Chapter Text
To be completely honest, Liam never meant to hang around Theo after the hunter showdown. He was just an ally, not part of the pack right? However, Theo had a way of wedging himself into Liam's life. It started with one measly text. How could one text turn into...this? One text to Theo asking for help on his AP Bio homework, and suddenly, not only did Theo live in his spare bedroom, his parents have borderline adopted him, and Theo was in nearly every aspect of his life.
Liam didn’t think such an innocent question would shape the way he looked at Theo Raeken. Before, there’d always be some lingering anger at him for all he's done. That anger, an emotion he's the most familiar with, morphed into a form of pity. Pity wasn’t something Liam knew how to deal with, but Theo made it easy to feel bad for the guy. At first, Liam thought Theo could be playing with his emotions—he really didn’t have a justifiable reason why he would do such a thing, but it was easier to explain than Theo was being genuine with him.
Hey, do u know about punnet squares? I haven't done bio since freshman year, and I don’t remember any of it, the text had read.
Theo—cautious as ever—called him immediately and pestered him for more information. Are you actually asking for help on your homework at three in the morning? Isn't there someone else you can bother for homework help?
Liam had sputtered over the phone, and all Theo did was sigh. Whatever, Theo. I'll call Scott or Lydia about it before school. I just thought you'd know what that is.
Theo's indignant huff almost made Liam smile. I grew up around a three-hundred-year-old doctor known as the Geneticist; you think I could get away with not knowing what punnet squares are?
That one little comment hung with him after Theo agreed to help him study for his Bio test on Friday. What did "get away with" mean? Was he just around science all day long and accidently picked it up or was it something more sinister?
Liam tried not to think about it. However, studying with him brought up more questions. He took one fleeting glance at his review sheet, and Theo knew exactly what he was talking about. Without even looking at any of his reference materials, Theo sketched nearly perfect DNA structures and molecules on the back of the scratch paper and drew up easy to understand examples of punnet squares. It irked Liam that Theo could get him to understand the material better than his teacher, his textbook, YouTube, or even Mason. He made it sound so simple, and suddenly, his review made sense for the first time in weeks.
Theo seemed to be and endless vat of knowledge when it came to science; there wasn’t a question Liam asked that Theo didn’t have an answer to. Liam didn’t even show his vocab words, but out of pure curiosity, he asked Theo what one of his words meant. His answer was not only right, but Theo explained it in more depth than his teacher had taught it.
Liam knew Theo was smarter than he let on. There was a reason Theo was able to nearly deceive anyone and everyone for weeks. But some of the topics Theo touched on were things Liam's textbook didn’t even mention.
As he walked Theo back to his truck that night, he couldn’t help but ask, Theo, how did you have all that shit memorized? I thought you didn't even finish a semester of high school?
Climbing in to the driver's seat, Theo made an off-handed comment, a sort of blink and you'll miss it type thing, and Liam couldn't stop replaying his words over and over.
Plenty of practice. And punishment.
Liam knew he wasn't supposed hear that last part, but his words hung with him as Theo drove off into the night, a sense of dread settling in his stomach. What did that mean? Liam always assumed Theo's time with the Dread Doctors was willingly. That two-word statement made him wonder if he was wrong.
Over the course of the year, his whole world view of the one and only Theo Raeken got turned on its head. Through little tid bits of information he managed to collect when Theo thought he wasn’t paying attention, a story—a very sad and depressing story—begun to craft itself inside Liam's head.
Liam was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed. So, in spite almost, he started a list. He never thought he'd have to talk about the list—it was only a record, not something he thought he'd have to use. But even after a whole year of constantly saving and protecting Scott and his pack, they still didn’t accept him, not fully. Liam liked to say that he had a grip on his anger—how Theo became his anchor, he'd never know, nor would he care to share with the class—but when he heard Theo wasn’t invited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of defeating Monroe, Liam punched a hole through his locker.
Scott raised a brow. "Liam, buddy, you okay?"
Liam glowered at him. "Why can't Theo come? He helped beat Monroe too."
If Scott's face full of surprise was anything to go by, he wasn’t expecting Liam to argue about the guest list. "You want him there? I thought you two were barely even friends."
Barely friends? Theo was his anchor, his confidant, his protector, hell, his housemate at the very least. The stupid self-sacrificing idiot would literally jump in front a bullet for him and has actually done so on at least three occasions. Liam and Theo were so much more than friends at this point, Liam didn’t even have a word to define their relationship. Mason was his best friend, but Theo? There wasn’t a word that existed that describe how exactly he felt about him. Not even Hayden invoked such strong feelings from him—be that anger, possessiveness, or sympathy. Liam didn’t have the vocabulary to explain to the others how he felt towards Theo. All he knew, that whatever it was he felt for Theo Raeken, it was strong.
"I thought I told you, he lives in my guest bedroom now. He's actually not that bad when you get to know him."
Scott's features downturned. "He's living with you? Are you sure that's safe?"
In the back of his mind, he could hear Theo telling him, He's just being protective. Punching him won't make Scott stop looking out for you.
Slowly, Liam uncurled his clenched fist. Theo was right. He managed to take a breath before saying, "Theo's saved us more times than I can count. He'd never hurt me."
Scott's apprehension didn't falter. "Did you forget all the things he's done?"
Like Liam could forget with everyone reminding him all the time. "He's changed now, and you know that. If Theo can't come for all the terrible things he's done, then why can Nolan come?"
The way the pack treated Nolan and Peter really grinded his gears. Nolan tried to kill them, and well, Peter not only created the idea of the dead pool that nearly got them all murdered over and over again, but he was an actual mass-murdering psychopath in a V-neck. Liam didn’t understand why Peter—the guy who betrayed them on multiple occasions like he was the Beacon Hills version of Loki and got Scott turned into a berserker so they'd kill him—got a free pass while Theo was still paying. Peter wasn't kidnapped, manipulated, and experimented on by immortal nutjobs like Theo was. His first mindless stint as an Alpha aside, he did what he did out his complete free will. Why was Liam the only one to see how ridiculously unfair this was?
It wasn't like Liam hated Peter. Mildly annoyed by him, yes, absolutely, but he definitely didn’t hate him. Peter was Peter, but besides the random comment from Derek when he was in town to keep him in line, no one brought up what he'd done before. Liam also really liked Nolan too. They were still co-captains and got along really well. Liam, Mason, Corey, Nolan, Lori, and Brett (Somehow, Brett and Lori got brought back from the dead, and no one really knows how. Liam is ninety-nine percent sure Theo had something to do with their reanimation because Brett, Lori, and Theo were as thick as thieves once they came out of hiding) were all very close, the 'puppy pack' as Stiles put it. But still, it didn’t matter how good Nolan was Halo, Liam couldn’t forget what he'd done, even when everyone else did. Liam wanted everyone to be equal, not just the select few who got special treatment. He wished the others felt the same way.
Scott let out a resigned sigh. "You know damn well why it's not the same. Nolan was just a scared kid. Monroe was going to kill him if he didn’t comply."
Liam punched the locker again, surprising both Scott and himself. "And you think Theo was any different? You know the doctors terminated failures. If Theo screwed up, they'd kill him. He didn’t join up a group of immortal psychopaths just for shits and giggles you know."
Scott took a hesitant step back at Liam's outburst. "Liam..."
"No." Liam took a deep breath and imagined Theo putting his hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "If Theo can't come, I'm not going. He fought with us, and he deserves to celebrate with us."
Scott's expression softened. "You aren't budging on this are you?"
"Nope," Liam confirmed, popping the p.
Scott was quiet before saying, "Did Theo really say that they'd kill him if he didn’t comply? I mean, you believe that?"
There was no hesitation when he replied, "You know he screams in his sleep right?"
That caught Scott off guard. "What?"
"Yeah," Liam pressed, not backing down. "In the middle of the night, I'll wake up to him screaming that he's not a failure, that he'll do better next time. Some nights it gets so bad, I have to draw blood to pull him out of his nightmares. If he's not screaming, he usually tries to claw a hole in his chest. He makes himself bleed so often, he doesn't sleep with covers because my mom keeps having to wash the blood out of them."
Scott's face full of instant regret only made Liam continue his tirade. "He would never admit it either. He feels too guilty to ask for help, and you know what? He thinks he deserves to be in pain for the rest of his life. Since he won't stand up for himself, I will. So, yes, Scott. I believe him. And I'm not going without him."
Scott didn’t bother chasing him out of the boy's locker room. It was a good thing too; Liam had no doubt that he'd probably punch Scott if he tried. The amount of times he's nearly decked Stiles for his comments about Theo was becoming ridiculous. He didn't know why all the insults got under his skin—they weren't even about him. Theo was there for him this year, even when he was difficult, even when Theo should've left town months ago. Deep down, he felt like he owed it to Theo to get everyone to see him like he does.
Slowly, a plan begun to form in his head (Theo's, well, Theo-ness, was rubbing off on him). None of them understood why Theo was the way he was, the things that shaped him to be who he was today. Liam swore to himself that before the rest of the pack left for college, they would.
The list Liam kept hidden in his bedside drawer suddenly felt more important that it was a second ago.