I heard a crunching noise behind me. I shot into an upright position and got on my feet, my fists curling into balls. The figure stepped out of the shadows and I sighed, plonking myself back down on the grass and resuming my previous position. It was only Liam, my biology partner that I only ever spoke to if it was completely necessary. I had my reasons for this; one of them being I was intimidated by his gorgeous looks.

"What brings you out to the thick of the forest Liam?" I asked solemnly.

"Same reason as you I suppose; Quiet time." He replied simply as he took a few steps towards me and sat down a metre to my left.

"Yeah well, I suppose mine is ruined." I snapped, getting up to leave.

"No, wait, I'm sorry." He exclaimed, motioning for me to sit back down. I thought about this briefly, and then decided to stay with him.

"I didn't think anyone else knew about this place." I mumbled, sitting back down.

"Neither did I."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts, until I decided to break the silence.

"What's on your mind, Liam?"

He looked up, surprised that I had spoken to him. "Oh, nothing… I just needed a place to… relax I suppose." He replied, shrugging.

"Oh." It was silent again. The silence wasn't awkward, which was nice. I was starting to like this guy. He was cute, he didn't mind awkward silences, and from our biology lessons, I could tell he was quite smart too. But he would never like someone like me. I was a nerd; I had braces; I didn't socialise, yet here he was.

It was him who broke the silence this time. "Why are you here?"

I didn't know how to reply. Why was I there? What was the real reason I had run to my most favourite place in the world? It was a beautiful, sunny green clearing after all, where I could just be myself, and no one could bother me. Until Liam came. And it was weird; I was alright with him being there, in my secret place; in my sanctuary.

"Elizabeth?"

Wow. I thought. He called me Elizabeth. Why? I thought to myself. Everyone at school called me Lizzie, even though I hated it, so why should he be any different?

"Why did you call me that?" I asked, turning to look at him, just once. I was surprised by how close he was. Those eyes, I thought. I could have forever looked into them, but I didn't, returning my gaze to the blades of grass in my hands.

"I prefer it, but if you prefer Lizzie…?"

"No, no, I prefer Elizabeth." I said abruptly.

"Well, Elizabeth, do you want me to tell you something? Something that may cheer you up? For whatever reason you're down, which I'm still to get out of you." He looked at me expectantly and I looked up to see him smile the most breath-taking smile I had ever had the fortune to see in my life.

"Um, well… I haven't… I…" I found it terribly hard to talk, considering I had only ever spoken to Liam once or twice, but those eyes, and that smile. He blew me away.

"Hey," He said smoothly, "If it bothers you, we won't talk about it. But, just so we're clear, if you ever, EVER, need anyone to talk to, just let me know, and I'll be here for you. I'll be here, to catch you when you fall, to give you a shoulder to cry on, to be a friend when it feels like the world hates you. I will always be here for you."

I thought about this for a while, and then thought to myself, for what felt like the five-millionth time that afternoon, why?

"Why are you doing this, Liam?" I asked, tears threatening to form in my eyes. I begged myself not to cry.

"I thought you'd never ask." He replied, smiling that smile. "Remember how I said I had something to tell you? Well, that something is… Well, I know it sounds creepy, but I watch you in Biology, waiting for you to say something, but you never do, and I want to get to know the real you better, because I know there is a beautiful person inside there, just like the beautiful person I can see on the outside."

And the tears began to spill over. I crunched my legs up, rocking myself back and forth. I suddenly felt comforting arms around me, holding me; and a voice telling me everything was going to be okay. After a while, the tears subsided. I looked up into the eyes of the boy who was willing to wait, the boy who was willing to become my friend, having known little about me, the boy I wanted so desperately.

"Thank you." I whispered. "It means a lot to me."