Work Text:
Life was confusing.
Since he was a kid Liam had always known that there were at least three things he wanted to happen in his life. One of them had been playing lacrosse, the second one had been have a group of friends with whom he felt at home and the third one, as cheesy as it might sound, was to fall in love with some nice, beautiful girl and have a family when he was older. For years he had been sure he wanted those things and he was proud and happy to be able to say that he had managed two of them.
He played lacrosse in the school team, he was the captain of the team to make it even better and he liked being on the field. He liked playing and there weren't words to describe the happiness he felt every time he managed to make a ball hit the net.
He also had a good group of friends. Mason, Corey and Hayden were by his side whenever he needed, Brett and Lori too. They supported him and made him feel comfortable. It was always good to spend time with them, just hang out and talk to each other, laugh at each other and just be teenagers, without many worries.
The only thing that was missing from the goals he had set for his life when he was a kid was a nice beautiful girl he loved. Yes, he and Hayden had been dating for a few months, but there was something missing. Something Liam wanted, but didn't have, like a hole in his chest that was aching to be filled, but which the time with Hayden couldn't fill.
Life was confusing because he had a plan he wanted to follow, he had goals he wanted to achieve, but now something happened and one of them didn't seem as plausible as it had seemed before. He still wanted to have a family in the future, everyone does, he supposes, but the emptiness he felt in his relationship with Hayden made him question himself.
Liam knew he had changed as the years passed, everyone changes as they grow, but Liam had never thought that his goals would change, they were always there, they were always what he wanted, or at least they had been. Now, Liam didn't know exactly what he wanted, he didn't know who he was, he didn't know what would happen, he didn't know what was missing, but if there was something he knew it was that he wasn't this person. He was someone he still had to discover, someone that was covered under the lack of something, as weird as that might sound.
In this moment, he was sitting outside the school with his three friends, but his mind wasn't in their conversation and his eyes weren't on them.
His mind was a confusing place right now, so it would be hard to tell where exactly it was in this moment, however his eyes were another story. Even though, one could tell where his eyes rested, the mess in his mind was reflected in them, and the confusion and wonder were visible to whoever looked close and carefully enough.
Liam couldn't tear his eyes away, as much as he wanted, there was something pulling him, something beckoning him, making him look, making him wonder and question himself even more.
Why was he alone?
"He might not be the best person in this world, but even he should have some company," Liam thought.
He had already seen him alone other times; actually, every time he saw him the other boy was alone. Liam wondered if he had someone to talk to, if he had someone he could rely on, if he had friends. Surely, everyone needs friends, right?
Without really thinking about what he was doing, Liam got up from the table he was sitting at, ignoring his friends questions and moved until he was standing right in front of the person he had been looking at and thinking about. He really should have thought this through.
"Can I sit?"
Theo looked up and Liam could see the emotions in his eyes, something he thought he never would be able to do, since Theo always choose not to show them. There was surprise in his eyes, there was confusion, but there was also something deeper, something that Liam wasn't able to label, but something so warm it made Liam feel like was buried in a comfy pile of blankets.
"Why?"
Theo asked the question Liam knew would come but was hoping wouldn't. He didn't know how to answer it, how was he supposed to explain that he didn't know what he was doing, he was just impulsively following his instincts, that something inside the chaos that was his mind was telling him that he should go to Theo, that something was pulling him to sit in front of him and talk to him.
"Everyone needs a friend, no one should be alone."
Was what he said instead because it was true after all, everyone needs someone to be there for them and Theo didn't seem like he had anyone. The glimmer of that warm something seemed to shine brighter for a moment in Theo's blue eyes, making Liam wonder exactly what that emotion was.
"Is that what you are? My friend?"
Liam just grinned and shrugged. "If you want me to be."
Theo didn't answer, but since he didn't yell at him, punch him on the face or flatly tell him to go away, Liam took it as him accepting his friendship and sat in front of him.
Liam couldn't stop a genuine smile from appearing in his face when he saw that Theo's lips were twitching, as if he was trying to fight his own smile. His heart made a funny thing in his chest and something happened in his stomach. Liam didn't know what it had been, it were just two more things to add to his list of confusing things happening to his mind and body.
They stayed in silence for a moment, just looking at each other, both too preoccupied with their own thoughts, Liam understood that Theo was probably surprised that Liam had taken the initiative of talking to him, but Liam wouldn't get up and leave, he was determined to make Theo feel like he had someone he could count on. He didn't know why, but he didn't want Theo to feel lonely like he had looked all those times Liam had seen him.
"What are you doing, Liam?"
Liam furrowed his brows, confused.
"Being your friend."
"You're not supposed to be my friend," Theo shook his head. "You're supposed to be their friend," he pointed at the table where Mason, Corey and Hayden were looking at him confused.
"I can be friends with them and with you, I can be friends with whoever I want to be friends with."
Theo frowned, his expression, so confused and surprised, made Liam's heart clench, to see Theo looking like that, looking like he couldn't believe that someone actually wanted to be his friend, was painful, no one should feel so unworthy.
"I'm your friend, Theo, you're just gonna have to get used to it, because I'm not letting you feel lonely again."
He didn't know where the reassurance had came from, but Theo's face lit up, a smile appeared on his lips and his eyes shined with that something warm again. Liam wanted to see him looking like that everyday and he would do anything to make that happen.
Looking from Theo's happy but still surprised face to his friends confused but somehow understanding and knowing expressions, Liam felt himself make a decision and it seemed like the chaos inside him was clearing a little. Locking eyes with Hayden, he knew that he couldn't keep them in a relationship that wasn't making them as happy as they could be with other people, Hayden didn't deserve that, and he didn't deserve it either.
The decision was made and the first step towards finding himself and filling the aching hole in his chest was taken, even if Liam didn't know it yet.