The Perks of Being Belle

before: red flames burning at night

Thank you so much everyone for waiting. I've been through busy days in school, but now, I'm having my holiday. I will try to update as fast as I can, but sometimes, I'm just stuck in my own writing xD I even forget my character's name. :) But anyway, please enjoy! :) I hope you guys are still sticking to this story. I know it's been forever since I updated. I'm so sorry o.o! :'(

Btw, I decided to only use Belle's point of view for the "before" section of the story :( I'm sorry! We'll see Liam's POV after chapter 10 :)

Chapter 3—before: red flames buring at night

We had a History school fieldtrip the next day, special for those taking advance History lessons. Mel sat beside me on the bus and promised to be my partner for the trip. I hoped she wouldn’t betray me this time. On the previous fieldtrip, Mel forgot her promise and partnered up with this new guy, Jonathan, simply because she thought he was hot. I ended up with no partner and had to do the work on my own.

Mrs. Farrell took our attendance, and each student raised their hands as they were being called. When she finished reading everyone’s names, she furrowed her forehead and frowned. “Have anyone seen Jayden Montgomery and Liam?” she announced to the whole bus. Behind me, Drake humped and folded his arms in disgust. Mel rolled her eyes at his attitude and muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

“Well, we can wait for Jayden, but I really hope we leave Liam,” I whispered to Mel. Just when Mel was about to reply, two tall boys appeared from the entrance of the bus. Jayden Montgomery ruffled his black hair and straightened his black leather jacket before apologizing for his lateness. Mrs. Farrell shook her head but motioned both boys to take their seats. Liam nodded at the teacher in an attempt to apologize before walking through the aisle. Then, the bus started its engine, and we were off to the only museum that kept the oldest records of our country.

Unlike Jayden who easily found a seat, Liam was not so lucky. His eyes scanned the occupied seat before landing on the only spot left on the bus. I gulped as he walked towards the back part of the bus where I was seated. My eyes avoided him as he stopped right in front of me and gestured at the empty seat beside me. When I did not reply him, he bent down and forced me to meet his eyes. Mel gasped as she realized how close he was to me, and I gaped at him for a moment. “W—what?” I blurted and pushed him away from me.

“Your bag,” he said, pointing at the empty seat that was occupied by my bag.

I blushed furiously and was about to retrieve my bag until I realized something. This guy was Liam, the same guy that had abandoned me after making a mess in the Chemistry class. One second, I was being kind, and in the next, I smirked at Liam. He raised an eyebrow when changed my mind and faced him. “Find another seat,” I barked at him. I folded my arms in satisfaction as he raised an eyebrow. His eyes moved from my bag to me, as if he was trying to form a ridiculous plan in his mind.

Suddenly, he grinned, showing off his white diamond teeth that blinded me more than the sunlight. “Oh, I see. Someone is angry at me,” he noted and pointed at my crossed arms. The girls around me melted as he smirked and leaned on the seat behind him. He ran down his hand through his tousled blond hair. “I’m sorry for leaving you to clean up on your own yesterday. I’ll make up for my absence today. So, are we good?” he tried to persuade me.

I thought for a moment before shaking my head. For the record, I cleaned up the whole mess he had created. I wouldn’t be in this position if he weren’t stupid enough to cause that incident. “That’s not enough! You don’t know what kind of back pain I experienced when I clean the classroom!” I exclaimed. When I realized what I had just blurted out loud, I mentally slapped myself.