His Sweet Lies

Chapter 1: Present Day

Emma walked through the halls clutching her books and keeping her eyes on the ground.

She weaved past people as the walked by her until she found her classroom. She walked into her literature class and took her usual window seat a couple desks away from Liam Hanson.

Emma couldn't help but smile as he looked to the side, and she caught a glimpse of his charming smile and gorgeous brown eyes. He was talking to one of his friends, Bryson, and was completely unaware her eyes were locked on him.

She had dared to approach him just a few times throughout their sophomore year when she first developed her crush on him. But girls were always swarming around him 24/7 and his friends intimidated her, so it was quite difficult for an outcast like her to even get near him.

Emma eventually settled for just watching him from a distance. Whether he noticed her or not, she loved him and he gave her a reason to live. Just to see his smile every day made her heart light up inside.

Throughout her junior year, she rarely attempted to talk to him, but couldn't hide the feeling of jealously when he took some girl to prom and danced the night away with her while Emma stood stiff in a corner.

She cursed at herself that night for not even having the courage to talk to him let alone ask him.

I'll talk to him next year she told herself after sophomore year passed then after junior year passed.

If she was ever going to talk to him and have the slightest chance with him, this was her last year to try. She sharply inhaled, about to force her body to stand and walk over to him when the teacher walked in.

She slumped back down into her chair.

"Alright class, it's time for a group project!" Mrs. Colten said in her typical cheerful voice. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she walked to her desk.

Emma groaned. Every time a group project came around, of course no one wanted to be paired with her, so she always ended up with Emmett, the other outcast. She craned her neck to see his green eyes already staring at her through his orange curls.

She sighed, burying her face in her hands before the teacher spoke again.

"But this time, I'll be picking your partners." Emma's head shot up as she looked to see Mrs. Colten grinning. "I see I have your attention" she said, looking around the classroom to see her students watching her with wide eyes.

Emma looked at Liam who exchanged a confused look with Bryson. Bryson just shrugged as his brown eyes looked around the room.

"I took it upon myself to keep an eye on all of you and see who your opposites are!" Mrs. Colten said, clasping her hands together. "I thought it'd be a fun little experiment, right?"

The class responded with silence.

Mrs. Colten cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyways" she said somewhat quietly. "I'll be giving out small papers now to each of you with the name of your partner that I've assigned you with. My decisions are final, so there will be no questions about your partner. Take the time to get to know someone and make a new friend!"

Emma waited and waited for the teacher to reach her. Her eyes stared out the window until the tiny piece of paper was set on her desk. Emma looked down at it and flipped it over to reveal her partner.

Liam Hanson.

Her heart began to pound, and her hands started to shake as she held the paper.

He already was looking at the piece of paper, yet he didn't bother looking back at her. Emma frowned and supposed that she should wait until after class and maybe he'd approach her then.

Emma waited by her locker that was near his and pretended to fiddle around with her books.

Liam strode right past her.

Starting to grow impatient, she spun around and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. "Liam" she said, finally getting his attention before letting go of his shirt.

Liam halted and turned around to face her. He looked down at her with hesitant eyes, but she was still mesmerized by them. "Yeah?"

"We're partners, remember? I thought we'd talk about the details of the project toge--"

"Yeah, yeah. We can do that later" he said, looking around at the stares he was getting. Liam walked away to join his friends before she could respond.

Emma stood stiff in the halls by herself, watching Liam walk away.

One would think he was the outcast by that behavior.

Emma sat by herself at lunch like she always did, watching Liam chat with his friends from two tables away. She didn't know she was capable of feeling any negative feeling towards Liam, but she was starting to grow irritated.

He was clearly avoiding her, and they were supposed to be a team for once. Just this one time. And he wouldn't even look at her.

She reached forward to grab her notebook, her long sleeves sliding up.

Emma's eyes drifted down to the white lines on her wrist before quickly pulling her sleeves back down. Suddenly losing her appetite, she stalked towards the double doors and left the cafeteria.

She jumped, dropping her notebook when she nearly collided with Liam who stood in front of her.

"Liam" she breathed, reaching down to pick up her book. "What're you..."

"You wanted to talk about the project, right?"

Emma stood back up and glared at him with narrowed eyes as she looked around them. It was just them.

Then it became obvious to her that he didn't want to be seen with her. "So now you wanna talk to me? Don't wanna be seen with me, do you?"

"What? No--"

"No, no I get it, Mr. Popular. I'll just wait until it's convenient for your busy schedule to make time for our project" Emma said, already starting to walk away.

Liam grabbed her elbow and turned her back around.

Emma paused for a moment. His touch somehow felt... familiar. She shook her head and looked at him once more. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry, I just..." Liam trailed off, looking to the side. Just like everyone did when they tried looking her in the eye. He shifted from his left foot to his right foot about twice before speaking again. "My place after school?"

Emma's face flushed. His place? As in... going to his house?

"Emma?" he said, taking her away from whatever daydream that was about to occur in her mind.

She nodded. "Y-yeah. I'll text my mom."

Liam nodded before walking away back to the cafeteria.

Emma eagerly pulled out her phone.

To: Mom

I'm going to a friend's house after school for a project.

Emma smiled and walked back into the cafeteria.