Work Text:
Lori:
Now.
Liam headed up the stairs of Derek’s building to Brett and Lori’s apartment. Before he could knock, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Lori.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Absolutely.” he grinned back.
He stepped inside and she locked the door behind him.
“Brett’s helping to train Nolan for lacrosse. He asked why you weren’t going and I told him you had too much homework and it was stressing you out.” she said. “What about the others?”
“Theo’s at work and Corey said he could distract Mason so we shouldn’t have any interruptions. I don’t know where Alec is but there’s so way he’d be awake this early and even if he does figure out our plan, he’s more likely to help us.”
Lori smirked again. “Perfect.”
They headed into the bathroom where Lori had set up all her supplies. She shrugged off her deep purple cardigan and began mixing a suspicious-looking paste in a bowl.
“Woah. That’s a lot of hair dye.” Liam said.
Lori raised an eyebrow, in exactly the way Brett always did. “Having second thoughts?”
“Never. This is going to be fun.”
Lori locked the bathroom door “as an extra precaution” and Liam began applying the thick, blue paste to her hair.
—-
Corey was on tenterhooks; he’d been tasked with making sure Mason didn’t find out about Liam and Lori’s plan. Not that it was anything bad, more chaotic really, but a few months ago the pack had made a pact to never leave them alone together.
Not after The Incident.
Personally, Corey thought it was quite funny, which is why he’d agreed to help them now. However, Mason was more perceptive than he let on.
“So, you going to tell me what’s up?”
Wow. Not even half an hour into their date and he’d already figured out Corey was up to something.
“What do you mean? Nothing’s up.” Corey said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
Mason stared at him sceptically. “I think we both know that’s not true.”
Shit.
“And… as nice as this date was, I really need you to tell me what’s going on.” he continued.
“It’s fine, they’re not doing anything dangerous.” Corey laughed nervously.
“Who’s not?” Mason narrowed his eyes.
Shit shit shit.
Before Corey could make up an excuse, Mason’s phone rang. He answered it, still watching Corey closely.
“Hey Alec.”
“What do you mean she hasn’t turned up?”
“Are you sure it was today?”
“I might have an idea of where she is. Stay there, I’m coming to get you.”
Mason hung up the phone.
“So, where’s Lori? ‘Cause she was supposed to have a study group with Alec today but never turned up.”
“How would I know?” Corey’s voice was definitely shaking now.
He just couldn’t lie to Mason.
“Right, so you won’t mind me calling Brett then?”
He definitely would mind, but he couldn’t let Mason know that.
“No, of course not.” Corey’s attempt at a reassuring smile turned out more like a grimace.
Mason just rolled his eyes and called Brett.
“Hey. You wouldn’t happen to know where Lori is would you?”
“No, she was supposed to have a study group with Alec but never turned up.”
“Exactly! And judging by Corey’s reaction, she’s definitely up to something.”
“What do you mean Liam didn’t turn up to practice?”
“So they’re alone together?”
“Shit.”
“Right, you, Alec and I will go to the apartment, Corey and Nolan will go and get Theo.”
No. Absolutely not. Theo was going to kill him.
“Okay, see you in a sec.”
Okay, so in hindsight, it might have been a bad idea to help Lori and Liam, even if their plan wasn’t necessarily ‘bad’.
Brett and Nolan met them at the cafe, before picking up Alec and dropping off Corey and Nolan outside the garage where Theo worked.
—-
Theo was just finishing packing up for the day when Corey and Nolan turned up outside the garage. Why were they here? That had never happened before. Dread instantly filled his veins, and he sprinted out to them.
Corey immediately sensed his distress. “Theo, calm down, it’s okay.”
Nolan rolled his eyes, muttering “Probably.”
Theo immediately turned on Nolan, eyes flaring yellow. “What do you mean, probably?”
Nolan took a shaky step backwards, breath quickening slightly. Corey stepped in, attempting to diffuse the situation.
“Theo, it’s fine. Liam and Lori are alone together and Mason was worried they were plotting something again.”
Now, it was Corey’s turn to step back as Theo rounded on him, anger replaced with worry and a hint of humour.
“Where are they?”
“We’re guessing the apartment.” Nolan answered.
Theo stalked over to his truck, unlocking it and opening the door. He turned to face the other two boys, rolling his eyes.
“Come on then.”
Corey and Nolan shared a look before scrambling towards the truck.
—-
“What if they’re just watching a movie?” Alec asked.
“For the seventeenth time, there’s no way they’re not up to something!” Brett almost yelled, frustration clear in his voice.
Alec huffed, shrinking back into his seat.
“Guys, we’re nearly there, can we not start fighting?” Mason said, rolling his eyes.
They remained in silence for the rest of the ride, though Alex and Brett occasionally glared at each other. As soon as they arrived at the building, Brett raced up the stairs, leaving Alec and Mason breathing heavily behind. He began banging on the door, attempting to force the door open.
Alec sniffed the air. “Well, they’re definitely in there. And there’s a weird smell, but I can’t figure it out.”
“Definitely chemical.” Brett said, brows creased in confusion.
Mason sighed. Why did Liam always get himself into these messes?
—-
Blue water dripped off Lori’s scalp into the bath as the banging on the door started. Both of them locked eyes with matching expressions that said “oh shit”.
“What if we escape through the window?” Lori whispered.
“Are you insane?” Liam hissed back.
“Well what else are we supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, we didn’t plan that far ahead!”
A crash interrupted their hushed argument; the others had gotten through the front door. Footsteps clattered towards them and there was a cacophony of banging and indistinguishable yelling.
Before Lori or Liam could react, the bathroom door crashed open too, revealing a very concerned and panting Brett. There was an awkward pause as the five teenagers all stared at each other.
“What’s going on?” Mason asked.
“Um…” Liam looked at Lori, who shrugged, “Hair dye?”
Mason pushed his way out of the bathroom, muttering “I’m not dealing with this.” Alec followed him, looking both confused and amused. Brett remained in the bathroom, watching the two of them with a grin slowly spreading across his face.
“You know I would have helped you if you’d asked, right?”
Now, it was Lori’s turn to look confused. “You would?”
“ ‘Course. Now c’mon, we need to dry your hair before the bathroom gets stained any more.”
He slung an arm around Lori’s shoulders and began guiding her out the room. As he got to the doorway, he turned to Liam, smirk fully on his face now.
“And by the way, you might want to call Theo. Corey and Nolan say he’s three seconds away from another murderous rampage.”
Oh shit.
Liam immediately scrambled for his phone, almost dropping it in the puddle of blue in his panic. Theo, of course, answered immediately.
“Explain. Right now.”
“Theo, I swear it’s fine, there was no danger or fire involved this time. And the others are already here.”
Theo grunted. “I’m this close to telling Jenna to ban you from leaving the house at all.”
Liam winced. “Has Corey been maimed?”
“Not yet, but he’s close.”
Corey’s shout of “Liam help me!” could be heard distantly in the background.
Liam laughed. “Theo, leave him alone.”
“Tell Lori to dye her own hair next time. Or at least tell us what you’re doing.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Hate you.”
“Aw, I hate you more.”
Theo cut off the call with a beep, leaving Liam alone in the quiet of the now blue bathroom. They definitely had to do this again.