"Can we go somewhere to talk?" Liam asked as I was throwing out the paper plate that once held my slice of cake.

"Sure." I agreed, and followed as he led me somewhere quieter.

A minute later we were in the backyard and that's when a thought struck me.

"Who's house is this?" I was wondering where the girls were bringing me on the way here, but once I got here I completely forgot.

Liam sat down on a bench and patted the spot beside him as he replied, "This is Leo's place."

I nodded as I sat down and took the view in. We were in a huge fenced in yard, complete with a pool that had a little waterfall. This whole property is absolutely beautiful. I wasn't surprised that this is where Leo lives. His parents seemed loaded when I met them.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"I just wanted to apologize for how I've been treating you this past week. I was trying to protect you from the awful things Danielle was doing. I should've never dragged you into all of the drama with her in the first place. The whole thing is my fault." Liam answered, his golden eyes dark and conflicted as he spoke.

My heart warmed at the sincerity of his apology. How could I be mad at him when he was just trying to help?

"Thank you. For protecting me, and throwing this party. But I can handle Danielle. What I can't handle is not having you in my life." I told him, surprising myself with how honest I was being. It was so unlike me to tell him that I want him in my life.

He smiled and looked down at his hands, and my eyes followed. He was holding a small black box, similar looking to the one Dad gave me today.

"Staying away was the hardest thing I've done in a long time." He muttered, and then paused for a second before extending the box out to me.

"You really didn't have to get me anything, throwing this party was enough." I hesitated at taking the present.

He raised an eyebrow at me and placed the box in my lap. Silently telling me that I didn't have the option to decline the gift.

I carefully opened it and gasped at the what was inside.

A beautiful golden charm bracelet shone in the moonlight as I gently took it out and got a better look at it.

There was a picnic basket, a motorcycle, a milkshake, and a car all dangling from the small chain.

"This is beautiful." I breathed.

"The charms are to symbolize the picnic we went on, the motorcycle ride, the car chase, and the diner. All pivotal moments in our-" He explained, suddenly stopping halfway through the sentence.

I smiled, not able to take my eyes away from the bracelet. How did I get so lucky today?

"We should head back inside, people might wonder where the birthday girl is. Besides, you still owe me a dance." Liam changed the subject.

I nodded in agreement but stopped him as he was getting up.

"Can you help me put this on?" I asked, holding the bracelet out for him. Bracelet clasps are impossible to do by yourself.

"Of course." He agreed, taking the bracelet and easily securing the clasps together once around my wrist.

"Ready now?" Liam asked, giving me an amused smile when I stayed sitting on the bench.

I quickly got up, not completely knowing why I was still sitting in the first place, "Yeah, let's go."

I started for the door without another word, and heard Liam chuckle after me, which put a smile on my face. I love the sound of his laugh.

"Birthday girl!" Leo cheered as Liam and I walked into the house.

I rolled my eyes at his clearly drunken state as he held a beer bottle up in celebration.

"Can I cash in that dance now?" Liam asked as a slow song started.

I gave him a shy smile and nodded, letting him take my hand and lead me into the living room.

"You look beautiful tonight, by the way." He complimented as he placed his hands on my waist and I put mine on his shoulders.

"Thanks." I whispered, my voice caught in my throat from the sudden compliment, or maybe it was because of how close we were.

I could feel the heat radiating off of him in the small space between our bodies. I wanted to close the gap, and feel the sparks as our bodies touched, but I wasn't confident enough.

"No need to thank me, I was just stating a fact." He replied as we swayed to the music.

My cheeks heated at his obvious flirtation, and I couldn't come up with a good response. My brain felt clouded.

"You're blushing." He stated the obvious, and I watched as his eyes moved from my eyes, to my cheeks, and finally settled on my lips. My stomach fluttered with a million butterflies from the look he was giving me.

I heard his breath hitch as I absentmindedly but down on my lip, and I felt his hands tighten on my waist before he pulled me closer until the space between us was completely gone.

"What are you doing to me?" He whispered, and I didn't get a chance to think or respond before his lips were pressed against mine.

Heat that started in my lips warmed my whole body as he slowly kissed me, and I suppressed a sigh of bliss as my lips moved in perfect sync with his.

Liam gently bit down on my lower lip, silently asking for entrance, and so many thoughts raced through my mind.

I could get kiss number three out of the way right now, and be done with the game forever.

But that's not what I did.

Instead I pulled away and ended the kiss. I wasn't going to use him for the game anymore. He doesn't deserve to be a pawn in a challenge my friends and I came up with before we even started high school.

"I-I really like you." I blurted, partially because I didn't want to keep it from him anymore, and partially because I wanted to distract him from the fact that I didn't let him deepen the kiss.

His eyes widened in shock, and I rushed away from him to spare myself from the embarrassment of rejection.

Maybe he just wants a friends with benefits thing. He doesn't have to have feelings for me to kiss me.

Besides, I didn't want to put him in an awkward situation where he felt pressured to tell me he likes me back because he doesn't want to reject me and ruin my birthday.

As I pushed through the crowd of half drunk high schoolers I got more and more embarrassed. Did I really just confess my feelings to Liam? What if that ruins our friendship? What if he never talks to me again because he feels weird around me now that he knows how I feel?

"Emma!" Someone yelled my name, catching my attention and ripping me out of my panicked thoughts.

"Happy Halloween." A screechy high pitched voice rang through above the music.

Oh no.

"I saw you kissing Liam. Didn't you hear him today when he said he doesn't want anything to do with you?" Danielle continued.

How does she even know about this party? I'm pretty sure she wasn't invited.

"You're not good enough for him. You should really just leave him alone." She spat. "You're not smart enough, or pretty enough, or funny enou-"

"Shut up!" I yelled, cutting her off.

"Just shut up. Why do you feel the need to go after me? Why do you see me as such a big threat? Get over yourself, Liam doesn't want you. He never did. Torturing me isn't going to change that. Maybe if you were nicer he would've liked you." I ranted, walking right up to her, completely forgetting that there was a crowd of people around us.

She opened and closed her mouth, looking like a fish out of water, and I took her shocked silence as an opportunity to keep going.

"Picking on me doesn't make you cooler, or prettier, or more likeable. It makes you ugly. You're not perfect, so fix everything wrong with yourself before you criticize me." I concluded my rant, and before she could say anything I stormed out of the house and let the cool October air calm me down.

I can't believe how bold I've been today. I told Liam how I felt, and I stood up to Danielle. Who am I?

I fiddled with my mom's necklace as I sat on the front steps of the house, and wondered if I said all of those things because mom was with me to help. Maybe her necklace brought her along with me.

Or maybe I was just sick of keeping my feelings to myself, and that's why I came clean to Liam.

And as for Danielle, I wasn't going to let her ruin my birthday. Everything was almost perfect until she showed up. I just got so mad and I snapped at her.

Maybe she'll leave me alone now.

The front door opening behind me brought me out of my thoughts, and I didn't bother looking back at who it was until they sat down beside me.

"Are you okay?" Garrett asked, his eyebrows pulled together in concern.

I gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yeah I'm okay."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, "I saw you stick up to Danielle. No one ever does that, she's either going to leave you alone now, or make your life even more hellish."

I rolled my eyes, "Hopefully she just forgets I exist."

"I hope so, what you did was really bad ass. Maybe others will stick up to her now that you did." Garrett replied.

I gave him a small smile, it would be pretty great if everyone stood up to Danielle. I'm not the only one she terrorizes.

Maybe this new confidence will stay with me and I'll stand up for the other people she bullies.

"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and to say happy birthday." Garrett broke the silence, standing up as he spoke.

"Thanks." I muttered, looking up at him as he made his way towards the door.

"You should come back in, it's cold out here." He suggested before opening the door and stepping into the house.

I sighed, weighing my options. I could either stay out in the cold and slowly freeze, or go back in and face the probable wrath of Danielle, and the possibility of running into Liam.

I would like to avoid both of for the rest of the night, I don't think I can take any more drama.

So instead of picking from the obvious two options, I came up with a new plan.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Steph and Lisa, asking if they could take me home.

It's late anyway and I've had enough excitement for one night. Besides, no one will miss me, everyone's too drunk to even realize it's my birthday anyway.