As I walked down the all too familiar hallway that led to my first period class I thought about everything that happened at the football game on Friday.

Liam was drunk and high.

Liam tried to kiss me.

And then Liam beat up a guy over five hundred dollars, and when I tried to stop him, he pushed me to the ground.

Maybe I shouldn't go to any more football games. Or maybe I should just stay away from Liam.

During the weekend I tried my hardest to keep the events of Friday off my mind, but now that I was back at school I couldn't ignore it anymore. I had no idea what would happened when I saw Liam. Would he confront me about what happened? Would he pretend it never happened at all?

I shooed the thoughts away as I sat down at a desk and waited for class to start. There was no use going over possible scenarios, it just stressed me out more.

The chair beside me screeched against the floor as it was pulled out, but I didn't care to look up and see who sat down. Until the person spoke.

"Hey."

I turned my head and looked at the person beside me.

Liam.

Should I ignore him?

"Hi." I muttered back before I could stop myself. I guess I wasn't ignoring him.

"I'm sorry about Friday. All of it. I wasn't in the right frame of mind and I shouldn't have done what I did. And then you were just trying to stop the fight and I shoved you. I swear I didn't know it was you. I'm so sorry." He rambled, running a hand through his hair as he spoke.

I gave him a small smile, "It seems like you're always apologizing."

He looked down at his desk in shame and I immediately felt bad. I didn't mean to make him feel guilty, I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

"I accept your apology." I quickly said, hoping that the sad look on his face would go away.

He gave me a small smile in return as class started.

Wait a second. He wasn't in this class.

"What are you doing in here? You're not even in this class." I whispered to him as the teacher started his lesson.

"Just because you haven't seen me in this class, doesn't mean I'm not in it." He countered, giving me a playful wink.

Right, he probably skipped classes all the time.

"Oh." Was all I said. I couldn't come up with anything better.

I heard him chuckle and then we focused on the teacher.

Why did he decide to come to class today if he skipped it the whole first week? And why did he skip in the first place? School wasn't that bad.

We didn't speak for the rest of class, and to my surprise it looked like Liam was actually paying attention. I saw him taking notes and everything.

After class we went our separate ways, me walking alone, and Liam with a couple of his friends.

"Hey, you look cute." Lisa complemented me when I plopped down beside her in our second period class.

"Thanks, so do you." I replied, fiddling with the bottom of my shirt. I was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. It wasn't anything fashionable, but it was an upgrade from my baggy hoodies.

While I looked casual, Lisa was a little more dressed up in a tight long sleeve shirt and jean skirt. She looked amazing as always. I felt so average when I was around her and Steph, but they were always complimenting me which made me feel pretty in my own way.

Once class began we started chatting. A supply teacher was filling in and decided not to teach so now class was just a study period.

"So guess what?" Lisa beamed, her blonde curls dancing as she bounced excitedly in her seat.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at my goofy friend, "What?"

"Okay, so you can't tell anyone, but I have a date." She told me.

I wasn't surprised at all, that girl always had a date.

"With a football player." She added.

I raised my eyebrows, intrigued. The football players usually only dated cheerleaders.

"Devin Cook asked me out."

My eyes widened in shock. Not only was she going on a date with a football player, but it was with the star quarterback.

"Nice job! You'll have to introduce me to all of his hot football buddies." I told her. Now I was just as excited for her date as she was. I'd jump at the chance to even just hang out with some football players. Was that shallow of me? They were just so nice to look at, and they'd probably be very entertaining.

All I knew was that I needed to get my mind off of Liam and a football player would be the perfect distraction. They weren't allowed to drink or do drugs because there was random drug tests for all sports players, and if anything came back positive they'd be kicked off the team.

I needed to be surrounded by people that took care of themselves and cared about their future, and Liam wasn't one of those people.

"When's the date?" I asked, smiling at the look of delight on her face.

"This Friday night, he's taking me to dinner and then a party!" She quietly squealed, careful not to catch the attention of the students around us.

Lucky girl always had plans on Fridays. Usually my Friday nights included a good book and a steaming cup of tea.

• • • • • • •

I checked my phone for the tenth time in the last five minutes. School ended half an hour ago and dad should've been here to pick me up by now. What if he got into a car accident? What would happen to me if he died? I wouldn't have any parents, I'd probably be put into foster care and have to move to another town!

My phone buzzing with a text brought me out of my panicked thoughts.

From: Dad

Hey sweetie, I have to work late so I won't be able to pick you up. Sorry! I'll be home at 9.

I sighed in relief as I read the text. He wasn't dead. Everything was okay.

But how was I going to get home?

I looked around to see if anyone I knew could give me a ride but the parking lot was pretty much empty. My only option was to walk home, and that would take an hour.

I looked up at the depressing sky as I walked down the sidewalk, the clouds were grey and heavy. I hoped I could get home before the rain started but I wasn't sure I'd get that lucky.

A black car with dark tinted windows driving at an oddly slow speed caught my attention as I quickened my pace to beat the rain.

What were they doing? Maybe trying to find a house? Or they were going to kidnap me.

I looked around in panic for anyone to witness my kidnapping but there was no one around. If my paranoia became a reality I wouldn't be saved. My disappearance would go unsolved and I'd be a prisoner forever, or dead and buried in the woods.

The passenger side window of the car rolled down revealing Liam in the driver's seat. I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, glad I wasn't in any danger, but confused with the situation. Why was he driving beside me? Was he stalking me or something?

"Hey Emma, want a ride?" He called out to me.

"Want to stop stalking me? I thought I was about to get kidnaped! You can't just drive slowly beside someone!" I chastised, ignoring his question.

He gave me a bewildered look and I heard laughing inside his car. His friends found my paranoia funny.

"I'm sorry, now do you want a ride or what?" He apologized, running a hand through his hair in exasperation while the other held the steering wheel.

"No thanks." I declined, quickening my pace again. If I walked any faster I'd be jogging, but in that moment I just didn't care. I wanted to beat the rain and get as far from Liam as possible.

The black car sped up to easily match my pace.

"C'mon Emma, just let me give you a ride. It's about to rain."

I shook my head and ignored him. I didn't want a ride, especially with his friends in the car. They were probably just as bad as him and I didn't want to be caught up in some drug deal gone wrong or something.

"Damnit Emma, I'll get out of the car and put you in it myself." Liam threatened, and I just rolled my eyes in response.

So he was going to kidnap me.

I tuned Liam out as he continued to pester me, but when a raindrop landed on my nose I decided to take him up on his offer. The walk home was much too far to do in the rain.

I stopped dead in my tracks, causing Liam to slam on his breaks.

"Fine, you can give me a ride." I told him.

Liam pointed at the seat beside him and I quickly got in before the rain got worse. He gave me a smug smile as I buckled up, and I gave him my best scowl in return.

"Is someone scared of the rain?" He teased as he began to drive.

"No, I just don't want to walk in it for an hour. It's cold outside, I'd probably get sick." I defended myself. Why would anyone be scared of the rain? That was just ridiculous.

"Hey, I'm Leo." A person suddenly said as Liam opened his mouth to speak.

I forgot we weren't alone.

"Hi, I'm Emma." I greeted him, awkwardly half turning in my seat so I could put a face to the name.

Leo had dirty blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, while the guy beside him was the total opposite with brown hair and brown eyes.

"I'm Garrett." The other guy said when he saw me looking at him.

"Hi." I replied, sitting straight in my seat again a moment later.

The car hummed quietly as we drove, and it took me a good ten minutes before I realized that one: Liam didn't know where I lived. And two: we were going in the opposite direction of my house.

"Where are we going?" I asked, poking Liam on the arm to get his attention.

"My house." He answered nonchalantly.

I didn't agree to that!

"You asked me if I want a ride home, not if I wanted to hang out with you." I told him matter-of-factly, defiantly crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"I offered to give you a ride home, but I never told you which home. We're going to my home." He countered, shooting a cocky smile my way.

Jerk.

"I've had a long day, I just want to go home." I complained.

"I guess we are kidnapping you then." Leo chimed in, laughing at the end so I knew he was joking around.

I let out a defeated huff of air, "Well if I'm stuck hanging out with you guys, you better not be boring."

"Oh don't worry sweetheart, we're the opposite of boring." Liam replied as we pulled into the driveway of a small house, which caught me off guard. I expected him to live in a huge house with a fancy fountain. I just assumed he came from money, but I was so wrong. His house was average at best, and now that I was paying attention I noticed how average his car was too. A Toyota Corolla with some add ons to make it look more sporty. Liam lived a normal, average life like everyone else.

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