His Sweet Lies

Chapter 5: Ugly

Emma's eyes widened when Liam sat down next to her in Literature. Her lips parted but before she could say anything, her teacher's voice interrupted.

"Today is day two of your project! I hope you all are adapting well to your partners" she said, scanning the room with her deep blue eyes.

Emma swallowed, pursing her lips. She could feel Liam's eyes on her and she stiffened.

Why is he all of a sudden so focused on me? No, I'm overthinking it.

She mentally shook her head. She was definitely just overthinking it. Before she knew it, the teacher was done talking and students were discussing their projects and Liam was still looking at her. Finally, she shifted her body to face him.

Her brows furrowed. "You look like you have something specific you wanna ask me."

The tips of Liam's ears turned red at Emma's very accurate observation. "I, uh... I usually just bullshit my way through projects so I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."

The corners of Emma's lips formed a small smile.

He's so cute.

Liam arched his brow. "What are you smiling at?"

Her smile widened. "Nothing."

Emma opened up her notebook to reveal organized notes regarding their assignment. Breaking down both of their lines and the scene they would be recreating, drawing out the costumes and props, sketching parts of the scene... Emma was quite the artist.

Her eyes drifted to see Liam leaning in and staring at her notes. She could feel her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she felt his breath on her neck and smell the expensive scent of his cologne.

Without thinking, she whispered his name.

Liam leaned back only slightly so that he could look into her eyes. Emma clenched the bottom of her hoodie as she tried to keep eye contact. His eyes were gorgeous. She couldn't help but admire them. Her eyes traced down to his sharp jawline before he snapped his fingers.

"Earth to Emma."

"Hm?"

"Did you think of something?"

"Wh-- Oh! Y-yes, I just--" she hesitated.

His brows rose.

Emma cleared her throat, looking down at her notebook.

Why is he so close?! Is this normal?!

She was about to say something when she heard whispers and murmurs behind her. Emma knew she shouldn't have bothered, but she looked back anyways to see girls sneering at her and some guys talking to each other in low and quiet voices. This scene and feeling were all too familiar. She looked to Liam who was either completely clueless or was really good at pretending to be.

"What is he doing with her" a girl whispered in a distasteful tone.

"It's the freak girl" a boy's voice said from nearby.

Emma clenched her jaw. "I have to go" she whispered, getting up and briskly walking out of the classroom.

Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, Emma swallowed a sob that started to creep up on her.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

She raised a hand to brush her bangs further into her eyes to try to cover them up just a bit more. After a few failed attempts, the tears started to flow down her cheeks as she looked down into the sink.

Emma wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie and walked out of the bathrooms, not wanting to be late for her next cla--

"Oomph."

Emma had run into something or... someone. Someone's very sturdy chest that she'd love to touch again even if just for a moment. She tilted her chin up to look at Liam's worried expression. "Liam" she said, having trouble hiding her surprise. "Class hasn't even ended yet."

The halls were empty and quiet, and the classrooms were filled with the sounds of students chatting it up with one another. Usually, Liam would be a part of those students. So why was he here?

"I came to check on y-- Were you crying?"

Emma's eyes widened. She quickly dropped her gaze to the floor. "It's nothing. I'm alright" she murmured.

A sound escaped her when she felt his gentle touch. His hand brought her chin back up so that she was looking at him once again. She looked at those mesmerizing eyes, then to his lips, then back up to his eyes.

"Emma" he whispered. "What's wrong?"

She couldn't remember a time when anyone had ever asked her that question. She wept, feeling her eyes burn.

Liam's heart dropped at the sight of her. "Emma..."

She didn't seem to hear him.

He sighed and took a step closer, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head. It wasn't long before he felt her bury her face into his chest.

Emma's hands found his back and she gripped onto his shirt. He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

Liam didn't know how long they stood there in silence, but when she pulled away, he had to hide his disappointment. "What's wrong?" he asked again softly.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Do you... Do you think I'm ugly?"

Liam took a moment to process her words. His brows furrowed in confusion, but his eyes softened when he focused on Emma's sad expression. "No" he said, shaking his head. "You're not ugly, Emma."

He gave her a smile that seemed to lighten up her mood. She smiled back. It was a weak smile, but still a smile.

Emma put a hand on his shoulder as the bell rang before she walked away.