22nd April - wednesday
it turns out that rachel lives about twenty minutes away from them, but that's only by car.
as they step out of liam's new car, it feels like they were in a whole new town. rachel's house is like a palace, all white and pristine with a lovely driveway.
"this is her house?" she asks her eyes wide and amazed. liam nods and pushes her towards the door.
the doorbell rings and rachel opens the door. she smiles, sweetly and lets them in. the music fills their ears as they enter into her living room.
"welcome!" she screeches, happily.
chantelle observes rachel in her happy state.
rachel is wearing a red sun dress and black mini kitten heels. her blonde hair is curled tightly as it hangs around her shoulders. her face is covered with small amounts of makeup, making it seem natural.
"you look nice." chantelle says with a small smile. rachel shoots her a brude look as she looks at what chantelle is wearing.
chantelle's hair is straightened and in a high ponytail, her little fringe hanging from the side. she's wearing a white and black striped off the shoulder top. her high waisted skinny jeans flattering her thick legs. chantelle's glittery sequinned flats sort of tie the whole look together, in a strange way.
"you look nice too." she says leading the two into her home. liam snickers at their brief interaction.
"what about me?" he jokes throwing her hands around chantelle's exposed shoulders. rachel laughs and looks at his outfit too.
he's wearing his classic leather jacket. however a black sloganed t-shirt is hidden underneath it. his navy blue ripped jeans expose his peachy skin from underneath the dark fabric. this time he isn't wearing his favourite red converses. he's wearing his white and grey nike sneakers.
"your outfit is.. fairly simple." rachel says looking at him, bored. liam chuckles and rolls his eyes.
chantelle shakes out of his tight grip. she wanders by the drink table and grabs a small red cup with fruit punch in it. chantelle unconsciously places the cup to her lips but just before she can have a sip, liam snatches it out of her grasp.
"what are you doing?" she asks watching him as he places the drink back down onto the table. liam tuts at her.
"no drinks for you tonight." he says pulling her away from the table. chantelle sighs and looks up at him.
"why?" she asks annoyed. liam chuckles and looks down at her, likes she's crazy.
"i don't want you getting drunk again." he reasons as they stand in the center of the carpet. she looks around at everyone else, enjoying their drinks and having fun.
her eyes flicker to matt, who seems to have had quite a lot to drink. he's leaning against the banister mumbling a few words as he swirls another drink in his white hands.
"okay.." chantelle mumbles as rachel drags matt up the stairs with a pained expression. liam notices and tilts her head towards him instead.
"they'll be fine." he says placing her hands on her shoulders. as their skin connects, chantelle looks at liam, softly. the tingles seem to be all over her body. she shivers and leans closer. he notices and pulls he closer. the two of them sway softly to the beat of the music.
chantelle smiles and looks back towards the stairs. she starts to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, almost like she wants to throw up. chantelle shakes her head and looks back towards liam, wearily.
"what's the matter?" he asks his hands resting on her back. she purses her lips as the thought of rachel's poor face flashes through her mind.
"let's go check on them." chantelle says slightly concerned. as they get closer to what seems to be rachel's room they hear shouting.
"i told you not to drink so much, matt!" rachel says her voice breaking. matt sighs.
"stop worrying, i'm fine." he slurs, quietly.
"no you're not!" she screeches in tears. "stop fucking pretending like this is okay, when it isn't."
matt doesn't respond.
"what would your mum think about you doing this to your body?" she says slowly. "you're ruining your life matt!"
he still doesn't respond.
chantelle feels her heart breaking, slightly as memories come rushing back to her. she feels small tears roll out of her eyes. liam notices and turns her towards him.
"chantelle..." he whispers as she looks up at him, her eyes broken. his heart aches at the sight of her like this. she starts to cry harder as her mum's harsh words float into her head.
how could you do this to yourself? i almost lost you, chantelle!
her lips start to tremble as liam's arm wrap around her waist pulling her closer. she grips onto his shirt and clenches her fists as their arguing gets louder.
"let's.. go for a drive." liam suggests taking out the car keys from his pocket. she nods, wordlessly as she holds onto him tightly.
he places chantelle into the passenger seat, carefully and goes out to the driver's seat. liam forcefully starts the engine and begins to drive. he has no idea where's he going but he just keeps driving.
they make it to the edge of ashton forest and he stops the car. he glances towards chantelle, who is sobbing uncontrollably. her hands wet as she tries to wipe the tears from her eyes.
liam reaches over and wipes her eyes as she looks up at him, sadly.
"where are we?" she whispers before clearing her throat. he smiles, softly and shakes his head.
"at the edge of ashton forest." he murmurs as a small smile creeps onto her face. she grips his hand, tightly.
"you aren't going to kill me, are you?" she asks looking up at him. he chuckles, lightly.
"uh.. no." he says rubbing his thumb, softly against her cheek. she looks away as the tingles tickle her dry skin.
chantelle takes a long deep breath and swallows, tightly. liam moves his hand away and watches her.
"i'm sorry.. i just remembered a few things that i always wanted to forget." she says as liam nods, understanding. "i never told you this but their was one night when i was at a party and i-"
she stops when the tears come back. she takes another deep breath and continues.
"i drank a whole fricking bottle of vodka and afterwards my ex, that absolute bastard, offered me weed to smoke and i took it.." chantelle says her voice low, full of shame. "i was sick and i had an elliptic fit. they rushed me to the hospital, so quickly that it was all a blur. my parents were absolutely devastated at the thought of almost losing me."
liam watches her an more tears roll out of her sad eyes. he runs his hands through his messy hair, nervously.
"i just can't believe that i did that to my parents.. to simon!" she screeches as liam wraps his long, warm arms around her frail body. she begins to shake as the voices and images fill her head.
"i almost died, liam." she murmurs against his shoulder. she hugs him, tightly as he strokes her soft hair.
"sssh." he hushes her as her breathing becomes heavy. she coughs and pulls away, still shaking.
"don't think of that. you've changed now, right?" he asks a small, tired smile on his lips. she nods, wiping her face.
"yeah, but sometimes it's hard." she says honestly. liam nods, agreeing whole heartedly.
"trust me, i know." he whispers, her eyes flickering up to his face. she chuckles to herself as liam looks at her.
"i've cried in front of you three times now, how embarrassing." chantelle says looking away, slowly.
liam tilts her head towards his. he leans down, their lips almost touching. she feels her body heating up, slightly and she wants to move away.
however, she can see the intense look in his brown eyes. they seem slightly threathning so she doesn't pull away. she gulps, nervously and waits for him to speak.
"no, it's not." he says his voice low. she blinks, anticipating his next move.
he leans down their lips connecting, softly. liam's lips move against chantelle's and she kisses him back as the tingles spread throughout her body.
she hums as liam's hands caress her tear stained cheek. liam groans as her hands trail over his chest. chantelle pulls away from him, slowly.
"shit!" they both say, simultaneously.
liam sighs, shakily. chantelle gulps as the sweet tingles linger on her once glossy lips.
"what now?