Chapter Text
Liam Dunbar didn’t like confrontation. Especially when it was face to face. In-person fights always had the potential to get physical, and with Liam, they often did. That’s why Liam was one of those cowards who preferred virtual arguments. Capital letters and excessive exclamations points were better than fists. Punching a wall was better than punching a customer. And texting, emails, hell even phone calls were better than what he was about to do. He took a deep breath. You need to get over this . He said to himself. And then, out loud he said “Um, could you please like, not sit on the display. Thanks.”
Nailed it.
“Oh yeah sorry,” The ten-year-old girl replied, getting up from her perch on the fold-out chair and walking away, presumably to return to whatever guardian was with her that had let the child wander out of sight, then proceed to cause Liam an unimaginable amount of pain by sitting on the display.
Liam slowly returned to his post behind the register, stopping to fix items that had been misplaced, and shoving the damaged ones into the back of the shelves. It had become routine at this point. He had started working at Beacon Hills Hardware Store a little over a month ago and was slowly starting to get into the hang of things. Don't steal money from the register; easy. Don't fight with the customer because “the customer is always right”; not as easy. He was able to restrain himself from yelling at the old people that came to him complaining that the state taxes were too high, and that Liam should charge them less because of it. It was annoying, but manageable. He had a harder time with assholes his age that came in just to eat the popcorn the company provided. Not that these scenarios were all that often. It wasn’t like there were a ton of 16-year-olds perusing the aisles of a hardware store for fun. Still, the encounters, however infrequent, managed to get under Liam’s skin.
That’s where Mason came in. Liam’s coworker and fellow trainee had swooped in to save Liam from getting fired on multiple occasions. Whether is was breaking up what had the potential to become an all-out brawl, driving him when he was going to be late to work, or giving him a compassionate “No Liam, Scott wouldn’t like it if you stabbed all of the pumpkins with the gardening spades, and it wouldn’t help sell them”, Mason always had his back.
The sudden presence of a hand on his shoulder made Liam jump and, speak of the devil, the hand belonged to Mason.
“Hey,” He said with his usual iridescent smile, “Is it okay if I leave an hour early? I totally forgot I had a date with Corey tonight. And if you ever tell him that you will not live to see another day,” He said. And almost as if hearing Liam’s reply of “I love you but I could easily take you in a fight and you know it” before it was even spoken aloud, he added, “And don’t question that statement because I have my ways, and am quite resourceful when I am mad.”
Liam smirked but decided against “questioning the statement” as Mason had put it.
“Sure.” He replied. There was only an hour and a half left before closing anyway. And the lawn chair girl and family had already left. He doubted that anyone else would come in. “No problem.”
“You’re the best” He said, and if possible his smile grew even brighter.
Walking around the counter, Mason tossed his red uniform vest to Liam, hitting him in the face with the name tag in the process. Instinctively, Liam snatched the garment from out of the air. He folded it because, why not, and because he thought Mason would appreciate it, before bringing it into the back room and stowing it in his friends' locker.
Liam had never understood what people expected when they asked him to “check the back”. Did they think there were just a plethora of products they were hiding from the public eye? An elite section of merchandise that only those who requested it could acquire? He longed to tell them that “the back” was a bleak beige room with semi-empty boxes littering the floor, a singular table with old coffee mugs, and a hand full of products that weren't out in the front. None of which were organized, despite Scott’s constant attempts at cleaning. Alas, at Scott’s orders he had to tell them with a smile that he was happy to check the back. 99% of the time he returned without the desired product, and had to pretend to be genuinely shocked at not being able to find it there. It was exhausting, but it was also 12 dollars an hour, so Liam got by.
Returning to the register, Liam took out his phone. He wouldn’t dare if Scott were here, not because he would get fired or anything but because Scott would be disappointed in him. And Liam couldn't take that emotionally. Liam was greeted by all of one notification. it was from Duolingo. The Duolingo owl was nearing homicidal in its attempts to get Liam to learn Spanish. It was futile though, Liam thought, as he shut off his phone with a dejected sigh. He suddenly felt very tired. Like his limbs were filled with cement instead of muscle and bone. The fluorescent lights suddenly seemed brighter, and the radio playing country music (why country of all genres?) seemed like it was too loud. He had been on his feet all day, moving back and forth across the span of the store, returning products to their homes because “no he’s got it it’s fine, you don’t have to put it back”. His calves hurt from lacrosse and moving around all the time today was not helping. Maybe if he just put his head down, he'd feel better. Just shut his eyes for a few minutes…
Liam woke up with a jolt, and immediately jumped up into what he hoped appeared to be a fighting stance, ready to face off against an attacker. Instead, he found himself looking up at a boy around his age with a shopping cart full of chains. They sold chains, so Liam shouldn’t be concerned. What they didn't provide was shopping carts though, and that’s what put Liam on edge. The guy picked up his pile of chains with a surprising amount of ease for such a scrawny looking person and placed them on the counter. Having apparently seen Liam’s possibly judgmental look, he said, “I’m a friend of Scott’s by the way. Stiles” He extended a hand across the counter awkwardly. Liam shook it with an equal amount of awkwardness.
“I’m not gonna kidnap you are anything,” He said with a laugh. Liam found it in no way funny but laughed along anyway. They then lapse into silence, accompanied only by the country music that was somehow still on the radio.
“So is it okay if I pay with credit?” Stiles asked, and it was in that moment that Liam realized that in his entire month of working here, he had never actually used the register.
“Um yeah sure.” Liam said, trying to keep the slight panic out of his voice. “Just give me one second.” Frantically, Liam scavenged for the purple binder that housed all of the important things he should have learned by now. He flipped through the laminated papers, acutely aware of Stiles’ feet tapping in the background to the beat of the music. His eyes scanned the bolded headers for something, anything to do with the register. There were pages on how to do returns, gift cards, and giving store credit, but not the one thing that he actually needed to know.
After nearly a minute of searching, Liam asked, “Is it okay If I call my supervisor? I’ve actually never uh, never used the register before.”
“Go ahead!” Stiles laughed kindly.
“Thanks.” Liam said, for once actually meaning his gratitude directed towards a customer.
He picked up the ancient store phone and dialed in the number. A monotone beep greeted him instead of the human voice he was hoping for. A monotone beep wasn't going to tell him how to scan this guy's credit card. He waited, listening to the phone's hellish song for a few more seconds, ready to hang up, when at long last someone picked up.
“Hello?”
Liam almost dropped the phone.
“Hello.” The majestic voice repeated. He had a deep and condescending voice like he knew he was hot and better than you.
“Um hi.” Liam finally responded.
“Are you one of Scotts?
“Yeah and actually-“
“I don’t work with Scott” The boy said
“Wait wait wait wait wait. Wait.”
Liam must have sounded pathetic enough because the person on the other end of the line didn't hang up. He also didn't say anything either.
“So. I need help with the cash register.”
The man scoffed. “Scott’s really hiring anyone these days huh?”
“Yeah I guess,” Liam replied, only partially understanding that he was agreeing to this stranger insulting his intelligence. “So how do I work it if its a card?” He asked, moving the card between his fingers and reading the name ’M. Stilinski’. Liam had been so fixated on this person’s voice that he had forgotten about the customer in front of him. Scott would be crying if he were here.
“So first you have to scan all the items.” The voice on the other line breaks in
“There's no barcode.”
“Dear god. Then what’s the product name.”
Liam didn’t know. He moved the receiving end away from his mouth and asked stiles, “What’s the product?”
“Three inch chain, stainless steel.” Thank god for Stiles. Liam repeated this new information into the phone.
“Then type that shit into the ‘item’ box. Or do I need to do that for you too?”
Liam ignored this, and typed in Stiles's strange purchase.
“And then press check out.”
“Where is that?” Liam asked, already prepping for a slew of insults that were undoubtedly going to fly his way. The guy laughed. It sounded beautiful. It really was beautiful, but for the record that was not what distracted Liam from the various curses and insults and something about “the huge fucking red button you absolute moron” flying out of the receiver. It was Stiles asking, “Do you want some help?” And Liam had never been more embarrassed or grateful in his entire life.
“Yes please” He said, watching Stiles hop over the counter like he had been doing it for years.
“Do you want me to show you how to do it?” He asked. Liam nodded.
“Let me just hang up on this dude.” He said, lifting the phone back up to his ear.
“-Are you even listening to me?” was all he caught from whatever paragraph length speech the man on the other end was giving.
“I’ve actually figured it out now but uh, thanks for your help.”
“Figured it out my ass. I may hate Scott, but I’ve become invested in this pathetic little endeavor of yours so shut the fuck up and let me-“ Liam hung up the phone. He was too tired for this.
He looks over at the computer screen to find that Stiles had already processed the items and was beginning the checkout process that was vaguely familiar to Liam from watching Mason do it a couple times.
“Wow you're really good at this. Have you worked here before?”
“As an unpaid minor, sure. Scott and I have been using these babies since middle school.” He said, patting the ancient register affectionately. “But I’ve never actually worked here for real. Just know my way around the place is all. There,” He said, hitting the return key one final time. “All good”.
The printer buzzed as a receipt came out, and Stiles tore it off in one fluid motion, stuffing it into his pocket carelessly. He hopped over the counter again, despite the fact it probably would have been easier just to walk around, and continued over to his cart.
“Have a good one,” Stiles said, even though it was probably in Liam’s job description to be the one to say that first.
“You too.” He replied quietly. He listened to that heinous country music as he closes up the shop.
The next time Liam called the rude but helpful man on the phone, he and Mason were stuck in a rush of customers. Multiple people wanted to return items that they bought on separate occasions, there was a child crying in the corner, and the popcorn machine was expelling kernels onto the floor like bullets out a gun. It was complete and utter chaos.
So of course Liam took on the food-related task to avoid human interaction. At least for the most part. He spent a few minutes tinkering with the mechanical parts, fixing errors that had been plaguing the machine for the majority of its existence. Yet he still couldn't figure out why or how popcorn was being launched out of its case and onto the floor. He returned to the registry desk, rummaging around the now-familiar purple binder in search of some sort of manual. He didn’t find one. What he did stumble upon, however, was the number for the store supervisor. Liam hesitated. Did he really want to deal with that asshole? He looked over the counter, to the exhausted couples waving receipts in the air, hands flailing in an attempt to summon one of the employees. The child was still wailing in some far off section of the store. Liam decided he preferred the asshole. He snatched the phone from its home on the desk, and wandered into the break room in search for some quiet. Dialing up the number with hesitant fingers, Liam called.
“Beacon Hills Hardware association, this is Theo speaking. How can I help you?”
Theo. He had a name to the voice now. A kind of voice you could picture singing along to some country song on the radio. Maybe Liam liked country music after all.
“Is anyone there?” The voice belonging to Theo asked, sounding bored.
“Um yes, hi.”
“Oh dear god it’s you again.”
Liam felt a small thrill knowing that his voice had been recognized, even if it was by negative association. The fact that he had been memorable enough made him smile softly into the phone. “Could you help me with the popcorn machine?” He asked, finally remembering to speak.
Theo laughed, a sharp beautiful noise that cut through the speaker of the phone like a swimmers trained hand through water.
“Are we at the fucking carnival now? A fucking popcorn machine?”
“All the stores have popcorn machines,” Liam snapped back, suddenly feeling slightly irked by this unfamiliar person attacking him like this, no matter how majestic his voice may be.
“What do you need help with?” Theo asked, completely ignoring what Liam had just said.
“Um, well it’s kind of shooting kernels out onto the floor,” He explained, hoping that it was enough of a summary for Theo to understand the situation.
“Fan-fucking-tastic, thanks for that stellar description. I’ll get right on it.” He said, sarcastic as always.
“Ha ha” Liam deadpanned back, trying to keep his obvious annoyance out of his tone. “Now can you tell me what to do?”
“What do you think you soggy lampshade? But in all seriousness, no not really. I still have no idea what the hell is wrong with your machine, and I most certainly cannot help you fix it from all the way over here.”
Liam wonders where “over there” was. He also wonders how he could get there.
“Okay then.” He says, feeling slightly defeated. “Thanks for your help and uh,” Liam tries to think of something cool to say. Not too generic but not obviously flirty either. “You have a really nice voice” his brain helpfully supplies, and Liam proceeds to repeat it into the phone. “Fuck ignore that. Goodbye.”
Liam hangs up the phone, not before hearing Theo burst out in laughter on the other end of the line, and throws it across the break room. “Ugh,” he breaths into his hands, sitting down on a rusty chair that was probably a health hazard, but Liam was thankful for it’s presence in that moment. He was never calling that number again.
Liam did in fact call that number again. The third time he called was an honest mistake. He was searching for the store manager’s number in the purple binder, now otherwise known as “Liam’s bible”. The line Theo operated happened to be the number directly underneath the one Liam had intended to call. Liam stood idly, oblivious to the fact that he was dialing a number that was oh so wrong. He pulled a loose thread off of his cheap uniform vest, while simultaneously taking a sip from his water bottle that had been sitting on the counter the past three days. Tragically, Liam spat the water all over the register keyboard when he hears “Beacon Hills Hardware Association, this is Theo speaking. How can I help you.”
And that’s when Liam’s day went from bad to worse. Having heard this now familiar voice unexpectedly, Liam threw the poor phone across the room for the second time that week. Letting out a truly un-manly squeal, he scurried behind the counter and sat beneath it. Holding his hand over his heart, Liam waited for his heartbeat to calm down. With his hand conveniently placed there, he felt his pulse leap to a deadly rate when he heard Scott say “Hello?” Presumably into the phone that had miraculously survived being tossed across the room.
“Wait Scott no!” Liam practically shouts, leaping over the counter and rushing to snatch the phone out of Scott’s hand. “Uh I mean, I got it.” He remedies, gingerly putting the phone up to his ear. He clears his throat. “Hello?” He asked the phone, praying the only response he would get would be the methodic beep of the receiver.
“Oh my god you.” Is what he receives instead. Great.
“Haha yeah,” Liam replied nervously, moving away from Scott at a suspiciously rapid pace.
“What do you need this time?” Theo asked, seeming surprisingly not hostile but rather amused.
“I actually just dialed the wrong number,” Liam explains.
“Oh really?” Theo counters. “You sure you didn’t want to hear my really nice voice”
Liam is about to tell this condescending store supervisor to go fuck himself, before remembering that Scott was literally standing less than five feet away. He settled for, “No that’s not the reason.”
“Oof that’s a blow to my ego,” The boy on the other end replied.
“A well needed blow at that. Seems like that huge ego is compensating for the molecular size of your-“
“Liam!”
The chastised boy winced. “Sorry Scott. Don’t worry I’m not talking to a customer.”
“I should hope not!” Scott returned, sounding scandalized. “Just try and keep your personal calls off of the company phone okay? Is this even your break?”
Liam hears Theo laugh on the other end.
“Um no it’s uh, not my break. Sorry Scott,” Liam said, genuinely ashamed.
“That’s okay Liam,” Scott replied with his trademark dad-smile “Just hang up soon, yeah?”
“Sure thing” Liam shouted at Scott’s already retreating figure, with some person having summoned him for assistance. Liam lifted the phone back up to his ear, ready for either wrath or mockery directed his way. Instead, he found that the boy on the other line was rather sympathetic.
“Dealing with Scot, huh?” He asked with seemingly no trace of humor laced in his voice.
“Yeah. He’s not so bad,” Liam said, when in fact Scott was a lot more than ‘not so bad’. He had taken Liam under his wing for no apparent reason before Liam had even realized he needed someone to take care of him. Someone to guide him through the hellish halls of high school, the social do’s and dont’s that had no written rules, and had to be memorized before social interactions if you wanted to survive. And it wasn’t that Scott was a social butterfly himself, in fact, he was more of a lone wolf to be honest. He had Lydia and Stiles, and that new girl Malia. So why did he take on Liam and Mason? Liam would probably never find out, but he was grateful nonetheless.
“You know I used to work at that location. With Scott, I mean.”
“Really?” Liam asked, perking up at this new information about the mysterious Theo.
“Yeah.” Theo scoffs. “I was fired by Derek, and of course Scott does nothing to help me out. Luckily, or unluckily, Peter picked me up and now I work at the location the next county over. Still owned by the same family of dipshits the Hales though. Now I sit on my ass all day talking to limp pieces of lettuce like you.”
“You mean I'm not the only one?” Liam asked sarcastically. “Theo, I’m hurt. I thought we had something special. But I guess you tell all the boys how to use cash registers huh?”
“Oh no, it's just you.” Theo said in an unfairly seductive voice. “All the other boys are smart enough to figure out how to work the fucking register you uncultured swine.” Liam smiled softly to himself despite the insult. “Don’t worry, you're special.”
“My heart just sings,” He joked, placing his hand over his heart even though Theo wasn't there to see it.
“Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back,” Theo breathed into the speaker.
“What the fuck? Is that shakespeare?” Liam asked
“No you absolute fucking salted slug. Its Plato. Does Scott purposely hire the most incompetent people?”
“I guess so, he hired you.”
“You got me there.”
“I’ve got you right where I want you.”
“And where is that, may I ask?”
“You can’t ask, but you can beg.”
What the ever-loving fuck are you doing Liam! His brain screams. Flirting with the stranger over the company phone? Scott is gonna have a fucking aneurysm. Oh God I'm going to get fired and live the rest of my life as some hermit out in West Virginia. Mothman will be my only friend. I’m ruined. What do I think I’m doing? Jesus Christ! Am I trying to get myself killed? Theo could be a 50-year-old straight dude with an ex-wife in Wisconsin. His name might not even be Theo! Why do I always do this to myself? Where the fuck is that sketchy ass chair I need to sit down.
A deep and raspy laugh broke Liam’s train of destructive thoughts, derailing it, and him completely. Liam didn’t think he would ever get over how beautiful that sound was. How full and fulfilling it was. The way it made Liam’s chest swell with some unknown feeling that made him weak in the knees and warmed his face. He wanted to make Theo laugh as often as he could, ignoring his previous internal monologue that described Theo as an old straight guy. Old people didn’t sound like this, right?
“You really are a fucking character.” Theo chuckled, and Liam is slightly disappointed that he was no longer laughing. Liam thought that might be his favorite noise.
“How old are you?” Liam blurted out and instantly regretted it, that is until it made Theo laugh again. Maybe if he kept making a fool of himself, he would continue to hear it.
“Going for the direct route I see.” And Liam could practically hear Theo wink over the phone.
“I just don’t want to be fired for flirting with some old guy.”
“That was flirting?” Theo countered.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Maybe I don't want to answer it.”
“Then I’m hanging up.” Liam said honestly. He really did need to get back to work anyway.
“Damn someone’s getting a bit sassy, don't you think?”
“Maybe.” Liam said instead of hanging up as he promised. Then, without any further promoting, Theo added, “‘I'm seventeen, since you're dying to know.”
Thank God, Liam almost said aloud.
“What about you popcorn boy? From the maturity of your voice and overall stupidity I would guess around 12, maybe 13.”
“Fuck off, I’m 16 and a half.”
“Practically a senior citizen. Could I interest you in a walker from our aisle for the elderly?”
“Wow, Theo, you're so funny. You should be a comedian,” Liam deadpanned trying to keep the thrill of saying Theo’s name out loud out of his voice.
“What can I say, I went to Julliard.”
“Isn’t that for Music and acting?” Liam questioned.
“I don’t fucking know. Do I look like I listen to Hamilton?”
I actually have no idea what you look like and am very interested in the topic of your appearance, is what Liam wanted to say, but settled for “Lin Manuel is a musical genius.”
“Oh great I’ve got a fucking theatre kid on my hands. Get me the hand sanitizer.”
“Oh fuck off. I’m on the lacrosse team I will have you know. Made varsity my freshmen year.”
“I had no idea I was in the presence of royalty!” Theo said, feigning shock. “My apologies your majesty. I will kneel before thee.”
“Kinky,” Liam said because he has absolutely no filter around Theo, and his brain was just begging for Liam to die of embarrassment.
Theo snorted into the receiver, muffling the sound for a moment. It’s wasn’t a full-on laugh, but it was enough to distract Liam from wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out, just for a moment. It was also enough to distract him from Mason walking backward with his arms full of empty boxes.
They collided in a most unpleasant manner, and the phone went flying out of Liam’s hand, landing on the hard concrete, popping the back off of, and launching the batteries out. The batteries roll across the floor and land at Liam's feet, mocking him.
“Oh my God dude I’m really sorry.” Mason says, placing his hands on Liam's shoulder as if to make sure Liam was in one piece after the collision. “You good?”
“Yeah no worries.” Liam said like a true Californian, before reaching down to pick up the various parts of the phone.
“Who were you talking to?” Mason asked, trying to keep his voice neutral, but Liam could tell he was deeply interested. He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he wanted to divulge information about Theo to anyone, before deciding that there was nothing Mason wouldn’t tell him, and he ought to return the same courtesy.
“So there's this boy.”
With the one and only company phone out of commission, Liam doesn’t talk to Theo for a couple days. There are still questions he has that his bible does not answer (like what to do if a customer returns something that has obviously been used. How is he supposed to handle that?) but Liam gets by with just texting Mason questions. It's a rather boring couple of days without Theo. And it wasn’t that Liam couldn’t handle boredom. He had waited hours in the emergency room, waiting for his step dad to finish work, with nothing but his own overactive imagination to keep him company. That and his ever-present anxiety. So yes, he was bored at work without Theo, but then again Scott wasn’t paying him 12 dollars an hour to talk to his crush. Maybe later that day, just before closing, he would talk to Theo. It was a rainy Wednesday night, fluorescent lights and the soft glow of the computer illuminating the building. The store had lost more money than it gained today, with multiple returns, and maybe three purchases max. Liam doubted that anyone would come in. He had worked his ass off restocking the paint shelves and had wiped down all thirteen isles. He was more of a janitor here than an actual employee, but he worked hard and was good at the few things he did. So was it that bad that he wanted to call Theo? Surely it was at least slightly more acceptable if they actually talked about the company and the questions Liam had and were not low-key flirting with each other. Yeah, Liam thought, that would work.
Holding his breath, he dialed the number, then waited. The rings seemed to taunt him, telling him with each burst of noise that Theo wouldn’t pick up. Just as Liam was about to give up hope, the ringing ended and the phone clicked in affirmation that someone had answered.
“Thank fuck, I thought you weren’t gonna pick up. Not that I'm like dying to talk to you or anything. That's totally not it, I definitely have a legit question that I was gonna ask you. This isn't at all about me wanting to hear your voice, because that would be stupid, and illogical, and gay, and I am none of those things. Well actually, I am one of those things. Sorry, I’m totally rambling. Not because I’m nervous though. But yeah I didn’t mean to hang up on you the other day. Mason, my friend that also works here, just totally bumped into me and it was all-“ Liam made a noise that didn’t even remotely mimic that of the sound he was trying to imitate. “So yeah.” He concluded lamely. “Sorry I said I would stop rambling. Actually, did I say that out loud or was it in my head or- God I’m doing it again I'm sorry.”
“No do continue, its quite endearing” An unfamiliar voice replied.
And that, was Liam’s queue to chuck the phone across the room for what he hoped was the last time that week.
“Who the fuck was that” Liam whispered to himself, slowly dropping his head into his hands that were propped up on the counter. His first instinct was to be wildly embarrassed, because let's face it, that entire encounter was wildly embarrassing. But a small trickle of worry nestled it’s way into Liam’s head. Why hadn’t Theo picked up?
Calm down Liam, he told himself. He’s probably not working today. Its not like he lives at the hardware store. God I'm pathetic . He slumped down, dragging a few things from the counter onto the floor with him. He felt like he was melting. “ I could audition for the witch in Wicked ” Liam thought, in his dreary state. He thought of Theo, mockingly (or possibly genuinely) stating his disgust at the prospect of Liam being a theatre kid. He scoffed at the thought, then immediately silenced himself, remembering that he was supposed to be wallowing in self pity. There was a small part of Liam that still wanted to talk to Theo, or at least find out where he was, but the larger part of him remembered the humiliation of sputtering nonsense to a stranger on the phone. Also, wait... He recalled a particularly humiliating part of the conversation. What had he said? Something about being stupid, illogical, and gay, of which he was one of those things? If he was being honest, he was all of those things, but he had never admitted that to himself. Well, he knew he was stupid and illogical, but gay? No no no that was never discussed in Liam’s mind scape. Was the closet door just falling apart? The hinges squeaky and screws loose. Too damaged for a little WD40 to fix.
“Im so fucked” Liam mutters to the empty store.”
“I need to speak with your manager.” A middle aged woman with a short haircut that angled down towards her chin, with too bright highlights, poorly disguising the gray strands that plagued her head, stated.
“Why?” Liam asked.
That was his first mistake. Well, actually his first mistake was probably preventing this woman from shoplifting a packet of sour patch kids. It was only a dollar fifty, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But Liam still didn’t want to tolerate that right now. He despised people that could clearly afford to spend what little money it costs to purchase such a small thing, that stole instead.
“You were blatantly stealing and that’s illegal.”
“I fully intended to pay for it.” She countered.
“You already paid for your other shit and were walking out the door!” Liam shouted.
The woman gasped.
“How dare you” she sputtered, hands flailing around wildly, before settling on pointing an accusatory finger at Liam's chest.
“You. Swore. At. A. Coustumerrrrrr.” She growled, punctuating each word with a poke to Liam’s shoulder.
“I demand to talk to your manager.” She said, backing herself out of Liam’s personal space, and crossing her arms.
Great. Liam thinks. If Scott were his manager this wouldn’t be that bad. He would have to apologize to this bitch for one, and would most definitely disappointed Scott too. But Derek? That would only end in disaster...
A thought flashed into Liam’s head. It could totally fuck him over, but it also had a slim chance of working, and Liam was getting desperate. This situation is what Mason would call a “Wack ass white person tantrum”. Not that Liam hadn’t had his own wack ass white person tantrum himself, but that was irrelevant at the moment.
Liam put on his best customer service smile, and said; “My manager isn't here right now, but I can give him a call.”
The woman gave him a sceptical once over. “Do you think i’m stupid?” She asked.
“Oh not at all.” Liam said, feigning shock, while simultaneously pulling out the purple binder from under the counter, and flipping to the now familiar contact page. He turned the binder around to face the woman, and pointed at the store supervisor’s number. It was clearly labeled, the words “ Beacon Hill Hardware Store: Supervisor” in bold, block letters. He handed her the phone.
“To make sure that i’m actually calling the manager, you can check the number after I type it in.” He said, and then, after a moment added “Or you can dial the number yourself.” He extended the phone towards her, and she quickly snatched it out of his hands. Her eye twitched as she punched in the numbers with vengeance. After looking back and forth between the contact sheet and the phone multiple times, she was finally satisfied and dialed the number.
Liam held his breath as the phone presumably rang. After a few heart wrenching seconds, someone must have picked up, because the woman said “Hello?” In a questioning tone.
“Yes.” She said curtly. Liam desperately wished he knew what the person on the other line was saying, or at least knew who was speaking on the other end.
“Is this the store manager?” She questioned, and Liam held his breath again. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious that he had barely been breathing throughout the entire interaction.
“Good.”
Liam sighed, thankful to whoever this woman was speaking to.
“Well, i'll have you know that one of your employees, um. Your employee”
“Liam.” Liam provided helpfully.
“Your employee Liam swore at me, a customer.” She said, in a scandalized voice. “How dare you laugh at me!” A pause, then “Oh yes, I understand. Good. Good. Well then I suppose that will work for now. Here.” She said, and it took Liam a moment to realize she was addressing him. She held out the phone and Liam hesitantly took it from out of her hand.
“Your manager wants to talk to you” She said smugly.
Liam slowly raised the phone to his ear, before quietly asking “Hello?” He felt his entire body relax when Theo replied,
“Someone's been getting into trouble without my help I see.”
Liam smiled brightly, before remembering the heinous woman standing in front of him, and schooled his expression.
“I’m very sorry sir.”
Theo barked out a laugh, and it took Liam a whole lot of face muscles to prevent himself from grinning.
“I’ve gotta say, i’m pleased that I’ve been promoted to sir.” Theo said in an unfairly sexy voice.
“I understand.” Liam said, ignoring what Theo had said in favor of pretending to be reprimanded on the phone, for the sake of the woman standing in front of him, her eyes beady and analyzing Liam’s every move.
“By the way” She said, having noticed that Liam’s attention was drawn to her. “Your rude, and frankly hostile behaviour has ruined my appetite, so I will not be purchasing this item from your store.” She said, taking the sour patch out of her purse, and launching them at Liam’s face. Liam caught the bag, (thanks to his mad lax skills), and placed it back on the counter.
“I will be leaving now”. Thank god , Liam thought
“Thank you for shopping at Beacon Hill Hardware Store.” He said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice (it was difficult).
He returned his attention back to the phone when she walked through the automatic doors, and finally allowed himself to smile.
“Theo.” He said, having nothing else to say. Besides, the rush of joy it brought Liam to say his name out loud was worth it.
“Phone boy.” Theo replies, and Liam chuckles at the nickname he’s been given as a substitute for his real name.
“My names actually Liam, if you care to know.”
“I don’t, but thanks anyway.”
“How charming.” Liam responds, too happy about Theo’s return to be disheartened by the comment. His train of thought now on Theo’s disappearance, prompted him to say;
“I called you the other day and you weren't there.” Liam expects a laugh or a witty comment, but insteads receives a
“I ran into some old friends” He says, with a morbid tone.
“Oh.” Liam replied, not expecting the raw honesty from Theo. He decides not to push it.
“Well i’m glad you’re back” he says, trying to convey the genuine emotion he felt.
“Course you are.” Theo replies, seemingly back to his normal self. “You were probably dying to hear my really nice voice.”
“Oh come on!” Liam practically shouts, startling some newly arrived customers. “Sorry” he winces in their general direction. Then returns to Theo.
“Can you drop that already? That was like, weeks ago. And I didn’t mean to say it out loud.” Liam mutters the last bit to himself. Theo scoffs.
“You’re probably gonna figure out how to use the register before I stop bringing that up. Which is gonna be a long time, knowing you.”
“Hey!” Liam retorts, not really knowing what to say to that.
Their banter continues until a customer rudely interrupts them, and they have to hang up.
“All right Kiddos” Scott says, addressing the room full of teenagers/ full blown adults. “We’ve got an Inspection happening today, so I want everyone to be on top of their game.” He rubs the back of his neck, a nervous habit that Liam picked up on very early on. “Derek won’t be here today”
“As per usual” Mason mutters besides him. Liam stifles a laugh, pretending to cough. Scott sends him a look, but then returns to his speech.
“But Stiles is here to help out.” This earns a couple cheers from the crowd of employees. “No one has to know that he doesn’t work here. Got it?” Liam and the others nod in affirmation.
Scott rummages around a random locker before pulling out one of the red vests that they all wore.
“For the next twelve hours, Stilles will be referred to as Isaac.” He said, pointing at the name tag with the aforementioned name. Scott then curled the vest into a ball and threw it towards Stiles. The fabric unfurled in the air, making it loose speed, and promoting it to fall at Liam’s feet, putting a good distance between the vest and its intended target.
“Liam?” Stiles/Isaac asked, with pleading eyes. Despite his talent and speed on the field, Liam found it highly unamusing to move unless absolutely necessary. Despite this, he picked up the garment, and walked the distance between him and Stiles, to hand him the vest.
“Thanks kiddo,” Stiles said. God, Scott was rubbing off on everyone. Next thing he knew, Theo would be calling him ‘kiddo’. As if he didn't already get enough shit from that boy about their miniscule age gap. Was Theo into older guys? Was this going to be a problem for Liam? Why was he thinking about this?
Liam was brought back to the present by crashing to the floor, after he had returned to his seat. The same rusty chair that had been there for him so many times, had failed him at last. He removed the screw that had impaled his arm, and cleared the debris off of the floor. Scott looked like he wanted to cry, this day already falling apart. Liam thought of all the things that Scott had done for him. Given him a job, a friend, a person there for him no matter the situation. Liam promised himself that he would do his best today, if only to make Scott proud.
Despite the fact that they knew the company inspector would be coming today, no one actually knew when they would show up. Rumor was that Peter Hale was the inspector, and that was why Derek wasn’t there that day. Liam doubted it. It was more likely he was pining after Stiles and didn’t know how to handle it. It was obvious to everyone but the two parties involved how completely infatuated they were with each other. It was almost funny.
The day was fairly uneventful. The sour patch thief was yet to return to see that Liam was still employed there, the popcorn machine had been fixed (thank you, Stiles), and Liam finally had a handle on the cash register (take that, Theo). That was until Liam heard a vaguely familiar voice. He was rearranging the pool deck supplies, an isle away from Scott, when it happened. Scott was speaking, his customer service voice in full swing. Even without seeing him, Liam could tell he was wildly uncomfortable. The inspector must be here. Liam almost wanted to laugh, except he himself could feel himself tensing up. A short semi muffled reply came from the inspector. Liam didn’t place it at first, assuming he just knew the voice from encountering it at the store at some point. But then the inspector laughed, and dear god if Liam didn’t know that laugh by heart.
Shoving the remaining products he was shelving into the box he had unpacked them from, Liam bolted to the counter where Mason was working, products and box in tow. Skirting around the corner, he placed the box next to the register, before proceeding to dive under the the counter. Mason, who had observed this whole ordeal with a rather amused but unsurprised face, squatted down to Liam’s level.
“What’s going on, kiddo?” He asked. Liam shot him an unimpressed glare, irked at Mason’s use of everybody’s new favorite word, but not irritated enough to keep him out of the loop. He needed someone on his side in these trying times.
“Remember that boy I told you about?” Liam asked
“The gay awakening phone boy?”
“More or less.”
Mason nodded sagely. “What about him?” he prompted, adjusting his long legs so he would be more comfortable.
“Well, I think he’s here.”
“Like, here in this store?”
“Yes here in this store, you limp lettuce!” Liam hissed. Mason mouthed the words ‘limp lettuce’ in confusion, seeming to ponder where Liam had picked up that certain tid bit of vocabulary.
“I heard him talking to Scott,” Liam continued, “and I think he’s the store inspector. It would make sense right? Being the store supervisor and all. But he can’t know I’m here Mason.” Liam said, desperation creeping into his voice. “Got it? I look like shit right now and I’ve been shamelessly flirting with him for weeks. I would simply die .” Liam wasn’t one for dramatics, but he had to admit, Theo’s claim at him being a theatre kid wouldn’t have seemed that far off in these circumstances with Liam acting the way he was. Mason nodded.
“I’ll do my best to make sure-” Mason was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Mason shot up into standing position, and Liam could see his feet tapping nervously from under the counter.
“Do all your employees talk to themselves, Scott?” Theo asked. Scott didn’t grace that comment with an answer.
Liam searched for some sort of hole in the wood he was hiding behind, so that he might catch a glimpse of Theo. He was dying to see what he looked like. Not that Liam was a vain person or anything, but the mind does ponder these things. After a moment of looking, he gave up in favor of tuning into the conversation. They were talking about something boring that went over Liam's head. Yearly revenue or some shit like that, that was way above his pay grade. After a minute or so of eavesdropping on this impossibly boring conversation, Liam took out his phone and pulled out the notes app.
What does he look like? He typed, then slide the phone besides Mason’s sneaker, tapping his leg. Mason ignored it at first, but after a few hearty jabs, he relented.
“Uh sorry, Scott, I’ve gotta, um, tie my shoe! Yeah, my shoes untied!”
Scott made a skeptical noise, but let Mason proceed. Leaning down, Mason read the note, feigned tying his shoe, then straightened back up.
“So Theo,” He said, and Liam could already tell this was going to shit. “You have a nice build. Probably around 5’8. Tan skin, but caucasian, blue-gray eyes, light brown hair. Maybe a football player, athletic build indicating-”
“While I appreciate this run down on my appearance,” Theo started, “I am well aware of that I’m hot, and don’t need you to tell me as such.”
Liam wanted to melt into the floor. This was such a fucking disaster. Scott was probably going into cardiac arrest right now, and Liam was going to get all of them fired. He had physically facepalmed when Mason had started talking. He didn’t think people actually even did that! He thought it was just a thing in the movies!! As his mind started going down a self destructive spiral, his heart suddenly stopped when he heard the words:
“Due to protocol, I’m going to have to check that the register is functioning properly,”
Liam froze underneath the counter. Mason started to leave, but Liam latched on to his leg. Tightly. Mason let out a hiss of pain, and tried to shake his leg free, giving Liam an “I'm sorry” look as he finally managed to do so. Liam heard the steps approaching him. He could hear his heartbeat, and was sure anyone within a 10 mile proximity of him could too. This was some Edgar Allan Poe shit.
He could try curling up in a ball, but no that wouldn't work. The underneath of the counter is clearly visible from any angle behind the register. Besides, if Mason was right and Theo was 5’8”, he'd definitely be able to see under the counter. This was going to be a last resort kinds of situation (but then again, he’d been in a lot of those lately, and they had all turned out fine), so he did the only thing that his brain could come up with; he struck a pose.
The first time he ever made eye contact with Theo, Liam was sprawled out on the filthy floor. He was on his side, one leg was extended, and the other crossed over it, at something around a ninety degree angle. His right arm propped up his head, and his other was placed on his hip. It was truly a look™. He had made a complete and utter fool of himself. But gods was it worth it when Theo laughed.
He had just stared at Liam for a moment, almost as if he was expecting him to be there. Their eyes met and for a split second, Liam felt his heart drop into his stomach. Here he was, seeing his crush for the first time, on the floor of the hardware store where he was about to be fired. And then the most beautiful thing happened.
When Theo laughed, his eyes crinkled up around the corners, and you could see a dimple on the left corner of his mouth. His head tilted back, and he brought up a hand to cover his smile. Liam couldn’t help a dopey smile of his own creep across his face. He was too embarrassed to stand up, but it turned out he didn’t have to. Theo crouched to his level and held out a hand.
“Liam.” He said, his mouth having relaxed, but he still held a smile in his eyes.
Liam took his hand and shook it
“Phone boy,” Liam replied, with a smile of his own.