the future is so much brighter
The bonfire was a way of letting things go after the full moon, a very stressful thing for all parties involved. And sometimes there's clothes and stuff to burn. And it just so happened that Lydia's lake house was the perfect place for a bonfire. The way this all fell together was just too seamless.
But to Liam, this was just too new. This was all too much, holy shit, was this all too much. He wasn't used to it yet.
The banshee sat on the back patio stairs, hugging a fire extinguisher. She had been whispering to Scott a mile a minute, explaining some sort of supernatural hitlist she found 1/3 of and he couldn't keep up with what she was saying. All he knew was that he wasn't on it, which confused him because he was supernatural. If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was that.
None of this was natural.
The werecoyote girl, who also wasn't on it, who tossed him a bar of chocolate and a bag of marshmallows a while ago.
The ex-sixth-sense-possessed kid shook her head at her sticky fingers while she defended herself, stating she hadn't had good chocolate in years. He pulled her into his lap and she smiled, teasing him by pressing her chocolate-covered fingers all over her face.
Staring in between the flames at the burning wood, he saw that the fox girl was doing the same thing. He could see a little bit of an orange glow coming off her body, echoing the actions of the fire. Her eyes flashed orange and then traveled upwards. Her eyes traveled up the flame and to the sparks and then the smoke and finally the stars. And then it repeated. Her eyes followed the same pattern, the light caressed her face and he felt the fatal stroke of a crush. She couldn't keep her eyes off of the flames and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. She made eye contact the second he thought to stop staring and turn away.
Oh, fuck.
"You wanna know what I think?" Stiles whispered to Scott, Malia in his lap. Liam had just sat and stared at the fire, looking lonely and lost. Scott was trying not to stare at him because he knows that it creeps him out (like it used to creep him out). "Hear me out on this but if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Liam has a little crush on Kira."
"It's a good thing you know better." Scott chuckled. "He's too busy with things like being a brand new werewolf and a lacrosse player and stuff like that."
"Let's ask." Stiles turned to her. "Malia, do you think Liam still likes Kira?"
"Likes Kira?" Malia wiped her mouth and swallowed. "Or like 'like-likes' Kira"
"The second one."
"Yes."
"Oh come on!" Scott rolled his eyes.
Malia shrugged. "You need to listen to his heartbeat more. I swear it sounds like he has a heart murmur whenever he sees her."
"Alright, look Scott, the little jerk's obviously not proud of it." Stiles started to chug his Snapple. "Obviously doesn't want her to know. Obviously doesn't want you to know. I've been there before with unrequited love and you just-"
"Excuse me?" Malia interrupted. Scott laughed while Stiles tried to explain under the heavy gaze of his romantic interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kira staring at the sky and he wished he could capture that moment for her. She looked like every little thing that made life so special were having a meeting and she was the hostess. He couldn't blame or be angry Liam, if he did really still like Kira for the moments she looked like that. He really couldn't.
After the eye contact, Kira smiled and tucked her hair back. When she stood up, he felt a combination of dread and excitement. It increased as she passed the fire and passed the s'mores and landed right next to him. Her knee brushed his and he felt like Christmas had come early.
"Hi." she said, gently. "How're you holding up?"
"With the whole turning into a monster thing or the deadpool thing?"
Her eyes widened, because she didn't know if she offended him or how he found out about the deadpool. She put her hand on his shoulder.
"No, oh God, no you're not a monster." she said immediately, turning towards him more. With these stupid heightened senses, he couldn't help but notice that she smelled like a mix of chocolate and cherries. He tried to keep his eyes on the ground so he didn't have to look at her pretty face as she kept explaining what she meant and how she wasn't trying to offend him.
"...and the whole transition process, being new to all the supernatural powwows and having hair grow out of your cheeks...don't even worry about the deadpool, you're not even on it." Kira stopped rambling, swallowing her last sentence.
"Not yet." Liam swallowed. "But I will be."
It was silent for a second. Liam could hear her heartbeat because it got very loud all of sudden, pounding at a rate that indicated a mix of anxiousness and fear.
For the first time this conversation, Liam turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"
"With what?"
"The whole deadpool thing. Because you're on it and..."
She gave a strained smile and looked at the grass. `"Um...to be honest, it's terrifying. It really is."
"So's being an omega."
Kira chuckled. "Hey. You're a beta. Much higher up on the food chain."
Liam shrugged. "One day I'll get it."
Kira nodded. "Yeah. One day, this'll all make sense. But for now...you know, you're his first beta. Wait no, he's had betas before but none like you."
Liam's heart jumped against his will. He shot her a confused and partially amused look.
"I mean, you're the first person he's ever bitten...I think. Well, wait, I know for a fact that you're the first person he's ever turned into a werewolf. So it's new for him too."
Liam nodded, looking across the fire to Scott, who was now talking to Malia and Stiles about the deadpool. Malia's name wasn't on it for some reason and they both wanted to know why.
"Hey. Also, I'm sorry there wasn't a party the other day."
"I'm sorry I invited...everyone."
"I'm sorry I told you everyone was coming."
"I'm sorry you had to help Lydia clean up."
"Yeah, you should be." Kira nodded and he couldn't help it. He laughed. It was a short one, but still a laugh. Across the fire, Scott was staring at them like he stared at him across the quad the other day. Liam looked down, doing anything to avoid that gaze.
"Hey. You don't need to be afraid of Scott or anything. The only reason he bit you was to save a life, which is the number reason why Scott does anything really." Kira added. "You're important to him so you're in the pack now. Which makes you important to all of us."
Liam's heart started beating quicker. He forced himself to meet her eyes. She was serious. All he wanted to do was look back down. But he couldn't do it. His eyes remained locked on hers. Her lips curved upwards subtly, so subtle it was almost like he imagined it. Maybe he did. Maybe he was that deep into this crush on her that wasn't supposed to mean anything that he's imagining this whole conversation. He decided to list everything he knew made her unattainable.
She was a junior for God's sake. She was the girlfriend of the captain of the lacrosse team and an alpha. She was incredibly pretty, way out of his league. She was a fox who owned a sword so sharp she could slice him open without blinking.
She's seen him freak out.
She's seen him angry.
His eyes darted toward the ground.
Kira bit her lip. "I mean that, Liam. I really do. You know how people always say high school's the best few years of your life? I think the future, this future that we're gonna have, is so much brighter. Especially for you."
Kira squeezed his knee and stood up, walking towards Malia, Lydia, Stiles, and Scott. He couldn't find it in himself to follow her, just to watch. Watch as she floated towards them. And watch as she tripped over a log, landing in Scott's arms. She laughed a little as Scott worried about her and he couldn't help but stare. Again.
Oh fuck.
Liam was in so deep.