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“Hey Liam, I think you’ve got a stalker.”
That was the sentence everything started with. Well, actually the whole situation started way earlier, perhaps when Liam had opened his window the first time, at midnight. Or when he bought that extra sandwich with him one day.
This, however should be the moment he would look back upon and see it as the starting point.
“I’ve got a what now?” sometimes Mason had a really lively imagination.
But even Corey, who he send a help-searching glance just nodded. “Yeah, look. There’s that blue truck again… I’ve seen it a few times on campus already.”
“Oh. That’s just Theo.” Phew... thank god, no stalkers, I have enough on my plate even without crazy obsessed guys trying to get in my pants.
“Excuse me?”
“Theo. We’re sort of friends. He sleeps in his truck though, so I bring him lunch sometimes.”
“I saw him climb the wall into your dorm room last week.” Damn it, Mason was more observing anyone gave him credit for...
Liam sighed. “Like I said, he sleeps in his truck. So when no one’s in the room, he catches a couple of Zz’s in my bed.”
Mason and Corey stared at him. For several minutes straight.
“It’s not weird, is it?”
Mason hummed. “I think I saw him punch someone… the guy from that party two days ago who tried to make out with you?”
“What?” That was definitely news for Liam. Not the attempt at making out, he was present for that part after all. Unfortunately. That guy had been kind of a creep. But Theo running around, punching people?
“So... is he your boyfriend or something?”, Corey asked.
“What? NO! That’s absurd. We are only friends, sort of. He is nice?” Yes, there was a question mark. Because Theo wasn’t nice, actually he was kind of an asshole most of the time. But a hot asshole who was fun to talk to.
“Then yes, Liam, it’s weird!” “Totally.”
Liam needed new friends. Preferably dumb ones who wouldn’t call him out on his questionable choices in other friends.
But because Liam is shit at making new friends and because he needs Mason and Corey to pass most of his math classes, he still follows them into the building. When he turns around at the door, Theo’s truck is still parked on the other side of the street. Weird. He resists the urge to wave back as Theo holds two fingers up in a lazy greeting.
Liam can’t stop thinking about Theo for the rest of the day. But it isn’t because of the boyfriend thing. Totally not. The guy just turns up everywhere all of a sudden.
After their class he sits on one of the banks in front of the building, sunglasses on his face giving Liam another lazy two finger greeting “Hey Li, how was class?”
He mumbles a good and quickly whisks away, not wanting to risk another thought spiral.
When he goes grocery shopping in the afternoon, Theo’s truck is parked on the lot right next to the trolleys. Liam decides he can carry what he needs.
Turns out he cannot and now he has to carry two of these stupid baskets they position in the middle of the aisles just for people like him who overestimate the size of their arms or the number of items they need.
At the check out he suddenly sees the guy from the party, he really is sporting a pretty prominent black eye and Liam swears he winces when he sees him.
“Hey! Uhm... you. Long time no see. How are you?”
Yep. Forgot the dudes name. Perfectly smooth, Liam.
“Hey Liam...”, party guy nervously glances around, “look I am sorry, but I can’t talk to you. If I had known you have a boyfriend I wouldn’t have tried to kiss you. I swear. Tell him it will never happen again, okay?” with that he hurriedly pushes some money at the cashier and nearly sprints out of the store.
Boyfriend? What the hell? Now Theo is even scaring of potential hook ups? Not that Liam had wanted to hook up with the black eye guy, but it’s about the principle!
Liam is left behind with even more confusing thoughts and if you would ask him how he managed to get all his items into his car and himself safely home, he wouldn’t know the answer.
It is only when he starts to pack away the food he notices an awful lot of those repulsive energy bars and even a few kiwis in his shopping bag. Liam hates kiwi, the sour taste always let’s his tongue swell in a weird way.
But someone else loves kiwi and energy bars. Theo. When did he start to buy stuff Theo likes?
The guy isn’t even in his dorm that much.
“Hey Liam.”
The kiwi flies through the air as Liam jumps at the voice behind him (he lets out an embarrassingly high squeak too, but that is to be ignored).
“Theo! Fuck, I have a door, you know that?”
The dark haired boy chuckles as he bends down and picks up the slightly mashed up kiwi, already reaching for a knife and spoon from the drawer behind him.
“But I came through the door. You didn’t fully close it because your arms were so full of stuff, but don’t worry, I shut it for you.”
Liam watches Theo sit down to eat his fruit, fully concentrated on his task. He sighs and starts tidying up his stuff in the small dorm room kitchen again, moving around Theo, who somehow looks as if he belongs there.
Finally Theo finishes his snack and breaks their silence.
“Hey Liam?”
“Hm?” Where the hell did I put those ramen noodles the last time?
“You ignored me today, more than usually I mean. Did I do something?”
That is new. Theo can be called many things, but sensible isn't usually one of them.
When Liam looks up Theo is already watching him and their eyes meet. Theo’s sea glass coloured irises are full of concern and that is what let’s Liam break.
“Are you my Boyfriend?”
“What?!”
“Well, you are here most of the time, you follow me around, you sleep in my bed. I buy you lunch and even these stupid protein bars I don’t like. You wait for me before and after class and drive me home sometimes. And... you beat up this guy”, Liam takes a deep breath after his rant, looking at Theo expectantly.
The older boy just sits there for a moment, blinking owlishly. Then he laughs. “You know, most of that sounds more like a stalker then a boyfriend.”
Liam just stares at him until he realizes what he just said.
“Not that I am a stalker! I mean, the other things are you practically motherhenning me...” he rubs his neck while his cheeks turn red with embarrassment.
They both turn silent for a minute, then Theo almost whispers: “Do you want me to be? Your boyfriend I mean?”
Now it’s Liam’s turn to blush. “No! I mean... I don’t know? Maybe?”
He looks at Theo more closely, he never noticed it before but the other boy is really handsome, dressed fashionable and perfectly clean all the time, actually weird for a homeless guy if you think of it.
“Where do you shower?” he blurts out, catching Theo, who didn’t expect the conversation subject to go from potential boyfriends to his personal hygiene so fast, clearly of guard.
“Uhm... at home? Why? Where do you shower?”
“But... I thought you lived in your car!”
“WHAT?” now Theo looks almost offended, “why would you think that?”
Yes. Why did Liam start thinking Theo would be homeless again?
“Yes.”
Theo’s head whips back to him so fast he almost got whiplash just watching. “Yes what?”
“Yes, would really like for you to be my boyfriend.”
“Because I am not homeless?” Theo may be confused right now, but he doesn’t hesitate to put his flirty smile back in place again.
“No, because you are hot. And funny. And I will buy kiwis even though they make my tongue swell if that means you will come over.”
“You say the sweetest things Li...” with that Theo leans over, grabs Liam by the neck and pulls him in to a first, slightly messy kiss.
They talk some more after that because Liam still wants to know why Theo isn’t homeless after all.
Turns out Theo is pretty much the ideal boyfriend for Liam.
He has time to drive him home after class and hang out because his work as a beekeeper doesn’t start until the evening. He took a few Spanish classes for fun, so him being on the campus during day wasn't that creepy after all. His classes was also how he noticed Liam and decided to get to know him.
That certainly clears things up a bit and Liam decides that Theo’s lips are far more interesting now, so they go back to kissing.
“Hey Theo?”
“Hm?”
“My tongue feels weird...”
~♤~
“Your stalker is back again, Liam...” Mason grins, clearly trying to get a rise out of his best friend.
“Oh, no”, Liam answers while waving at Theo who leans at his truck, waiting for him, “that’s just Theo, my boyfriend.”