The two males looked at each other, frozen in the moment. What were they supposed to do? Liam had kissed Theo out of the blue, and now they were just staring at one another. Theo was unsure of what to do. As they stood in shock, Ruby brome the awkwardness when she began to walk into the living room, causing Liam to go after her, "No! Not on the carpet, you're covered in mud!" he said and ran after her. He then looked at Theo, it was clear that Liam still did not know how to proceed, but they couldn't just stare at each other all night, "I am going to, uh, clean her off, you can change into dry clothes, my room is upstairs to the right."
Theo nodded simply and walked upstairs to Liam's room and closed the door. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he made his way to the male's closet to pick out some clothes to borrow. Theo did NOT want to catch feelings for Liam, he knew that Liam was taken, and straight, but that kiss. The kiss told a different story. Confusion on sexualities aside, Theo knew the kiss meant everything was not what it seemed. He felt the spark, he felt something more than an accidental kiss made in excitement. However, Theo knew he had to abandon these thoughts, there was no way he and Liam had a future. Liam was the Prince of Beacon Hills, heir to a fortune, and Theo was the lawn boy, who will always be a lawn boy.
Theo decided on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, knowing that anything else Liam owned would probably be too nice for Theo to wear, not to mention the size difference, as Theo as a bit taller and bigger than Liam. Theo returned downstairs and sat down in the living room, and a few moments later, Liam came and sat down as well. "I'm, uh, I am sorry for that in there. I was just excited to have gotten Ruby back. I wasn't trying to do anything..." but Liam trailed off.
"Its fine, it really is, I understand," Theo replied, but it was not fine, not one bit. Theo could not stop replaying that moment, what could have been if Theo kissed back. Could there have been anything? Should there be? Not only was Theo more confused about Liam than he ever had been, but now Theo was confused about his own feelings. He thought his feelings for Liam had left him along with the pimples and awkwardness of middle school, but this kiss proved something else. Theo had feelings for Liam, maybe they were lingering from middle school, or maybe they were new feelings, after seeing the softer side of Liam. Either way, Theo hated it. He was falling for a straight guy, and one with a girlfriend at that. Just because there was a kiss, did not mean that Liam's sexuality was anything different than what he said it was.
"You know, I am not gay," Liam said, assuringly to Theo, but part of Theo felt that maybe Liam was trying harder to convince himself, "I like girls."
Theo nodded and raised his eyebrow, "Well there is a thing as being bisexual, liking boys or girls, or pansexual, liking people of any gender."
"I am not any of those either!" Liam snapped back and looked down, "Not that there is anything wrong with either of them, but I am just not. I am with Hayden, and I love her, and we are happy together.
"Listen man, I do not care who or what you like, I am not doubting what you say," Theo said wanting too change the topic. He sensed something deeper in this, but he knew pushing the issue would probably throw Liam into a anxious state that would be harmful combined with his anxiety about the storms. "We should probably get some sleep, the storms seemed to have calmed down a bit, so we should sleep while there isn't loud thunder to wake us up."
"What if the weather gets bad again but we don't notice because we are asleep?" Liam asked nervously.
"I will keep my cellphone turned up so it will alert us, now get some sleep," Theo responded kindly before the two boys laid down on the blankets and pillows they had brought down earlier. However the truth was, Theo could not sleep, his mind was stirring so much. Instead he watched as Liam slept soundly, finally relaxed after a night full of anxiety. For a split second Theo imagined that this was his life, laying next to Liam, comforting him through the night. The idea brought a smile on his face, but the burst of reality killed the smile and formed a pit in his stomach. Liam was not a possibility, and Theo had to accept that, but how could he when every time he looked at Liam, is heart skipped a beat?
On Saturday the storms cleared up, defying the initial predictions by the weather person, but the skies were clear and the sun was shining bright. Much like the dramatic change in weather, the moods of the two boys changed as well. It seemed that sun being out reverted them back to the way they were, and they spoke that morning as if they barely knew each other. Theo politely said goodbye and Liam replied with a small thank you before Theo went on his way.
On Saturday evening, Theo did something he rarely did, he went to the lacrosse game with Corey. Usually the games were on Friday but this one was pushed back due to the storms. Corey loved the lacrosse games for a multitude of reasons, but mainly, it was another excuse to be in the same vicinity as Mason. As the boys sat there, Theo noticed Corey was staring at Liam and mason who were talking on the sidelines before the game started, "You know, Liam told me last night that Mason likes you too," Theo told his best friend. Theo wanted to keep the details of Friday night to a minimum, and surprisingly Corey understood, but of course Theo need to share that piece of information.
"Really?" Corey asked with a wide smile before looking back down at Mason and Liam, "When he leaves Liam I will go talk to him. Frankly, Liam scares me a little bit." Corey then chucked before being Hayden walk up to Mason and Liam, "Oh, and here is my cue, ill be back, maybe." The, Corey stood up, but stopped as he saw the anger and yelling coming from Hayden. Mason slowly walked away from the couple, but Hayden kept on with her agitated rant. The ordeal was ended by a nice smack to Liam's face, and a dramatic storm off. "Oh my gosh I think they just broke up."
"It appears they did," Theo replied as he watched Liam's body language, the male did not seem sad, but he seemed almost scared, not of Hayden, but of something else. Theo wondered if the kiss had anything do with this, but he would not tell Corey about it. Something like that is not something Theo had any business telling. Besides, Theo was probably flattering himself, that kiss meant nothing to Liam. But maybe it did.
"Maybe I won't go talk to Mason now, Liam needs his best friend right now," Corey announced before sitting back down next to Theo, " Did Liam mention anything about this to you yesterday? Did you pick up on any hints of this happening?"
Theo shook his head, a lie if he'd ever told one, but he would not spill any secret information about Liam's life. "No, not that I can think of," Theo's thoughts were disrupted when he noticed someone sit next to him, a beautiful brunette with striking eyes. He knew those eyes anywhere, she was a Hale. "Hi, can I help you."
"Hi, my name is Cora, I do not usually do these types of things, but I was just wondering maybe if we could go out sometime, maybe I could give you my number," She suggested to him with a small flirtatious smile. Never had he heard any rumors of Cora Hale liking him, in fact, he did not even know Cora knew who he was. The Dunbar's and the Romero's were rich, but the Hale's were richer, they were the top family of this town.
Theo thought for a moment, feeling hesitant to accept this offer, but then he got frustrated. Here was a beautiful and seemingly nice girl who wants to go out with him, but he is going to say no because he has feelings for a guy who can't like him back. He nodded to her, "Of course, that sounds lovely." As he pulled out his phone to put in her number, he glanced at Liam who, to his surprise, was glancing back. The two made eye contact before Liam looked away quickly. Theo felt a twinge of guilt seeing the way Liam looked at him and Cora, but he knew he couldn't let that stop him.
A/N: So I am going to have Liam struggle a bit with his sexuality so I want to apologize now to anyone who may not like that, it won't be the main focus o the story tho! Secondly I have much more drama about relationships, but also with the world of Rich and poor that this AU takes places in. Also I had Cora be the girl that asks Theo out because I shipped Theo with a girl it would be her. I would love for any feedback to be sent in!
