A/N: HEY! i know it's been a while...a really long while and im soooooooo sorry about that! :( I've been so busy lately that i haven't had time to write or even read any stories. but anyway on to the story! ENJOY! :)

Liam was never the type of guy who 'met the parents'. His relationships lasted long enough that usually neither the girl's parents nor his own knew something had ever occurred. Of course, his mom (nor stepdad) was stupid enough to think Liam was a monk. They knew of his little trysts, they just chose to never confront him about it…in public. His stepdad had of course uttered meaningless fatherly words about practicing safe sex and whatnot and then he had come out with the real threat. If he did something as stupid as impregnating a girl Liam's life would be over. Not only because he would have a child to look after, but also because his stepfather would make sure a punishment so unimaginable would befall him.

Right now, as Liam stood at the door of Annie's house it seemed as though an unimaginable punishment had already befallen him. He knocked twice on the brown mahogany double doors. After standing outside for five minutes and having no one answer the door Liam became impatient. He was never one to wait and so he pounded on the door. After yet again no one answering Liam rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. Finally a woman, about his mom's age, opened the door. Assuming that this was Annie's mom, Liam immediately began evaluating her. She had the same auburn hair as her daughter and he noticed that Annie took on most of her looks from her mom.

"Hi, you must be Liam." Mrs. Wilson said while offering out her hand to him. Her smile seemed too fake to him, which in a way told him that not only did Annie's mom know his name, but she also knew about him. Annie had sold him out and her mom had already gathered up all the information she needed to make assumptions about him and judge him before he even walked through the door.

Liam, feeling uneasy, shook Mrs. Wilson's hand and offered a greeting in return, "Mrs. Wilson, it's nice to meet you."

"Why don't you come in." Debbie ushered Liam in and he stepped into the extravagant foyer awkwardly. He looked around at all the paintings and ornaments and figured that they were a wealthy family; a wealthy, judgmental family.

"Liam, it's nice to see you out of school." Mr. Wilson mentioned with a stern smile while making his way to what seemed to be the kitchen. It was also where Annie's mom was ushering Liam into.

Liam entered the kitchen and watched as his principal made himself a sandwich. It never occurred to him that principals had regular lives. The only thing he knew about Principal Wilson was that he loved to hand out punishments and lecture Liam about life and making the right decisions. Now, as he stared at his principal, he realized there was more to him than he thought. The guy had a life. He had a family, a stepdaughter (a very hot stepdaughter), and he probably had parents too, maybe even an ex-wife. Liam shuddered as he started thinking of his principal as more human than before. Just as he was about to ask for Annie she walked into the kitchen with a sullen expression.

"Liam." She greeted him with a nod of her head and placed her hands across her chest in a defensive way.

Liam smiled. His fears of being alone with her parents had all of a sudden disappeared. His trepidations had been assuaged and were taken over by a sort of happiness that Liam had never felt before. These foreign feelings scared him seeing as he didn't know what they meant and so he did what he did best; he pushed them aside completely ignoring what he had just felt.

"Annie." Liam spoke in the same tone she had and mimicked her posture by placing his arms over his chest. She glared at him and his smile turned into his signature smirk.

"Um, so I guess we'll leave you two alone. To work on you're project" Debbie Wilson interjected noticing the friction in the air. She whispered something in Annie's ear that made her roll her eyes and smile. Debbie and Harry left the two kids alone in the kitchen hoping that they'd be able to work past whatever issues they seemed to share.

"So, you ready to work?" Liam asked Annie as he sat down on one of the kitchen counter stools.

"Are you sure that's all you want to do?" asked Annie.

Liam smirked, "I don't know, did you have anything else in mind?" he asked suggestively. With that comment, Annie turned as red as a tomato noticing that it was her own fault. She had phrased the question wrong.

"No! Um, I just meant that since you—um—well you" Annie took a deep breath and started over. "You usually make stupid remarks or pull something like that night at the grocery store. I was just wondering if you really wanted to study or if u had a whole notebook of idiotic remarks just for tonight?"

"Hmm, well I don't know, why don't you check my notebook for any 'idiotic remarks'?" Liam commented and Annie glared at him. He couldn't help but genuinely smile at her.

"So Vivaldi." Annie changed the subject getting straight to business. She didn't know why, but she felt different around Liam today. Somehow more jumpy and on edge; the way he kept smiling and looking at her made her stomach start to flutter. It was a feeling she wasn't accustomed to so she easily pushed it aside. She blamed it on not eating breakfast that morning and moved to grab some notes from her backpack.

"Yupp, Vivaldi." Liam muttered disappointed that she had changed the subject so suddenly.

"I have some notes I took while I was doing some research." She started explaining as she took out a piece of paper with some scribbling on it. "So Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 and became a priest in 1704. He had major health problems that impeded him from learning to play any wind instruments."

"Well you definitely did you're research."

"Yeah and now it's your turn."

"My turn for what?"

"Don't play stupid" Annie said a little playfully, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's your turn to put some effort into our project."

"And what exactly do you mean by effort?" Liam asked, for some reason remembering the all too fake smile Annie's mom had given him, "'Cuz I personally think that showing up here on a Saturday to do homework and spend the day in the house of the guy who gives me lectures on my life is effort enough."

Liam's comment caught Annie off guard. They had been doing so well up until now. Anger boiled inside her and she inched her stool away from Liam. "Well I'm sorry that I ruined your precious plans to go surfing with your friends. And I'm sorry that my stepdad is our principal. I didn't pick him, my mom did so don't blame me for your issues with Harry. If you had a problem in the first place then you could've told me and we would've met at your house!"

Liam stared at Annie for a couple seconds and then sighed. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right. He shouldn't have taken his anger out on her.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just I got angry and I…" he sighed again unwilling to admit his wrongdoing, "I took it out on you."

Annie looked more taken aback than he had been moments ago. Her anger subsided, "Liam Court is actually apologizing for his mistake. That's got to be some kind of improvement."

"Do I get some kind of award for that?" Liam asked her jokingly.

Annie smiled, "You want a cookie?" she asked playfully as if talking to a small child.

"Actually, I do" he stated and Annie ended up laughing heartedly at his remark. She then got up from her stool and went to one of the kitchen cabinets. She took out a cookie jar and passed it to Liam. He stared at her in awe.

"You're kidding right?"

"What? You said you wanted one!"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to actually get me some." He shook his head in complete admiration for the girl in front of him. He took out a cookie and began nibbling on it; she never ceased to amaze him.

About an hour later, Annie and Liam had actually gotten far in their project. To both Annie and Liam's surprise they hadn't argued once. It had been strictly for business and they had gotten much accomplished because of that.

"So we actually worked today for a change." Annie said as she was escorting Liam to the front door. He had to go fulfill his manly duties and hang out with his friends.

"Yeah, what a miracle." he stated unenthusiastically and Annie just nodded her head.

They had reached the door by now and Liam was turning the knob on the door.

"So, how about we call a truce?" Annie suggested quickly before Liam could walk out the door.

"Truce? For what? We were never at war?"

Annie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but we've never really gotten along either. So I suggest we agree to just get along and become friends. We were able to somewhat do that today."

Liam stared at Annie for a couple minutes before sighing and giving in to her request, "Fine." he said and held out his hand for her to shake.

"Wow, no snarky remark?"

"Not this time." Liam commented in a serious yet playful tone. Annie smiled genuinely and took his hand.

Liam left Annie's place feeling something completely different than any feeling he had ever felt before. He felt high, not off alcohol or drugs, but high off elation. It was a feeling that he hadn't felt since he was a kid, and for some reason Liam feared it. Feeling something was not his forte, especially if it was something good. Ever since he was seven, his innocence had deteriorated. He had learned from then that the world wasn't perfect; it was always disappointing him so he had trained himself to grow cold and distant. If he was never emotionally attached to anything then he would never be disappointed.

Annie watched out the window as Liam drove off in his GTO. She smiled happily as she thought about the afternoon she just had. Today had marked the beginning of something new; a new friendship. She had realized that she and Liam could get along if they tried. She had offered up the truce because of that realization. Annie sighed and walked back into the kitchen as she thought about the events that had just occurred. She and Liam had actually gotten along. It surprised her so much that he hadn't even attempted to seduce her at all today. She felt like something was off, though. Like the universe was off balance. Liam, the guy who in the little time they had known each other drove her completely insane, hadn't driven her up the roof today. She shook her head as she thought about the night at the grocery store; a night that she hadn't been able to get out of her mind since it happened.

"Annie, are you alright?" Mrs. Wilson questioned her daughter as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, why mom?"

"Because you're smiling like a maniac. It's kind of creepy." Mrs. Wilson smiled. Annie rolled her eyes.

"Mom!" Annie exclaimed touching her lips as if trying to feel her smile. She frowned instead and glared at her mother.

Debbie's face lit up, "Oh! Is it because of that boy? Liam?"

"What?" Annie screeched looking at her mom in alarm.

"Yeah, the boy that was just here. He's very handsome you know, but if you guys start dating then I want to get to know him better."

Annie stared at her mother, repulsed and speechless. She knew that she would never date Liam and she had no idea how the hell her mother thought that they would.

"Mom, Liam is an obnoxious asshole-"

"Annie!" Debbie interrupted, "Watch your language." She reprimanded sternly.

Annie rolled her eyes for the millionth time that day and continued, "Fine, mom, Liam is an obnoxious jerk who thinks he can get any girl whenever he wants. I will not be another one of those girls that he could just add to the list. I refuse to be one, therefore I will never, and I do mean never, date Liam. Not in a million years." Annie added the last part for emphasis.

Debbie stared at her daughter in silence for a couple minutes before nodding her head slowly, "I get it. He's what you guys call a 'player' or 'manwhore' right?"

"Mom!" Annie said astonished, "Watch your language!"

Mrs. Wilson laughed, "Sorry, just trying to get things straight alright."

"Okay, well in that case, yes, mom he's a player, a really big one."

"Well, then I'm glad the two of you are just friends."

"As of today we're friends." Annie corrected. For some reason it was important to her that her mother know just how unfriendly she and Liam were before this day, "In fact, I hated him up until today. He always acted extremely cocky around me and it annoyed the crap out of me, but today he showed me that we can truly get along so I decided to offer him my friendship."

"Alright, good, just as long as he doesn't abuse it." Debbie explained, knowing now full well the type of guy Liam was. She just hoped her daughter was able to keep her strong front as she and Liam became closer, as they were abound to.

"Mom, don't worry." Annie said looking at her mother's troubled expression.

"Annie, just be careful. As you said, Liam is a player and I know full well that players usually tend to get whomever they want. I just don't want Liam to fool you, have you fall for him, and then break your heart."

Annie felt herself turn a crimson color. Her mother had just gone from encouraging Annie to be with Liam to fearing that her daughter will end up falling for him despite her determination no to do so. Annie felt embarrassed at her mother's words. Her own mother didn't even think she'd last around Liam. She thought that Liam would just hurt her in the end. It infuriated Annie a little bit. Her mom had little faith in her and now Annie was determined to prove her wrong. Annie Wilson vowed that she would never be with Liam, it would never happen. They would just be friends, never something more.

A/N: so feel free to leave your comments/concerns. Like I said before, I'm sooooo sorry about not uploading sooner :( I hope that i'll be able to upload the next chapter within the next couple weeks. if not, then once again, i'm sorry. PS- i think i have some grammar mistakes and i apologize for that, but i rarely had time to write the chapter, let alone revise it. sorry..again. hope you enjoyed it though! :) OH! by the way, there should definitely be more Liam/Annie scenes on the new season!