Disclaimer: I hold no claim to any of the characters or places in this story, only to the way they are presented.
look after you/chapter one
8:46 p.m.
"Uhm...if you're done being weird here, I would really like to get back to my job." The words seemed to knock Liam out of the trance he was in. He was at Sinema. With Hayden. Events from the past two minutes replayed over and over again in his head. He quickly stole a glance around him before his eyes once again landed on hers. Their normal hue was blocked out by the reflection of the glow stick, which was the reason for him being dumbfounded.
Shock plagued his brain in an instant. He couldn't believe it. He did not want to believe it. Part of him wanted to believe that she just had very sensitive ears and and the thing with her eyes was just a coincidence. Though, he knew , Hayden, was something. Most likely a Chimera as that was the name tossed up in recent pack talk. The completely baffling thought on his brain was that he wasn't even completely sure what a Chimera was. He could be standing in a gay club with a potential viscous murderer. Yet, a small part of him believed that she would be harmless as long as she was kept safe away from possible threats. The pack. He had to let his friends know of the news as soon as possible if he wanted to keep Hayden safe. Too busy in his thoughts, he failed to see Hayden reach over and turn back on the lights, sighing in the process, before settling back in front of him.
"Hello? Earth to Liam? Are you ignoring me now?" Hayden spoke while waving a hand in front of his face. Her eyebrows raised with hope of evoking a response from him.
"Wha- no, not at all." He breathed out quickly, hoping not to let out any indication of how fast his brain was working in that moment. She couldn't tell, but Liam was weighing about fifty thousand options in his head. What exactly does she do? How is he gonna tell the pack? How long has she been this way? Is she in danger? Do the doctors know about her? Does he tell her what he knows? Does she have any idea what she is? He shoved the last thought out of his mind. Thinking back to when he initially got turned, he knew there was pretty much no way in hell she was aware of the things going on with her, and even less of a chance of her knowing the happenings of Beacon Hills. A small portion of him wondered if he should let her know of her impending supernatural abilities. However, the better part of him knew she would probably kick his ass and call him crazy for even suggesting such a thing. He decided in his head to hold off and wait until referring with Scott before making any irrational decisions.
"Well, you were staring at me. I was beginning to think you had a crush on me or something." She joked while cracking a smile, a happening that Liam thought to be a very scarce occurrence to happen between them. It was surprising when it happened. Yet, somehow, it came with a sense of contentment.
Nevertheless, his already doe eyes grew even bigger at her suggestion. Her words were meant in a joking matter, but Liam couldn't help but wonder for a second before pushing the thought out of his head and returning to the important matters.
"Pfft, of course I don't have a crush on you. What? That's ridiculous. That would just be...weird. I so don't have a crush on you." He basically ran the words out of his mouth, knowing that he probably did not sound very convincing.
She smirked in return. He could only think of how unfair it was that she was now in unknowingly involved the supernatural affairs of Beacon Hills. He would never get a chance to share his sympathies due to her stubbornness, but Hayden had been through a lot more than most girls her age. Hell, his reason for even being there stemmed from something dealing with kidney surgery. On top of that, he knew it must be stressful for her with her parents not around and her sister working a full time job. Liam suspected that she needed a break. However, with the so called "dread doctors" in town, her chances of that were beginning to look a lot slimmer. His thoughts were once again interrupted by a far away shout.
"Romero! Hurry up and wrap it up with your boyfriend, okay? You've got work to do!" A guy who Liam knew to be Hayden's boss spoke in a shrill voice, though, he couldn't see him well from where he was positioned. He looked down at Hayden's face which was filling with a pale reddish tone, as he was sure his was too. Him and Hayden had been called many things: enemies, rivals, the bane of each others existence. However, Liam was pretty certain that they'd never been referred to as a couple before.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Hayden shot back with a look of annoyance on her face, something that Liam could not help but take a little offense too, yet, he tried his best not to show it.
"Anyways, Dunbar," She spoke while taking her hand and pushing back some loose hair from her face, "As you can tell, I'm gonna need you to hurry on out of here. That is, unless you want to stay and mingle with a few boy toys once the club opens up." She finished off with a wink. Liam couldn't help but chuckle at her words. Leave it to Hayden to never pass up an opportunity to crack a joke on him.
Her words alarmed him, though. With now learning that she was a little more like him, he wanted nothing less than to leave her alone and unprotected. She was fiery and good with self defense, but he was pretty sure that alone wouldn't help her with the things that lurked around the town at night. He contemplated taking her up on her joke and actually staying at Sinema until closing time, though,he thought against it when he realized that staying would probably creep her out and turn the good exchange they were having quite sour. Still, he couldn't just leave her helpless. His hands flew to his pockets.
"Yeah, you're right, I should get going. It's just...can I do something first?" He inquired, racking his brain on the plan he was going to have to rehash if she denied him.
"Something else? Gee, why not? It can't possibly get any weirder than anything else you've done tonight. But please, make it quick!" She said with a roll of her eyes.
With her blessing, Liam wasted no time while taking a step closer to Hayden and whipping out an extra pen that he used in school from his pocket and grabbing her arm. He quickly scribbled his ten digits along her forearm before she could protest and returned the pen to his pocket, while taking a step back and exhaling the breath he was keeping in during the whole exchange. Her eyes, full of confusion, met his.
"Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I'm fully aware that you can take care of your self. Trust me, I know. It's just that...things can get weird around Beacon Hills, especially at night and with you getting off so late...it's really none of my business, but I don't know, if you feel paranoid or see something...give me a call. Even if it's weird and you think you might be going crazy." He paused, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Especially if that's the case."
The pause that followed seemed to be an eternity to Liam. It was almost as if Hayden didn't have any idea how to respond to the concept of Liam Dunbar, the guy who broke her nose in sixth grade, being worried about her. Great, that was smooth. Hayden looked up at him and down to her covered shoulder.
"The only weird thing I'm seeing is you. You're kind of freaking me out here, Dunbar." She spoke slowly.
"I know, I'm sorry. I just.." Liam trailed off, running his fingers through his short, spiky hair. The only thing he was accomplishing was freaking her out which was the complete opposite of what he had meant to do. Hayden sighed at the sight and bit her lip before continuing.
"You know what? How about I shoot you a text when I get home to let you know I made it in safe and then we can forget about this night and how weird it was? How does that sound?" She basically meshed the words together but it was enough for Liam.
"That'd be great." He said, not wanting to sound to relieved and freak her out even more.
She nodded in return. "Well, bye, then." Hayden quickly turned on her heel heading back to where she was needed. Liam watched her retreating figure and found the need to say one more thing.
"Hayden!" He called out stepping out after her small frame and causing her to turn around, with curiosity once again visible in her eyes. He hated the fact that she was so clueless. Liam sighed before speaking again. "I'm gonna handle this."
He hadn't said it as a false promise or a way to block out the doubts that were already floating around his mind. He was prepared to do everything in his power to keep Hayden safe and out of harm. They weren't close or even friends, but after their history, Liam felt like he owed it to her.
She stepped back toward him while letting out a large breath. "Liam, look, I told you not to worry about the money. I'm gonna find a way to deal with it."
"Yeah...right. Catch you later, I guess." He spoke quickly and rose up a hand to wave at her. Hayden lingered there for a second before shyly waving back before turning around again and heading away from him. He was in no way referring to the money. Yet, he couldn't let her know that. More than that, he didn't want to take away from her worrying about her normal problems while she still could. Even if he still was gonna find a way to pay her back, despite her not wanting him to.
Liam about bounded out of the building afterwards. He was going to pay Hayden back the full $200 and protect her from the Dread Doctors in the process and he only had no idea how he was going to pull it off. He wondered how he'd become so indebted to the girl who made it a hobby to express her disdain for him. It wasn't just the fact that he'd broken her nose. He had been a horrible person up until a year ago and he just wanted her to know that he wasn't that guy anymore.
Once outside in the harsh night air, he covered his face in his hands. He was so lost on what his next move was. He needed to form a plan. He whipped out his phone and hurriedly composed a new message before pressing send.
To: The Pack
From: Liam
Guys! We kind of have a huge situation..
A/N: Hi! This is my first time writing fanfiction in a longgggg time. Since the episode on Monday night I've kind of been obsessed with this pairing and I read pretty much every fanfiction about them and then decided to write my own. Hope you guys like! Feel free to leave any thoughts/questions in the reviews!