Going the Distance ✔️

Chapter forty.

So much for trying to erase him from my mind.

I checked my phone and I didn't know whether to believe him or to just ignore him.

My mind was worried about what could've happened. Was it Xanthe or their parents? Did someone get into a car crash, did someone die? I quickly excused myself from class, grabbed my belongings and raced out to the corridor and into the parking lot.

I was breathing heavily because I had rushed through the school like my life depended on it. My eyes searched for Liam and once they found him, he was casually leaning against his car without a care in the world. I instantly rushed over to see what the 911 call was about.

"What's going?" I panted. "Did someone get hurt?"

He shook his head and unlocked his car with the click of a button. "Get in."

I did as he said and he sped off towards somewhere I didn't recognise. "Liam, what happened?"

Liam continued to drive, looking more relaxed than I realised. "Nothing, I just wanted to get you into the car and away from school."

I blinked a few times and turned my head angrily. "What!?" I was beyond annoyed at the stunt he just pulled. He took me out of Chemistry again and told a lie to get me to go with him. I really wanted to punch him and do some serious damage like I said in my text message, but I wasn't a violent person.

Liam chuckled at my reaction. "Yeah, it was a false alarm." He didn't even sound sorry and that made me even angrier.

"Stop the car right now!" I yelled, but Liam did nothing to show that he was slowing down.

He shook his head, looking amused. "No can do, Lou."

I sighed heavily, knowing that there was no way he was going to stop the car. "We're ditching again." I said it more like a statement to myself than to Liam.

"We are." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at his expression and looked out the window. "Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you just tell me?" I asked him, feeling quite annoyed that I fell for another one of his tricks.

I should've known.

"After getting arrested, I knew it was a huge no and if I'd told you that we were ditching again, you wouldn't have ditched class to come with me anyway." Liam explained.

"I would have." I said it slowly, knowing that it was a lie.

He laughed loudly. "No, you wouldn't have."

"You're right," I confessed. "I wouldn't have." After a moment of silence and driving on the road that led to somewhere unknown, I decided to speak again. "We better not be doing anything illegal, Liam. If we are, I'm staying in the car and I don't care if you take all week. I will be staying in here."

Liam concentrated on the road, looking from me to what was in front of him. "Don't worry, Lou. We aren't doing anything illegal."

I thought his words would have calmed me, but they did the exact opposite. How was I to trust him when he had lied to me so many times before? "I don't believe you." I told him truthfully, knowing I could say anything I wanted and Liam wouldn't get mad or offended.

Maybe that was an understatement.

We stopped at a stop sign, piling behind three other cars. Liam dug an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to me. "What we're doing is in there."

I was contemplating whether I should open it. It could've been another prank or even an explosion. I shrugged my fears off and opened it anyway. My eyes landed on two tickets to the aquarium that just happened to be out of town, not too far from where Mason's cross was. "And what if I don't like fish?"

Liam chuckled as we moved an inch forward. He turned to me with a glowing smirk. "I saw your list."

My eyes widened. "What list?"

"Your list," Liam continued, "the one in your little notebook, which is in your underwear drawer."

My face went bright red and I wasn't sure if it was because I was blushing or because I was angry. "You went through my things!?"

He went through my underwear drawer. I think I want to sink and drown and die.

Liam laughed again as he continued to drive towards our destination as the road was clear. "Yeah, I found it quite fascinating. It was sort of like a bucket list, except it was all of the things you wanted to do in America before you left."

I was officially embarrassed. "I can't believe you went through my things!"

Liam shrugged as he made a right turn to where a large building was located and I knew that we were at the aquarium already. I wasn't even finish arguing with him and I was still so furious. "I needed something to do and instead of asking you, I decided to snoop in your room and surprise you."

"Surprise me!?" I screeched. "You went into my private things, Liam! If you wanted to surprise me, it bloody worked."

Liam parked his car and stopped the engine. "Now," Liam turned to me, "are you going to argue with me some more or are you going to tick the aquarium off your list?"

I sighed again and got out of the car, Liam following shortly behind me. "Don't think that this gets you off the hook." I said as he locked the car door and we both walked into the aquarium.

"I know," he said as we both went inside, "just enjoy it."