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Theo didn't get invited very many places. He wasn't bitter about this, and he certainly wasn't surprised. You can't just try to kill a bunch of people and expect to be on anybody's guest list.
Which is why he did a double-take when Liam sent him a text reading lacrosse bonfire is tonight if u wanna go.
Stopping in his tracks on the walk to his truck, Theo just blinked down at his phone for awhile, eyebrows knitting together. This must've been a mistake. Theo waited for an awkward follow-up text – sorry wrong person lol – but it never came.
So he responded.
I'm not on the lacrosse team.
He thought that would be the end of it. Shoving his phone in his pocket, he climbed into his truck and swung the door shut behind him. He was just reaching to put the key in the ignition when his phone buzzed again. Confused and mildly annoyed at this point, Theo dug it out of his pocket and found himself mystified by yet another text from Liam.
u don't have to be
And then, a moment later:
just come have fun theo u big bitch
Theo blinked, one corner of his mouth twitching. So Liam was inviting him somewhere. On purpose. He didn't know whether to feel honored or suspicious.
What was this warm, stupid thing fluttering in his chest? Honor, or suspicion?
After an eternity of way-too-careful consideration, Theo texted him back.
Okay.
He might've been smiling when he started his truck.
The bonfire was in full swing by the time Theo arrived, hands in his jean pockets and hoping he looked like he belonged. Hoping he belonged, period. He slipped through the throng of drunk, dancing teenagers in search of Liam, manufactured senses overwhelmed by all the booze and bass and bonfire smoke. This definitely wasn't his scene – did he have a scene? – but he wasn't really there for him.
He finally spotted Liam sitting on a lawn chair close to the fire, roasting a marshmallow all by his lonesome. He looked dejected, almost. Like he'd been waiting for something that might never show.
It was his lucky day.
Theo ran a hand through his hair before making his way over to Liam, who was so busy roasting his marshmallow and looking pathetic that Theo had to clear his throat and say, "Hi."
Liam jumped, nearly dropping his skewer into the fiery depths below. But as soon as he saw Theo's stupid, satisfied face, he brightened like a kid on Christmas morning. His smile was enough to bowl Theo over, because he'd always been under the impression that nobody would ever be happy to see him. The real him. After everything.
"Oh, hey!" Liam exclaimed, hooking a thumb towards the empty lawn chair next to him. "I saved you a seat."
"Thanks," Theo replied, moving towards the seat in question and sinking into it. He could still see Liam's smile glittering in the corner of his eye, which almost made Theo smile, too. Almost.
They were both quiet for a moment, like they were trying to feel it out, this new, unfamiliar thing. Theo watched the firelight dance across Liam's face, soaking every angle in a wonderful warmth; maybe if he reached out and touched it, all the ugliness inside him would melt away. Leave only the good parts of him behind – if he had any.
I can be good. Just let me try.
"Y'know, the first time I went to one of these I almost got burned alive by this assassin guy," Liam piped up out of nowhere. Theo blinked.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"He still alive?" Theo asked after a beat, casual. "The assassin?"
Liam shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."
Theo made a mental note to finish the job if need be before pointing to the poor scorched glob of sugar on Liam's skewer. "You're burning it."
"I like 'em burnt. Adds flavor," Liam insisted, nodding to the bag of marshmallows at his feet. "You want one?"
"Are they good?"
Liam furrowed his eyebrows. "It's a s'more, Theo." When Theo just looked at him, totally indifferent, something like horror dawned on Liam's face. "Oh my God. You've never had a s'more? Like, ever?"
"I don't think so," Theo said simply. Even before he became Frankenstein's monster, he was barred from eating most sweets thanks to his health freak parents. Then again, he'd been plagued by asthma and a heart condition, so they were only looking out for him.
Theo swallowed. He didn't want to think about his parents and how much they'd loved him. Not right now.
"Holy shit. That's actually kinda depressing," Liam murmured, still hung up on this whole s'more thing.
Most aspects of my life are. "I've survived this long without eating one."
"Fuck that, dude. Grab a stick."
Typically Theo wouldn't allow himself to be ordered around, but this was Liam, and he'd always make exceptions for Liam. He reached down to grab all the necessary supplies, making a big show of stabbing a marshmallow with a skewer and thrusting it towards the fire. Liam watched him all the while, smiling this stupid, gentle smile.
So weird.
When Theo pulled back to survey his work, his marshmallow was perfectly golden brown on all sides; Liam's smile promptly turned upside down.
"Of course," he muttered, which made Theo think he'd fucked up somehow.
"What?" Theo asked, eyebrows furrowing, but Liam just shook his head.
"Nothing. Now you just stick it between some chocolate and graham crackers–"
"Yeah, I know that much," Theo interrupted, because he might've spent his formative years under the care of mad scientists, but he wasn't totally clueless.
"Okay, okay, jeez."
Eyes rolling, Theo started to assemble his s'more, sliding the marshmallow between the graham crackers with the precision of someone performing surgery. By the time he finished putting it together and went to take a bite, Liam was on the edge of his seat, like he was witnessing a rite of passage or something.
"Can you stop staring at me like that?" Theo muttered, lowering the s'more. "It's creepy."
"Just fucking eat it, will you?"
So Theo heaved a sigh and took a bite, graham crackers crunching between his teeth, and, okay, maybe he'd been missing out.
"Well?" Liam prompted before Theo had even finished chewing, clearly expecting a rave review. Theo licked the chocolate from his lips, looking thoughtful.
"It's messy."
Liam glared at him. "Seriously? That's all you have to say?"
"It's good, Liam. Really good. Happy?" Theo grunted, and that's all it took for Liam's face to split into another Christmas morning grin.
"Super happy." Liam's smile faltered then, eyes trained suspiciously close to Theo's mouth. He cleared his throat. "You've got a lil' something."
"Where?" Theo asked, reaching up to wipe it away, but Liam just leaned over and dragged the pad of his thumb under Theo's bottom lip. Theo went deathly still, heart stuttering in sync with Liam's own.
Shit.
They spent a good five seconds just looking at each other, Theo doing a much better job of keeping the panic from reaching his eyes. Adam's apple bobbing, Liam slowly leaned back in his lawn chair, wiping his thumb on his lacrosse sweatshirt.
"Got it," he said at last, voice cracking.
"Thanks."
Neither of them spoke for awhile. Not even the thumping of the music and the crackling of the fire could quite fill the gap left behind, as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon. Theo wished he was brave enough to make the jump, but he was just so damn scared of falling. Or maybe he was more afraid of what he'd find on the other side.
He seemed to be getting more and more timid all the time.
Then Liam shifted in his chair and said, "Hey, uh. Theo?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you ever wanna, like. Hang out?"
"We're hanging out right now," Theo said, raising an eyebrow. Liam's face was pink with embarrassment, or frustration, or both.
"I mean hang out alone," he said slowly. "Just... Just us two."
And there went Theo's heart again, stuttering, stuttering, stuttering. He'd gotten pretty good at keeping it under wraps, but maybe he didn't want to this time. Maybe he wanted Liam to hear him. See him.
Okay. I'll jump.
"Sure," Theo said, half-smiling. "Just us two."
Liam smiled back, soft and a little shy, two parts relief and one part something Theo couldn't quite name. Hope, maybe. Or love. Could it be love? Could Theo be so lucky, after everything?
Anything was possible. Especially in Beacon Hills.
Just let me try.
When Theo had first said "fuck it" and decided to go to the bonfire, he hadn't planned on staying very long. But he stuck around until the music started to fade, and the fire died down, and the crowd dwindled. Stuck around until Liam yawned and said, "It's getting pretty late, huh?"
And Theo could've stayed forever, but the clock on his phone read 12:45, and he didn't have the time. "I should probably get going," he murmured despite himself, rising from the lawn chair and brushing graham cracker crumbs from his shirt.
Liam stood up, too, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'll, uh... I'll walk with you."
Theo blinked, then started to smile, slow and sweet. "And here I thought chivalry was dead."
"Yeah, well, don't want you to get murdered or anything," Liam pointed out, and even with the fire all but dead, Theo could tell he was blushing. "Gotta keep you safe."
And Theo wanted to remind him that, historically, it had been the other way around. But he didn't. Because Liam thought he was something worth protecting, and that made some secret part of him glow.
They walked side-by-side, Liam stealing not-so-sneaky glances that Theo pretended not to notice – for both of their sakes. Silence dangled between them by a mocking thread, punctuated only by their footsteps and the whisper of the night breeze. Neither of them spoke until they reached the truck and Theo started digging his keys out of his pocket. That's when Liam cut the thread in one fell swoop.
"I'm glad you came," he blurted out all at once, like Theo was about to go up in smoke. And then, quieter, "You had fun, right?"
For the first time in a long time.
"Yeah," Theo said simply, blinking. "Did you?"
"Yeah," Liam echoed, staring at him with these big, honest eyes that sank hooks into Theo's soul and refused to let go. They tugged, and they tugged, and they tugged, until Theo finally lifted a brow and said, "What?"
Liam swallowed, still staring. "You've got a lil' something."
Theo just stood there, breathless, as Liam reached up to touch his face for the second time that night, fingertips warm against his cheek. And then Liam was cradling his face with both hands, and Liam was kissing him, frantic with want, and could Theo really be so lucky, after everything?
Why not?
Back bumping against the truck, Theo kissed Liam back, hands sliding up his sides and gripping his sweatshirt. Liam tasted like sugar and smoke, hunger and hope, recovery and rebirth. Eyelashes fluttering, Theo whined into it, and he would've been embarrassed if he wasn't on cloud fucking nine. Cloud ten, even.
When Liam finally pulled away, dragging Theo's bottom lip between his teeth, he grinned with stars in his eyes and said, "Got it."
"Thanks," Theo breathed, also starting to smile. How could he not? This was love.
Yes, this was love. After everything.