It's been six months. Six months that passed by in the blink of an eye. Six months that were just two breaths ago. Two blinks ago.
Dumbass.
Liam blinked a few times as he looked over the lacrosse schedule for the year. Home opener was again Devenford. And Liam felt like he couldn't breathe.
Every practice was hard. Every practice, all he could think about was the last time he saw...him alive and healthy, not being poisoned And not in those goddamn tunnels. Not again.
Corey noticed it first. How Liam crumpled the paper. How Liam started to breathe heavier. How Liam was losing what little control he had over himself.
It took fifteen minutes for Mason to get to the boy's locker room. Three minutes for him to get the schedule out of Liam's hand. And two minutes for Liam to completely fall apart in his best friend's arms. Only a few things would ever cause him to break down about his death.
Liam never knew he could miss someone as much as he did. He never knew each time he closed his damn eyes, he would see the headlights of the cars that surrounded him as he got out of the storm drain. He never knew he could smell the stench of death, of poison, six months later.
"I can't play them." Liam gasped, when he finally stopped sobbing into his best friend's maroon shirt. "I can't see that team… no."
He couldn't see the green jerseys that he once wore. See the players he played with. The ones who would look at their captain like he was a god.
And he was. Built like a god. Talked like a god. Jaw line..body. Like a god. Coming from a Buddhist.
"What if someone is wearing...that number. His number.. It's his." Liam quickly rambled off.
Mason just closed his eyes and ran a hand through Liam's hair. "Breathe with me." He told him softly. He knew better than to ask those questions. Because he knew the school would have moved on already from his death. He knew there was a strong possibility that Liam would go head to head against another number 28 that would never be the one that he wanted to see.
And slowly, the young beta calmed down. Wiping his face as he stood up and went to Mason's car. The human drove his best friend home, his boyfriend in the back seat just this one time. So Mason could keep an eye on Liam. Keep him from digging his claws into his hands. Keep him from thinking about that dark night.
The night of the home opener was upon them. The entire school was kicked into a full fledge school spirit.
It was odd.
They all wanted a good portion of the school dead just six months ago. It seemed no one cared about the past. They all forgot. But not everyone forgave.
Liam was sitting in the gym, listening to coach getting everyone riled up for the game tonight.
And it was working for everyone but the dull blue eyed boy whose eyes were so bright just 182 days ago.
The whistle sounded like the horns. Sounded like the tires screeching. And he could hear his body being hit again. Could hear the screams of his sister.
"Liam!" Corey yelled from the goal. He saw the look of distress on the co captain.
And that snapped him out of whatever trance he seemed to always be in. He ran after whatever Devenford player had the ball. Trying to get it back.
And then the world froze.
Some player for Devenford hit his side and Liam went down with a hard thud.
He blinked a few times as he offered his hand.
28.
28.
28.
There was someone else wearing the jersey that meant so much to him. And Liam just stayed on the grass, shaking his head. "No." He mumbled. He blinked a few times. Maybe it was his mind tricking him. Maybe it was a dream.
But never was Scott in his dream of this. Nor Lydia. Stiles. Malia… The pack. All in the bleachers, knowing how hard this game was going to be for their pack mate.
"Liam. Get up." Scott said soft enough that if the boy was listening, he would have heard it. Would have listened.
But all he could hear was the utter silence that filled his ears once his heart stopped beating.
Close your eyes.
Close your eyes.
Close your eyes.
So he did.
"You know. I don't know how many times in my life I have to call you a dumbass." Brett said as he looked at Liam.
Liam looked up, confused as hell. "What?"
Brett chuckled a little as he held a lacrosse ball in his hand. "You know I'm dead. You know I'm not going to magically come back from the ground and be unhit by that car. I'm gone. Someone else is bound to wear that number. It doesn't just belong to me, Dunbar. "
Liam shook his head. "Shut up. Just..Just shut up."
Brett raised a brow. "Is that your IED I see coming undone?"
"That's enough Brett. He's had a bad week." Lori told her brother.
Liam wanted to throw up. They looked...healthy and alive. If this is where all his dreams would take him, he never wanted to wake up.
Brett rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't...be such…"
"Such a Brett to me?" Liam asked with a small smirk.
And there was that smile that he loved. That smile that let him know that everything was okay.
"There was so much I never said to you that I should have I.." Liam started. There were so many unspoken words. So many things Liam was finally starting to get the nerve to talk to Brett about.
How undeniably in love he was with the human giant.
"Li." Brett said softly as he looked into Liam's blue eyes. "I know."
Liam opened his eyes and looked at Scott. Stiles. Mason. Corey. All around him as he laid on the lacrosse field. He looked around. Saw both teams on the side lines. "What.."
Stiles sighed. "You had a panic attack and you passed out, pup." he told him softly, removing the helmet from Liam's head. "What…"
"Someone's wearing Brett's jersey." Liam said quickly. "Someone...is wearing Brett's jersey and I…"
Everyone was left in silence.
Too stunned for words.
This was the first time in 182 days that Liam was able to say Brett's name and not break down. To not clench his jaw. To not let his claws out. To not let his anger get the best of him.
Scott was the first to talk. "Where did you go. When you..you smell calmer. "
Liam smiled a little. "They talked to me. Brett and Lori." He said.
Mason put a hand on Liam's back, slightly rubbing it to let him know how proud the human was of this strength the beta had.
Liam got up, grabbed his helmet from Stiles and walked to the Devenford bench. All the players looked up, almost in awe. They wouldn't ever think that Liam would talk to the team he once played for. Talk to the coach whose life he made a living hell.
"I-I just wanted to tell you guys...how… I know playing without Brett is hard. Especially this game. Just.. Play for him. " He told the bench. "And I'm sorry you lost him."
Coach Brady put his hand on Liam's shoulder and turned him slowly. "We're sorry you lost him, too, Liam."
And he handed him something.
Liam looked confused as he held the jersey in hands. The scent of Brett invading all of his senses. He swallowed hard and nodded, walking across to the Beacon Hills side.
Scott and Finstock watching their star player hold onto that green and white jersey, tracing the number 28 a few times before he nodded, slipping it on over his number 9 jersey. The maroon being covered by the evergreen.
"Let's play some lacrosse."