When I returned to the classroom, only Sophie and Mady were there. The teacher had already dismissed the class.
 
"We've been waiting for you, why did you take so long?" Sophie greeted me.
 
"In fact, Liam got here before you. Why didn't you two come back together?" Mady added.
 
I grabbed my bag before answering. "I just stopped by the restroom." It was a lie. I walked out of the classroom and they followed me.
 
"What happened between you two earlier? When Liam came back here, he looked upset. He left without saying a word, so Ace and Ken followed him."
 
At Sophie's words, I suddenly looked down. I felt like crying.
 
"Hey, are you okay?" Mady touched my shoulder.
 
I composed myself before looking at them. "I think I'm not feeling well," I lied.
 
"Really? I think you need to take some rest. We'll just ride you home."
 
I didn't say anything to Sophie's suggestion and just let them drop me off. After all, I wanted to be alone right now.
 
"I'm sorry if I can't hangout with you guys." I said as I got out of Sophie's car after she stopped in front of my house.
 
"It's okay, Mira, just rest," Mady replied.
 
"We'll just see you tomorrow. Make sure to rest, okay?" Sophie added. I just nodded. I waited for them to leave before I went inside the house.
But before I could even open the door to our house, I received a call from Quinn. Without any hesitation, I answered it.
 
"Hello, Mira."
 
"Quinn, what's up?" I opened the door and stepped inside. I scanned the house and saw only the housekeepers. I'd come home early, so Mom and Briana were probably still at school and work.
 
"Do you know what's happened to my brother? Lately, he's always been in a bad mood. Especially today, it seems worse because he snapped at me." I didn't want to assume, but I knew I was the reason for his behavior.
 
"Where is he?" I need to fix this. I don't want anyone else to get involved because of my high pride. I need to talk to him and apologize.
 
"Actually, he just came home a while ago but went out again. I think he went to the park. Uhm, Mira?"
 
"Yes?"
 
"I can tell that you and my brother have a misunderstanding. Please do fix it. I don't want him to revert back to his old self. I'm really happy with how he's changed because of you."
 
"Thank you, Quinn. Don't worry, I will." I said goodbye to her before ending the call.
I quickly went up to my room to drop off my things, then hurried back down to go out and find Liam at the park. I hoped he was there.
 
I was about to rush out of the house when a voice behind me stopped me. "Mira, you just got home, and you're going out again?" Yaya Fe asked.
 
"Ah, I just need to buy something outside." I lied. She just nodded and went back to what she was doing.
 
I walked quickly towards the park, which was a bit far from our place. Plus, I was worried that I might not catch Liam there.
 
I quickly spotted Liam when I arrived at the park. But I wasn't happy with what I saw. This must be what Quinn was talking about earlier, that she didn't want her brother to revert to his old habits. He took a cigarette from a newly bought pack and lit it. Before he could bring it to his lips, I beat him to it. I quickly approached him and snatched the cigarette. I threw it on the ground and stomped on it.
 
"What on earth are you doing?!" I scolded him.
 
"Why did you throw it away?" He complained, looking at the crushed cigarette, then at me.
He was about to take another cigarette from the pack he was holding, but I quickly snatched it from him and threw the entire pack into the nearby trash can.
 
He just sighed and leaned back on the bench.
 
"I thought you were going to quit smoking?!" I asked him, annoyed.
 
He looked at me emotionlessly. "Why do you care? You don't care about me, right? Especially about how I feel."
 
I don't know why, but he looks so childish right now. I never thought that one of the most popular guys in school could have this side. Is this how he behaves towards the people he likes? Throwing tantrums like a girl? I chose to ignore his childishness because my guilt for being so prideful towards him was growing stronger.
"Regarding that, I want to apologize. I apologize for what I said that night, for not immediately saying sorry, and for letting my pride get in the way. I genuinely mean it when I say that I'm truly sorry. I know I hurt you deeply, and I regret it," I sincerely said.
 
He just looked at me in response. He was looking up at me since I was standing while he was seated on the bench in front of me. His gaze felt like he was observing me. "Hey, Don't you have anything to say?"
 
"Nothing." He said emotionlessly. He stood up, about to leave, so I held onto his arm to stop him from walking away.
 
"Liam, are you still angry? I'm really sorry." I tightened my grip on his arm. I couldn't see his facial expression because he had turned his back to me.
 
He faced me, and I couldn't understand his current expression. I couldn't tell if he was still angry or not. He looked straight into my eyes. "On one condition."
 
Wait, I suddenly felt nervous about this condition. "W-what condition?"
"Give me a kiss." He said straightforwardly.
 
"W-what? But we're not even together yet."
 
"Then answer me now, so we can kiss." He said with a mischievous smile.
 
Wait, he's not angry anymore. He's been messing with me since earlier! So annoying. I playfully slapped his chest. "You've been teasing me all along!"
 
He burst into laughter at my words. I knew it, he's just playing around. "You're so annoying!"
 
He couldn't stop laughing. Well, he seems really amused, huh? I hope you choke on your laughter. Ugh, if only you weren't so handsome.
 
After a few seconds, he seemed to regain his composure. "I'm sorry, you know I can't resist teasing you. And your apology is really what I've been waiting for." He said, still with a hint of amusement.
 
I was about to respond when he suddenly hugged me, his voice becoming serious. "I'm sorry too for being so jealous and possessive. I know we're not officially together yet, but I can't help it. I just love you so much, Mira."
 
He gently let go of our embrace and turned to face me. I was left speechless and frozen, completely surprised by his words. Our eyes locked in an intense gaze, and in that moment, silence enveloped us. The only sound that filled the air was the rapid beating of my heart. I couldn't understand why I found myself captivated by his presence, unable to look away. Suddenly, everything around us seemed to slow down, as if time itself had paused. The gentle breeze whispered through the air, carrying with it the falling of leaves all around us. It felt like a scene from a romantic movie, an unforgettable moment suspended in time.
We both snapped back to reality when we heard someone clearing their throat. We looked in the distance and saw Quinn standing there, holding Yuan in her arms.
 
She must have noticed my confusion about why they were together, so she quickly explained, "I saw him earlier in front of our gate, so I decided to take him for a walk. And I knew you guys were here at the park, so we joined you." She said with a smile, clearly teasing us.
 
I must have forgotten to close the gate again, allowing him to go out.
 
"I guess you two are okay now, you've been staring at each other for a while," she continued, still laughing. So that means she's been standing there, watching us? Damn, how embarrassing.
"You're just jealous because your crush doesn't have a crush on you." Her brother teased.
 
Quinn's surprise was clearly written all over her face. "W-what are you talking about? I don't have a crush!" She denied.
 
"I saw your diary and read it." So she also writes in a diary? They really are siblings with Liam.
 
"W-what? How could you?! You're so annoying!" She exclaimed.
 
"It was just an accident." Liam retorted. Quinn handed Yuan to me and was about to attack her brother, but Liam quickly hid behind me, holding onto both of my shoulders. "Mira, help, Quinn is about to hurt me." He said, as if a child reporting to their mother about being bullied by their playmates.
 
In an instant, Liam ran away, determined to escape Quinn's retaliation. "Chase me, brat!" He teased.
 
"You're so annoying!!" She followed him, and they chased each other throughout the entire park.
 
I stood there, unable to contain my laughter, as I watched them playfully chase each other.
 
Seeing them, I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, wishing I had siblings to share joyful moments like that. They're lucky to have each other.
———
The next morning, Madison and I were walking down the hallway towards the library to study. Our exams were starting on Monday, so we needed to study hard to pass. Even though we had group study sessions, they weren't enough because we often ended up goofing around and chatting. Sophie didn't come to school because she had stomach cramps. Liam and the others had other places to go.
 
As we were about to enter the library, I noticed Briana, along with Rhian and Sam, coming towards us.
 
We were right in front of the library door when I felt something splash on me. When I turned around, I saw that Mady had been accidentally spilled with a drink on her uniform.
 
"Omg, I'm so sorry Madison! I didn't mean to do that." Briana said. She used the tissue she was holding to wipe off the drink from Mady's white uniform.
 
"Uh, it's okay. I have spare uniforms in my locker. I'll just change." Mady said, shifting her gaze towards me. "Mira, you go ahead inside. I'll just change." She excused herself and quickly left to change.
 
"Sorry again." Briana added as Mady walked away. I don't know if it's just me, but her words seemed sarcastic.
 
I just looked at the three of them and went inside the library without acknowledging them. I didn't want to say anything that could make the situation worse. I knew that if I confronted Briana, I would end up being the bad guy again.
After getting the books we needed for studying, I sat down at the corner of the library beside the window. I glanced outside. I don't know why, but I feel uneasy about what happened earlier. I'm not sure if Briana intentionally spilled on Mady or if it was just an accident.
 
I snapped back to reality when I realized that Mady was already sitting in front of me at the table.
 
I looked at her, noticing that she had changed her uniform. Her hair was now down, tied up earlier.
 
"Are you okay? You seem lost in thought." 
 
"Mady, do you think it was just an accident when Briana spilled on you earlier?" I asked her.
 
She chuckled slightly. "Do you think she did it on purpose?" I just nodded. "I don't think so. I think she was sincere when she apologized to me, and even Sophie said that she has changed, right?"
 
Yeah, that's right. Even she believes that Briana has changed. But maybe it really was an accident because if she did it intentionally, she would have spilled it on me instead of Mady.
Friday came. We only had two days left before our exams, so we were extremely focused on studying. We had so many requirements to finish as well. Because of our busy schedule, we sometimes came home late at night.
 
Following that, there was a sudden and unexpected selection of me as the representative of our section to run as the president in the upcoming student council election. Here in school, instead of changing the student council every year, they do it every semester. I don't know, they said it's to give more opportunities to different students for leadership roles. Who knows, they think they know so much.
 
"Ready to go?" Liam asked me after I finished organizing my things. We were heading home now, and I'm grateful that we were allowed to leave early today.
 
In the middle of his driving, I noticed that he seemed restless. After a while, he pulled the car over and stopped.
 
"Why did we stop?" I asked.
 
"I think there's something wrong with my car. Just stay here, I'll check it." He got out of the car and opened the hood. Thick smoke came out of the engine, and I heard Liam coughing.
 
I also got out and went to his side. "What happened?" I asked nervously.
 
"It looks like it's overheated." He said, holding his forehead.
 
"Do you have any radiator fluid with you?" My voice showed my growing panic. We took a shortcut, so there weren't many cars passing by where we were. It was just open fields surrounding us.
 
"I don't have any." He weakly replied.
We tried turning off the car engine to let it rest, but it only made things worse. After a while, the car refused to start. We tried every possible method, but nothing seemed to work.
 
"Oh no, what do we do now?" I anxiously asked, feeling worried about our situation.
 
"I'll call our driver." He said, and I felt a sense of relief hearing his response.
 
But a few seconds later, I was startled by his shout.
 
"Damn!" I turned to him, surprised by his outburst.
 
"Oh, what happened?!" I asked, panicking.
 
"No signal." he said in frustration.
 
"What?! How are we going to get home now?" I couldn't check my phone because it was already low on battery. I don't know why, but I always forget to bring a power bank, even though it's a common thing to do.
He suddenly burst into laughter. I furrowed my brows at his behavior. "What's so funny?!"
 
"It's just funny how you reacted. Don't worry, I'm just joking. I already sent the message, and he's already coming." He said.
 
I rolled my eyes at him. "You're unbelievable!" We were already stranded, and he still managed to make a joke. He can be so annoying sometimes.
 
I left him there and sat on a big rock by the side. It seemed like he noticed that I wasn't pleased, so he followed me and sat beside me. I stared into the distance, but I could feel his gaze on me.
 
"Mira, are you mad? I'm sorry." He said, placing his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.
 
"Are you really mad?" He said in a husky voice. I don't know why, but my annoyance suddenly disappeared because of that. But of course, I still needed to act a bit upset, even if I wasn't. I wanted to play hard to get, too.
 
I ignored him and moved a bit farther away. Pretending to be mad, even though I wasn't. I just wanted to be a bit playful, too.
 
"Hey." He poked my waist with his finger to tickle me. I couldn't help but squirm at his action. Damn, he really knows my weakness.
 
He continued doing it persistently. I couldn't resist anymore, and I started giggling uncontrollably. "Okay, stop! Fine, I'm not mad anymore." I said, still laughing.
 
Luckily, he finally stopped. But now he was staring at me, smiling. "What now? You're acting so weird." I commented.
"I really like it when you laugh, it's so adorable." He said.
 
I couldn't help but look away. Why is he so straightforward? I feel like I'm blushing now.
 
We stayed silent for a moment until I spoke up.
 
"Liam," I called his name.
 
"Yeah?"
 
I glanced at him and then shifted my attention back to the distance. "Is it okay to talk about Hailey?"
 
I noticed that he was taken aback by my question, but he didn't show it. "Of course, what about her?"
 
"I just suddenly thought of her. I wonder how she's doing?" After what happened between us before, I hardly heard any news about her.
 
"I heard from Ken that she went back to California after what happened. I know her, she doesn't hold grudges. She will forgive us soon, so don't worry."
 
"I hope so. I hope she finds her happiness. I still feel guilty about it until now."
Liam held my hand. "Don't feel that way. I've told you, right? It's not your fault. You just followed your heart, loving me."
 
Wait, he said that so confidently.
 
"You're so full of yourself." I said, laughing.
 
He smiled back. "But it's true, isn't it?"
 
I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "So what if it's true? You made me fall for you so perfectly, to the point where I don't even know how to control it anymore because with each passing day, my feelings for you grow stronger and deeper."
 
"I love you too, so much. More than words can ever express."
 
I smiled in response. I never made a mistake in loving him. Even though we're not officially together yet, I can feel how much he loves me.
 
As he looked at me with such intensity, his eyes spoke volumes of love and affection. In that moment, I could feel the depth of his emotions, overwhelming my heart. I knew without a doubt that he cherished me more than words could ever convey.
 
"Mira, when will you say yes to me?" He asked, his gaze never leaving mine.
 
I met his gaze and simply smiled.
 
Soon, Liam, soon. And I can't wait for that day to come.