collapsed onto my bed, falling into a dreamless sleep. It seemed as though what had happened yesterday with those men hadn't affected my sleep.

I quickly slapped on a layer of mascara and threw my hair up into a pony tail, my lips twitching up. It had been a while since I'd put my hair up. Hunter had hated it and I hadn't done it since I broke up with him. Thankfully, I'd already thrown on a floral mini-skirt and a regular white tee.

The cut on my face was barely noticeable, some had even started to scab over. I put on a thick layer of concealer over it and the cut and bruise had become a small discolouration.

With one last look in the mirror, I hurried out of the bathroom. I grabbed my backpack that sat next to my desk, and the textbook I hadn't bothered to put in my bag from my desk before exiting the room.

"Thalia!" my mom shouted again just as I stepped onto the first stair. Her voice sounded more piercing than usual.

"I'm coming," I called back, rolling my eyes. I glanced into the kitchen as I walked by, catching a glimpse of Jackson stuffing a bagel in his mouth. Of course my mom sitting on the table with her phone.

Just as my mom said, Avery's car was parked on my driveway when I opened the main doors. I could make out every word of Avery's music as it vibrated loudly through her car.

"Hey," I greeted as I swung open her car door, plopping down onto the passenger seat.

"You seem way too happy to be going to school," she watched me with a perplexed expression.

I set my backpack and textbook onto the floor by my feet, my brows furrowing, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happened since yesterday? I saw you not even twenty four hours ago," she wriggled her eyebrows at me, eyes glistening. "And you also didn't freak out at me for being like twenty minutes early."

"Nothing happened," I rolled my eyes as Avery began backing out of my driveway.

I turned my head to stare out the window, to prevent Avery from seeing my cheeks that were beginning to grow warm. Avery drove down the street, the houses, cars and trees passing by in a blur.

There was no way I'd admit to Avery that Liam and I kissed last night, even if it was the best kiss I'd ever experienced. The kiss was everything I'd imagined it would be like two hundred years ago. I'd felt like I was floating on cloud 9 — I still did.

"You're absolutely glowing — I don't believe you," she snickered. "But it's fine, you better tell me one day, when you're ready."

For now, it would be my sweet secret until I was sure I knew what was going on between Liam and I. Unfortunately, this secret is was also Jackson's since he decided to use my bathroom out of the multiple in our house.

"Yes, of course Avery. Who else would I tell?" I drawled, turning back to look at her.

"True," she snorted.

Avery reached out, blasting a rap song as she turned up the music on her stereo. The vibrations shook my body, and no doubt the neighbouring cars could hear every inappropriate word of the song. The only time she turned down the music was to tell me about a date she'd gone on with a Tinder match the other day.

I sat in silence while Avery shouted out the lyrics of her favourite songs, and by the time she pulled up to the school, my eardrums had been annihilated.

"I'm gonna go grab a coffee, wanna come with?" she asked as she pulled her key out of the ignition.

I shook my head, stepping out of the car, "I'm gonna get to class early, maybe ask some questions."

I hooked my arms around the straps of my backpack and tucked my textbook under my arm.

"Okay, suit yourself. I think I need me an iced coffee," she shut her car door and walked off. I followed after her rolling my eyes with a smile.

The parking lot was much less scary with all the cars and students around — large contrast compared to last night. The school was already swarming with students when I walked in, the halls completely crowded.

Avery and I separated as she headed into the direction of the food court and I headed to my first class — with Liam. I swerved around students as I made my way down the hall.

The same warm, bubbly feeling from last night returned, emanating through my whole body from the thought of seeing Liam again, especially after yesterday. My lips curled up slightly as walked into my classroom.

The class was still empty and even the professor wasn't in yet. All thanks to Avery being extra early.

I gasped when a shoulder collided into me from behind, brushing past me to get through the door ahead of me.The textbook I had tucked under my arm slipped out of my grasp, falling flat on the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit," I swore under my breath.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry," the guy who'd bumped into me glanced back, offering me an unapologetic smile. My lips pressed into a thin line as I rolled my eyes at him.

I bent down, but before my hands even made contact with my textbook, another pair of hands swiped it up from the floor.

"Dropped this?"

I straightened up, meeting Liam's dark eyes. For some reason, they held a hint of mischief in them. He handed the book over to me.

"Thanks," I reached out to grab it, my hand brushing over his lightly. My heart skipped a beat from the simple contact.

I almost grimaced when I realized Sam was next to Liam, and he had been the whole time. He looked between Liam and I, unblinking as he ran a hand over his golden hair.

"Hey Sam," I gave him a cheeky smile, but his brows only knitted together in return.

"You two are weird today," he continued to glance between Liam and I.

"What do you mean?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"The two of you, you're just really oddly happy," he replied, his hair falling over his eyes again.

"You're just thinking too much, Sam," Liam piped up and I agreed with a quick nod.

"Yeah, probably," Sam shrugged, making his way past Liam and I as he headed over to his seat.

Students weaved their way around us and I took a step aside when it hit me that Liam and I were standing right by the doorway. Together, we began our way towards our tables, near Sam.

"How are you feeling, you know, after yesterday?" Liam whispered, his shoulder brushing against mine.

"Fine," I said, nonchalantly.

"Are you sure?" Liam's brows furrowed in concern, his lips pressed to a thin line.

"Yes, I'm sure. I slept great last night," I nodded, hoping that it would be enough to reassure Liam. Surprisingly, I wasn't even lying.

"Now, why is that?" he drawled, a slow smirk spreading over his face as we took a seat at our tables. I ignored Sam's curious gaze from over Liam's shoulder.

"I got a new pillow," I lied, feeling my own cocky smile spread over my lips as Liam rolled his eyes.

"You wouldn't need one if you had me," he snickered, his eyes glittering under the classroom lights. I scoffed at that, ignoring the heat that was beginning to build up in my cheeks.

The professor entered the room, setting his briefcase down on his desk at the front of the room.

"I forgot to do this yesterday. Pass me your phone," Liam said, holding a hand out.

"What? No," my hand instinctively reached in my pocket, clutching my phone. "What would you want it for?"

He only raised an eyebrow at me as he waited with his hand out. With narrowed eyes, I unlocked my phone and placed it into his hand.

I watched as his fingers flew over my phone, his dishevelled dark hair falling over his forehead. My foot tapped against the floor impatiently. Finally, he handed it back to me, grinning.

"What did you do?" I eyed him as I glanced into my phone. It looked the same as it always had.

"I did the honours and added my number into it. I also texted myself so I have yours," he explained proudly. I clicked onto my contacts, and sure enough, Liam's name was in there.

"Who said I wanted your number?" I shot a challenging eyebrow up.

"Please, everyone wants my number. Consider yourself lucky," he scoffed. I opened my mouth to retort when the professor cut me off.

"Good morning class," the professor's voice echoed throughout the classroom. Only silence returned. "Before we begin looking at a new case study today, I have something to offer a couple of you."

The class immediately perked up in curiosity.

"It would be great if I could get a couple volunteers to help me organize the files and textbooks in my office," the professor explained and the class sighed in disappointment. "The couple of you that do will get a bonus on your final exam grade."

From the sound of that, I sat straight up. The deal was a good one. Final exams notorious for being difficult and any extra marks would be helpful.

"Any takers?" the professor glanced around the room. My hand shot up high in the air at the same time that Liam's did.

My head snapped in his direction only to see him shoot me a wink that I rolled my eyes at.

"Great, the two of you can meet me at my office at six this evening," the professor beamed, pointing at Liam and I.  "On to the lesson."

He turned around, hooking his laptop up to the Smart Board as he began talking. I fished out my binder and textbook from my backpack, setting them onto my desk.

For the next hour, I tried my best to focus on the professor's words, writing down the important points.

But, it was a lot harder to focus with Liam next to me. Many times, he glanced over at me, then he diverted his gaze just a second later. His elbow bumped into me from time to time as he worked, and my heart jumped each time, speeding up. Like any other day, Liam answered many of the professor's questions, and his voice alone sent butterflies swarming in my stomach.

By the time the professor dismissed us, I had scribbled almost no new notes into my book.

I shoved my textbook into my bag, followed by my pen before zipping it up.

The only thing that ran through my mind was how tonight would go with Liam. I'd be alone with him, in a room. I bit down on my lip, pushing away that thought. Regardless, it would definitely be interesting and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited about it.

Finally, I glanced over at Liam as he swung his bag over his shoulder. His eyes met mine and he held an infuriating smirk on his face "See you tonight, Ophelia."

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑!

𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔?

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡