| As Time Passes By |
Scott looked around the room, watching all the bodies move. Most of them were in sync with the music, playlist cranking out a mix of EDM, rap, and some other bass-heavy songs. His legs were stiff and his back was slightly irritated, all from standing in the same position for too long. His fingers were cramped, too, subconsciously tight around the finished bottle of beer he'd been holding for half an hour. Most importantly, though, his face was down. His expression. His eyes. His lips. He was in a funk, dour at best. And even watching Stiles' horrible dance moves next to Malia wasn't helping.
At least they were having a good time.
For the nth time Scott's eyes dropped down to the top ring of the bottle. He didn't quite hate being there, he'd just rather have been elsewhere. Eddie's party was fine, in fact it was great objectively speaking. Easily one of the better ones he'd been to. Brett had invited the pack and once Liam had gotten on his last nerve bugging him to go, they went. And now Liam was across the room, dancing with high school classmate who'd had a crush on him since his time at Devenford. She was cute—bleach-blond and tan and cliché glitter on her cheeks. Scott actually popped a slight smile watching his boyfriend enjoying himself. He deserved it given all that'd happened the last few weeks. Since he'd fallen off the map.
Scott looked around the room again, finding Brett dancing with a girl in front of him and an impossibly taller guy behind him. Liam had mentioned Brett's ambiguous sexuality once upon a time, reiterating his memory of surprise during his first trip to Sinema, but Scott had never seen it before. It was amusing in a way given how far he and Liam had come. Although now something was just not right anymore. Maybe it's just too soon after…
"You're like a brooding black hole, Scotty," Stiles yelled over the music, a few feet away with Malia dancing—rather grinding against his backside. Scott popped his widest smile yet and the two best friends shared a knowing look. Stiles just shrugged and they laughed. The freckled boy turned around to face his rekindled girlfriend and Scott pushed off the wall to find a drink with a little more flavor—without the proper effects beer was starting to suck.
He made his way through the crowd towards the back of the house, towards the kitchen. When he made it back, he almost wish he hadn't. There was a girl up against a wall, her face disheveled as this guy a little younger than Scott was cramping her there. His hands were on either side of her head and his face was only inches from her own. "Lori?" Scott said, recognizing her immediately.
Lori peered over to look at him. The other guy turned a little, too. "Piss off, dude."
"Are you okay?"
"I said—"
"I wasn't talking to you." Scott stepped forward and the other turned to face him. The guy had a few inches on him, and when he flashed his yellow eyes threateningly, Scott threw a swift punch to his stomach, an unnatural switch turned on. The guy doubled over just as Brett walked in. "I'm an alpha, and Lori is a friend of mine." Liam came in behind Brett. "Don't bother her again, got it?" The guy nodded. Scott patted the guy's shoulder and helped him straighten upright. He looked over at Brett, then back at Scott before moving past him to enter the main room.
"What the hell was that?" Brett asked.
"It's fine Brett," Lori said. "Scott just got him to back off."
"Fucking Marcus," Satomi's beta muttered.
"I don't wanna' know," Scott said. He locked eyes with Liam. "Can we just go?" he said, pushing past him and walking back out into the dance room.
"You owe me a dance first," Liam said, grabbing the alpha's wrist.
A few guys pushed past them to get into the kitchen. "I'm serious, Liam, I just want to go home."
"One dance," the beta replied sternly. "C'mon," he said, changing tone, smirking a little playfully, rocking his hips a little. "You promised you wouldn't be a bummer."
"Liam—"
"And yet you've been, and I quote, 'like a brooding black hole.'" Scott grinned. "One dance. I'll make it worth your while, I promise."
"Will you now?" Scott said, annunciating by smacking his hands down to grab at Liam's ass, pulling them together.
"I keep my promises."
"You do," Scott confirmed, smirking. They began to rock, the tanner boy leaning down to kiss his beta. The music picked up and soon they were really feeling it. The mood of the party crept into Scott. The beats. The volume. The bass. He felt it, felt what Liam had been trying to get him to feel for weeks. He felt alive again, and in love. He felt Liam grinding on him as the song shifted to a more hip-hop song. Scott grinned even harder, first at just the idea of it, but then at the feel of it. The feel of Liam against him. Really against him. With one motion, Scott almost gasped and his eyes rolled a little. He shuddered.
"I want you, Scott," Liam said into his ear. It only took one exchange of looks. Scott wore it all over his face. And then they were headed upstairs, Liam pulling his alpha by the hand. It'd been so long and in a cheaper place like this…well it was to going galvanize all that had been lost.*
Upon their return home from the party…
"I had a good time tonight."
"Liar," Liam teased, the pair still standing by Scott's motorcycle.
"I did, especially the end." Liam only looked at him skeptically and equally amused. "Seriously. I…I know the last few weeks haven't been…easy. I'm sorry."
Liam shook his head before leaning over the bike to kiss him. It was meant to be an endearing short kiss at first, but he couldn't resist the moment of pulling Scott in deeper. He needed to feel Scott, but more importantly he needed Scott to feel him. "You don't have to apologize," Liam said, pulling away but not opening his eyes. They were still close. "I get it, that's why I'm still here." He opened his eyes to look at Scott and the alpha, he was clearly doing his best not to cry a little at how sweet and loving Liam had just been. "Okay, that was really sappy," Liam admitted and they laughed. They turned to head inside, wrapping their arms around the other, Scott over the boy's shoulders and Liam around his alpha's waist.
When they got to their floor of the apartment building, the door across from theirs was cracked open. Kira and Lydia! The werewolf couple shared a quick look of immediacy and barged in, claws out at the ready. But there, standing with their backs to them, were the girls. Lydia and Kira were looking back at them, Kira a little in shock and Lydia clearly annoyed. Scott, however, wasn't looking at their faces. He wasn't even looking at the man facing he and the girls, the one he'd once called co-captain: Jackson Whittemore. No, he was looking at the boy wrapped in on himself, standing—or rather leaning in the corner of the far side of the room.
In the flesh, alive and well, there was Isaac Lahey.
