OBSESSION - h.s.

7

Liam pulls me down the street until we are out of sight from any onlookers — my friends. He then finally let's go of my hand and looks down at me. He isn't too much taller than me, only a few centimetres, but if he were to look straight ahead, his eyes would probably be at my forehead.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asks me.

"I thought we were going to 'the coffee shop down the street'." I stifle a chuckle.

"Yeah, well there are quite a few coffee shops around here, soooo..." He trails off.

"I honestly don't mind, you choose."

"Alright, then close your eyes and trust me."

"Liam, I barely know you, I-" He cuts me off by placing his forefinger on my lips, symbolising a shh motion. I roll my eyes and close them. He takes me by the hand and begins walking. We walk like this for a few minutes in silence, before he begins asking some questions.

"Why did you audition for the X-Factor?"

"I don't really know, I just like to sing and I thought I should give it a go." He doesn't say anything, but I assume he nods. "What about you?"

"I auditioned a couple years ago, but I got knocked out. Simon thought I was 'too young' and to come back in a couple years, so that's exactly what I did." I can already tell that Liam loves to talk, either that or he want's to get what he has to say out of the way as quick as possible to avoid any awkward situations. This time, I nod. "Did you think you'd get in?"

I pause for a second before replying. I honestly couldn't say. I mainly just auditioned because my friends pressured me into doing it, I didn't really know what I was expecting. "I wasn't really thinking about that, I was just thinking about not stuffing up." I play it safe, and spare him from the boring details.

"And why would you think that? You don't seem to me as a girl who would get fixated on silly minorities such as screwing up." This statement makes me laugh. He sounds so proper and well brought up. Probably goes to a private school. "Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry." I pretend to clear my throat. "A tickle." I just know that he's rolling his eyes right now. For some reason, it feels like I've known Liam a lot longer than half an hour or so. We just seem to click.

"I'm sure." Sarcasm radiates from his comment. We go on walking a little bit further, Liam asking me random questions and me giving him barely an answer to each one.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" I ask, getting tired of this slow paced conversation.

"Almost. Three, two, one. You can open them now." I open my eyes and see... hands? I turn to my right and see Liam hovering his hands a few centimetres in front of my face.

"Ha ha, very funny." I push his hands out of the way and see a quaint, bustling little coffee shop. It has little pot plants hanging out the front by rope and cute rustic wooden chairs surrounding small circular tables by the entrance. "Wow, I-" I stutter, "How did you find this place?

"I walked by it on the way to the audition. Seemed like a place you'd like." His hand reaches up to the back of his neck and scratches it lightly. I don't know what else to say, no words can describe how much this meant to me. I'm not sure why I was getting so emotional about this small gesture, but I couldn't help but sling my arms around his neck in a quick embrace.

"Oh... what's this for?" He chuckles as he wraps his arms around my waist.

"I'm not even sure to be completely honest." I mutter into his neck, the sweet smell of his cologne warming my senses. "But I think this is the beginning of something, a friendship."