Notes

Chapter 4
We struggled to climb the steep hill, as there were a lot of roots sticking out of the trail. I stumbled over one and was about to fall, but Liam caught me. “Be careful.” He gently helped me from falling down the hill. “Thanks.” I flashed him a grateful look. The route was going into a forest ahead. I wondered if we shouldn’t have chosen this trail, but as we’ve already come this far, we couldn’t go back. I was starting to get sweaty after trying to find our way out of the trees. It wasn’t as difficult as the open trail, but the trees all looked the same. “Hah.” We both sighed with relief when we finally made it out. Then I realized something. “We’ve been heading sideways!” Liam turned his head to the right. We could see a dot at the top. I assumed it was Mr. Smith at the top of the hill. We must’ve been finding our way through the forest, but not making any progress up! Well, time to climb again. I was getting exceedingly tired. “Why don’t we stop for a bit?” Liam suggested when we’d reached a grassy spot. I couldn’t see Mr. Smith anymore, but I assumed he was just out of sight. I flopped down on the grass. “I’m so tired.” Liam laughed. “Me too.” “I wonder if anyone’s already made it to the top?” He groaned. “I hope not, I really wanted out of the studying.” After a couple of minutes of silence, I asked Liam. “Do you...” He turned. I felt my face growing hot. “I, I just, do you...” I couldn’t find the right words for it, so I just blurted it out. “Do you really like me?” He raised his eyebrows. “Not what I expected you to say, but yeah I do.” “But why? I mean,” I flushed. “You could choose any girl, any girl would love to…” My voice trailed off. He laughed. “Well, for starters,” He moved closer and whispered in my ear. “You don’t fall all over me.” Well, that was true. He literally had a fan club full of admiring girls. “I… I don’t know if I can accept you.” I looked down at my hands. “What do you mean?” When I looked up, I saw his grin falter. “It's not like I don't like you, I just, it’s just, what about Jayden? I just, imagine how hurt he would be. And I don’t want to ruin your friendship.” He looked at me. “But even if you don’t choose either of us, our friendship is never going to go back.” His voice was soft and gentle. “Don’t think about what’s best for everyone, think about what you want.” I looked down. “Violet.” I could feel his breath, warm next to my ear. “I…” I felt his hand graze mine as he moved closer. “If you don’t like it, tell me to stop.” His lips met mine as he leaned in. I felt like I should tell him to stop, push him away. But I couldn’t.

Since we'd arrived after 4 other groups, we just managed to score a place of the 5 groups. I sat in my sleeping bag, leaning back against my suitcase. Everyone except the 5 groups had gone with Mr.Smith to this museum since this was an "educational trip." I was focused on reading and didn't hear the tent opening until I felt Liam sit on the edge of my sleeping bag and leaned his head into my lap. I pushed him off. He laughed. "Watcha up to? I'm bored." I sighed. "Well, I'm busy. If you're so bored, why didn't you go with them?" He leaned back again. "Then there would be no point in winning the prize." "What do you want." He grinned. "Maybe you can spare a few minutes?" I sighed. As I gave in, he shifted me onto the ground and kissed me. Then he sat up. "Hm?" I murmured, still caught in the trance of kissing him. His eyes sparkled. "Let's go exploring!