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He sounded defensive about the lines, and I wondered if he was trying to cover up his embarrassment about not having learned them already, but I quickly pushed that from my mind.

“You’rethe star of the play? What am I then?”

“My leading lady, of course.”

The way he said it sounded so backward, like I was only there to support him. Like I wasn’t every bit as important to the play as he was. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that he believed he was the star of the show, but a part of me had begun to wonder if maybe there was more to Liam Black than met the eye. I guess I was wrong.

“You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?” I said.

“No, you just take everything I say the wrong way.”

“How was I supposed to take the fact that you think you’ve got the only important role in the show?”

He started to respond, but I heard my cue and walked onstage before he could get a word out. I was somewhat glad I’d had the last word, but when Liam entered the scene, it seemed he’d also brought his annoyance with him. As soon as he stepped onstage, he was seething with anger. His whole persona encompassed it, so when I looked at him, I truly saw the beast he was portraying.

He was either a really good actor or I’d majorly pissed him off. Since I hadn’t seen him even try to act since arriving at school, I had to believe it was the latter. The tension on the stage was palpable, and he roared his words, giving them every bit of spite and cruelty they deserved.

His actions were stilted because he was still using the script, but he did every word justice, and I felt my own acting skills rising to the high bar he was setting. I became lost in the fight our characters had onstage, and when the scene finally ended, Miss Appleby gave us a standing ovation.

“Marvelous, simply marvelous,” she said.

I blinked as reality hit me once more, and I remembered the class of students who were all watching. I’d been so absorbed in the performance that for a moment I’d been staring into the eyes of Beast rather than the boy before me and the class had disappeared.

Liam’s anger with me was just as real as his character’s though, and he barely batted an eyelid at the teacher’s praise before he stalked offstage to return to his seat in the audience. I slowly followed after him. Telling Liam he was full of himself had seemed to strike a nerve. I guess it was a little harsh, but it seemed justified when he’d been acting so stuck up.

Miss Appleby touched my arm as I returned to my seat. “You can learn a lot from him,” she murmured.

I simply grunted in response, not wanting to heed her advice. I didn’t want to learn anything from Liam, but I had to begrudgingly admit he’d just given one hell of a performance.

“That was insane,” Evan murmured, as I sat next to him. “I knew Liam was good, but he was incredible up there.”

I glanced in Liam’s direction. He was sitting rigidly in his seat, probably still stewing over our argument. “What can I say, I really bring the beast out in him,” I replied.

I could hear the smile in Evan’s voice as he replied. “You certainly do.”

12

Teagan

“Ihear Liam is throwing a party on Saturday.” I clumsily dropped my tray of food on our lunch table as my eyes darted up to look at Hayley. She was grinning from ear to ear as she spread her exciting news amongst our friends. I didn’t want to seem interested in anything to do with Liam though, so I quickly looked away.

Between angering him in drama rehearsals and our dismal attempt at being partners in English, it was safe to say neither of us could stand each other. It didn’t help that the information I’d gathered on him for my biography assignment had given me even more reason to dislike him.

He might not have answered my interview questions, but thanks to Google, I had a better picture of who the real Liam Black was. And it wasn’t pretty. From dating and dumping Victoria’s Secret models like they meant nothing to hospital stays for alcohol poisoning, everything I’d read about him had only soured my opinion of the guy.

Just a few years ago, he’d been this sweet Disney kid, but now he was a notorious party animal with an asshole attitude to match. So many websites went on and on about how sexy he’d become. I wasn’t sure how anyone could be considered sexy when they had such a bad personality though.

“Of course, he’s having a party,” Evan replied. “The guy lives for that stuff.”

I found myself glancing in Liam’s direction. He was sitting between Cole and Tanner, laughing at something Tanner had said. He looked so at home eating his lunch with the jocks of our school. Their table was where the pretty, popular people all congregated every day, so I guess he fit right in.

“Cole told me he’s actually pretty cool,” Madi said. “And I had a chat with him during drama the other day, and he seems really sweet.”

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Liam Black wasn’t sweet. He was full of himself and probably only being nice to Madi because she was gorgeous. It was also hard to trust Madi’s opinion when she always saw the best in people.

“Well, obviously, he’s cool,” Hayley replied. “He’s a movie star.”

“She has a point,” Evan agreed.