Hello :)
Like I promised, here is another part to 'Love', but the two stories can be read separately.
The story takes place a few months before 'Love' and circles a little around the beginnings of their relationship.
I listened to 'On the Train Ride Home' by The Paper Kites on repeat, while writing this. It doesn't have anything to do with the story itself, but it gave me the idea to write it.
I hope there aren't too many spelling or grammar errors in here :)
So, I'd really appreciate your feedback. If you find any mistakes, tell me and I will correct them.
And now, with all this being said, I really hope you enjoy the read :)
Sleepless
College is a weird experience. No dread doctors, he has to entertain. No Scott, who he has to gain trust from and claw him in the back later. No hell, and a bloodthirsty sister. And that could be considered good.
But college also means, no Liam. And that, is just the worst.
He has no clue how he managed to finish high school, honestly. But he did. And now, he is completely on his own again. It's quiet most days. He attends lectures, visits the library and learns and learns and learns.
It distracts him enough, to not think about home too much, even if he never considered himself a person to feel homesick. There simply had never been something to come back to or miss. Now though, there is something to lose, something to miss.
And he does. He hates to admit it, but he misses Liam more than he probably should.
It's far past one in the morning, but Theo can't find any peace. He rolls from one side to the other. It's too hot under the blanket, so he kicks it away. His pillow is too soft. His roommate is snoring, it sounds like he wants to wake up their neighbors.
And the bed is so big. He feels lost.
Theo turns onto his back, huffs in annoyance and grabs his phone from the bedside table. He unlocks it and opens his messages. Liam, reads the caption and Theo's thumb hovers over the keyboard. Thinks about something that doesn't look too clingy in the middle of the night.
The decision gets lifted from his shoulders, when the screen changes with an incoming call.
Liam
Before he can even think twice about it, his body takes control and he answers the call. "Liam?" He asks. "Theo?"
"Did you expect someone else?" Theo answers and smirks slightly. "No, jackass. Just, uhm… are you… alright?" Liam shoots back and gets more and more quiet to the end of the sentence. Theo lifts his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah? I'm just fine. Why?" There is silence on the other end of the line and for a moment, he thinks that Liam might have canceled the call. "I saw you were typing and you know, it's late and all. And I just thought…" – "How did you know I was typing?" Theo cuts Liam off, before he can even end the sentence.
Theo focuses his hearing. Liam's breath on the other end and his slowly speeding up heartbeat. And then, it hits him. Liam wanted to text him too.
"You were awake too?" He asks instead and waits a little nervous. He is not sure if he wants to know the answer. Closeness to a person is still so new to Theo. Real closeness, honest, without any lies or sneaky thoughts.
Liam clears his throat. "I-I know it's, it's kinda weird. But I needed to know that you're alright." He finally blurts out and Theo can practically see the blush on the beta's cheeks. It gets quiet again and Theo is dumbstruck. Liam is worried about him. Liam is worried about him! It's as strange as it feels good. The knowledge of someone caring about him.
Their relationship had been… something, when he left for college. A homeless, eighteen-year-old, with only a truck to sleep in. So, Liam took pity on him and picked him up from the street. And somewhere along the way, they started to share a bed.
Both needing the others comfort in dark nights, when nightmares about skinless bodies and Ghost Riders robbed them their sleep. It helped. But somewhere along the way, the ropes between friendship and relationship got kind of tangled up and no one really knew what they were in the end.
"Could you please say something." Theo snaps out of his mind when he hears Liam's voice again. And maybe, in a situation like that, he can't be sarcastic. So he murmurs, "Me too. I wanted, no, I needed to know that you were fine…"
Liam takes a shaky breath and chuckles quietly. "Wow…" And Theo can't describe it better. "Wow…"
"I miss you." Liam admits. Theo swallows and nods, remembers that Liam can't see him and answers, "I miss you too."
And just like that, the tension fades. They begin to talk. About everything and nothing, until they both feel sleepy. "Tomorrow?" Theo asks hopefully after they said goodbye. And he hears the smile in Liam's words. "Tomorrow."
That night, Theo falls asleep smiling.
Thank you for reading 3