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Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Intermittent explosive disorder, or episodic dyscontrol syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by explosive outbursts of anger or violence, often to the point of rage, that are disproportionate to the situation.
How is it caused?: Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. Biological factors include brain abnormalities, such as lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin and changes in brain regions like the amygdala. Environmental factors often involve growing up in a household where explosive behavior or abuse was common, as well as experiencing trauma in childhood.
Liam paced back and forth. A bead of sweat made its way down his forehead, but that did little to interrupt his fractured thoughts. His fists were balled by his side, just out of a certain chimera’s sight.
Theo’s eyes squinted, only slightly. Not wanting to give away any cues but also silently telling Liam that he was aware.
This had become a regular occurrence for them, for Liam. The beta would get angry, start to feel his control slipping and Theo would swoop in and save the day — usually with a broken nose.
“Are we done here?” Theo asked after clearing his throat. Scott and Stiles turned to face him.
“It was nicer when you were silent.” Stiles rolled his eyes after speaking. Of all the pack's opinions, he didn’t need Theo’s nor did he appreciate it. “Does anybody else have any bright ideas?”
Theo stood up. “I think we’re done for today,” he stated. With one finger, he ushered for Liam to stand up. Liam didn’t object, instead he followed Theo out the door without saying a word.
“What just happened?” Scott asked. Usually Liam would have said goodbye or given him a hug, even a nod. But not today, Liam was out the door the moment he had the chance.
Out the front, Liam’s legs picked up the pace as he walked head down with balled fists towards Theo’s truck. He couldn’t think straight let alone form a coherent sentence. “Liam, wait.”
Liam’s eye twitched, only slightly. His brain was battling between present and rage, unable to find a grounding point, unable to find that medium grey area.
“Liam. Talk to me.”
“No,” Liam hissed. It wasn’t loud, which surprised Theo. He knew Liam was close to blowing up, to loosing his cool and ‘exploding’ but Theo was trying to prevent that. “Go away.”
“No,” Theo retorted.
Of all people, Theo wasn’t one to run away when things got tough. He handled them head on, without fear but with understanding.
“Liam, just wait.”
Liam kept his head down and kept walking, silently muttering his mantra under his breath. The sun, the moon, the truth. It didn’t fucking work. It never fucking worked.
Maybe that’s not true. But it’s how it felt. The past few months had been rough for the young beta, between the hunters and then the McCall pack mostly leaving town— Liam has been going through it.
He’d been groomed as early as fifteen to take over, to protect Beacon Hills. Liam had never denied wanting to, but he didn’t expect that day to come so soon. Now, here they were, three months later, faced with a new evil that brought the pack back together.
“Liam,” Theo said, his voice soft as he tried to pull the beta’s focus from the ground. But as soon as he whipped his neck around, Theo was met with cold blue eyes. Not warm and bright, but cold and grey toned. “Look, give me your hand.”
Liam barely released his fist, his fingers slowly pulling back. Claw marks were deep cut through his palm, dried blood surrounding the wounds.
“It helps,” Liam mumbled.
“It’s hurting you,” Theo corrected. “You are hurting yourself so that you don’t hurt anyone else. Don’t you see the issue with that?”
“I heal, they might not.”
Theo could see Liam’s logic, but it was flawed. Scott had allowed this to happen and never taught Liam proper ways to control himself, only shoving the broken mantra in everyone’s face.
“Just because you heal doesn’t mean you should do it.” Theo used a firmer voice with him, knowing Liam didn’t like to be treated like a baby. “If I shatter a plate but bandage it back together, does that mean I can keep breaking plates?”
Liam frowned. “I mean, if the plates are yours, why not?”
“You’re missing the point,” Theo groaned. “Stop hurting yourself. I know you’re angry but doing this to yourself isn’t the right way to handle things.”
“I’m not angry anymore,” Liam softly replied. Without Theo’s knowledge, Liam had been listening to the coywolf’s heartbeat the entire time, using it subconsciously to soothe himself. “I’m okay, Stiles just knows the right shit to get under my skin.”
Theo nodded. He could understand why and truthfully, he wasn’t a fan of Stiles anyways. “Yep, he sure does.”
Liam leaned closer, his gaze never leaving Theo’s. His scent and heartbeat became Liam’s soul focus, the things keeping him grounded and present.
“Is that cologne?” He asked before he could even stop himself in a mortified horror.
Theo couldn’t help but laugh, the kind of authentic laugh he reserved only for Liam. “Yeah, it is. You noticed?”
Liam nodded. Not that he wanted to appear creepy, but he noticed a lot about Theo. More than he cared to admit, more than he should.
“It’s nice, it smells nice—I mean.”
Theo teased him before muttering a short “thanks.”
“You can come over, if you want.” Liam offered, once again only making himself look insane, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to be rid of the chimera just yet. “No pressure.”
Theo stepped closer and took Liam’s hands, seeing the scars now faded with nothing but dried blood left as evidence. “We’re gonna find you better strategies,” he promised.
“Is that a yes to coming over?”
“If you have coffee, yes.”
Liam laughed and took Theo’s wrist, tugging him closer towards the chimera’s truck— his current home. “You could stay the night, if you wanted.”
“Maybe.” Theo replied.