I shoved my helmet into the compartment in my motorcycle, next to the hot pink one. My lips curled into a smirk when I remembered Liam in it a couple weeks before. I'd parked my bike on the side of the street, in front of a mini van.

I was in a more run down part of the city, filled with old apartment buildings and a couple small shops and grocery stores.

It was a calm Saturday morning and my parents were both out with some of their business associates, including Liam's parents. I'd also specifically told them I'd be busy so I didn't have to join them. Jackson of course was still asleep.

Neither of us had actually told our parents that we were together yet. It was on the list of things to do, but it was also the task that was put off the most.

Stuffing my keys into my bag, I began making my way down the street. I tucked my hands into the pockets of my joggers, glancing into the window of a random store.

My feet stopped when I caught sight of a small keychain on display at the window. It was a wooden surfboard.

I didn't even need to think as I stepped into the store, pushing the door open with a creak. Bells hanging on the doorframe sounded loudly from above my head. I was immediately assaulted with a musty scent as I walked further into the store, towards the keychain.

It was a small shop. With a few shelves filled with Los Angeles souvenirs and odd toys for children. An old woman with greying hair sat behind a desk near the door just a foot away from me, immersed in a book.

She finally looked up at me, offering me a small smile, "Hello there."

I gave her a nod as I clasped my hand around the surfboard keychain. It was wooden and striped, alternating dark and light strips of wood. A little crescent moon was engraved in the front of it. It was simple, but beautiful, and it was just like Liam.

"I'll take this," I said to the woman. I placed the keychain onto the desk.

She beamed, the corners of her eyes crinkling as I fished around in my bag for the ten dollar bill that had been laying around for a month or so. Finally, I fished it out, placing it onto the table.

"You can keep the change," my lips twitched up as I picked the keychain up again.

"Thank you, dear," she croaked, her wrinkled fingers curling around the bill. I hurried out of the shop and the cool morning air brushed past me, carding through my hair.

My phone buzzed in my purse, the screen lighting up Liam's name and his photo. It was a photo I'd snapped of him unexpectedly. His mouth was full from a cheeseburger we had gone out for at McDonald's, his eyes wide in surprise.

I fished my phone out of my bag, sliding to answer the call, "Hey you, what's up?"

"Nothing much, but since both our parents are busy, we should go out," Liam said from over the line. I chuckled, liking the sound of that idea.

"I can't Liam, remember I'm volunteering at the soup kitchen," I reminded him as I pushed open the door with a hand, stepping into the kitchen.

"Oh right," Liam said, groaning.

"You can find something to do by yourself," I chortled. The kitchen was still empty since it was not yet open for people. The tables were all set up, with a large stainless steel counter near the back where the food would be handed out. The food was still brewing inside the kitchen.

"I know what I can do," Liam snapped my attention back to the phone. "Do they have an extra hairnet?"

"What?" I choked out, my eyes widening.

"I'm joining you, if that's fine," he clarified.

"Y-yeah that's fine. I just wasn't expecting it," I told him as I rounded the corner behind the counter. I dumped my bag down onto the floor.

Never had I ever thought that Liam would want to help. For Hunter it had always been out of the question — in fact, he would scoff at me for coming. I was ashamed to say that it was one of the reasons why I hadn't been in almost four months.

"Great, I'll see you soon," Liam said before he hung up the phone. I took the phone out of my ear, shoving it into the pocket of my jeans.

"Thalia, it's so nice to see you," a woman's voice piped up from behind me.

I turned around, a sheepish smile spreading over my lips from the sound of it, "Hi Christine, sorry, I haven't been here in a while."

Christine worked at the kitchen almost every day. I'd never seen her in anything else other than her blonde hair tied up in a hairnet and clad in a white apron. She was a much older lady, and surprisingly, I'd found a nice companionship with her.

Since I had a free day, I signed up to volunteer today since there were a few empty slots. Christine could most definitely use the help.

"No worries, I'm glad you're here now," she beamed, handing me an extra apron.

"Actually, could I get two of those?" I asked, pointing at the apron. "I have a friend coming."

"Oh, of course," her eyebrows shot up. "We need all the help we can get. We're short on staff today. We can get started first, and your friend can join us."

"Thanks," I grinned, grabbing a hairnet from under the counter and slapping it over my own hair. Thankfully, I'd thought ahead and tied it into a ponytail. I slipped on the apron, tying it into a knot behind my back.

Christine went on to prepare the food and I began setting out the utensils at each seat — a fork, spoon, knife and napkin all from a bucket.

Halfway through, Liam pushed open the doors with a loud creak. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and joggers. He seemed over-enthusiastic, and grinning like an idiot as he approached me. I raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Your day just got better," he said, pressing a light kiss onto my forehead.

I rolled my eyes, smiling, "You must mean yours."

"Well, you're right about that," his voice was low. His arm snaked around my waist as he pulled me closer, connecting his lips with mine. I melted into his arms, my cheeks immediately heating up again. His hand skimmed over my hairnet. "I'm loving this look on you."

I only let out a laugh, rolling my eyes as we broke apart. Christine stepped into the room from the kitchen, lugging a large pot in her hands — more like struggling with it.

"I can help you with that," Liam said, immediately taking the pot out of her hands.

She blinked at him, baffled as she watched Liam set the pot down on the counter. I didn't know why but it my stomach had just performed multiple backflips as I watched Liam work.

I bit back my smile as he turned back to face Christine and I, "Can I help with anything else?"

"You can help set up the tables, I'll bring the rest of the food out with Thalia," Christine told him, stuffing her hands into her dirtied apron. What had been white when I'd arrived was now stained with tomato sauce. "Here is this for you. I'm Christine by the way."

Christine handed a hairnet to Liam. He gave it one look and took it from her hands, slapping it over his hair. He also tied a white apron on behind his back.

"I'm loving this look on you," I mocked, muffling my laugh. Liam was not the type to wear a hairnet, and definitely not the type you'd usually see in one. Liam gave me a flat look at my reaction.

"Nice to meet you, Christine," Liam's lips curled up, before he walked off to where I'd left off, placing more forks and knives down onto the table from the grey bucket. Christine and I watched him for a good minute.

"Just a friend?" Christine smirked.

"My boyfriend," I gnawed at my lip, feeling my cheeks betray me again as they burned crimson.

Christine disappeared around the corner into the kitchen again, leaving me standing as I watched Liam work. I swallowed hard, watching the way his biceps moved as he placed the silverware down onto the table. His pants were loose but yet they hugged his backside perfectly.

"He's a good one," Christine said as she came back out, setting another pot down on the table.

"Yeah, he is," I mumbled, smiling to myself like an idiot as I followed Christine back to the kitchen to help with the rest of the food.

By the time we'd set all the trays and pots on the counter, Liam was done setting the tables. Christine opened the doors and people began filing in.

The three of us worked in a haste for the next hour and a half, preparing all the meals as fast as our hands could move. Within another hour, the soup kitchen cleared out. Everyone who was hungry left with full bellies.

I began wiping down the tables with a wet cloth, glancing down at my own dirtied apron. With all the rush for brunch, I hadn't even noticed the mess I'd made while preparing all the meals. Within minutes, I had mostly finished, sanitizing the last table.

Liam approached me, wiping down the other half of the table I was working on.

"You know, I like this," Liam smiled, his dark eyes locking with mine. "It feels nice to do something good, especially when you have so much."

I placed the cloth onto the table, standing up onto my tiptoes to steal a kiss from his lips.

"I usually do this alone," I started, pulling myself away from him. "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad I did too," he said softly, wrapping his arms around my waist, engulfing me into a tight comforting hug. Liam's voice was muffled against my hair, "We have a quiz on Monday. Wanna head to my house to study?"

We pulled apart and I nodded. I always enjoyed studying with Liam, partly because he always knew what he was doing, but also because we usually did more than just studying.

I grinned, "I'll go grab my books, get changed and I'll meet you there."

_____________________________

It was past noon by the time I parked my motorcycle on Liam's driveway. Both our parents were still out, which meant they Liam and I had his house to ourselves. I'd also changed into a floral mini skirt with a white t-shirt.

I stopped in front of his door but before I even knocked, he opened it.

His eyes moved from my head and down to my toes, taking in all of me as I stepped into his house. I gnawed at my bottom lip, the apple of my cheeks beginning to warm again.

Once again, I was taken aback by how white everything was. Even though I'd been to Liam's house many times, I could never get used to how clean and crisp everything was.

"You look beautiful," he said quietly as he leaned in, brushing his lips against the tip of my nose in a light kiss.

"I didn't even do anything Liam," my lips stretched into a small smile.

"You don't have to," he raised an eyebrow at me, as if it were the most obvious thing ever. He shut the door behind me and we made our way down the hall to his kitchen. "I made you lunch. I know you probably didn't eat breakfast, and you definitely skipped lunch."

True to Liam's words, a chicken sandwich and a bowl of salad sat on the centre of the kitchen table, next to a stack of Liam's textbooks.

I hadn't noticed how hungry I was until I saw the food. My house was empty since my mom had sent our chef home for the day, and of course none of my parents ever made anything for us.

Much to my embarrassment, my stomach gurgled obnoxiously. I grimaced, my hands flying over to the origin of the noise.

"From the sound of that, I'm gonna say I was right," Liam smirked, plopping down onto the chair at the table.

"I have to admit this time, you were right," I dropped my bag onto the floor and dove into the sandwich, taking a mammoth-sized bite out of it.

Liam chuckled to himself as he opened his textbook. I took another large bite out of the sandwich, trying to savour its taste. I'd never particularly enjoyed sandwiches before, but for some reason, Liam's was the best I'd ever tasted.

I peered up at him, sneaking a brief glance.

Liam was focused, his eyes darting over the words on his textbook. His brows furrowed slightly, his forehead creased. Like always, his hair was ruffled, with rebellious tendrils cascading over his forehead. I wanted to run my hands through his hair, messing them up even more. I wanted to do more than that.

I tore my eyes away from him, trailing them back down to the sandwich. Warmth blossomed in my chest, and all the way down to my toes when it hit me that no one had ever cared about me like Liam did.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐴 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑗𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡!! 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡