Some strings attached

2.

This day was going so badly. It couldn't get any worse, at least that's what I thought until I heard our school principal's voice behind me, " Siya! Here you are. I need you to do something for me. Do you have any classes right now ?"
I gave him my brightest smile " Oh no sir I don't. How can I help you ? " Pride took all over me because he chose me to do something important for him. "Ah splendid! There's a new student that I'd like to introduce you to. " New ? Who could that be ? my eyes suddenly widened as realisation dawned upon me. He couldn't mean- " Mr. Carter ! Over here ! " Principal Jane yelled cutting my thoughts short. Shit. SHIT. Liam coolly made his way towards us. Ugh. He was so... annoyingly nonchalant. " Liam, I'd like you to meet our top student, Siya Kaur. Siya, meet Liam Carter. " Principal Jane introduced us. Unfortunately. " Top student huh? Let's see if we can change that " Liam nudged me. The NERVE of this guy. I took a deep breath and started to speak, but principal Jane cut me off again " So Siya! I need you to get to know Liam. As you both know, The Annual science fair is coming up. " I listened in horror as I realised where this was headed. He continued " So this year I need you both to represent our school. Together as a pair. " At this point, clear annoyance and despair was visible on my face. I listened to Jane about how we're supposed to work together, be in complete sync and nail this. Together. I had been waiting to represent the school at the fair for such a long time. And now that I've gotten it, it's with HIM?! From the corner of my eye I saw Liam beaming widely. That asshole is enjoying this. Wait. How did he even get this?! He's literally new! We are asked to submit our ideas 2 days from now. Ideas that we're supposed to think about together. I turn to Liam as soon as Principal Jane leaves. " Listen here you little shit " i poke his chest with my finger and he raises his hands up defensively,
"Whoa whoa hey what-"
"Shut up. You know what you're trying to do! But lemme tell you this. I have always been the top student. And I WILL always be the top student. Stay out of my fucking way!" I say cutting him off. He raises his eyes. I can see the mockery in them. " We'll see about that Cinnamon. I got the part in the science fair because of my grades. And well in case you didn't know, I'm used to being the best too. That won't change just because I moved. I'm not in your way darling, I'm just making my own" he says casually. That boils my blood. But i decided to remain calm, " Fine. Whatever. We need to decide the topic. Meet me at Joe's Coffee house at 5 pm. Don't be late " I leave before he could answer.

I head to the exit of the school where I was supposed to meet Violet. And hopefully Leslie. When I get closer i spot Violet standing there. With Leslie. A huge smile involuntarily forms on my face as i approach them. " Am i interrupting something? " i joke to get their attention.
Violet turns towards me and quickly gives me a hug. " SIYA! so uh. Well I want you to meet Leslie, she's uh she's my-"
"Girlfriend. I'm her girlfriend" Leslie announces. Violet's cheeks flush as soon as she hears those words. She's adorable when she's in love. " OMG! CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS! "
They grin and hold hands. " So Siya how was your day? " Violet asks as we begin walking out. I groan and fill her in on everything that happened today. " Wait- Liam, as in... Liam Carter ? " Leslie says at the mention of Liam. " Uh yes? You know him? "
" GIRL. WHO DOESN'T? Its THE Liam Carter. " She states at me waiting for me to agree with her. " oh my god ok. He's the son of Harry And Sabrina Carter. " Its as if I've been enlightened. How did I miss this. Liam's face pops up in my head. Theres so much resemblance! " Jesus. I totally missed that. Ugh I loved Sabrina Carter in that movie what's it's name uh YEAH Dear Diary! She was phenomenal! Hate to know she has a douche of a son. " We all say our goodbyes and i head home.

4 30 pm-
I've put together some ideas that I like. I quickly get ready and prepare myself to tolerate Liam again. Him being Sabrina Carter's son doesn't excite me. I would have hated him more for being a privileged asshole but considering I'm quite privileged myself, that wouldn't be too wise. I head to Joe's coffee house. As soon as I enter, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and delicious cookies fill my nostrils and I'm immediately relaxed. I select a table by the window. As soon as it hits 5, the door opens and Liam walks in spotting me almost instantly. And walks over with his hands in his pockets. Damn he has good fashion sense. Wait what? Stfu siya.
His outfit:-

" Hey there cinnamon " he says sitting down in front of me. " My name is Siya. I'd very much appreciate it if you called me Siya. Let's get to work. " he rolls his eyes and leans forward to see what information i gathered. We disscus the topics for a while. He's so difficult to work with. He keeps interrupting me. I wanna stab him. We finally land on a conclusion after 45 minutes. " So we're working with Manipulation Robotics System. Anything you wanna add ? " he shrugs " Nope. This is perfect. " It almost looked like he wasn't talking about the topic. I shrug myself out of my thoughts. "Great so let's show it to Principal Jane day after tomorrow. Until then, stay away from me. " I say sternly. He just smirks and leans closer to me, my breath hitches " what if I don't want to stay away? " his eyes dart down to my lips and he just gets up and leaves. I'm left dumbfounded. I head home after getting myself a latte. On the way home I think about working closely with Liam. A weird sort of excitement and rushes through my veins.This is going to be the death of me.