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there's nothing he can do about it, really. he has practiced getting rid of his stutter for months now and it's not working, at all.
the only times where he doesn't find himself stuttering all that much is when he speaks to liam, the little beta who makes him feel a bit too comfortable.
and for some reason scott, but he doesn't really want to think about it. doesn't really want to accept the fact that the alpha oozes trust and has a calming nature since, like, birth.
it kind of annoys him, since he can't really pretend the younger boy and the leader of the pack don't make him feel like that. don't make him rush his words, stumble all over himself.
there was this time where theo got very excited about a biology subject, one that liam never really understood since he's a history major (duh), and started to speak really fast about, like, plants and shit. theo started to ramble so much that he almost began to stutter between every few words, till he looked at liam's eyes and shut his system down.
looking into the prettiest ocean blue eyes calmed his brain, for some reason.
there were those kind of times, where the reason for his stutter was innocent, had nothing but good intent under it.
but there were also the opposite times, where theo just couldn't formulate an entire sentence without mistaking a letter for another, without feeling stupid for not being able to pronounce a word correctly.
on one of those days, during a pack meeting, theo had been asked by corey if he thought about his sister (which was a very dumb question but wasn't meant to sound harmful, it was actually very genuine coming from the other chimera). the older boy didn't feel attacked by that, so he decided to try his best and answer the question.
he felt liam's eyes focusing on him, waiting for theo's answer. and he also felt scott's warm scent, the one that probably comforts everyone on the pack.
— there are days where i don't think t-too much about her, days where i'm feeling h-happy. — theo said, and it felt awful to admit that tara was hanging around his mind only on the bad days.
— b-but, even if the days where i feel happy are p-prevalent, i still have her on the b-back of my mind. s-specially after c-coming back. —.
hell was definitely not the kindest on him, didn't pour any mercy on theo's resented soul.
thankfully, after dealing with all sorts of enemies and regaining trust from the group of friends, of family , that he wanted to be part of the most, theo felt safe. something that from ages nine to fifteen was unthinkable before.
blue eyes, warm scent. keep talking.
— i usually try to remember her good days, and not the day when t-that happened.— theo gulped down and looked up to corey.
after the chimera's answer, corey gave him the most sincere smile, there wasn't any pity behind it, and theo was thankful for that.
there was nothing they could do to heal theo's scars, aside from being next to him every step of the way.
liam sat closer next to him, and reached out to his hand, grabbing it with a not-so-tight grip but still a firm one. theo allowed himself to rest the side of his head on the beta's shoulder, closing his eyes. theo could easily pick up liam's scent mixed with scott's, who was staring at them both from the other couch in the living room.
he felt secured, protected.