{"id":58,"date":"2025-09-24T19:20:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/?p=58"},"modified":"2025-09-29T19:25:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:25:02","slug":"mysterious-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/?p=58","title":{"rendered":"Mysterious Boy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Clover x Liam AU<\/strong> | 1st Person POV<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Birthdays have always been my favorite holiday. Whether it was my birthday or someone else’s! But this year, or really the past couple of years, haven’t been the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With time, troubles follow. It’s just how life works, and I admit that. However, despite knowing this, I can’t help but feel horrible <\/em>that no one even remembered my 17th birthday. Well, no one other than my family. I appreciate their birthday wishes but it always just felt more from people other than family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that just me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I try not to let a frown come unto my lips as I pack up my bags from my fourth period after the bell rung for lunch. Lunch, everybody’s favorite part of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I may or may not have forgotten to eat this morning running out of the house in hope of getting a happy birthday from my friends. Wait… Is that narcissistic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaking my head, a smile, albeit a disappointed one, immediately spreads to my face as I notice some of my friends making their way through the halls of the school, presumably to their lockers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hands tighten around the strap around my bag over my shoulder and I jog over closer to the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Penelope, Amethyst, hey,” I greet, slipping in beside Amethyst. They turn their attention onto me and smile back, Penelope giving me a wave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Hey, Clove,\u201d Amethyst says before turning her attention back to Penelope, going back to the conversation they were having before I interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something about how the brunette\u2019s classmates in, what I assume to be her previous class she came out of, \u201care a bunch of clowns\u201d. Her words not mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sigh, I follow along beside them as they chat, trying to ignore the tight feeling in my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stop at Penelope\u2019s locker since it so happened to be in the direction we were heading, and both Amethyst and myself head to our own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mine conveniently (not) happens to be on the far side of the school, ironically. It\u2019s like the world doesn\u2019t want me to get a full in on some food\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I look around me to make sure I don\u2019t see some sort of entity waiting for the perfect opportunity to trip me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon opening up my locker, everything seems normal. Except for a small present on top of a few of my books. Instantly, my brows furrow. This wasn’t here before. Where’d it come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hooking my bag to the hook inside the cold locker, I gently pick up the box like a bomb could be hidden inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Who put you here?” I ask as if it could talk back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…Maybe it can, I <\/em>don’t know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wrap around the box is a simple light pink with small red hearts and flowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve got no idea who could’ve done this, but one person comes into mind, and my heart instantly races just at the thought that he’d do this for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, my fingers start to peel away the tape that held the paper down, hearing as each peel made a sort of pop sound, the paper ripping along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I crumble the pink wrapping paper in my hand once all of it comes off, and I’m left with a cardboard box that’s a beautiful light blue, almost washed out, but not enough to look more gray than blue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hesitantly, I open the lid to the box and in it is….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A singular heart candy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alright, somebody has got to be messing with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I whip around, looking around me hoping no one is secretly spying on me and hoping they can get a good reaction out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gosh, that’d be so embarrassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of acknowledging the heat that comes onto my cheeks, I silently thank Jesus. I don’t know, sometimes that just helps to calm the anxiety within me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back down to the heart candy, I take a closer look at it. It’s a pretty orange and the words on the heart reads, “You & Me”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confusion just takes over my entire being. I know my birthday is decently close to Valentine’s Day, but it’s not <\/em>on Valentine’s Day. It’s my birthday<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sigh, I place the lid back over the where it belongs and stuff the box into my pocket along with the crumbled wrapping paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I eventually get to the cafeteria filled with high schoolers, the booming sound of their voices traveling through the large room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thought of food makes my stomach grumble, but I’m more so concerned about the box and the candy and can’t be bothered to eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I make my way over to the table my friends and I sit at, Amethyst, and her boyfriend Payton, Penelope, Lavender, and her boyfriend Elijah, Shilow, Carlos and then Isabella all sit around the round, gray table. But no Liam. Huh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart flutters again at the thought that maybe Liam did <\/em>have something to do with the present and the like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite it being a little… creepy, the thought itself is sweet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I quickly shake my head, getting rid of the idea altogether; I have had yet to see him today, he probably just didn’t make it to school, hence his absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where’s Liam?” I can’t help but question everybody as I sit down in a seat between Isabella and Shilow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavender shrugs, more so focused on the boy beside her. Yuck, were they always this lovey dovey?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Heard he’s outside,” Shilow suggests as she turns her attention to me, taking a bite of a smoked broccoli that sat paralyzed on her silver fork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brows furrow a little. Sure, some of us eat outside, but it’s hardly ever because most of us hate the weather (big babies they are).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe Liam wanted a change of scenery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh,” I mumbled quietly to myself, my gaze going over to one of the windows in the cafeteria. “I’ll go find him, then, you guys stay here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I immediately stand up from my chair, pushing it in and giving not a glance back to the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, okay, maybe I am a little too eager, but he is, what I consider, my best friend…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…Apart from Amethyst, Lavender, Shilow, Penelope, and— okay. <\/em>Everyone is my best friend but… I have a crush on Liam, it’s expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel the heat of the sun on my skin, warmer than it was this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sky’s a bright blue today with fluffy clouds taking home in the blues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a few people out here under the umbrellas that stood in the middle of the tables, minding their own business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I’m not interested in them. Instead, I look around, my head whipping from side to side as I attempt to spot Liam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He doesn’t seem to be sitting out here, though, and a frown automatically comes to my lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when I do a second, even triple look around, I notice a peak of a shoe behind a wall, near where no tables resided, looking like the person is sitting on their bottom against said wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confusion bubbles inside of me, but a small chip of hope nicks at me and I jog over to the shoe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, I was hoping for it to be Liam, but I wasn’t really expecting <\/em>for it to be <\/em>him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Liam?” I call out surprised. Upon hearing his name, he looks up and instantly smiles. And did his pupils just dilate a little?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A blush instantly creeps to my cheeks at the thought, and how pretty his smile is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Hey, Clove,” Liam greets, pinching the cloth of my pants and nudging me to sit beside him, which I do, our knees almost touching as I match his position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once comfortable, I turn my body a little towards him. “What’re you doing out here? You’re not even eating anything,” I point out, tilting my head to the side slightly, causing my red hair to fall with the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He smiles a little, his nose scrunching as he does which causes his glasses to move up a little. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry,” he admitted before his smile widened a little more. “But… I wanted to bait you out here instead.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instantly, my eyes enlarge, and my eyebrows raise. “Bait me? What do you mean?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everyone knew I was out here; I just wanted them to act like they didn’t and then have them tell you I was out here so we could be alone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I blink a few times, and he just watches as if he’s mesmerized. “Really?” I ask bewildered. “Why’d you want us alone?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liam shrugs a little, his arms moving to rest upon his knees, his hands fiddling a little together as he stares at them, seemingly in thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart instantly swells with affection towards the other and I can’t help the smile that immediately overtakes my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well, I appreciate it. A lot. No one else seemed to remember.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He glances over at me briefly and I pick up a subtle hint of guilt. He remains quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My eyebrows furrow and I lean in a little closer, starting to worry. “What? What’s wrong?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His silence stretches out for a few seconds longer before he shakes his head and finally looks back at me. “Nothing. I just, uhm, I was the one who told everyone not to wish you a happy birthday because I wanted to tell you first, and especially in a more… special way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh. Oh.<\/em> That makes… a lot of sense. But at the same time it doesn’t and I think he starts to notice my thought process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Clover,” he chimes in, scooting a little closer, our proximity a whole lot shorter than it was before, and my heart instantly begins to pump rapidly in my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Liam,” I reply back in a whisper, too scared to use my voice to the fullest in fear of it giving up on me. He had such a strong hold on me and he didn’t even know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You and me,” he starts, his voice dropping down, almost to a whisper, but not quite one at the same time. I remember the candy heart and my eyes widen a little. So it was <\/em>him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We… You… <\/em>You’re someone in my life I can’t live without. I like you. And… I think you like me, too. Clove, even if you decline, I will always be here for you no matter what. So…,” his words trail off and I hope he’s about to ask what I think he’s going to ask, my brain swirling and racing with thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can I be your boyfriend?” He finally asks, his eyes wide with expectation, a blush hidden on his tan skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can’t help the wide smile that instantly come onto my lips, showing my teeth and everything, and he mirrors me instantly. “Of course,” I eventually answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the blink of an eye, he leans in, his eyes glancing briefly at my lips and I know what he’s asking, so I nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He leans the rest of the way, and our lips meet in a kiss, the feeling warm and wholesome, his breath tickling my skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We end up laughing a little, though, as our glasses get in the way of our kiss, causing us to separate a little too early for my liking, but the moment in general was anything but ruined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This… was the best birthday of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIN.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clover x Liam AU | 1st Person POV Birthdays have always been my favorite holiday. Whether it was my birthday or someone else’s! But this year, or really the past couple of years, haven’t been the best. With time, troubles follow. It’s just how life works, and I admit that. However, despite knowing this, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,16,22,23,25,12,20,15,24],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-betrayal-au","tag-alternate-universe","tag-ao3","tag-au","tag-birthday","tag-love-story","tag-romance","tag-short-story","tag-wattpad","tag-wholesome"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shortstoryau.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}