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The book Theo’s reading is kind of weird. Edging more towards good weird than bad weird, although he guesses his final verdict will depend on the ending. It’s called The Dread Doctors, and it’s about a group of teenagers who are abducted, experimented on, then buried by some mad scientists, and have superpowers once they dig their way out of their literal shallow graves.
There are probably worse ways to be spending Christmas Eve.
The quad is clearly quieter than usual, but there are more people still here than Theo expected there to be. Between international students who either can’t or aren’t going home for various reasons, and those who Theo assumes may be in similar situations to himself, today could almost be mistaken for another holiday weekend, or the day there was a massive concert over in Berkeley that most of the campus apparently got tickets to. The devil is in the details though; the odd downturned mouth here, the occasional sad expression when people think they’re not being watched there. Christmas isn’t a time for family for everyone.
“You’re reading The Dread Doctors? I read it last year, it was cool.”
Theo closes his book to find a guy giving him an easy, yet almost eager, smile. He’s on the shorter side but stocky, with his shorts putting his muscular calves on display. Between that, his full face of stubble, and the curls of chest hair that are somehow peeking out through the top of his hoodie, what the hell, this handsome stranger is totally Theo’s type.
“Yeah, it’s a little weird, but interesting.”
The guy’s smile gets wider, and Theo can’t help returning it a little.
“Josh was probably my favorite character. It was so cool when he used his electric powers to mess with The Dread Doctors force field and amplify Lydia’s banshee scream at the same-- Aaand you haven’t reached that part yet,” he grimaces.
“I haven’t. Thanks, asshole,” Theo says curtly. Nothing pisses him off more than spoilers.
“Sorry, man. We can talk about it after you’ve finished reading it instead. I’m Liam, by the way.”
“Theo,” he replies, carefully noting the talk about it later thing.
“Theo,” Liam nods. “So Theo. You’re clearly busy reading and everything, but my friends and I are playing a lacrosse game.” He gestures to the field where a crowd of guys are all watching them. “Or we’re trying to, at least, but we need one more player to even up the numbers. How about it?”
Theo is hesitant, only because he hasn’t played a team sport since high school, and look how that turned out for him. He’s more of a lone wolf nowadays, any time spent exercising usually in a gym with earphones blasting rather than on a field surrounded by teammates.
“I don’t play lacrosse,” he says apologetically. “And I’m a little rusty with team sports--”
“It’s just a pickup game, nothing serious. Just the guys doing something fun with me before they go home for Christmas, no experience necessary.” That’s interesting; they rather than we. Sounds like Liam’s spending Christmas on campus too. “Could I sway you by saying please?” And damnit if Liam doesn’t give him the most pathetically endearing puppydog eyes Theo has ever seen. With a sigh, he gets to his feet; Liam positively lights up.
“Fine, I’ll play lacrosse with you and your harem of pretty boys because you said please.”
“My what?” Liam says. Theo glances over to them, then back to Liam, and raises an eyebrow. Liam does the same, absently chews on his bottom lip, and seems to concede the point. “Come on, they’re all over here.” Liam leads Theo over to his friends, a couple of whom he either shares classes with or has met at parties, like Brett and Mason. And the guy canoodling with Mason must be his boyfriend. “Everyone, this is Theo. Theo, everyone.” A chorus of quick greetings goes around, smiles and nods aplenty.
“Now that we’re all here,” Brett says, holding court, “we’re splitting into shirts vs skins. The goals will be here and here, made up of the skins team’s shirts.” There’s a definite gleam in his eyes when he says that, and Theo already has a feeling where this is going. “For those who haven’t played before, don’t worry. You’re passing to your own teammates, and trying to score in the opposing goal. Simple.”
Liam was messing with a large duffel bag on the sidelines as Brett was saying this, and he returns to the group carrying a bundle of lacrosse sticks, distributing them out to the group. Theo nods and smiles when Liam hands him one, and Liam returns it twofold, yet it isn’t uncomfortable for some reason. Brett clears his throat and Liam starts, handing Brett the last remaining stick.
“Okay, teams,” Liam says. “Shirts first, Aaron, Corey, Theo--”
”I think Theo should play skins,” Brett says with a mischievous smile. Which, Theo realises, is directed at Liam more than himself.
“I second that,” Mason chimes in, faux innocently. Theo raises an eyebrow and gives them both a look. “If he wants to, obviously,” Mason adds.
“I think Theo should decide, instead of you guys deciding for him,” Liam says. It’s probably meant to be more authoritative than it comes out, and Theo doesn’t think the tips of Liam’s ears were so red a minute ago.
All eyes are on him now, and he doesn’t quite know how he ended up in this situation. Hell, he’s wearing jeans and a hoodie, he’s hardly dressed for the occasion. Actually he’s the only one not wearing some sort of athletic wear. It’s not that he’s uncomfortable being shirtless, per se. He knows he has a nice body, that’s not the issue. It’s that people tend to stare for the wrong reasons. At this point the attention it draws and the inevitable questions he gets are more annoying than uncomfortable, so it makes no odds either way. More than that, however, there’s something about Liam’s bright red ears that has him curious. Very curious.
With a put upon sigh, Theo pulls his hoodie clean over his head. Some of the guys whoop, while Mason says something to Liam too low for Theo to hear. Regardless, he definitely looks flustered, and Theo makes sure to only watch Liam’s reaction, the slight widening of his eyes, the appreciative glance up and down, the way it settles on his chest before realising he’s been caught, directing his attention back up to Theo’s face a little sheepishly.
Before anyone has the chance to say anything, the other skins players - and Brett, who has apparently assigned himself to their team - are also throwing off their shirts and getting similar excited reactions. Liam isn’t paying any attention to them though; he’s still looking right at Theo.
Yeah, this might be fun after all.
Theo is pretty sure lacrosse isn’t usually played like this. For starters, if the team numbers are anything like football, then there aren’t nearly enough of them on either team; they’re probably closer to one full team between them rather than two.
“What the hell?” Brett yells at Mason when he gets the ball, and promptly passes it to his boyfriend Corey. Even though they’re on opposing teams.
“I’m a lover, not a fighter,” he shrugs, getting laughs and smiles from those close enough to hear. “Just look at that face.” He motions to Corey, whose face is lit up after apparently scoring a goal in the brief time between receiving the ball and now. Dude runs fast.
“Try loving your own team instead,” Brett chides, though he seems more exasperated than actually annoyed.
The few times Theo has ended up with the ball, Liam is on his heels immediately, knocking it out of his possession with a playful smile that should be more obnoxious than it actually is. It’s a little frustrating to be asked to play a game, then barely get a chance to actually play it. Being the only total novice doesn’t help either, especially when he knows other people on the quad are watching them. Still, it’s more fun than he was expecting to have today.
Either way, it’s clear Liam is a good player. Every time he gets the ball, it’s a guaranteed goal for the shirts team.
“Theo, catch!” Corey yells, and suddenly Theo’s in game mode again, stick held up to catch the ball. It hits home, like it would have landed there regardless of where Theo was standing, and he takes off towards the shirts team’s goal. There are feet on his heels, too close, and the ball goes totally wide when he throws it.
There’s no time for embarrassment; a body collides into him from behind and he hits the ground with an oof, the other player going down with him.
Theo’s on his back, panting, staring straight up into Liam’s wide eyes. Liam is squeezing Theo’s pec. Theo looks down and Liam follows, pulling his hand away as if burned when he realises what he’s doing.
“Shit, sorry.” He clambers up and pulls Theo to his feet.
“Pretty sure you’ve wanted to do that since I took my shirt off,” Theo shrugs, pleased with himself at the way Liam’s ears start to burn bright red again. “I didn’t realise you wanted it so bad that you’d tackle me to the ground for a squeeze.”
“I-- that’s not-- I didn’t--” Liam sputters.
“Suuuure.” Theo pats him on the shoulder and jogs back over to his teammates. Mason has broken down into absolute hysterics, and most of the others aren’t far behind.
“Shut up,” Liam says, which only makes everyone laugh harder.
Everyone takes Corey up on his suggestion of a water break, once they’ve all composed themselves again. Liam, apparently prepared for the situation, pulls a cooler bag out of his larger lacrosse bag and unzips it, handing bottles to everyone. Once he’s done, he plops down onto the ground between Brett and Theo.
“You having fun?” Liam asks. Theo’s about to answer when Brett pipes up first.
“I’m having a great time watching whatever this is,” he smirks, motioning between Liam and Theo.
“Fuck off.” Liam shifts so his back is more to Brett and he’s facing Theo. Brett huffs out a laugh, clearly not offended, and starts chatting to Aaron instead. “You having fun?” he asks again.
“I am, yeah. I’d be having more fun if you’d let me have the ball for more than two seconds.”
”My bad. Lacrosse scholarship, it’s kind of my thing,” he smiles wryly.
“I figured as much,” Theo says. “Were you one of those freaks that was team captain since you were a freshman?” Liam goes conspicuously silent. “You totally were!”
“Like I said, lacrosse is my thing.”
”Nah, it’s cool. I used to play football, but.” He shrugs, noticing Liam glance at his chest again. He waits for the inevitable, frankly overdue question, but it still doesn’t come. Nobody has asked, weirdly.
“Right.” Liam smacks his thighs and gets to his feet. “Everyone ready to get back to it?”
And so Liam, his harem of pretty boys, and Theo all get up to play more lacrosse.
He’s glad to be back on his feet and moving again too, considering the ongoing lack of clothing on the top half of his body. Almost everyone somehow seems more energised than before, and even Theo is feeling the team spirit. Allowing himself to do this after spending so long rejecting it is more liberating than he anticipated. It’s been so long since he last felt this way, even if he is just the outsider in a group of friends playing a pickup lacrosse game (of sorts).
He may be a lacrosse novice but he’s going to score a goal before this game finishes up, no matter what.
Corey shoots off down the field again with the ball - towards his own goal, bizarrely. Theo doesn’t get it until he calls, “Liam!” and he realises the rest of his team have followed Corey, leaving their own goal wide open for Liam to catch the ball Corey throws to him and score again. Theo runs for it and clashes his stick against Liam’s, hard enough that his own grip loosens and the ball bounces and rolls away. Liam looks pissed for a moment until he smiles, says, “Nice block, man,” and holds his hand out for a fist bump; Theo reciprocates both.
It takes a bit for Theo’s chance to come up, but when it does, he knows it’s the one. Brett, while being almost definitely illegally tackled by Isaac - what else do you call wrapping your arms around someone to stop them moving? - throws the ball down the field to nothing and nobody. Theo sprints for it, his eyes up and tracking the ball’s trajectory through the air as he runs. He’s focused, determined, so much so that he doesn’t realise Liam is also going for it until they’re colliding into a mess of limbs and hitting the ground, Liam ending up underneath him and Theo’s knees landing on Liam’s ankle.
The resulting pop, followed by Liam’s gasping inhale, may just about be the worst sound he’s ever heard.
“Shit, are you okay?” Theo scrambles to get off of him, and Liam’s hand immediately goes to his ankle, his face screwed up in pain.
“I’m fine, just help me up.”
Theo braces and pulls Liam to his feet, and there isn’t a chance to think about holding Liam’s hand or how warm it is in Theo’s own, because Liam inhales sharply again when he tries to bear weight on his foot.
“Fuck,” Liam says as his harem of pretty boys swarm him, an equal number of concerned looks at Liam as there are glares at Theo.
“What the hell was that?” Brett barks, thunder in his eyes. Mason calls him down, bracing an arm over Brett’s chest before he can square up to Theo.
“Hey, hey. It was an accident, we all saw it.” He directs his attention to Liam. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I think so,” Liam nods.
“Okay, come on, I’ll take you.”
“I’ll do it,” Theo interjects. Once again, all eyes are on him. “You’re going home for Christmas, right? All of you.” He gestures to the wider group, who all give varying affirmatives. “I’m not. I’ll do it.”
Tidying up is a quick operation, with the skins getting their clothes back on, and the shirts - minus Liam - gathering up all their equipment, which Mason offers to keep in his car and take home for the time being. There are quick goodbyes and seasons greetings all around, then Theo supports Liam over to his truck to drive him to the hospital. Traffic is the exact nightmare Theo expected it to be, with it being Christmas Eve, and he’s never been an anxious driver but the longer they spend sitting stationary and not getting where they need to go, and the more visible Liam’s discomfort is, the more agitated he becomes.
Finally, after a drive that was far too long for either of their liking, they arrive at the hospital. Nobody is able to see Liam immediately, but they give him a pillow so he can at least keep it elevated while he waits. The hospital is surprisingly busy, or maybe not so; people don’t stop needing medical attention or having accidents and emergencies just because it’s a certain time of the year. Theo of all people should know that.
While they’re waiting, Liam phones his mom to explain the situation, which leaves Theo with even more questions about why he’s not going home for Christmas, considering how concerned she sounds and the way Liam insists she doesn’t need to come here. He’s a bit short with her by the end of the call, but Theo figures it’s a reflection of his current circumstances rather than his relationship with her.
When the call ends, Liam huffs out an irritated breath and shifts around in his seat, trying to get comfortable.
“Want me to get you anything?” Theo asks.
“How about a fucking doctor,” he snaps, before deflating. “Sorry. I don’t mind waiting, really. My dad’s a doctor, I know how much pressure they’re under. I’m just… sore.”
“I get it,” Theo says, thinking of the scar on his chest. Liam clearly does too, glancing down and then away.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been at the hospital for my ankle,” Liam says. “I sprained the same one during a game in high school. I was a freshman and had just transferred, and the team captain and his best friend thought I was cheating somehow because I was too good, so they wanted to knock me down a peg.”
”Assholes,” Theo says. Surprisingly, Liam shakes his head.
“No, just idiots. They didn’t want to hurt me hurt me, and they felt pretty bad about it after. I actually became really good friends with them. This ankle’s always been a little more sensitive since then though,” he shrugs. “Turns out spraining an ankle increases the chances of spraining it again.”
“Probably doesn’t help that my entire body weight was crushing it, huh?”
“Not really,” Liam says. His mouth curls up in a slight smile, so Theo hopes that means Liam isn’t actually angry with him.
“Your harem of hot boys were ready to draw blood.”
“Would you stop calling them that?”
“Well it’s Christmas Eve, and rather than go home to their own families and loved ones, every single one of them apparently cares about you enough that they chose to stay on campus and play lacrosse with you instead.”
The irritation drains from Liam’s face, and he suddenly seems to find a spot on the floor very interesting. “They did, didn’t they?” His voice is a quiet rasp, like he’s getting emotional, and he clears his throat, resting his head back against his seat with a sigh.
“How come you’re not going home, anyway? You’ve spoken to your mom today and you’ve spoken about your dad. Could you not get flights or something?”
“Like I said, dad’s a doctor. He needs to work over Christmas this year, couldn’t get the time off. We knew way in advance though, so it’s not a big deal. My mom’s a social worker so she decided to work too, and we’re all just gonna celebrate together at New Year’s instead.”
“Sounds nice,” Theo says, hopefully sounding genuine. He’s pleased Liam has a good family situation, of course he is. It doesn’t fully silence the bitter little must be nice voice in Theo’s head that he regularly has to stamp down when people talk about their families.
“How about you?” Liam asks. Which is only fair, really. Theo asked first, after all.
“We don’t really get on,” he shrugs. “I only really call if I need something. I try not to.”
Liam visibly hesitates, then asks, “Is it anything to do with the scar you don’t seem to want to talk about? Which you still don’t need to, if you don’t want to.”
“It’s fine,” he says, already bracing himself for the inevitable sympathies and platitudes. “I got pretty sick a few years ago. I had a heart infection, which became heart failure. And then my big sister died.”
Liam’s surprised gasp seems to suck all the air out of the room, pulling the heat out along with it. “Fuck, Theo.”
“Yeah,” he says, still not really knowing how to talk about this even now, the ache resurfacing as fresh as the day it happened. “She was swimming with friends, and she drowned. Nobody really understands it, she was always a great swimmer. But we were a match, so.” He lets Liam fill in the blank. This time Liam openly stares at his chest. “My parents and I weren’t close anyway, but after that we just… being a family didn’t work.”
Liam doesn’t seem to know what to say, so luckily he’s spared the ordeal of trying to come up with something by the appearance of a doctor; Theo’s sure the relief on Liam’s face is twofold.
“Good luck,” Theo says as the doctor takes Liam away to an examination room, which doesn’t feel quite right but is the closest he can think of in the moment.
After baring his soul he needs to reset somehow, so he pulls The Dread Doctors out, restarting the chapter he was on before Liam first spoke to him earlier that day. It takes a minute, and a couple of reread paragraphs, but he’s able to get into the zone and immerse himself back into the story. Tracy has an unfortunate moment of bloodlust but is able to pull herself back from it, Lucas dies in a frankly gruesome way that has Theo grimacing, and, sure enough, Josh saves the day by amplifying the electrical frequencies to supercharge Lydia’s banshee scream, killing the Dread Doctors and collapsing their underground operating theater along with it. The epilogue cuts to another laboratory in an undisclosed location, an ancient, rusted voice confirming the formula for true evil has been achieved.
Honestly, he was sceptical at first but the book turned out to be pretty badass. He’ll check with the library if they have any other books by T.R. McCammon when they reopen after Christmas.
A nurse eventually wheels Liam back to the waiting area, effectively discharging him. That’s hopefully a good sign, as he surely would have been kept in if there were any serious concerns about his injury.
“Ready to go?” Theo asks.
“So ready,” Liam says.
Theo helps Liam out to his truck, boosting him up into the passenger seat, then gets in the driver’s side and immediately cranks the heat up. He rubs his hands together; the night chill has kicked in.
“So what’s the prognosis?”
“Dunno yet,” he shrugs. “It’s gonna take a few days for the x-ray results, especially since it’s the festive period. They suspect a sprain rather than an outright break though, so I don’t need a cast or anything.” He pauses. “Yet.”
“Here’s hoping you don’t. Besides, it’s not lacrosse season now, right?” Theo asks, glad when Liam confirms it isn’t. The heat is kicking in, but instead the windscreen is fogging up, so Theo has to crack the window slightly to let some air in. “So where should I like. Take you.”
Liam thinks for a moment. “How would you feel about driving me home? I live an hour in the opposite direction of campus.” With an internal sigh, Theo prepares to spend the night driving and not getting to sleep anytime soon. Which is when Liam throws a curveball at him. “You could stay over, we have a guest room. There’s no way my mom would let you drive back to campus anyway.” The tip of Liam’s ear reddens slightly.
“Don’t worry about it,” Theo says. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your… non-Christmas thing.”
Liam’s brow furrows. “You wouldn’t be intruding, I’m inviting you.”
“Listen, I appreciate the sentiment and all, but you don’t need to invite me to your non-Christmas because you feel sorry for me that I’m not having Christmas at all.”
“Dude,” Liam says. “I’m not pitying you. You’re the one that put me in the hospital on Christmas Eve, if there was any pity going on then it should be the other way around, right?”
It’s a low blow, but deserved. “I’m inviting you because I don’t want you to have to drive all night. And I’m inviting you because I want to spend more time with you.”
“All day today wasn’t enough?” Theo jokes. Liam doesn’t laugh.
“Not for me.”
Theo’s heart stutters in his chest. He turns to face Liam more directly, and Liam does the same; his ears are bright red.
“I mean, you have good taste in books, and--”
“I finished reading it while you were getting seen. You were right, that scene with Josh was badass.”
“Right!? It was literally awes-- no, no, don’t distract me, you’re not getting out of this,” he chides. “You seem like a really good guy. I mean, you brought me here, right? You didn’t have to do that. It also, uh, doesn’t hurt that you look the way you do. At all. Like, you’re really hot.” He pauses. “And you don’t seem surprised by my grand revelation.”
Theo laughs and has to look away for a moment, not that it does anything to tamp down the heat rising in his own cheeks. “Dude, you were not subtle. I’ve known all day. Also I somehow doubt Brett and Mason wanted me shirtless just for their own gains.”
“Oh no, it was definitely for them too.”
Theo honestly wonders how he even got here. This morning he definitely didn’t anticipate his day turning out like this. Liam’s watching him, and Theo realises he’s been leaving him hanging.
“I like you, too. Obviously.” He places a hand on Liam’s thigh. “You’re very much my type.”
Liam grins down at Theo’s hand on his thigh, and it’s stupidly endearing. When he flicks his eyes back up, he says Oh, motioning to the truck’s clock.
It’s 12.08am. Christmas Day.
Liam curls a hand on top of Theo’s which is already on his thigh, squeezes, and starts leaning in. Theo, pulled almost magnetically, meets him in the middle, lips connecting. Resting their foreheads against each other, breathing each other’s air, smiling each other’s smiles, they kiss once, twice more.
“Looks like you got another one to add to your harem,” Theo jokes after pulling back. “Merry Christmas, Liam.”
“Merry Christmas, asshole,” Liam laughs. “Come on, let’s go home.”