Going the Distance ✔️

Chapter seventeen.

"Wait," I paused with my eyebrows raised, "you really snuck into your old school, at midnight, just to turn in your essay that you left until the last minute?"

Liam nodded, a smile playing on his lips. "Yes, that I did."

I laughed. "And how did you manage that?"

Liam took another sip of his coca cola, finishing it off. "I have my ways." I shook my head, but, I couldn't stop smiling. Liam had his ways of getting himself out of trouble and even though it was bad, it amused me.

I reached for another frie that was still left on my plate and as I chewed, a grin spread across my face. "Did you ever get caught?"

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Nope, nobody knew a thing."

We had been sitting here for an hour, sharing stories and eating our lunch and I was enjoying myself, considering that we were skipping school. But, I couldn't help wondering if the school would ever ask us where we were. That would always be at the back of my mind, the fear and the stress of getting caught. But, when I was with Liam, I forgot all about the stress and the fear and it had been just me and him, conquering North Carolina. I knew that I would always make up my studying time and hopefully, nobody would ask questions.

"We should head back to school." Liam finally said after slurping on his finished coca cola and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

To say I was surprised was an understatement. I leaned over and poked his bare arm with my finger, giving him a shocked look. "Is that really Liam in there?" I gasped, "who are you and what have you done with my friend, Liam Gilbert?"

Liam laughed, shaking his head. "Shut up," he joked, then his face turned soft, "you just called me your friend."

I thought back to what I said before and I nearly let out a gasp. "No, you must've heard that wrong." I said, trying to brush it off.

"No," he smirked, "you said friend."

I rolled my eyes and got up from the table, brushing off the invisible crumbs from my shorts. "I have no idea what you're on about."

Liam got up too, and he stood in front of me, his eyes meeting mine once again and that smirk was painted onto his face like a masterpiece. "Don't deny it, Lou. Let's face it, we're friends."

I looked up at him, trying to hide my smile. "Fine, we're friends."

"Yes!" He cheered with a laugh. "I knew we would be friends from the moment you tried to steal our milk."

"I didn't steal your milk," I said with a small smile, "you scared the crap out of me."

He laughed. "Yeah, that was fun."

"Fun?" I questioned as Liam chucked a few dollar bills onto the table. "I nearly died from a heart attack."

He rolled his eyes as we walked out of the restaurant and towards his car. "Don't be so dramatic. You shouldn't have been up at that time of night anyway, in the dark, all alone." As he said that, he unlocked his car and we both slid in at the same time.

"You're lucky it didn't spill all over the kitchen floor." I said as I put my seatbelt on and Liam started the engine.

Liam backed out of the parking lot and drove towards school. "Yeah, but you would be cleaning it up."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Really? But, I'm your guest."

"For six months." Liam said and I heard a hint of disappointed in his tone which made me sad because I wouldn't be here forever. I had to admit, I was having fun and Liam made me into a person I never thought I'd be.