Chapter 3: The Tension Unveiled

I was happily flicking through Teen Vogue when two boys walked over to me. I stiffened. "Well, hello there," one of them purred. I nodded in acknowledgment and put the magazine back, walking off quickly to find Liam. "Hey, where are you going?" the other guy asked, grabbing my hand. My heart started to race as I looked around frantically. "I'm looking for my boyfriend," I lied, trying to sound confident. "Boyfriend? I don't see a boyfriend," the other guy said, sneering at me. "How about we go somewhere and get to know each other better?" the boy who was holding my hand offered, pulling me towards him slightly. I felt sick. Oh God, Liam, help me please! I know I'm pathetic, but I just hate confrontation, and I hate people touching me, especially people I don't know. "Hey, Angel," Liam said, slinging his arm around my shoulder and glaring at the two guys who immediately dropped my hand and took a step back. I moved closer to Liam's side and pressed into him so hard that it hurt. "I hope you guys weren't hitting on my girl," he said casually, but I could hear the anger in the tone of his voice. Liam has always been protective of me; one time, a boy pushed me over into a puddle when I was seven, and Liam went straight round to the boy's house and punched him in the face. "No way, man. We were just talking, that's all," the guy lied, holding up his hands innocently. "That's good. Come on then, Angel, let's get you home," Liam said, guiding me towards the door. Once we were outside, he turned to look at me. "You OK?" he asked, looking at me, concerned. I was OK; my heart had stopped trying to break out of my chest as soon as I heard his voice. I nodded and smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks," I muttered. He opened the car door and waited for me to climb in before going around to his side again. Once he was in, he tossed something into my la., I looked down it was a bar of my favourite chocolate. I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Liam." He was always doing sweet things like buying me candy, it was just a shame he was such a man-whore jerk, otherwise he would probably be a nice guy. When I got to my house, I went straight to work making a lasagne for dinner. Liam hovered around the kitchen behind me, making me feel violated as he stared at my body. "For goodness' sake, Liam, my eyes are up here!" I cried angrily, pointing to my face. He laughed. "Wow, you are in a bad mood with me today, huh?" he teased, smirking. "Yeah, I am. I can't believe you this morning. I hate rushing around; I've looked and felt like shit all day," I cried acidly. "I think you've looked hot all day," he countered, shrugging. "Ugh, can you just stop talking to me? I'm not in the mood." I threw the food in the oven and started to chop up some salad. "Fine, whatever." He shrugged again and came to stand next to me, helping me chop up the salad stuff. He was standing so close to me that I could feel the heat radiating from his body to mine; it was strangely calming. "I'm gonna go start my homework. That lasagne will be done in half an hour; I suppose you're staying for dinner," I stated. It wasn't a question; I knew he would. I'm not sure whether Jake asked him to stay with me when he was out, but Liam always did anyway. "Sure, seeing as you asked me so nicely." He smirked. "I wasn't asking," I growled sarcastically as I turned to walk off. He grabbed my hand and stepped closer to me. He was so close that my chest was touching his; I could feel his breath blowing across my face. "Angel, I'm sorry about this morning, I am. Please stop being all bitchy to me, it doesn't suit you," he said quietly. I took a deep breath and sighed. "OK, yeah, I'm sorry too. I guess I have been a bitch to you," I admitted, trying to look away from his beautiful sky blue eyes that felt like they were seeing my soul. "So, am I forgiven?" he asked, smiling. I liked this Liam, he was the one who looked after me, he was different when we were on our own. He gave me his adorable puppy dog face that I just couldn't say no to, and I felt my will to hate him crumble. I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to do my homework before dinner." I pulled out of his hold and walked away quickly. That felt weird, being close to him like that. I could still feel the tingling of electricity flowing through my hand where he had held it, and I could still smell his sweet breath that had blown across my face. I had no idea what this weird atmosphere was in the kitchen; it was all just too confusing. I shook my head and pulled out my calculus homework, making a start on it at least. After we had eaten dinner in silence, I finished my homework. It was only eight thirty, so Liam decided to put on a movie. He put on The Final Destination, and we sat on the couch watching it. I felt a little uncomfortable for some reason, but I couldn't work out why. I was just sitting there, the same as usual, but something felt off. I kept sneaking little glances in his direction; he was sitting there watching the movie, one leg folded over the other, his arm casually slung over the back of my chair. Neither of us moved until the movie finished. I stifled a yawn. "I think I'm gonna go to bed, Liam, I'm pretty tired," I murmured, getting up and stretching like a cat. When I looked back at him, I noticed that he was watching me intently. I cleared my throat because he was still staring at me with a strange expression on his face. "Oh, right, yeah, OK. I'll just shoot home th, en and I'll be back in like thirty minutes," he said, standing up to leave. I followed him out and locked the door behind him, a little puzzled. Why was everything so tense and strange between us tonight? It was probably just because I was so pissed off at him this morning, it's made things a little awkward. I changed quickly into a tank top and shorts, brushed my teeth and hair, then slipped into my bed. The bed felt cold and too big, just like it did every night. After about twenty minutes or so, I heard my window slide open and then closed again. Clothes dropped to the floorand then the bed dipped behind me. "Hey, you asleep?" he whispered. "No, not yet," I mumbled. I lifted my head so he could put one of his arms under my neck. He pressed his chest right up against my back and wrapped his other arm around me, throwing his leg over mine. I heard him sigh as I wriggled to get closer to him. I loved Liam sleeping in with me; the bed didn't feel right without him there. "What's wrong?" I asked, pulling his arms tighter around me and pressing my face into his arm, smelling his beautiful scent that was like nothing else in the world. "Nothing, Angel. I'm just tired, that's all," he mumbled against the back of my head, pressing his lips into my hair. "OK. Goodnight, Liam," I whispered, kissing his arm. "Goodnight, Angel," he replied, kissing the back of my head.