Chapter 7

*The following day*

"OK, class, do you have your projects ready?"

Everyone nodded before standing up and presenting it to her one by one.

Liam and I exchanged nervous smiles, fear visible in our eyes. He most likely picked up on the fact that our friendship was coming to an end.

We quickly handed in our project and sat down before the lecture began. I was unable to concentrate in class. Instead, I locked my gaze on him. In between lectures, he appeared to be normal, talking to his friends.

The class was soon over. This was the end. The day I had dreaded had finally arrived. Liam and I had an unofficial ex-friendship. We had no way of starting a conversation. Our primary reason for ever talking was gone. It was awful.

Ariana and Emma looked at me with concern. They probably suspected I had feelings for him from the start, which is why they teased me about him all the time.

The bell soon rang. Ariana and Emma excused themselves and left for their classes. I was dreading class. Especially since it was Math, and Liam would be there.

I went over to my locker. I waited for the door to open after pressing the camouflaged button before climbing down the stairs and sitting in a corner.

My tears began to fall down my cheeks. I wish I could have done something to prevent this from happening. Maybe if I had kissed and confessed my feelings the night before, things would have been different.Instead of becoming strangers again, we could have become a couple.

I was back at square one. I had to be one of those stupid obsessed admirers, staring at him from the sidelines while he didn't give a damn about me. He probably always thought of me as a passing acquaintance with whom he could flirt and get a flustered reaction.

I fell asleep while letting all my emotions out after overthinking the entire situation.

*After one week* "Congratulations to Liam and Sophie for receiving the highest project score. I'd like you to come up to the front and give us a speech about it." Mrs. Martha declared as everyone applauded.

Liam and I exchanged awkward smiles before walking up to the front."Good luck," Ariana and Emma mouthed as I nodded.

I stood beside Liam, nervous, with all eyes on us. I was completely unprepared for this speech. Mrs. Martha had mentioned the top scorers giving a speech, but it never occurred to me that I could be the highest scorer. Not to mention that standing next to Liam was making me nervous. I hadn't been this close to him in a long time. I began the speech by taking a deep breath.

While delivering the speech, Liam and I would occasionally exchange glances. "Finally, I'd like to thank Liam for being an incredible partner and assisting me in achieving this goal. Thank you""I finished the speech to applause from everyone except the jealous girls who were staring at me.

As everyone walked out, the bell rang. "Congratulations!" Ariana and Emma exclaimed as they approached me. "Thank you," I said, beaming.

"Your speech was incredible, and your and Liam's sweet gestures towards each other added spice to it," I snorted. When were they going to stop making fun of me because of him?

Liam and I hadn't spoken in over a month. I stole glances at him as I walked down the corridors, watching him talk to his friends. My heart clenched at the sight of him smiling while I was completely lovesick.

Despite the fact that my friends were always by my side, I felt lonely after we stopped talking.

The rumours about Liam and the popular girl in college, Samantha, that had spread throughout the college didn't help my situation. Samantha and I had long been rivals. She was always jealous of me because I was the popular girl and tried to bully me but always failed because all my fanboys would protect me from her.

But, after I became the cold, quiet girl last year, she took my place as the popular girl. She had tried to remind me of it at every opportunity, but I had simply ignored her.

But, for the first time, I found myself envious of her. Jealous of the fact that Liam and she might be dating. My stomach churned at the thought.

'If only I had been Samantha.' 'Liam and I might have had a chance,' I thought as I walked out of Math class and into the cafeteria. People were staring at me as I walked. 'Why was everyone staring at me?' replaced my thoughts about Samantha.

I was escorted away from the crowd and towards the female restroom by a jacket wrapped around my waist and warm hands on my shoulders.

When I looked up, I saw...Liam?

Liam (pov)

I walked out of class and noticed the strange atmosphere.Everyone's attention was drawn to a person walking slowly towards the cafeteria. I approached the person to get a better look at their face.

"Sophie?" When I recognised her, I muttered. My attention was drawn to her previously white jeans, which were now half red.

When I realised what was going on, I quickly removed my jacket and ran over to her.

Sophie (pov)

"Umm...thank you," I said, grateful for his heroic rescue after realising the embarrassing situation I was in a few minutes before. Not to mention that I had no idea what had happened until Liam told me to go into the bathroom and check my pants. Now I was standing there, thanking him while my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"No worries. It was my responsibility as a classmate. By the way, I believe you should return home because your jeans are "He trailed off awkwardly, giving me a hint.

"Yeah, but do you mind if I borrow your jacket for....you know..covering up?." I asked.

"Sure," he said. "Thank you," I said before bidding him farewell and heading to the principal's office to obtain permission for the early leave.

For the first time in a month, I found myself with a smile on my face. Talking to Liam lifted a stone from my chest. It was comforting to know that we were not complete strangers and that I could still rely on him to bail me out of embarrassing situations.