A few minutes later, Isla looked back without meaning to.
And Liam glanced toward her, too.
Not smiling and just watching as their eyes met for less than a second.
Her pulse skipped embarrassingly fast.
Isla snapped her gaze away immediately.
Too fast.
And she pretended to focus on her notes again.
Why did he keep ending up in her head?
That annoyed her more than anything.
The lecture dragged endlessly.
Every time Isla relaxed even slightly, someone nearby whispered Liam’s name.
Or hers.
Or both together.
By the end of class, Isla was mentally exhausted.
The second, Professor Bennett dismissed everyone, and students began gathering their things; conversations filled the room again.
They flooded the aisles in noisy clusters.
Isla waited longer than usual before packing her notebook, hoping the crowd would reduce enough for her to leave before anyone stopped her.
But it didn’t work.
Isla had barely stepped into the long hallway before a familiar voice sounded behind her.
“Hey, Grumpy.”
Grumpy?
Isla stopped before she could help it.
Annoyance flickered over her expression as she turned around slowly.
Her fingers tightened around her notebook.
Liam stood a few feet away with one hand shoved into his pocket, the other holding the strap of his backpack.
His expression was uncertain.
Isla looked up at him.
“What?” She asked, her arms crossing over her chest defensively.
A small breath escaped him, almost like he was bracing himself.
He took three steps, but not close enough to invade her space.
“Look…” His gaze dropped briefly before returning to hers.
“About last night…I didn’t mean to spill that shit on you. I’m sorry.”
The apology caught her completely off guard.
The words sounded sincere.
No sarcasm.
No flirting.
No arrogance.
No teasing hidden underneath.
No mocking grin waiting to appear afterward.
Just accountability and sincerity buried beneath awkwardness.
For a second, she genuinely didn’t know what to say.
Liam rubbed the back of his neck lightly.
“I know you were pissed. Fair enough. But it really was an accident.” He said.
His voice was calm and low.
Isla blinked.
“Oh.” She mumbled. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Yeah. ‘Oh’ great conversation.” Liam tilted his head.
Isla uncrossed her arms.
“You’re apologizing?”
“That usually happens after someone screws up.” He answered.
“That’s not really your reputation.”
Liam’s brows lifted slightly.
“Damn. You wound me.”
The joke was light, but his voice stayed softer than she expected.
And against her will, some of the tension in her chest loosened—just a little.
“It’s fine.” Isla shrugged.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“Well, I kinda do. You looked ready to commit homicide.” He chuckled.
Isla smiled before she could even think of stopping it.
Liam noticed it.
And that seemed to surprise him, too.
His expression changed, too, like he had won something worthy.
Liam shifted his backpack higher onto his shoulder.
“You heading somewhere?” He asked.
“Cheer rehearsal? Dance thing?”
She blinked.
“Dance thing?”
“I don’t know ballet terminology.”
“Well, you could have just said dance class.”
Liam huffed a small laugh.
“Feels less professional.”
“I have dance rehearsal,” she said.
For a moment, they were talking normally.
No awkwardness.
No argument.
Liam studied her; her expression was softer than he expected.
Isla also noticed he looked less performative.
Without the crowd around him, Liam Douglas suddenly seemed more real than the cocky Quarterback everyone obsessed over.
“I’ve got practice in the next hour. Do you mind if I walk you?” He asked.
“Sure. No problem.” She nodded.
Isla turned, and they began walking side by side.
Liam was about to speak again when a loud voice echoed down the hallway.
“Douglas!”
A group of guys walked up to them.
They looked between Isla and Liam.
Wide grins and smirks on their faces.
“What’s up, Brandon?” Liam greeted the only guy he knew.
“Yo, Douglas, try not to dump drinks on any more girls this weekend.” Brandon laughed.
“Or do. Apparently, that’s your flirting technique now.” Another guy said.
“You’re dating already?”
“Nah! You have to be careful, bro! She might publicly execute you this time.”
They laughed harder.
Then they kept walking before either of them responded, but the damage was already done.
Isla’s stomach clenched.
Her walls slammed back up in place.
The hallway suddenly felt too exposed.
She felt the awareness all over again.
The eyes of students nearby glance at them.
Her chest tightened hard enough to hurt.
And just like that, every ugly feeling from the block party came rushing back.
Her body reacted before her mind fully caught up.
The softness from seconds ago vanished from her expression completely.
This was exactly why she avoided people like him.
Attention followed him everywhere like smoke.
And somehow she kept getting caught in it, too.
Isla turned to look at him, putting a distance between them.
Liam noticed the shift in her expression immediately.
“Hey, ignore them.”
Easy for him to say since he was used to getting attention.
But she wasn’t.
“I meant what I said,” she cut in sharply.
Confusion flickered across his expression.
His forehead creased.
“About what?”
Isla held his gaze.
“Stay away from me.” She blurted.
The words came colder than before, but not driven by panic.
They were deliberate and controlled.
Liam frowned.
“You seriously still mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you. I don’t want you getting close to me.”
The response slipped out before she could stop it.
She was trying to stop herself from saying more.
Not when people are watching.
For a second, it looked like Liam might say something else.
Instead, he stayed silent.
Isla stepped backward.
She walked down the hallway without looking back.
Liam’s gaze lingered on her receding till she disappeared around the corner.
He remained standing at the spot longer than necessary.
He didn’t fully understand what had suddenly made her change.
She had looked relieved when he apologized and terrified the second things almost became normal.
Liam was even more confused by the strange twisting feeling settling low in his chest.
Our QB just have Ballerina a Name.
Grumpy sounds cute though.