The rain pounded on the concrete outside. It rolled off of Emelia's big, clear umbrella and dripped onto her shiny, polished black Blundstones. Any minute now, Alfred would pull up to the front of the school and whisk her away to flute practice.

From the corner of her eye, she could see a group of her friends approaching. Sebastian, Olivia and Viola came up to her, their arms full of textbooks that wouldn't fit into their already stuffed backpacks.

"Hey Emelia," said Viola. "We're going to head to the library and study for the AP Physics test on Thursday. Want to come?"

"I would, but I'm waiting to be picked up for flute lessons," she replied.

"I hope you have enough time to study," Sebastian said critically. "You know what a bad mark will do to your applications."

Emelia partly felt guilty, but mostly annoyed. All her friends, if she could even call them that, cared about was studying. They had met in ninth grade, and even though they had spent years studying and hanging out, Emelia felt like she hardly even knew them. It was like having their sights set on Ivy League schools was a substitute for a personality.

"Trust me, all I do is study," Emelia said dryly. "I'll be fine. The test is in three days."

"I hope you're right," Olivia replied.

At that moment, Alfred's valet car pulled up at the curb. Emelia said a quick, half hearted goodbye to her friends before walking towards the car. Before she could open the door, she heard footsteps splashing towards her. It was Liam, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, even though it was nearly soaked through.

Emelia tried to hide the blush she felt on her cheeks and flashed a big smile at him. She raised her arm up to hold the umbrella up over both of their heads.

"Hi," she said.

"Emelia," he said, panting. "I was just wondering if maybe you'd be free sometime this week to tutor me in art. Or just... you know, hang out."

She could tell he looked a little nervous, which made her feel butterflies in her stomach. Did Liam really want to hang out with her outside of school? Even though she had no idea where she could find a spare five minutes, she knew her answer right away.

"Yes! That would be really nice."

"Great! So, can I have your number then?"

Emelia looked down as she pulled her phone from her pocket, biting her lip to hide the enormous grin on her face. They exchanged numbers and then said goodbye. She saw him walk back towards his other friends as the school bus arrived.

Emelia closed her umbrella and quickly got into the car. She could tell right away that Alfred was extremely curious, but she tried to act nonchalant.

"Seems like a nice boy," Alfred said with a sly grin.

Emelia played along. "Yes, he is quite something."

"Did he ask you on a date?" Alfred pried.

"No," she replied. "Just to hang out. Nothing serious." Emelia paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a bit worried. "Alfred... don't tell my mother about this please."

"I don't get paid to gossip," he replied. "It will stay with me."

Emilia spent the rest of the drive home daydreaming about art class with Liam. The rest of her day sped by, and the sky darkened before she had time to notice. She was exhausted from flute lessons, studying, and being scolded by her mother, telling her to work harder. Emilia lay down in her bed, and pulled out her phone to mindlessly scroll through instagram. Her phone then buzzed in her hand, and a banner appeared with a phone number. She clicked on it and it took her to messages.

[Hey, it's Liam.]

Emilia changed the contact to Liam Payne, and then texted him back.

[Hey:) How was your day?] She asked.

[It was okay, but I'm really looking forward to art class tomorrow]

She smiled. [Yeah, me too.]

There was brief pause before the bubbles popped back up.

[Have you thought much more about tutoring in art class? I can tell how much art means to you.]

Butterflies arose in her stomach, and she smiled. [A little bit. Haven't had much time. But you're right that it makes me happy.]

[You're really talented at it. Make sure you seriously think about it, it wouldn't hurt to have a fun break between the other classes you're taking.]

[Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Liam. I really appreciate it.] She felt happy to know that she had someone that cared about her and her interests enough to encourage her. And he was right. With all the stress of doing well in school, she barely had time to do the things that she enjoyed. She deserved a break, right?

[I'm going to turn in, It's been a long day haha I'll see you tomorrow!] Emilia texted right after.

[Goodnight, hope you sleep well x]

[You too!] She smiled and put her phone down, and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

***

That morning, Emilia knew what decision she would make. She asked Albert to drive her to school early, claiming she had to meet her friends to study. Once she arrived, she went to the principal's office and spoke with some staff about her classes. She had decided to drop her World Religions class - as interesting as it was, it was the least important course she was taking, and she signed up for the peer tutoring art class. After that, she talked to Ms. Langtry and was told she would start tomorrow morning. Emilia felt a weight lift off of her chest; she was finally doing something that she wanted and made a decision on her own. She made her way to her chemistry class with a skip in her step.

The class went by, and before she knew it, she was walking to art with Liam, telling him what she had done this morning. Ms. Langtry had told her about how happy she was to have her as well, and added that it would look good on an application if Emilia would ever decide to go into the arts.

During her class, Ms. Langrty told the students of a new project they were starting. They had to sketch a building in Forks of their choice and focus on detail and shading, and they could choose the same building as others to have company. She emphasized that the sketch should take up the whole page in their sketchbook and they needed to include drafts of the process, and she gave them a month to complete it. They spent the rest of the class coming up with ideas of what to sketch and finishing their sketches they started from last class. By the time the bell rang, Liam and Emilia decided that they were going to sketch the main building of the Forks Timber Museum.

The bell soon rang and the students hurriedly left their desks. Liam and Emilia walked to their lockers together and stopped for a few minutes to talk. Liam looked a little nervous and he ran his fingers through his curly hair.

"Emilia, I've been meaning to ask you," he cleared his throat. "Would you want to hang out with me after school today? Maybe we could drop by the museum and start on our project."

Emilia smiled from ear to ear. "Yeah, that would be great! It's not far from here, about a twenty minute walk. We can leave right after school."

Their conversation continued as they walked towards the cafeteria. Emelia slid her tray across the counter and one of the lunch ladies put a chicken caesar salad wrap on her tray. A bit further down, she got a small dish of tater tots with some carrot sticks.

Liam had a helping of mac n cheese, a bright red apple, and a salad. He turned to Emelia. "Want to join us for lunch?" he asked.

Emelia couldn't help but notice the hopeful look in his eye, and felt a wave of disappointment rush over her. "Can we take a rain check? I have to study hall with some friends today... we have a big AP Physics test in a few days."

"Too bad," Liam said. "That's okay, I'll see you after school!"

"You will," Emelia replied with a smile. She turned and walked out of the cafeteria to the classroom where Sebastian, Viola, and Olivia were going to meet. She couldn't wait for the school day to be over so that she could spend more time with Liam. Emelia loved being friends with him, but recently she wondered if she felt something more for him.

Sebastian, Viola, and Olivia all seemed to notice that Emelia was a little bit distracted during their study session.

"Emelia?" Viola asked, snapping her fingers in front of her face. She had zoned out again and hadn't even noticed.

"Sorry," she replied. "I have a lot on my mind."

"It's okay," Sebastian said. "I do too. I've been trying to finish the World Religions reading, but I can hardly fit it in between Physics and Chem. How far have you gotten?"

Emelia hesitated, knowing what kind of reaction she was going to get from her friends. Emelia knew that she was disciplined and studious, but her friends were even moreso. "I actually... dropped World Religions," she said, looking down at the flashcards in front of her.

There was silence for a moment as the others exchanged glances.

"You dropped it?" Olivia repeated. "Why?"

Emelia sighed. "Honestly, my schedule has been so overwhelming, and it's already the beginning of October! And... Ms. Langtry said I would be a really good fit for peer tutoring in Art class. I decided to do that instead."

"Art?" Sebastian said. If he was trying to hold back a scoff, he didn't do a very good job. "I don't think that'll do much for your Harvard applications...."

Emelia looked up at him, feeling frustrated. The only thing they ever talked about together was school, college applications, and more school. She had never once gotten real with her friends. "I know it won't help my applications, but I really love art."

"I guess we just always thought it was a hobby..." Viola trailed off.

"We should get back to studying," Emelia said shortly. "Lunch period is almost over."

The rest of the day was difficult to get through. Not only was Emelia carrying the pent up frustration towards her "friends" for not understanding or supporting her, but she was also anxious to get through the last two classes so that her and Liam could go to the Timber Museum. For something that would ordinarily seem so boring, she couldn't feel more excited. She texted Alfred between classes to let him know she wouldnt need a ride today.

At last, the bell rang and Emelia nearly jumped out of her seat and left the English classroom in a hurry to get to her locker. She opened the locker door and took out her grey wool coat, putting it on and buttoning it up. Her brown leather tote bag was full of books and weighed down on her shoulder. Her right shoulder was almost always sore and full of knots from how heavy her bag was. Luckily, her mom paid for her to see a massage therapist twice a month.

Emelia walked to the front of the school and texted Liam. I'm at the front of the school, meet me there!

A few minutes later, Liam approached her with his charming smile and they set off towards the museum.