Monstrous ➳ Dunbar

[ in which they play hookie ]

When Sydney and Stiles parted ways as they entered the school the next morning, she had been anything but compliant. Any energy that she had felt before- which was very little- she immediately began to feel slowly draining out of her. She stifled a yawn, not even bothering to wait on Mason or any of her friends before heading to her locker. The hallways were packed, and Sydney found her claustrophobia starting to kick in as she maneuvered her way through the mass of students. She quickly found her locker, having to push through a group of students who stood lazily in front of it waiting for the bell to ring. She felt an odd surge of irritation and sudden urge to drive her fist through a brick wall. She assumed that it was the after effects of the full moon, or maybe even perhaps the first signs of her time of the month. Though, she was not due to start for another week or so.

Sydney was in the middle of gathering her supplies for first block when she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes. She tensed, readying herself to punch whatever perv was touching her, but then she heard the all-too familiar, soft voice.

"Hey, there."

"Liam Dunbar, you scared the living hell out of me," Sydney groaned and she slapped the boy lightly on the chest. Liam leaned against the locker beside her, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth as he stared at her. His eyes traveled down to the pile of books she carried in her arms, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"Why are you getting your stuff?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest and cocking an eyebrow.

"Uh, because we have math in less than five minutes," Sydney answered him in a duh tone, though she couldn't help but smile. "You should know by now that Mr. Andrews will happily give us detention if we don't have our supplies."

Once again, Liam stared at her blankly, though his blue eyes shone with evident mischief. "We're not going to algebra- or any other class, for that matter," he stated with a shrug.

"Why not?" Sydney asked, furrowing her eyebrows. She shifted the books in her arms, flinching as some random student pushed past her. Liam looked at the kid, his eyebrow raised before turning his gaze back on the girl.

"I'm taking you somewhere," he said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, smiling cheekily.

"Where?"

"I can't tell you that," Liam rested his hands on top of the books, moving to take them from her grip, though she refused. "You'll find out soon. But first, you have to put this stuff in your locker, and forget about attending any classes."

"Are you suggesting that we ditch again?" Sydney raised an eyebrow, her face pulling into a look of worry.

"That's exactly what we're doing," Liam nodded, this time successfully taking the books from her grip and throwing them in her locker, slamming the metal door shut. "Come on, Syd, live a little. By the end of the day, you'll be surprised you even doubted leaving school with me." He stretched his arm across Sydney's shoulder, pulling the girl into his side and beginning to lead her to the closest exit before she had a chance to argue.

>>

Sydney glared up at the laughing boy above her, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she attempted to clean the leaves from her t-shirt. Liam's face was red from laughter and he was holding his sides, making it hard for Sydney not to begin laughing with him. She pursed her lips and bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a giggle that threatened to fall from her mouth.

"Liam," she whined and punched his leg harshly. Liam suddenly stopped laughing, though his shoulders still shook as he reached a hand out to her.

"Why did you do that?" Sydney asked as he pulled her to her feet. Liam wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest as a single, breathy laugh fell from his lips.

"Because you're clumsy," he stated simply and stifled yet another laugh. "And it's pretty funny watching you fall."

Sydney, being the child she was, stuck out her tongue and pulled away from him. Before he got a chance to grab her again, she began walking away from him, in the direction of the stream only a little ways away from them. She could see the clear water from where she stood and she heard the sounds of the water rippling over the rocks. It was a calming noise, to her at least; she always found it soothing. Liam was by her side in an instant, his hand brushing against hers casually as he matched his pace with hers.

"I am not clumsy," she muttered under her breath, though loud enough for Liam to hear. Right as she said this, she tripped over a tree root that was buried beneath the little of leaves, almost causing herself to fall on her face once more. Liam's hands immediately found their way around her waist, steadying her as she pulled a strand of hair from her face, which was scrunched in a look of annoyance.

Liam chuckled, letting go of her waist and slipping his hand into hers as he continued walking, "Whatever you say, Syd."

Liam kept on sneaking glances in her direction out of the corner of his eye, taking in her beauty as the dappled sunlight shone down on her face. He couldn't exactly help himself, it was as if his eyes were magnetically drawn to her face. He found himself smiling as he stared at her- whilst being caught many times by the girl. She would only smile modestly, acting as if she didn't know what was going on, and asking the same question as she did every time: "why are you looking at me?"

Liam led Sydney towards the stream that she had mentioned earlier. Scott had told him about that certain stream the day before, and ever since then, he had been dying to take the girl there with him. There was a bridge that ran across the small river, one that allowed you to look out across the river. Scott had taken his ex-girlfriend, Allison, there one day, when they had ditched school together; he told him that she loved it, and she would always ask for him to take her once more. Liam knew that Sydney would like it, as well.

Sure enough, she did. As Sydney first stepped foot onto the old wooden bridge, she immediately ran over to the edge. She stepped onto the first post, as she was too short to see over without it, and stared down into the water as she tossed a pebble, a wide grin stretching across her face. Liam couldn't help but smile upon seeing it, slowly approaching her and wrapping his arms around her carefully. He chuckled as she threw another stone into the rippling water below, a giggle falling from her lips as it splashed.

"You're such a kid," he whispered into her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine. Sydney laughed lightly, though she didn't speak. She was too mesmerized by the view she was staring at; she absolutely loved rivers and streams, and she found herself enjoying this way too much.

Liam kept his eyes glued on the girl as she continued to stare out over the water, oblivious to his gaze. His fingers gripped her waist gently, trailing patterns in the fabric of her shift absentmindedly.

"It's so beautiful," Sydney spoke in a soft tone, her hazel eyes sparkling happily in the sunlight. Liam barely heard her, though he still agreed anyway.

"Yes, you are."

Sydney's gaze immediately snapped towards the boy, giggling lightly as he turned away, his cheeks a bright shade of red. "What did you just say?" She asked cheekily.

"N-nothing," Liam brought his hand up to his head and ran it through his hair. "I said 'yes, it is'. The stream is very beautiful. I love the way the sunlight hits your eyes- I mean, the water."

He buried his face in his hands, a barely audible groan falling from his lips. Sydney couldn't help but find herself smiling, feeling touched by his kindness. She knew what he said, she heard it clearly, as his mouth was right beside her ear. She only wanted to hear it again. "Did you just call me beautiful?"

Liam finally built up enough courage to look her in the eye, a sly smile spreading across his face, "Maybe."

Without even really thinking, Sydney leaned down and pressed her lips to his cheek. She felt Liam tense, though she knew he must have had a wide grin on his face. She pulled away, leaning close to his ear and whispering quietly, "I think you are pretty cute, as well."

Liam suddenly pulled away from her, his eyebrows pulled together and his bottom lip stuck out in a pout. At first, she was confused as of why he was doing his, worried that she might of said the wrong thing, though his voice was playful as he spoke, "I'm not cute. I'm sexy."

Sydney's eyes rolled in their sockets, and she ran a hand through Liam's hair, intending to mess it up, "Don't push it, Dunbar. You're cute."