Chapter Text
The sun blazes down from the cloudless sky, strong rays of heat pass through Liam's jersey and onto his skin. He doubles over pressing his knuckles against his thighs, panting heavily. He thinks Coach Finstock might actually be trying to kill them this time. Running lacrosse drills in this heat is torturous. Pulling at the front of his jersey, which is clinging to his skin with sweat, he drops to his knees on the grass next to Corey and Nolan, waving his hand around for a water bottle.
He takes a few sips before throwing the bottle back to Corey. A shadow looms over them, squinting, he looks up to see Gabe leaning against his lacrosse stick. “Have you heard the good news?”
“What good news?”
“Ms. Martin decided to make an example out of Raeken. Y’know as punishment for him and his friends blitzing the locker room? They’re making him take over mascot duties since Miller is still recovering from surgery.”
“That..that’s not good news” Liam grumbles pulling at the blades of grass beneath his hands.
“Well, it’s news” Gabe shrugs. He doesn’t get it though, none of them do. He can’t be around Theo any more than he already has to be. The boy has spent the past year getting under Liam’s skin, flirting with him when no-one else is around, even though he knows Liam has a girlfriend.
The shrill noise of a whistle blowing followed by coach yelling at them to get their asses over to the benches, snaps him out of his thoughts. As they get closer, he notices Theo standing behind their coach. His chin is tilted up at the sky, looking more interested in feeling the warm sun on his face than anything happening in front of him.
Coach is droning on about the importance of teamwork when Theo finally lowers his head. Their eyes meet and suddenly everything else around him fades into the background, it feels like they’re alone on the field. Liam’s convinced himself that Theo practices witchcraft or something because it’s like he casts a spell on him, he can never tear his eyes away.
The smirk falls from Theo’s face when coach shoves a duffle bag into his arms. The sizable maroon hand of the cyclone costume poking out from where the bag’s not quite zipped all the way. Theo places the bag on the ground, pulling at the zip before removing the full costume. His face screws up in disgust.
“Meet our new Cy” coach exclaims, patting Theo on the back. Half-hearted applause echoes around them.
“Cy the cyclone?” Theo says slowly, like he can’t quite believe the thing even has a name.
“Yeah. You got a problem with that?”
“No. It’s uh..very imaginative.” Theo presses his lips together, raising both eyebrows.
Liam bites his lip in an effort to stop his growing smile. He really shouldn’t take pleasure from Theo’s obvious discomfort but it feels a little bit like karma.
Something changes over the next few days, Theo no longer tries to hide his flirting. Liam feels his eyes on him during every single practice - he was supposed to work with the cheerleaders but their coach decided he was too much of a distraction and sent him packing to the lacrosse field - now, he stands on the sidelines in that ridiculous cyclone costume with it’s big frowning expression, just staring at him. It’s a little unnerving.
Sometimes he makes fun of Liam, imitating his every step. He doesn’t stop even after Liam throws a lacrosse ball at him, hitting him right in the foam eyeball. If Liam isn’t on the field, he’ll rush over to him lifting him into the air, tackling him to the ground, dancing behind him or giving him a huge hug, the oversized hands of the mascot costume rubbing at his back. Liam hates the hugs most of all because the stupid lightning bolts attached to the costume, always catch him in the face.
Everyone, including Hayden, laughs at his antics because Theo’s in costume so it’s all just a big joke. Except, Liam takes it seriously. He enjoys it all a lot more than he should, he kind of wishes Theo would do it out of costume too.
Liam’s little crush on Theo is stupid and pointless. Theo is toying with him like he toys with everyone else. Plus, he's in a committed relationship with Hayden. Even if it is getting harder to remember that fact lately.
Liam is dashing through the hallways trying to get to English class before anyone else - it’s more of a challenge than it sounds since he has to come all the way from the sports building on the other side of campus. It’s the one class that doesn’t have designated seats for the year and every single day he seems to be stuck sitting next to Theo.
If Hayden were a better girlfriend, she’d keep a seat for him. If Liam were a better boyfriend, he’d just ask Theo to swap. Neither of them ever do though. It pretty much sums up the last few months of their relationship.
Liam’s not sure when everything changed but he knows it has. Hayden used to say when their fingers intertwined, she felt like she could take on the whole world as long as Liam was by her side. She barely holds his hand anymore. And Liam, he used to feel like wild fire ignited in his stomach every time he looked at her. Now it’s more like a solitary flame.
He steps into the room as the last bell rings, his eyes locking onto the last empty chair. Almost like he senses Liam’s presence, Theo looks up from the desk. His steely blue eyes pinning Liam to the spot. He takes a breath before moping towards the empty chair, Theo flashes him a smile. It’s apparently infectious because Liam finds himself giving a shy grin back.
“You look good in grey” his eyes run over Liam’s body before glancing back down at his book. The words shoot through Liam’s heart, leave it to Theo to catch him off guard. Liam can deal with the teasing insults but the compliments always throw him. The same thing happened a month ago when Liam had started growing his hair out. Theo had been the first one to say he liked it. Hayden had hummed and said she wasn’t sure if it suited him. Honestly, Liam was still a little pissed about that.
Liam pulls the binder from his bag placing it onto the desk before rummaging around for a pen. There has to be one in here somewhere, he swears he had one earlier. Theo slides a pencil across the desk, putting an end to the fight with his bag.
“Thanks” he says quietly reaching out to pick it up. Their hands brush ever so slightly sending a wave of excitement through Liam’s body.
Theo just smirks in response. “So, will you marry me?”
Now this is something Liam expects Theo to say. He does it every day like it’s their own little thing. Except they weren’t even really friends, so they shouldn’t have a thing. It was actually the first words Theo ever spoke to Liam when he moved to Beacon Hills, a little over a year ago. Liam had been mortified back then, his mouth opening and closing not knowing where to look. He’d barked an outraged ‘no!’ and practically ran away from him.
After a while though he’d gotten used to Theo’s games. Everybody in the entire school knew Theo didn’t do exclusive and his flirtations meant nothing. That didn’t stop people from throwing themselves at him though. And, it didn’t stop the fluttering feeling Liam got every single time Theo paid attention to him. Even if he tried not to let it show.
“Of course I’ll marry you” he tells him, making sure his voice is dripping with sarcasm.
Theo waits until Mrs. Alting turns her back to write on the whiteboard before leaning in closer to Liam. “Will you go to prom with me?”
“Yes.” This was the game. Theo asks him a series of ridiculous questions which Liam always answers yes to and eventually he’ll ask a more serious one. Liam thinks it’s kind of an adorable way of getting to know him.
“Will you sit with me on the way to the game tonight?”
Sparks of electricity flow through Liam’s body. He hadn’t realised Theo’s banishment from the cheerleaders extended to bus rides for all of their games.
Trying not to sound too eager he says “I thought you’d be riding with the cheerleaders…”
“Some unfortunate things happened. A cheerleader or two may have been caught slipping a pack of condoms with a phone number written on, into a certain mascots duffle bag. Maybe they told their coach I’d led them on and she agreed. No questions asked. I’m not even innocent until proven guilty. Can you believe that?” shaking his head in disbelief he adds. “Now I’m just a tornado without a path..or a bus to ride.”
“Are you guilty?” Liam laughs.
“Yes” he admits “but she didn’t know that for sure!” He places an elbow on the desk, resting his face in his palm. “You know I don’t mean anything by it though, so you’ll sit with me right?”
Liam wants to. His face - and somewhere a little lower - practically tingles at the thought of spending time with Theo outside of school. Liam liked Theo and that meant he was trouble. So he knows what he has to say.
“I can’t sit with you. Hayden probably wouldn’t like it.”
Theo’s normal response would be to mimic him saying ‘Hayden wouldn’t like it’ in a high pitched, whiny voice that sounded absolutely nothing like Liam but instead he shuffles his chair closer, the metal legs grinding noisily against the floor. Theo's knee is pressing against his thigh. Liam looks up trying to see if they've caught the attention of their teacher but she's still writing on the whiteboard.
“Why do you stay with Hayden if she bosses you around? You don’t put up with it from anyone else” he asks softly, looking straight into Liam’s eyes.
“She doesn’t boss me around. It’s a respect thing. Not that I’d expect you to understand that. Anyway, if we were together I’m sure you’d “boss me around” just as much” he says quietly but firmly. He ignores the way his own cheeks heat up at the mere idea of them being together.
“Not true” Theo presses his lips together, leaning even closer. “If I was with you, I wouldn’t ask for much. You’d be doing all the asking, believe me.”
Time stops for a second. Theo’s words aren't exactly dirty but Liam knows what he’s implying. His words promise a dark night alone in the cab of his truck, Liam begging to be touched.
Liam’s lips part, his breathing falters and he feels his jeans tighten ever so slightly as the words wash over him, heading straight to his crotch.
He knows all about Theo’s reputation. He’s lost count of how many times he’s had to pull Mason and Corey away from Theo at parties before they could proposition him for a threesome. They drunkenly explained that Theo could talk anyone’s underwear off and they’d heard he had the moves to back it up. Liam is going to make damn sure they never experience it first hand.
Now he finally understands what they mean. He sits up a little straighter, his shoulders tensing. Theo smirks knowing exactly the kind of effect he’s having on him.
“How do you do that?” Liam asks breathlessly, bewildered.
“It’s a gift” he shrugs.
His offhand tone pisses Liam off. He regains his voice, “that’s what I’d worry about with you. During English you’d give me the “gift ” and by lunch you’ll have moved on to the next poor bastard..no thanks.”
Theo’s face falls. “No. I-”
Hayden sashays past their desk towards Mrs. Alting’s, placing a hand on Liam’s shoulder as she goes. Theo leans in towards Liam again like Hayden wasn’t just right there. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t cheat on you, ever.”
If Liam didn’t know any better, he’d say Theo sounds like he actually cares what Liam thinks of him. He leans in towards Theo this time, noticing the faint pink blush across his cheeks. He’s never seen him embarrassed before, it’s mesmerising. Before he can say anything, he notices Hayden eyeing them quizzically from next to the teachers desk. Liam blushes facing the front again, his gaze flicking down to unopened textbook in front of him.
Liam had first been attracted to Hayden because she was feisty and confident, those are sexy qualities in his eyes. After a year and a half together though, Liam has come to understand she’s not as self-assured as she likes other people to believe. There’s nothing wrong with her insecurities, he just wishes people could be more honest and upfront about themselves. Himself included.
Mrs. Alting asks the class for some quiet explaining that Hayden has something she needs to inform them about.
“As some of you may know, Homecoming is only two weeks away but the recent damages to the school gym hall means we can no longer hold the dance there. If we don’t find a replacement venue soon, it’s going to be cancelled” students around the room gasp like it’s the worst thing they can imagine. Liam looks at Theo, he rolls his eyes, looking bored. “If anyone has any ideas, let me or someone else on student council know.”
When the bell rings signalling the end of class and the end of the school day, there’s a small stampede moving towards the door. Hayden walks over, pressing a chaste kiss to Liam’s cheek and mumbling something about having to run. Theo doesn’t move, so Liam turns to him.
“You still work at Bottlefish right?” he asks. “Don’t they have a pretty big event space? Reckon you could sweet talk the owner into letting us use it for Homecoming?”
“As much as I’d love to help you earn points with your girlfriend by giving her the perfect slow dance, it’s booked that night.”
“It’s two weeks from now..do you always memorise the schedule this far in advance?” he asks bitingly.
“There’s a fortieth class reunion happening after the homecoming game. I know because the owner asked me to work it and I said no because of the dance. I never forget turning down money.”
Theo worked a lot. While the rest of their class was hanging out, getting drunk at parties or in the woods, Theo was always missing from social gatherings. Liam’s a little surprised the dance is even important enough for him to take a night off. And, irrationally, he’s a little jealous. Who is he so keen to take?
They finally stand up putting their books and binders into their bags. “So uh..who are you taking to homecoming anyway?”
Theo frowns. “You, obviously” he says like Liam’s stupid for even asking. “Why are you glaring at me, Liam?”
“I’m hoping you’ll spontaneously combust” he growls and with that their conversation is over. Liam moves quickly towards the exit. He wishes Theo would be serious for once in his life.