Dinner was almost as bad as breakfast! Harry kept trying to take shots at me but Jessica, my savior, was easily retaliating. I was having a good time listening to her beating him up verbally when mom walked in and started clearing the dishes. "You guys should get some fresh air. Take the girls with you." The boys were excited to play some soccer. Apparently Louis was pretty skilled in that game. They may have been excited but Jess and I weren't. We didn't like soccer and we didn't like the boys, at least not all of them. I looked up from my meatloaf and potatoes and saw Liam smiling at me. I returned it but I was still unsure about him. He's a friend of Harry's. I couldn't forget that, not now, maybe not ever. I glanced down to Liam's neck. There was a birth mark that I hadn't noticed before. If you drew a line around it, it would almost be heart shaped. I looked down to his hands. They looked soft and gentle. "Becca?" Jessica interrupted my thoughts. "Yes? Sorry, I was in thought." Jess raised an eyebrow but kept on talking, "I was thinking that maybe we should go grab sweaters just in case it starts to get chilly or something." I nodded and left the table. I glanced back at Liam who appeared to have a blush on his cheeks. I wondered if he had noticed me checking him out.
The boys arrived at the park first. Jessica and I took our time getting there. We had no interest in walking with the 'snot-bags' as Jess had called them. We weren't going to play soccer with them anyways. I climbed up on the jungle gym and sat down on top of the slide. Jessica sat across from me on the monkey bars. For the next hour, we chatted about everything gossip related. "She is apparently in the studio as we speak producing a song about him!" She chirped enthusiastically. I grinned, "How is douche-bag Harry taking all this? Is he snibbling and calling her names? Is he insulting her skills in bed?" Jess shrugged, "He's acting like a sweet, respectful, naïve, gentleman. He hasn't said anything bad about her at all." I rolled my eyes, "Of course. He's playing innocent for the media." Jessica nodded then looked down at her phone, "Shit, I hate to do this to you but I have to go. Dad wants me to babysit Megan. I'd let you come but you know how dad is with his whole 'individual responsibility' thing." I nodded. Her dad was strict. We hugged then I watched my sanity walk away. I pulled my IPod out and played the song Part of Me by Katy Perry. I looked up to see everyone trying to get my attention. I pulled out my green ear bud as my brother, Josh, started talking, "We're going to go get a pop. We'll be right back." They walked away without even asking if I wanted to come along. "See you loser." Harry called.
I started the song over again and after I got into it, I sang along, "This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me!" I sat down on the steps and leaned back against the cool metal pole. I closed my eyes and disappeared into the music. My eyes snapped open when I felt something touch my shoulder. I was relieved to see that it was Liam and not some hobo, rapist guy. I pulled my ear buds out, "I thought you guys went to go get sodas?" He shook his head, "Nah, I'm not really big on pop. Can I sit here with you?" He looked uncomfortable. Before I could rethink my words, I blurted out, "Why?" If Liam looked uncomfortable before, he definitely felt like leaving now. He even looked offended. I knew I had to try and explain. "What I mean is do you think that's cool with Harry? Is this a joke? Are you going to pick on me?" Liam's expression turned from uncomfortably offended to amused. "Not at all. As for the Harry thing, I'm my own person. He doesn't run my life." I smiled at Liam but it was guarded. I moved over so he could sit down.
"You have a lovely voice." He commented. I blushed and replied, "So do you." I could tell that he didn't know what to think. "Hey, just 'cause I don't like Harry doesn't mean I don't appreciate good music." Liam stared at me and for a minute I swam through his eyes, totally getting lost. They really were beautiful. They were a deep brown with green speckles next to the pupils. They were big and aware. They were also searching my eyes. I looked away and felt my face flush again. "What happened between you and Harry? Were you a couple that had a falling out?" He asked curiously. I could feel the heat coming from his body. I laughed as I got rid of that thought, "No way! My brother picked on me like all brothers do and eventually Harry, his best friend, joined in and got carried away. Now it's just who he is." Liam nodded in understanding. "Why did you assume that I stayed so I could pick on you?" He questioned. I hesitated. I wanted to answer honestly but I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
