Chapter Text
Theo Raeken is wearing Liam’s jersey and cheering.
His voice carries out across the cheering crowd surrounding him and taking over Liam’s head.
Focus. Liam berates himself mentally, eyeing the ball one of the apposing team’s player is carrying. He runs and pushes him to the ground, grabbing the ball with his stick a moment later and running towards the goal with such speed that the tackled player hasn’t even sat up yet.
Just as he’s about to take aim and shoot he hears Theo’s screaming praise.
“Go Li! You can do this!”
At those words he trips over nothing and lands face first into the ground just as the timer runs out. Making his team lose by 1 point.
There is a cacophony of jeers coming from the Beacon Hills students as the opposing team celebrates their win, hugging and fist bumping each other.
This was Liam’s last chance to make it to the finals as a senior and he blew it. All because of Theo fucking Raeken.
He can’t even pretend to blame the bastard. He knows he fucked up.
“Li, are you okay? What happened?” Speaking of the devil, Theo runs up to Liam – Mason and Corey following close behind – with eyebrows furrowed in worry.
“I tripped. My shoes broke.” He lies quickly, eyes focused on Mason and Corey.
He can see Theo frown from his peripheral vision. “You have a few cuts on your face.”
“I’m a warewolf idiot, they’ll be gone in a few seconds anyway.” Liam meant that to be a joke but it comes off more strained and he mentally slaps himself at being so harsh and cruel.
“It doesn’t matter now. We have to shower now before all the stalls are taken.” Corey states, nodding towards the locker room at the end of the field.
“Yes! Yes we should do that. See you guys later, bye.” He grabs Corey’s shoulder and drags them both towards the locker room, thanking Corey for the save under his breath.
—
Theo lost his memories a few months ago when hunters attacked him and threw his bloody and bullet-riddled body off a cliff.
Derek, Liam, and Corey found him a few days later – when Derek was teaching the both of them how to move through the woods without making any noise – head almost split open and ribcage sticking out.
Liam was a mess for weeks while Theo was in the hospital. His surgery lasted days, and his recovery even longer.
Theo was unconscious for a month while his body was healing itself. Liam refused to leave his side and barely ate. Melissa made sure to force feed him when she would check on Theo.
When Theo woke up he had no recollection of Liam or his life. It was all gone.
Melissa insisted that he’s never getting his memories back, that it’s a miracle Theo even survived. Deaton however promised the opposite given Theo gets the correct trigger.
So that’s why Theo’s stuck in Beacon Hills High School with the puppy pack, as Stiles likes to call them.
After seeing the way Liam acted, everyone knew that he was the tigger Theo needed – despite Stiles and Malia’s contempt.
Theo has been living in the McCall house with Melissa and Chris since then and has formed a very obvious crush on Liam, much to everyone’s amusement.
Liam can tell that they’re all slightly disgusted and Stiles even thinks that Theo is faking it all, but he’s too busy stopping himself from kissing the bastard until he can’t even remember his name to really care about what anybody else thinks.
The only thing stopping him is the fear of everyone knowing he does in fact feel the same way new Theo feels about him, doubled with the fear that the old Theo doesn’t.
Liam would give everything for both Theo’s to be in love with him but he knows that’s not possible. He refuses to do anything to Theo until he has his memories back and is sure that their feelings are mutual.
So here they are: sitting next to each other in a one person chair in Melissa’s living room watching Star Wars.
Theo is trying to get Liam to like it and refuses to help Liam study for their test the next week until they watch the main movies.
Theo is on a video call with Mason as they both go on huge rants about every single character, ironically not giving Liam a chance to even watch a second of the actual movie.
“Okay okay I get it. Luke is a complex character and Darth Vader and Anakin don’t suck. Now can we please start studying.” He whines, pushing himself off the chair and turning off the TV.
Theo and Mason look at him with the most offended and shocked expression which Liam thinks is a bit dramatic.
“Anakin and Vader are the same person! Have you not been paying attention to anything we’ve been saying?” Theo screeches, scandalised.
“And out of everything we have said, the only thing you got out of it was that?” Mason scoffs, hand on his chest as if he’s been shot.
Liam rolls his eyes so far back into his head. “Too bad. Come on, let’s start. Good bye Mason.” He singsongs Mason’s name and hangs up. Theo looks at him with a disappointed motherly look he’s seen Melissa wear.
“I’ll watch them again when I don’t have the stress of not understanding any of the Biology material up my ass okay?” He says, surprising a laugh out of Theo for his vulgarity.
“Fine.” Theo says, stretching out the word as he slowly makes his way upstairs with Liam behind him. “You win.”
—
“How does he even remember the Star Wars movies if he never watched them?Come one guys, use your brains!” Stiles screeches, tapping his head violently with his middle finger as he stares at everyone across from him through the screen.
“Melissa. Chris. Have you ever seen or even heard Theo talk about watching Star Wars before? No!” He yells out before giving either of them time to answer.
Liam expected someone to stop him by now but no one has yet, not even Liam himself. It does have something to do with the fact that’s Stiles is right. Theo has never watched the movies before yet he knows everything about it, even the deep lore that took Stiles years to learn.
But that doesn’t mean Theo is faking his amnesia. It doesn’t matter how good of an actor Theo is, he’s not that good as to fake that much of himself and his actions. Liam is sure of it, not that anyone but Lydia believes him – Scott always goes back to the time Theo pretended to be his friend and everyone else about the fact that Theo literally killed Scott.
“He can control his heartbeat and he’s lied to us before. I’m always right! Why can’t you guys just put him back in hell now so we don’t have to inevitably do it when he kills one of use, specially Liam.” Stiles yells.
Liam tenses, skin prickling with unease. Send him back to hell? No person deserves that kind of torture. No, Liam won’t let them.
“Even if he is pretending, no one deserves that kind of hell. He’s already been through it once don’t make him go through it again.” He says harshly.
Everyone stares at him and it takes Liam too long to realise that his eyes are gold and his fangs and claws are out.
“Liam-“ Scott starts but Liam shakes his head. Head hurting with the speed of which he did so.
“No. He’s not lying. Guys he’s learned his lesson. He’s saved my ass more than once. He’s the reason I’m not dead. He’s changed. Just like Chris and Peter. Just like Jackson and Ethan. Just like Derek and Deucalion.” Liam goes on, making sure to even his breathing. Making sure to stay human.
“Liam-“ Scott tries again but is interrupted with the door opening.
They all turn around and see Theo entering, carrying a few grocery bags and a takeaway order.
He looks up and smiles at them all. “Hey guys. If you told me you were here I would’ve gotten more food.”
He shakes the takeaway order and walks into the kitchen to set it and the groceries on the counter.
“I got these for Melissa and Chris but I’m sure there’s enough for more of you.”
Stiles groans. “Let me know when you all grow a brain.” He says before hanging up.
Theo looks at the blank screen where Stiles used to be and frowns. He gives Liam a confused glance before going back to the food.
“You know what, I forgot something at work. I’ll be back.” He says shakily.
He leaves without a second glance and Liam digs his nails into his skin. He glares at everyone before rushing out to join Theo in his truck.
“You should stay with them.” Theo says, starting his truck.
“I would rather stay with you.” Liam says without thinking as he slams the door shut, leaning his head against the seat as he stares at Theo.
“O-oh.” Theo stutters, voice squeaking halfway through. His cheeks redden as he shakily drives out of the driveway. “Okay then. Sure. Yeah.”
Liam’s own cheeks are as red as Theo’s as he chuckles at Theo’s shyness.
“I’m sorry about them. I promise they don’t hate you.” Liam tries to comfort, but he knows Theo can tell when he’s lying even without the help of his heartbeat.
“You don’t have to lie to me Li,” Liam’s chest does a little backflip at the nickname. He’ll never get used to the way Theo says it: soft and gentle, like a prayer. “I know they all wish I were gone. I don’t exactly know why but I must have done something to them. It’s fine though, really.”
Liam opens his mouth to speak but Theo shakes him head. “I have you, Mason and Corey. I don’t need more than that.” He says shakily, trying to convince himself and Liam that it’s true.
But Liam knows better. The way Theo’s heart quickens anxiously when he’s talking to the adults, the way his leg shakes and bounces when he talking with Scott, Lydia, or Derek, and the way he completely avoids Stiles and Malia ‘cause of the time they tried to attack him the moment he woke up all confused and scared at the hospital.
His eyes lose their spark the moment he’s not with the three of them – the puppy pack. And Liam hates it. He hates how confused and scared Theo gets. Stiles would say he deserves it after putting them all through hell but…
“I know they’re all tolerating me. It doesn’t bother me.” His voice breaks a few words and he has to whisper the rest, but he keeps driving and keeps his eyes focused on the road.
Something about the way Theo’s confession and the way his heart is racing clicks to Liam. “You heard what Stiles said about you.” He whispers so quietly that Theo only hears him because of his heightened hearing.
“…Yeah.” He whispers back, just as quietly, after a few long minutes.
“I don’t want to know what I did to you all.” He says forcefully, not letting Liam have a chance to speak. “I don’t want to know how much I hurt you.”
He finally parks the car in front of a random sidewalk after driving aimlessly. He stares at his lap for a moment and Liam gives him the space and patience he needs.
“Just… let me live in delusion for awhile, at least until I get my memories back.” He says finally, hands shaking so hard that he can’t even clench them shut. “Please.”
Liam feels a piece of him shatter and break along with his ability to speak.
He blinks away a few stray tears and holds out his hand for Theo to take. Theo does so hesitantly.
They stay that way until the sun sets and the moon is shining brightly above them. They stay that way until Liam’s phone runs out of battery with the amount of calls he receives from the pack. They stay that way until they both fall asleep, heads bent towards each other but never touching, until their hands slip out of each others’ grasps.
They stay that way until the sun rises and a police officer violently knocks on the window and wakes them both up.