Prologue - It's Not Just White, It's Pearl White.
Prologue - “It’s Not Just White, It’s Pearl White.”
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, please welcome your valedictorian for the year 2023...Geoffrey Washington!”
Principal Miller announced joyfully and the whole crowd clapped loudly.
I looked at Geoff who was sitting next to me and patted him on the back. “Go.” I nodded to the podium.
He flashed me the lightest smile before getting up from his seat. I clapped for my friend, glancing at Seth in the next seat who was clapping just as enthusiastically as I was.
My eyes flitted over to the other side of the football field where the rest of our class sat on metal chairs in the blazing sun of the morning, all decked out in their graduation caps and gowns.
Yep that’s right. We were graduating.
We were done with all the homework assignments and tests and here we were -sitting under the blazing heat of the sun in the summer on our football field because our school was too cheap to rent out a hall- commemorating the end of high school.
My eyes went further back to the bleachers where the adults trying to take pictures and videos of their kids and among them I saw my mother, grinning at me and waving wildly.
I chuckled softly and waved back for the hundredth time during the ceremony.
Next to her sat her boyfriend, Michael Darren, who smiled at me. Mum had been seeing him for four months now and as far as I can tell, he made her happy. Mum had introduced me to him a month back over dinner together and I discovered that he was a software developer with his own company. When I asked her if she was bringing Michael today, she said no. But after annoying her enough, she picked up the phone and asked Michael to be her date for my graduation. And that’s how he ended up seated next to my mother in a suit, smiling at me.
My eyes roamed over the students of our year, all wearing the black graduation gowns and caps which I was wearing as well. I noticed familiar faces, people that I had seen in the hallways, but never talked to them.
It was crazy to think I had spent two years with these people.
Geoff cleared his throat in the mic, grabbing everyone’s attention.
Principal Miller had announced a few days back that Geoff was our valedictorian while Seth was our salutatorian. When they announced it, I wasn’t even surprised. I was incredibly happy for Geoff because he deserved it after all the amount of blood, sweat and tears he had put in during school.
He had his speech written down on his cards that he placed on the podium. Clearing his throat, he began speaking into the mic in his monotone voice.
“Good morning to everyone gathered here today. I would like to take a moment to thank our teachers and our principal and our staff-”
Geoff stopped abruptly, staring down at his cards. He glanced up at the audience before sighing and putting away his cards.
“Oh damn.” Seth whispered. “He’s freestyling it.”
Geoff placed his hands on the podium and began speaking again, this time more confidently.
“I would like to welcome everyone to Crestview’s graduation ceremony of 2023. My name is Geoffrey Washington, your valedictorian but many of you may know me as ‘the kid who spent too much time in the library’.” He pauses as chuckles ring through the crowd. “Today, I can’t help but reflect on our journey. We’ve survived the dreaded cafeteria food, mastered the art of procrastination, and found a way to sleep with our eyes open. But we’re here and we made it,”
“Now before we graduate from this school, we must remember to thank our teachers who were always patient with us even when we were trying to convince them that our dog really did eat our homework. Shout out to Ms. Strensky for always giving us an extension.”
He pointed to the 53 year old redhead who laughed and shook her head.
“To the parents and guardians who supported us through our education, I’m sure you guys must be counting the seconds until we’re out of your house.”
“And also to the real MVPs of our educational journey, Google, Wikipedia and ChatGPT. Seriously, half of us wouldn’t even be here without them.”
A chorus of laughter echoes across the field as Geoff smiles lightly, pleased.
“My fellow graduates, as we stand here, ready to take on the daunting world filled with endless possibilities, it’s important to remember that life is short, and it’s meant to be lived to the fullest. Take risks, make mistakes, and laugh often. Because let’s face it, life is a lot more fun when you’re not taking yourself too seriously. And remember, it’s okay to fail sometimes. In fact, it’s often in those moments of failure that we learn the most about ourselves and what we’re truly capable of.”
“I’m honoured to be a part of the class of 2023 and to be your valedictorian. Here’s to the next chapter of our lives and whatever it may bring; Congratulations!”
The whole crowd erupts in a fit of laughter and applause, standing up as Geoff grabs his cards and walks away from the podium, head held high.
All the students of our grade are on our feet, giving him a well-deserved standing ovation since that was the best graduation speech ever.
A few exhaustive hours later, Principal Miller walks up to the mic in his well-pressed suit and clears his throat as he makes an announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Crestview High’s senior graduating class of 2023!"
In a second, all of us grabbed our caps off our heads, cheering and clapping as loudly as we could, and flung it into the open air declaring us all graduates.
Cheesy music played while everyone cheered and clapped, looking around at their fellow classmates with a hoard of memories stored somewhere in their brain. I stared at all of my friends who had similar smiles to the one on my face.
Noah walked up to me, a smile on his face. “Fuck man. We just graduated.”
~~~
“Damn, don’t we look cute?” Hana asks -more like states- as she stares at her iPhone.
“Wait no, I want another one.” Kaia comments.
Scott groans as Hana hands him her iPhone again. “Kai, you look great. Can we please go and eat now?”
Kaia glares at him. “Take the picture Gotobed.”
Scott rolls his eyes but holds up the phone again. Kaia, Hana and I cram ourselves again as we stand on our football field and pose for a picture. Hana’s giving a duck face, Kaia is smoldering like a model and I smile widely as the flash goes off and Scott hands back the phone. “There. Satisfied?”
Kaia peers down at the phone and smiles. “Yup. Now come on. We need to meet your parents.”
They walk off hand in hand, talking happily. Hana turns to me. “Come on I need a selfie with you.”
“Haven’t we taken enough?” I groan, feeling the straps of my dress dig into my shoulder.
I wore a skin tight baby blue midi dress with thin straps to hold it up on my shoulders. I paired it with a pair of stilettos of the same colour that had cute bows tied to the ankle. My hair was falling over my shoulders in light waves, thanks to Sky and I had Riley help me with my makeup since I couldn’t do shit with a makeup brush.
“It’s graduation Ames. This is the only time we’re allowed to take a shit load of pictures like we’re Instagram influencers.”
I sighed and slung my arm around her shoulder, bending down to her height. “Take the picture.”
Hana grins and kisses my cheek as she points the phone towards us and snaps a picture of the two of us.
She grins at her screen later. “We look so hot.”
“There she is!” Mum sings and she and Michael walk up to me.
Hana squeezes my arm and goes off to find her brother and family. “I’ll see you later.”
Mum rushed forward, throwing her arms around me. “Oh you looked so beautiful up there honey.”
I smiled and hugged her back. “Thanks mum.”
I pulled back and Michael patted my shoulder, squeezing. “Congratulations Amy.”
Michael was handsome and tall, towering over my mother, with brown curly hair that had strands of white interspersed in it. For today, he was wearing a suit of blue colour and a white dress shirt.
“Thanks Michael. And by the way, thank you so much for keeping my mother under control.”
“Under control? What’s that supposed to mean?” My mother asked.
I shrugged. “Well, I expected you to whistle or to yell something when they called my name. But thanks to Michael, you didn’t.”
Mum rolled her eyes. “Each day, I am more grateful that you’re moving across the country.”
She was talking about the fact that I got into Princeton. Which was almost 3000 miles away from my home in California. I still couldn’t believe it.
Michael smiled at me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “That’s not true. All she’s talked about is how you were going to leave her and go.”
I smirked at Mum who shook her head. “Anyway, you wanna grab a bite with us? We’re thinking of hitting the diner.”
I nodded. “Yeah sure. But I want to meet everyone first. I’ll meet you in the parking lot?”
Mum nodded. “Okay.” She stepped forward and straightened my cap on my head, sighing heavily. “I wish your father could’ve been here Amy.”
I gave her a small smile. “I know. He’s always here though.”
She nodded, agreeing. “He is.”
“Alright ladies, how about I take a picture of you two? For the memories?” Michael suggested.
“You mean apart from the full-on photo shoot we had at home?” I raised an eyebrow at Mum because she just had to take a billion photos before we left the house. “Why not?”
Mum pulled me in close, hugging me to her as Michael whipped out his phone and clicked several pictures. “Got it.”
“Amy.” I heard a familiar voice call. I spun around to see Zara and Owen Beckett walking towards us, hand in hand.
I smiled as Zara hugged me tightly. “Congratulations sweetie.”
“Thanks Zara.” I pulled back and Owen Beckett squeezed my shoulder. “Congratulations Amy.”
“Thank you.” I looked around.
“You look gorgeous sweetie.” Zara looks at Mum. “Doesn’t she Charlie?”
Mum nodded, tears pooling in her eyes for the forty-ninth time today. “Oh yeah.”
“Mum you need to stop crying. I’m only graduating.” I shook my head at her as Michael offered her his handkerchief.
“It’s an emotional day for me okay? Leave me alone.” Mum sniffled, her tears drawing back.
I chuckled and looked at Zara and Mr. Beckett. “Liv couldn’t make it?”
Zara shook her head. “Unfortunately, she had a final today. But we’ll be flying out to New York for her graduation next week.” She looks at Mr. Beckett. “Liam and Liv are both graduating. It makes me wonder how time went by so fast?”
“I know right?” Mum agreed, those tears from earlier coming back. “It seems like just yesterday she was running around in her Dora The Explorer pajamas. She had this little monkey stuffed toy that she used to pretend was-”
“Stop stop stop!” I waved my hands. “Please I’m begging you.” My eyes widened in horror. “If you love me, you will never tell that story to anyone alive.”
Mum chuckled, shaking her head. Michael and Mr. Beckett also looked amused, much to my dismay. Michael looked at Mr. Beckett and Zara. “We’re going to the diner for some breakfast. Would you two liked to join us?”
“Of course we would.” Zara answered for the two of them.
“Okay then.” Mum turned to me, smiling. “We’ll see you later kiddo.”
They turned to walk away when Mr. Beckett spun around. “Oh and Liam was looking for you.” He told me.
“Okay thanks.” I nodded and all four of them walked away, talking as they got further and further away from me.
Geoff walked up to me with two bottles of water in his hands, still in his cap and gown. “Hey.”
I took one of the water bottles and raised an eyebrow at him. ”Take risks, make mistakes and laugh often?” I quoted from his speech and laughed. “You literally do none of those things.”
Geoff looked amused as he shook his head. “Cut me some slack, I ditched my cards at the last minute. I just decided to speak from the heart.”
“Why didn’t you read from your cards?” I asked, sipping from the bottle of water.
Geoff sighed. “My parents had me write it ages ago. And if this is the last speech I give to my fellow classmates, I’d like them to remember it.”
I patted his shoulder. “That’s sweet Geoff.”
Geoff gave me a disgusted look. “Never call me sweet again.”
I barked out laughter that turned into a high-pitched screech when two arms wrapped around my waist from behind and spun me around, almost knocking my cap off and dropping my bottle.
As he put my feet on the ground and stabilized me, I looked over my shoulder to see his twinkling grey eyes that were focused on me.
It was the same eyes that made my heart rate speed up, that had me smiling widely.
“Have I told you how stunning you look today Greene?”
I blushed, rolling my eyes. “Yeah about a thousand times.”
He placed a light kiss on my lips before removing his hands and moving next to me. “Are you gonna give me a compliment?”
He wiggled his eyebrows and stretched his arms out so he could showcase more of himself and what he was wearing.
William Beckett.
My boyfriend ladies and gentlemen.
My eyes raked over him multiple times, taking in his outfit. His defined muscles filled out the suit just right. The white dress shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned at the top, displaying the long column of his neck and a little bit of his chest hair. His suit jacket was thrown over his shoulder and the trousers he wore fell down all the way to the Chucks he was wearing. His precious camera hung from his shoulder and his hand was almost always over it protectively. His dark hair was a shaggy mess on his head, falling into his intimidating grey eyes and a crooked smile was on his face as he stretched his arms out.
I tilted my head at him. “I like the colour of your shirt.”
Liam sent me a dry look. “It’s white.”
“It’s not just white. It’s pearl white. It’s very fascinating.”
Liam chuckled, shaking his head. “One day Greene. One day you’re gonna compliment me.” He turned to Geoff. “Great speech dude.”
Geoff nodded. “Thanks man. By the way, where’s Ed-”
“WE GRADUATED MOTHERFUCKERS!”
Eddie’s voice boomed enormously loud as he jumped on Liam’s back causing him to lose his balance, almost tumbling over me.
Noah appeared too, his gown in the crook of his arm and his cap on his head, smiling at Eddie and Liam.
“What the fuck Dino?” Liam grumbled shoving his best friend off his back.
“What do you mean ‘what the fuck?’ We graduated!” Eddie exclaimed, that charming grin on his face as he shook Liam.
Liam pushed him away. “You’re messing up my suit. Fuck off.”
Eddie rolled his eyes and grinned at his boyfriend Geoff. “Babe, your speech was incredible. I think I saw Dana Stewart crying.”
“Thanks Ed.” Geoff’s lips quirked up and I saw his fingers itch to touch his boyfriend.
Geoff and Eddie had been in a relationship for the last 8 months. Geoff was still not out yet in terms of his sexuality because I’m pretty sure his parents would have an aneurysm if they found out their son was gay. That’s why Eddie and Geoff were secretive about their relationship. Apart from their friends and Liam’s family, no one else knew about them.
I felt a steady wind pass by, cooling my skin. We were at the end of May, which happened to be peak summer, so that meant the sun was burning us at all times during the day but luckily, today was a comparatively cooler day.
“Hey guys!” I heard a voice call and I see Riley, Liam’s cousin sister, running towards us.
She was one of the Beckett sisters that I was closest to. Maybe it was because of the one year difference between us but either way, she was pretty cool.
I grab her into a hug and she smiles, hugging me back. “You graduated.” She said like she couldn’t believe it.
I scoffed. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
She pulled back. “You graduating doesn’t surprise me. But Noah? Now there’s a surprise.”
Noah narrowed her eyes at Riley who grinned at him. “You little-”
“It’s a family event Noah.” I scolded. “Keep your profanities to yourself.”
Noah rolled his eyes and straightened his chest. “I’m gonna go find Dad and Sky.” He turned to Liam. “By the way, Hayley Atkins and her friends want a picture with you.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “You mean from me right?”
Noah laughed, slapping his shoulder. “Nope. She wants a picture with you.”
He laughed to himself and walked away. I saw Liam roll his eyes and grumble under his breath. “I’m so regretting my decision to be a photographer for this thing.”
I chuckled. The hired photographer for the graduation had dropped out last minute so Liam had volunteered his skills. Volunteered was putting it loosely. More like forced since Sasha Davidson’s mom -organizer of the event- had begged him.
Liam had relented since Zara was also pleading with him.
The only problem was that now everyone wanted a picture with him. That’s right. With him. They wanted him to be included in the photograph which as you can see, is very annoying.
He had told me right before the ceremony that he didn’t want to do it but he had to.
Liam looks at me, sighing. “I hate this job.”
“I don’t think you can call it a job if you’re not getting paid.” Eddie commented.
Liam ran a hand through his wavy hair, messing it up further before he looked me right in the eyes. “You do know that I’m never gonna be in that picture right?”
I smiled, nodding. “I do.” I sighed. “Now Sky and Riley here spent a lot of time to make me look like this. So are you gonna take a picture with me or not?”
Liam grinned as he gave his camera to Eddie. “Dino you mind?”
Eddie shook his head, handling the camera with a lot of care. “I’d be honoured.”
Liam slid his arm around my waist, and pulled me into his chest. I wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned in to him, his scent filling my nostrils.
Eddie smiled at us, holding the camera to his eye. “Alright, say ‘graduates!’”
I smiled as Liam and I said in unison. “Graduates!”
The camera made a click sound twice and I turned to Liam to find him staring at me, with a small smile on his face.
“You okay?” I asked him.
His smile grew and he nodded. “Yeah. You look beautiful Greene.”
I smiled at him. “Thank you. And by the way, you don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Gee thanks babe.” Liam rolled his eyes.
“No problem babe.” I told him, grinning widely.
“Liam!” I heard a girl’s voice call out. I turned my head to see Hayley Atkins walking towards us, a flirty smile on her face.
“Oh my God.” Liam mumbled in my ear.
“We want you to take a picture with us if you don’t mind.” Hayley tilted her head and batted her eyelashes at Liam.
Ever since Liam and I had started dating, the girls in school had backed off but that didn’t mean there were some who tried to flirt with him. He always brushed them off like they were blood-sucking leeches but that didn’t stop them from trying again.
I shared a glance with Riley who was rolling her eyes, amused.
Liam sighed, taking his camera back from Eddie. “I’m taking the picture but I’m not gonna be in it Hayley.”
Liam had no problem being as rude as he wanted to be. He had a reputation for that and he was using it to his advantage right now.
Hayley rolled her eyes and glanced at me as if I was a sack of shit.
I wanted to deck her right there.
“Whatever. My friends are waiting.” She sighed, rolling her eyes.
Liam turned to me. “I’ll be back in a sec okay?”
I nodded and Liam pressed his lips to my forehead before placing his mouth right next to my ear, whispering. “And for the record, blue is most definitely your colour.”
I blushed, hiding myself in the space between his neck and shoulder.
Someone cleared their throat loudly - Hayley- making Liam grunt out in annoyance and let go of me.
Hayley walked away, in the direction of a group of girls who stared at Liam like he was the only remaining ounce of food on the planet and they had all been starving for 172 days.
“Yo Captain!” I spun around to see some of the guys from our high school basketball team strolling towards us.
Raj, Bryan and Callum walked towards me, all in suits with their graduation caps still on their heads.
“Hey guys.” I smiled. I spent two years with these guys on the basketball team and one of those years bossing them around as their captain.
Raj smiled at me, slightly red. “We wanted to take a picture of the basketball team. This might be the last time you remember us before you go off and play for Princeton.”
I punched his shoulder. “You guys are one of the first major teams I was a part of. I’m not gonna forget you that easily.”
Callum scoffed. “You won’t even have the time to miss us. You’ll be too busy. With signing contracts and all the underwear from your fans.”
We all gave him a weird look and he shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that. How do you think I got Steph Curry’s autograph?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Gross dude.”
Callum shrugged. “Anyways, call the rest of the team.”
I waved to Liam who was apparently arguing with the Hayley girl. “Liam!”
He glanced over and I could see him sigh in relief, his grey eyes twinkling. He spoke a few words to Hayley and then ran towards us.
He reached me in a second, grabbing my hands. “I am so glad you called. I swear that girl was gonna kidnap me.”
I chuckled. “What makes you think I would let her?”
Liam smirked. “Oh so you-”
“Guys, flirt on your own time.” I heard Callum interrupt. “We need a picture of the team together.”
About five minutes later, every senior on the basketball team had gathered around, all of us being squished together so we can all fit into the photo.
Noah too since he was as much a part of the team as anyone else.
He was lying down on the grass on his side, head propped up on his elbow while others were either sitting down or standing. I stood, my arms around Raj and Geoff as we all posed for the photo that Liam was taking.
“Alright, smile.” He said, raising his camera to his eye line.
I smiled widely as a flash went off. Liam lowered the camera, his eyes finding mine. “All of you look great.”
He winked at me and I rolled my eyes.
Pervert, I mouthed to him.
×××
“Austin, this is a terrible remix.” I told Austin Chen while we stood at the DJ table.
“No it isn’t.” Austin shook his head. “I’ll prove it to you.” He grinned at me, obviously drunk and leaned back, cupping his hands over his mouth. “Let’s show some appreciation for the music people!” He yelled.
I covered my ears but it didn’t do anything.
“HELL YEAH!” I heard every person from our school holler.
Austin turned back to me, a smug grin on his face. “See?”
I sighed. We were at a party. An after-school, start of summer kind of party that all the seniors, well ex-seniors, were invited to. Our entire grade was gathered on the cliff in our town - yes the very same infamous cliff where Liam and I met for the first time- to celebrate our last hurrah as teenagers. All of our friends were here, either dancing, making out, playing beer pong or just talking.
It was already evening and the sun had just gone down but the sky was a myriad of colours spanning from the lightest shades of pink and yellow to darker hues of purple and blue. Liam had already taken a picture of it, since he never missed an opportunity for a good picture.
The night itself was hot considering it was summer but there was a cool, gentle breeze that blew every once in a while that really helped with the temperatures.
Austin was the obvious DJ for the night and we stood at his table talking for the last few minutes. Well we were arguing over the music but whatever. Austin had his headphones around his neck and a red Solo cup in his hand. Over the last few months, he had grown out his hair and a small dusting of scruff decorated his jawline. His infamous blue stripe of hair was still there, falling over his shoulder.
Austin looked over at me. “Okay how about this, I’ll let you play one song?” I opened my mouth to respond but he immediately cut me off, knowing what I was going to ask. “And no, it cannot be a Pitbull song. I’ve had enough of your fetish for that bald man.”
“I only played like five songs of his.” I argued.
“And that was four songs too many.” Austin countered.
Suddenly, someone walked up to us, a smile on their face. “Hey Chen.”
I recognized the short person as Shayna, with her jet black hair and doe eyes.
“Shay, hey.” Austin grinned, kissing her lightly on the mouth.
Shayna looked at me. “Hey Amy.”
I had met her during one of our school’s recitals where Austin was playing. Hana, who was Austin’s twin sister, had introduced me to Shayna there and I had admitted that she was a really cool girl.
“Hey Shayna, school’s out for you?”
She nodded, visibly exhausted with school. “Yup, thank fuck it is.”
I laughed lightly. “I’ll see you guys later.” They nodded and I walked off, not wanting to be a third wheel among them.
I passed through the crowds of people who were gyrating and dancing and made it to the other side of the cliff where I saw Tyler and Cece making out on one of the rocks.
I smiled lightly. They had been so happy for the last few months, all wrapped up in each other. It was adorable except for when they were making out at the lunch table or in front of my locker. Then it was disgusting.
Noah and Hana were playing beer pong with some other people. I had seen Noah take a body shot off some girl a while back so I could tell he was really enjoying himself tonight.
In some ways, I was worried for him. I was worried that whatever happened in Oklahoma with his mom was affecting him and before he did something stupid, he needed to talk about it.
He noticed me, walking past him and sent me a nod to which I nodded back.
I saw Scott and Kaia dancing with each other, her arms around his neck while Scott held a red cup, most likely filled with some form of alcohol. Kaia grinned at me, as I passed by and I returned her smile.
Eddie was talking to some people who looked fascinated by what he was saying. I wouldn’t blame them. Eddie knew how to tell a story.
I spotted Liam, Geoff and Seth talking near a rock, Seth with a cup in his hand, and Liam with his camera in his hand.
My gaze drifted further down his veiny arms to the leather band I had given him that he still wore. It was tattered and old now, with the leather peeling off in some places. It looked horrible and yet he still wore it like it was his promise ring.
I walked towards the three boys. Liam noticed me first and held out an arm towards me, which I took, pulling me towards him. “Hey.”
“Hey, did you know that shrimps have their heart in their head?” Geoff tells me, slurring his words a bit. “That means that they can think with their head and heart at the same time.” He grabbed my shoulders, eyes wide. “At. The. Same. Time Amy.”
I laughed. “Geoff, are you drunk?”
“No!” Geoff exclaims and I’m shocked by the amount of emotion there is in his voice.
Seth and Liam laugh while Geoff sways on his feet. “He’s drunker than a homeless man on New Years Eve.”
Geoff scowls at Seth. “That analogy sucked ass.”
“Sorry if it’s not up to your standard, Mr. I’m Going To Stanford.” Seth taunts, amused.
Geoff smirks. “That’s right.” He throws his hands up and screams, very loudly. “I’M GOING TO STANFORD BITCHES!”
“Woo-hoo!” The rest of the party erupts in cheers for him, well all those who are drunk at least. I laugh as they turn back to what they were doing, feeling Liam’s chest rumble in laughter behind me.
Geoff sways on his feet again, almost falling and Liam’s hands reach out to stabilize him. Geoff swats them away. “Get away from me dude. I already told you I’m not interested.”
Liam rolls his eyes at the mention that Geoff used to have a crush on him. The funny thing was that Liam was more offended at the fact that Geoff picked Eddie over him even though Liam liked me. It was very confusing since I was already his girlfriend at the time.
“I’m trying to help you Geoff.” Liam mentions, amused as Geoff stumbles on his feet.
“And I’m gonna go find Eddie who I’m actually interested in.” Geoff sneers at my boyfriend. “So back off.”
I laugh as Liam gets even more frustrated. “Seth, can you help him find Eddie? I think I saw him near the beer pong table.”
Seth nods, downing his cup in one go. “Yeah sure. Come on bud.” He hooks Geoff’s arm through his and they both walk off together, in search of Eddie.
I laugh as Liam sits down on the rock, sighing frustratedly. “Eddie and Geoff were made for each other. Both annoying pricks who think everyone is in love with them.”
I laugh even more, causing Liam to smile at me. He drags me toward him by a hand on my waist, my back to his chest. His fingers played with the t-shirt I’m wearing. “Is this mine?” He asks.
I glance down at my t-shirt. It was a t-shirt with the Weeknd’s face on it and below his name which I had paired with denim cut off shorts and my white sneakers. The t-shirt was very obviously Liam’s. Still, I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Keep it. It looks good on you.” He said, making me sit down on his lap.
The rock faced the expanse of water below us, a peaceful view. I turned around to face Liam and I could see he had a faraway look on his face. “What’re you thinking about?”
Liam takes in a huge gulp of air before exhaling it out. “Graduation.” I wait for him to elaborate. “I really wish Liv was there.”
“I’m sure she would’ve wanted to be there.”
“She did.” He sighed. “I love that Zara and Uncle Owen showed up. Even Riley and Ellie but Liv’s my sister you know. She’s my family. My first family. But...”
“But?” I encouraged him.
“But I wish my parents were there Greene.” Liam sighs, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I really really wished they were there.” He looked up at me. “You must’ve missed your dad today huh?”
I nodded. “Like crazy. But they’re here with us. In our memories, in our hearts, in the things that remind us of them.”
Liam nodded, waiting for a moment. “That was really philosophical Greene.”
I barked out laughter, the conversation moving to easier topics. “I know. I could easily replace Dr. Phil.”
“Well, you’d be much hotter, if that’s what you’re saying.” Liam says, placing a hand on my leg, making my heart rate speed up in a good way.
I slap his hand. “Jerk.” I paused, remembering something that Owen Beckett said. “When are you guys leaving for Liv’s graduation?”
Liam sighed. “Sunday. We’ll be back on Wednesday.”
“Richard’s going to make it?” I asked, referring to Liv’s long time boyfriend.
Liam scoffed. “There’s nothing that would make him miss it.”
I nodded, smiling to myself, settling back on his legs. The beats of the music played in the background but Liam and I were focused only on each other’s voice as we stared out at the sunset.
“Remember the first time we met?“Liam asks suddenly. “It was right over there.” He says pointing to the drinks table where I could see a couple talking. I grinned as he spoke further. “I was holding a drink when suddenly you decided to become blind, and you walked straight into me and spilt my drink all over my shirt, ruining it in the proces.”
I scoffed. “I didn’t ruin it.”
“Uh yes you did.” Liam says matter-of-factly.
“You still wear that shirt!” I threw my hands in the air. “You just wanted an excuse to take it off.”
Liam’s eyes glinted. “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy the show Greene.”
I didn’t dignify his statement with a response and continued the story. “And then you dared me to jump off the cliff. I actually thought you were a psycho.”
“You’re an even bigger psycho for doing it Greene.” Liam countered. I shrugged. He was right.
Suddenly, I slipped my hand into his and moved off him, dragging him off the rock.
Liam noticed the creepy grin on my face. “What are you doing Greene?”
“We could find out who’s the bigger psycho today?” I shrugged, grinning at him.
Liam’s eyes sparked with excitement as he understood what I was trying to say. “Alright Greene.”
He hid his camera behind a rock and in one smooth motion, he peeled off his t-shirt, leaving him in shorts that he had worn because it was way too hot for full pants.
I swallowed heavily, taking in his very defined, very drool-worthy, Calvin Klein-model body.
I felt my cheeks turn red and I saw Liam smirking at me. “I could feel you checking me out.”
I rolled my eyes and took off my shirt and sneakers, leaving me only in my cut offs and a sports bra. Liam’s eyes went over my body a thousand times and I could see the tips of his ears turn pink.
Suddenly, he looked around and I noticed all the attention we were getting from our fellow classmates. I could see some of the guys in our class look me up and down hungrily.
I heard a low growl from in front of me and I saw Liam glaring at everyone, jaw clenched.
Some of them turned away from us, hurriedly going back to their conversations like they were scared.
Liam turned back to me, placing an arm against my back and steering us towards the edge of the cliff.
“Ready Greene?” Liam took my hand, intertwining our fingers tightly.
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face and I squeezed his hand. “Ready.”
Liam gave me a smile. “3...2...1!”
And together, hand in hand, we jumped off.
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Guess who's back...
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-Marissa
