Let's Pretend It's Love

Rhianne sat on the steps, waiting patiently as her fingers plucked the petals of the flower in her hand. She let her head rest against the bar of the railing and tucked her knees upwards to her chest, pursing her lips as she let the petals fall onto her lap. When the door to the athletic facilities opened, she could see Liam then the door opened a little wider and a brunette with long, tangled hair let the door shut behind her, trailing after Liam with her leggy walk and a giggle that annoyed Rhianne to no ends. Bitch she thought instantly, seeing the way the girl wrapped her arm around his waist and settled into his shoulder the way that Rhianne had done so many times. Rhianne didn't like the way she was hanging onto Liam. It wasn't desperate, clingy or trashy; it seemed catty, feminine and soft and Rhianne hated that the girl looked naturally beautiful. She pursed her lips into a straight line as she struggled not to feel jealous because she wasn't going to watch over Liam's every move - he had the right to talk to girls just as much as she still talked to all of her guy friends. Rhianne was never good at sharing though, especially with people that she didn't like.

Belle Majors was part of another sorority on the Greek street with all the houses except Belle's sorority was strictly social activities unlike the Zeta Sorority house which included social and educational values. If Rhianne was a Mean Girl then Belle was something on a whole new level entirely.

She wished Liam looked interested and he carried the conversation on or even flirted back with the girl so she could feel a little bit betrayed but she could see the way Liam re-adjusted his Under Armour sports bag so that Belle wouldn't be able to hold on to him unless she moved all the way to his other side. The girl chattered and even reached out a hand at Liam who only shook his head. Rhianne could see Belle shaking her head briefly, nodding behind Liam where Rhianne was failing at being inconspicuous. He spared Rhianne a glance, not looking impressed or surprised as he turned the other way and all but ran past Rhianne in a rush.

"Liam, wait up!" Rhianne said in an exasperated tone as the flowers fell at her feet, forgotten for the moment.

If anything, his walk turned a bit brisker and she would've chased after him if she had not felt a hand settle onto her shoulder.

"Look, he must not want you anymore," Belle said sweetly as if she hadn't just insulted Rhianne. "Just because you guys haven't broken up doesn't mean he's not looking elsewhere for his treats. He's just too good to let your drama blow up all over the campus."

"Shut up assface," Rhianne snarled, her fingers curling up before she took a deep breath and proceeded to flip her hair over her shoulder.

Rhianne counted to ten and then counted to twenty since she'd counted so fast that she had stumbled over her numbers like a little kid trying to count money or something. Rhianne almost pinched her nose in annoyance but only glanced at Belle's hand that still lay on the groove of Rhianne's neck.

"You'll never warm his bed like I do. He can handle fire," Rhianne said with a sultry smirk resting on her twitching lips. She stepped closer, almost standing nose to nose with the girl, even if she was an inch or so shorter and was satisfied when the girl's hand fell away from Rhianne. "But you can't, so I recommend you stay away from me."

Rhianne was a pranking queen and didn't resort to physical encounters since she didn't want to get caught and thrown off campus or put on probation. No, but she was able to get pay back easily and no one messed with her. Ever. And if such a physical encounter ever did happen, she knew how to throw a mean right hook. After all, ladies don't start fights - but they sure know how to finish them.

When she turned around, she found Liam had stopped a few feet away and had his lips pursed as he had probably watched that whole reaction. Ah, fuck.

"Liam!" she rushed up to him and he slowed down which was probably a good sign.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly, pushing the sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose, keeping his focus straight ahead without so much as a glimpse into her direction.

So much for good signs.

"Look, listen," Rhianne said and choked down her ego, no matter how much it hurt - it hurt more to have Liam be so cold to her.

"Tell me how to make it right, Li. No one one ever makes me feel like you do when you smile. Nobody compares to you, Liam. I don't wanna fight," she said with a sigh and willed him to take off those stupid glasses and look at her for chrissakes.

He stopped in his tracks, forcing Rhianne to backpedal three steps before she stood in front of him so he couldn't pass her by, though he could technically pass around her or something.

"Then you tell me. Right now, there's close to no one out here; it's just you and me, me and you right now. So tell me whatever big dark secret, whatever burden you're carrying on your shoulders," Liam said folding up his glasses and pointing them at her, his eyebrows furrowed and so tightly knit together that she almost thought they'd stay together that way. The corners of his lips didn't twitch and they were set in a grim line. Seconds that turned to minutes had him shaking his head in what looked like disappointment before he scoffed and turned on his heel, his back the last sight she saw of him before she gulped and facepalmed before walking back to the Zeta House. Yeah, she needed the dream team for this.



Rhianne tapped her foot impatiently as she looked at the pebbles in her hands. The radio was already softly humming, loud enough so that Liam would probably hear the mix tape so all to do now was pelt those pebbles at the window. She threw the pebbles at the window on the right, missing a couple times until suddenly a curly head popped out and glared at her.

"Rhianne? The bloody fuck do you think you're doing?"

She threw her head back, her hair shaking down her back in annoyance as she pouted. "Sorry, wrong room. Which one's the prefect's room?"

"Well, I'm cross with you so why would I help you? Liam might be bonkers for you but I'm not and I don't like your games anymore, Rhianne."

"Don't be such a twat, Hazz. I never meant to hurt 'im," Rhianne said with her arms crossed with a sour look on her face. "Besides, those are the same games you play," she added after a moment of cricketing silence.

Her and Harry had talked freshman year and weren't ever involved in any way more than friends but back before she had Liam, her and Hazza had been the partiers of both frats and sororities - going through girls and guys like the beer cans that ended up on the lawns of the houses. Then Rhianne calmed down a little bit and started taking the sorority more seriously and thus climbed the ladders which led her to this point, even managing to meet Liam through mutual friends like Harry.

"Will you put in a good word with Elise for me?" Harry asked, now wide awake as he leaned his arms against the white edge of the window sill. Rhianne snorted, seeing the crooked smile he flashed under the moonlight and nodded, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat.

"Fine, now which one is it?" she hissed, careful not to yell since she didn't want anyone else seeing this embarassing stunt she was pulling. The things she would do for this prick was astonishing considering he'd been giving her the cold shoulder for so damn long.

Harry hooked one leg over the edge of the window sill to her horror and reached his hand over to knock on the window, his entire body almost dangling out of the body save for the one hand he used to hold onto his own window while his body leaned across a couple inches of the brick house. She sharply inhaled, almost squealing when Harry pushed himself farther out the window to knock harder on the neighboring window.

A minute later the window squeaked open and she could see Liam pop his head out, eyes droopy and his cheeks flushed, his fingers still being used as a prop for his head as he looked out the window

Young The Giant's Islands was playing softly and suddenly her little mixtape seemed like a stupid idea but it was pretty late for that, besides her dream team (her best friends had promised that this would work since it was foolproof - how it was so she wasn't sure). Whatever she'd planned on saying to him, that speech she'd made up or whatever with the girls had long been forgotten at the sight of his wide shoulders and his caramel eyes looking down at her as if for once he was impressed and then the gold that rimmed those soft eyes hardened and she felt her heart do the opposite.

"Liam will you come down 'ere?" she asked, chewing on the inside of her cheek until he pursed his lips and slammed the window shut, making her her arms fall to her side.



"So what exactly are you apologizing for?"

It was nearing twilight but he'd followed her into the spot where the year had started off with the jamboree. The picnic table was a few meters to their right but they had spread the cloth out on the soft patches of grass and dirt, already pouring out the apologetic wine into each other's glasses.

"Erm, I'm saying sorry for... everything?"

"You don't sound so sure of it," Liam said casually as he watched her look everywhere but him. She had always been bad at apologies, even if it was for ripping his shirt or stealing a bottle of toothpaste.

His lips twitched at the nervous tapping of her fingers against the plate and he shook his head. He missed her - a week of ignoring her calls and explanations had not done well for his sleep or his thinking. Everyone was aware that they'd had a falling out of sorts but were not broken up. There had been lunches as usual when they sat together but Liam only offered a silence, refusing to let anyone else take his place since he knew a couple guys were only waiting for him Rhianne to ditch him and move on and Liam wouldn't have it. He knew Rhianne and he knew that even though she loved him - she wasn't going to admit it, she was basically one of his friends personified.

When it came to romance she was the typical girl, loved all the cutesy stuff and cliches until it all got too serious. He'd seen it freshman year of the guys who'd been rocked to the core by Rhianne only to get tossed aside a month later, and here Liam was almost five months later. He knew that if he gave in to Rhi and let her keep her secrets - she'd never see this as a real relationship, it'd just be something to keep her busy with a guy she liked and a way to be with someone without actually putting in effort and Liam wasn't going to have that.

When he eyed her glass, she shook her head. "I'm not going to get drunk," she said and added after a moment of thought. "I've thought about it though - just to prideful for drunken confessions and you.. deserve better."

He let out a sad sigh and shook his head, biting down on the inside of both his cheeks so that he wouldn't frown or smile or comfort her. Staying mad at he was proving to be incredibly difficult, more so than he'd liked.

"I have a lot of problems," she started out in an exploratory voice that wavered on every other syllable that left her lips.

Liam pulled her into his arms, pushing the basket over to the side, sitting just atop some of the roots of a tree. Her hair splayed around his shoulders but he didn't mind, he didn't mind at all. Even if his left leg was bent awkwardly and he'd probably get a crick in his neck, he didn't mind. He sighed softly into her hair for all the comfort that he felt in the moment. Her fingers found his gently and he smiled because he knew if his heart were a compass, Rhianne would always be his northern route on any map he stood on.

"And some of the problems aren't mine," she admitted and this time, she started picking at her nails before Liam's fingers brushed over her chin and pulled ever gently.

"Look at me," he whispered. She nodded slowly but the words had faltered after his request.

He didn't say 'it's okay' or 'I understand' or even 'just tell me' but he said look at me and his eyes said you can trust me while the curve of his lips said you can be mine and I'll be yours, all while his heart thrummed softly against her chin, her head tilted up to look at him.

"My.. my mom's an alcoholic and she's been trying to get clean. She used to self-harm and I felt guilty for a while because whatever she'd been through it was.. because of my dad and I'd never really.. I- I don't, I can't tell you what my dad did but it was horrible and I just, I couldn't so I left. A year ago she tried suicide. It's been hard and I haven't told anyone because I feel like if I tell then it becomes that much real."

She took a deep breathe before continuing, squeezing her eyes shut for just a few seconds.

"It's like when you're eating your midnight snacks and it's a bit of a gray area so maybe if you don't admit to yourself that you finished the last slice of cake then maybe it's not really true, I mean that's a bad comparison but I have the shittiest money problems and things are such shit sometimes and my head's all messed up but my heart's not and I think it would be if I didn't have you and I'm sorry I was a bitch to you those first couple months and," she blabbered before pausing and finally adding. "I missed you, I miss you and it made me angry."

Liam frowned and his lips were parted slightly, creases forming between his eyes.

"If your mom needs help, I can..," Liam started but stopped when he saw the horror on Rhianne's face before she pushed her face into his chest, shaking her head violently.

"No, no, no, no. I can handle it," she grumbled against the cotton of his Hanes shirt. "I don't want you to help."

"Rhianne," Liam said sternly as his fingers trailed over her cheeks and wiped softly until she met his gaze. "I-I can let you," Liam started to offer but she continued shaking her head, her fingers now grasping at the edge of his shirt.

"No," Rhianne breathed out.

"And I know, I know I should tell you what my d-dad did b-but I can't Liam and I know I wouldn't tell you but I can't let you do this right now and," she sputtered but he stilled her with a kiss, her nose brushing against the tip of his before her eyelashes tickled his temple. And then he spoke again.

"I love you."

"Okay," Rhianne said. Then she smiled so brightly, Liam nearly forgot how to breathe.

"Okay," he accepted, trying not to lose track. he raised an eyebrow, and stilled his breathe as he waited because wasn't she going to say it back? She said it today, he heard it, but he wanted to hear it again, he wanted her to say it 100 times and say it in the dawn of the morning and he wanted his name to be the last words on her lips and the first thought in her mind when she woke up.

"I love you too."

"Thanks," Liam laughed before he let his head fall back against the soft patches of grass under them instead of leaning in his elbow so he could look into her eyes.

"Guess what," he ordered more than said and with the sun rising slowly over his cheeks, she buried her head into the space between his shoulder and chin mumbling into his chest before he continued. "You're a player," Liam said as Rhianne started to make a sour face.

"I wouldn't exactly say that, Li," Rhianne said, wondering where he was taking this.

"But I'm the coach and I'm benching you," he said adamantly, his chest rumbling as he laughed - utterly amused with himself and his corny joke.

"But I can score for you. I'll be your star player," Rhianne pretended to protest, her fingers nimbly squeezing the top of his shoulder. She didn't mind being his and only his; it had never been a problem for her.

"Maybe," he murmured slowly in response before shrugging. He pulled her tightly into his arms, his palms smoothly ridged into her hip while the breeze pushed her hair against his cheeks.

The silence that came next was gentle and still, not comfortable or entirely awkward, just silence. It was a silence where he could see the worry return in the way that Rhianne stilled the movement of her fingers walking over his shirt and the way her eyes glazed over when she seemed to be looking through Liam instead of at him.

"You don't have to be okay, y'know. Just know that I love you and I'm in love with you."

"Me too. Me too."