For the rest of the week I didn't see much of Liam and we didn't talk at all. The only reason I could come up with for the sudden silence was that he'd given up on trying to find out why I kissed him, so he had no more reason to talk to me.

I wasn't sure if I was happy, sad, or angry about it. I couldn't deny that I had a connection to Liam, he was my first kiss after all. So the fact that he'd completely forgotten about me was kind of hurtful. But at the same time I liked that everything was completely back to normal. I enjoyed school, and when the whole Liam thing was going on for the first couple days I wasn't enjoying it. Maybe it was for the best that we just went back to being strangers.

I sighed and shooed away my troubling thoughts of Liam to focus on getting ready for the football game. My school's colours were black and red so I decided to wear jeans and a red sweater, and paired that with white sneakers. Lisa was going to be disappointed in my outfit but I was already stepping out of my comfort zone going to the game, I wasn't about to push it any further by dressing differently than normal.

Before leaving I threw my hair up into a ponytail to make sure it stayed out of my face while I was outside. The last thing I wanted to do was wrestle with my hair the whole time.

"Dad, I'm ready to go." I called as I made my way downstairs.

"Well, don't you look lovely." Stephen Burns, my wonderful dad, said as he stepped out of the living room.

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks Dad."

I didn't look any different but I appreciated the compliment regardless.

"You look just like your mother with your hair up." He commented, giving me that happy-sad look he sometimes got.

I smiled at his words but there was a pang of sadness in my heart. I could barely remember what my mom looked like. She died when I was six years old and every day the memory of her faded a little more. First I forgot the sound of her voice, then her personality, and finally her face. The only reminder I had of her was pictures dad kept around the house and the stories he sometimes told me about her. From everything he'd said about her I knew she was an amazing person that loved me with all of her heart. I'd always be angry that she was taken from us so soon.

One night she went out to get something from the grocery store and she never came back. A man decided to get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs and alcohol and it cost my mother her life. She didn't deserve that, nobody deserved to die like that.

"Who are you going with?" Dad asked when we got in the car. I knew he was asking to make sure I wasn't going with a boy, and he wasn't being subtle about it at all.

"Just Steph and Lisa. Don't worry, boys have cooties." I reassured him.

I guess I had cooties now too.

"That's my girl. You're not allowed to grow up." He teased.

He'd be so disappointed in me if he knew about the three kisses game.

Once we arrived at school dad went over the rules. Home by 11:00, call if I was going to stay at one of the girl's houses, make sure to stay safe. The usual.

I waved as he drove off, and then made my way to the front doors where Steph and Lisa were already waiting for me.

"Are you ready to watch a bunch of boys fight over a ball?" Steph asked when I got to them.

I laughed, "As ready as I'll ever be."

We ended up getting pretty bad seats on the bleachers. Note to self, come way earlier than ten minutes before a sports game.

As the game played out I was surprised by how much fun I was having. I cheered when everyone else did, watched in awe as the cheerleaders threw girls into the air, and laughed when our cougar mascot started breakdancing horribly. But my favourite part was just spending time with my best friends.

At halftime I decided to get a drink, so I slowly made my way down the bleachers, careful not to step on anyone, and once I was on the ground I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't exactly enjoy being in such a crowded place. I'd actually consider coming to more football games if less people showed up.

I started on my way to the concession stand, deciding to cut in between the bleachers to get there quicker, and that's when I saw him.

Liam was sitting with five other people, a bottle of beer in his hand, and he was passing what looked like a cigarette to the person beside him. A second later a foul smell made its way to me and I immediately recognized it as weed.

I took a deep breath and walked passed them, thankful when no one said anything to me. You know that nervous feeling you get when you walk past a group of teenage guys at night? That was the feeling I got walking past them.

I just got behind the bleachers when suddenly someone pushed me up against one of the beams that supported the seats, a hand now on either side of me, caging me in.

Thankfully the person wasn't very rough or else I would've hit my back pretty hard.

I looked up at the culprit and Liam was staring back at me, his body just inches from mine. In the close proximity I realized just how tall he was, he had to angle his head down to meet my eyes.

"W-what are you doing?" I stuttered, shocked at the situation.

"I like your hair up." He slurred, ignoring what I said as he tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

He pushed his body up against mine and I took a sharp breath in. This was the closest I'd ever been to a boy, even closer than when we kissed.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, I couldn't make my voice strong. I was a combination of scared, confused, and excited. Do I push him away or let this play out? My thoughts were scrambled.

"I don't know." He whispered back, and then his face started inching closer to mine like he was going to kiss me. I could get the second kiss this way. There was nothing in the rules that said the guy had to be sober for the kisses.

I didn't move a muscle as his face got closer and his alcohol tinged breath fanned across my cheeks. I let out a shaky breath of my own and stayed frozen. Was I really going to do this? Did I want to win the game that bad? Was this the right thing to do?

Just as his lips were about to meet mine I pushed his chest so I had some space and ducked under his arm to escape the situation.

I ran back towards the front of the bleachers without looking back at Liam and the further I got the more sure I was about my decision to leave without the second kiss. It wouldn't be right to kiss him when he was so intoxicated.

"What took you so long?" Steph asked as soon as I was back in my seat, followed by Lisa saying "Where's your drink?"

I never got my drink, but I didn't feel like telling them about what happened with Liam, so I lied.

"There was a long line so I gave up."

After that I was completely distracted. It felt so wrong, yet so right, when I was with Liam. I knew I should stay away, but being that close to him did something to me that I couldn't explain. I wanted him to kiss me, and that desire had nothing to do with the game, which was a problem. He was the bad boy, I saw that first hand today. He was drinking and doing drugs, two of the biggest things I stay away from. I didn't want to be dragged into that kind of life, especially after what happened to my mom.

Thankfully my mind won today, but there was no telling if it would next time, if there even was a next time. All I knew was that I had to stay away from him to protect myself.

"Earth to Emma." Lisa said, waving a hand in front of my face to snap me out of my thoughts.

"I've never seen anyone day dream quite like you." Steph commented when she was sure I was paying attention.

I smiled, "It's my superpower."

We all laughed and went back to watching the game, which I actually payed attention to so I wouldn't think about what happened behind the bleachers.

"By the way, I don't approve of the outfit." Lisa teased when our team called a timeout.

"Not everyone can dress as well as you." I playfully replied, bumping her shoulder with mine.

"You should just imagine what I would wear when you're picking out an outfit." She suggested, but we both knew that would never happen. I had no idea how to dress nicely and I was perfectly okay with that.

"I missed this." Steph suddenly shouted over the roaring crowd.

Lisa and I nodded in agreement. Who needed boys when you had these two girls as your best friends?

A few minutes later, with ten minutes left in the game, we decided to leave. It was getting cold and traffic would be terrible if we left when everyone else did.

"Can we go to the coffee shop?" I begged as we made our way down the bleachers. I had a slight obsession with tea, and the shop was just across the street from the school.

"I don't see why not." Steph replied, and Lisa nodded in agreement.

"Yes!" I cheered.

As we started towards the parking lot we heard yelling coming from behind the bleachers.

"I don't have it for you!"

"I need it! You said you'd have it!"

"It's not easy to get five hundred dollars on short notice!"

Being the nosey girls we were, we decided to see what all the commotion was.

Once we got to the back of the bleachers my jaw dropped at the scene unfolding. Liam was pinning a guy to the same beam he had me against earlier, and they were screaming in each other's faces.

Why did this guy owe Liam so much money?

"Tomorrow. If I don't have it by tomorrow you're gonna be sorry." Liam threatened, his tone so harsh it scared me. This was the dangerous side of his that I didn't know existed until tonight.

"What are you gonna do, huh? Punch me?" The other guy taunted. A mistake on his part.

In the blink of an eye Liam punched him square in the nose.

I thought that would be it, but the other guy tried to fight back. Liam easily blocked every punch thrown his way, and hit the guy over and over in return. I had to stop it before someone got seriously hurt.

"Stop!" I yelled as I ran over to them.

Neither of them seemed to hear me, or if they did they didn't care, so I did the only thing I could think of. I tried to pull Liam away.

He just turned around and shoved me, hard enough that I fell to the ground.

"Emma!" Steph cried out from behind us.

Liam's eyes widened in shock when he realized who he pushed. He probably thought I was one of his friends trying to stop the fight.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it and walked away.

"Are you okay?" Lisa asked, rushing over to help me up with Steph following close behind.

"I'm fine. I shouldn't have done that." I reassured them, wiping the dirt off my pants as I stood up.

"Hey, thanks." The guy Liam was fighting called as we walked away.

I nodded at him but didn't say anything in return. I was annoyed at the situation and especially at that guy. If he had just given Liam the money he owed none of this would've happened.

As we walked to the parking lot no one said a word. We were all just taking in what happened.

"Do you want to just go home?" Steph asked, breaking the tense silence.

I looked at her like she grew an extra head. "Absolutely not! I'm getting my damn tea!"

"Alright, Alright. I'll even pay." Steph offered, putting her hands up in defense.

I wasn't about to say no to free tea. I happily nodded and together the three of us made our way to the coffee shop. The bell on the door chimed when we entered, instantly lifting my mood. This building felt like home to me, the only place I liked better was a retro restaurant called Diner Diner. All my troubling thoughts about tonight vanished as the comforting smell of coffee filled my nose.

"Hey girls, the usual?" Donny, the owner, greeted us.

We all smiled and nodded sheepishly, were we that predictable?

Steph, Lisa, and I all sat down at our regular booth and waited for our beverages.

"Are you really okay?" Steph asked once we were settled in, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

My two best friends gave me very confused looks.

"What?" Why were they looking at me like that?

"Liam pushed you to the ground. That's kind of a big deal." Lisa pointed out.

I had completely forgotten about that even though it just happened. That was the effect the coffee shop had on me.

"I'm honestly fine, it seemed worse than it was. I'm so clumsy that he just pushed me away and I fell over." I reassured them, although that wasn't the truth. Liam shoved me pretty hard, my sore butt was evidence of that.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure. How about us girls hang out this weekend?" Steph suggested, thankfully changing the subject.

Lisa and I both agreed just as our drinks arrived.

Today was confusing and kind of painful, but at least I had my tea.

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Shoutout to jialithakkar for making the awesome cover in the media section! Thanks you so SO much!

Make sure to check out their profile!!