Page 8 of Rejected Heart
When I arrived here today, I hadn’t anticipated anything like this happening. And I certainly didn’t know that this was the kind of girl Layla was. But there wasn’t one thing I didn’t enjoy about spending the rest of the afternoon with her.
LAYLA - ONE WEEK LATER
I was a good student.
I followed the rules, always turned in homework and assignments on time, and studied for my tests. Without any major distractions in my life—no close friends, no boyfriend, and no extracurricular activities—I would have needed to slack off substantially not to do well.
And whenever I had the chance to get ahead on long-term assignments, like research papers, I took advantageof that time. It often happened during my study hall periods, which is where I was now.
No sooner had I pulled out my notebook, attempting to use my time wisely, someone sat right beside me.
The study hall periods usually took place in either the cafeteria, as long as it wasn’t during a lunch period, or in the auditorium. I was currently in the auditorium.
Never, not once in all the weeks since school had started this year, had anyone marched over to sit down beside me. And when I looked to my right to see who it was, I couldn’t say I wasn’t the least bit shocked.
Twice.
Twice now, Liam Westwood had approached me when I was alone. I didn’t even think he knew I existed.
Ever since he’d approached me during our class field trip to Westwood’s last week, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. While nobody had ever been downright mean to me—I was fortunate not to be one of the kids that got bullied—the reality was that nobody had been super friendly to me, either.
I hadn’t necessarily minded. Sure, it would have been nice to have even one close friend, but I was content to stay focused on my schoolwork and just make it through to graduation.
But now that Liam had shown me that kindness, he was all I thought about for the last week. As terrified as I’d been to go on nearly every single ride at the amusement park, I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d had more fun. And to be able to do it with him, with the guy that everybody just seemed to love,made it that much more special. Maybe that was why everyone liked him so much. Liam was the guy who always did the right thing, no matter what anyone else thought.
Except, of course, for right now.
Because we were at the start of our study hall period, when I should have been getting some extra work done, and now he was sitting beside me.
“Liam?”
He grinned at me. God, his smile was so breathtaking. Between that and his bright blue eyes, I didn’t know what I liked more. “Hi, Layla.”
“What are you doing here?”
Liam looked around the room, at the students who were either sleeping or doing work, as well as the hundreds of other empty chairs. “We’ve got study hall together this period.”
I nodded. “Yes, I know. I meant, what are you doing here, sitting next to me?”
“This seat wasn’t taken, was it?”
“No. But you never sit here.”
“Am I not allowed to change my mind?” he countered. “Maybe I wanted a change of scenery.”
Tipping my head to one side, my eyes roamed over his face. “Oh? And what is it you think you’re going to get a better view of from here?”
His smile returned. “You.”
My belly dipped. Maybe that was my inexperience with boys. I hadn’t ever had a boyfriend—I was only fourteen—and there was something about Liam sitting next tome, let alone flattering me, that was far more than I could handle.
As good as Liam was making me feel, I had to admit there was a bit of fear lingering there for me. This just wasn’t what I was accustomed to. “Is this some kind of cruel joke?”
“What?”
“You’ve never come over to sit down beside me. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever spoken to one another before last week, so I guess I’m wondering if this is one of those situations where the popular, most loved guy of the class takes on a bet to befriend the unsuspecting nerd.”
Liam hesitated a beat, a touch of curiosity in his expression. “First of all, I’m not the kind of guy who’d ever do anything like that to anyone. But more importantly, you are not a nerd.”
