Chapter 6:

The next week passed by with monotony. I decided to stay in Friday night, and prove to Mrs. D I was a sweet innocent child, not a troublesome teenager. I think she may have bought it, because Monday morning, she actually smiled at me! Getting the faculty on my side was crucial to my change.

I had a routine now: Wake up, shower, breakfast, class, lunch, class, dinner and finally, sleep. It was a boring routine, and one that involved no drinking, partying or having fun; but I wanted to be the girl Liam thought I was, so I had made it my duty to do better in school. Lame, but there was no fucking way that I was going to let anything slip.

I still felt guilty about lying, I hated knowing that they trusted me, and I was fucking them over. Friday night, before I met the boys, I took a long shower. The thing with showers is that they can either de-stress you, or make you think about what a bad person you are, and stress you out even more. Guess which I got?

I came out of the shower, and stared at myself. My eyes were tear stained and swollen, which made my sort-of tanned skin look blotchy. My long black hair was dripping wet, making the entire bathroom a pond. I was a pretty damn confident person back in Vegas, the way I held myself made it clear that I knew what I was doing. But now, as I looked at my reflection, I saw a small timid girl; my brown eyes lacked the "I'm –better- than – everyone" gleam. Now, they said, "I'm fucked," and I hated it.

My eyes were beginning to tear again, when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, trying to keep my voice even.

"Hey, it's Harry. Just a heads up, we'll be at the pet store in about half an hour… and why are we meeting at a pet store?"

I couldn't help but smile, Harry was so sweet and his question brought back memories of me and Liam's encounter at the pet store, " Oh gosh, long story… I'll explain later. And, I just got out of the shower, so I'll probably be late…"

"Wait, does that mean you're naked?" Leave it to Harry.

"Nope! I'm in a towel! Anyways, I should probably start actually getting ready… I'll see everyone soon!"

I hung up, got dressed, put my hair in a bun, put on mascara and left the bathroom. I checked the time; maybe I wouldn't be late after all? Kelsey stopped me on my way out of the girl's dorm.

"Who were you on the phone with?"

" Oh, a friend. I'm going to meet… her right now, so I can't stay and chat."
"Bring her here! We'll have a movie night!" She was actually such an idiot.

"I can't. Bye!"

I half ran to the pet store, hoping I wouldn't be too late, only to find the boys weren't here yet. I sighed, leave it to them to be late! I waited twenty minutes, before I called Liam to ask where he was. No response. I called harry, with the same result. I called Niall, Zayn and Louis, and none of them answered their phones. It was getting dark, and they boys weren't here yet, it wasn't like them to stand someone up, especially when Harry called saying that they were on their way.

I was getting really worried when, finally, Liam's car pulled up.

He motioned me to get in, and I obeyed, sitting in the passenger seat but no one else was in the car.

"Liam, where is everyone?" I asked slowly.

" Louis got a speeding ticket and is talking to the police as we speak; that's why none of us could call you back. We were close to my flat, so I went and got my car to pick you up. Would you mind hanging out with us at my flat again? I'm not entirely sure when the boys will be coming a-"

"Of course I don't mind! I love your flat!"

He looked relieved, "Good. Now, shall we pick up something to eat on the way home, or would you like homemade food?"

"That depends, who's cooking?"

He smiled, keeping his eyes on the road, "Us." One simple word, but it gave me butterflies. Us.

"Sounds good." I smiled back. I couldn't cook, and I doubted Liam could, but any amount of time spend with Liam, was time well spend.

Shockingly, Liam couldn't cook, but he could sort of bake. We spend the evening making brownies, followed by watching movies. Liam loved Toy Story, and he could practically recite the entire movie. I personally, had never really spent time watching kid movies, because it just wasn't cool. However, it felt nice to just sit back, eat brownies and watch a G rated flick.

Liam had gotten a call from Louis, saying that they were going to continue with their plan (which apparently was bowling), so that left Liam and I, alone in his house, baking and watching Pixar movies. It did feel kind of like a date, but he hadn't tried to kiss me, or even cuddle. Besides, I refused to let this be a date, I refused to hurt Liam, and he would be hurt, once he found out I'd blatantly lied to him. Sure, I was playing the character, and I'd done so my entire life, but for some reason, I didn't want to do that to Liam.

But what if you told him the truth? Right now? The little voice in my head whispered.

"Liam, I have something to tell you." I looked down at my lap; I hated knowing how much I was going to hurt him.

"Yeah?" he looked over curiously.

I chickened out, " I-I'm having a great night."

"Me too." He smiled, and that's when it happened. I didn't plan for it; I didn't want it to happen (or did I?). Liam leaned in, and pressed his lips into mine, very gently. It was short and simple, but very sweet and passionate. My whole body felt as though someone had sent an electric shock through it. Never once had a boy made me feel this way, and suddenly Liam came along and everything was lit on fire.

My heart sang; Liam Payne had just kissed me. Me. He liked me. Liam Payne actually liked me! I pushed away any remnants of guilt; I was ecstatic, I'd dated many boys before, but none of them had really meant a lot to me; Liam however, I couldn't even bring myself to deny my feelings for. And that was a first.

Things should have gotten really awkward after that point, and with most people, they probably would have, but Liam and I just continued to watch Toy Story. The only difference was that now, I was leaning against him, with his arm around me.

For a split second, I felt like I could be me, and then I remembered, Liam didn't even know me, not a single thing.