Theo wakes up the next morning to Liam throwing things around the room. He watches while he throws a sweater and it falls onto a lamp, almost knocking it onto the floor. Liam has never been a tidy person, but it fits his personality. He is always scattered brain and looking for multiple things, or solutions to everything. A sweater hits Theo in the face.
Liam seems to now notice that he is awake and turns around. His face shows a mix of anger and stress.
"I hate that this is even happening." Liam grumbles.
"What is happening?" He asks.
"My dad has this work thing that I am being forced to go to, but I have a game. I am trying to get out of it, but he claims he already purchased tickets." Liam complains.
"Tickets to what?" He asks.
"To some buffet thing and they do raffles too. They are really boring and no fun. I like the food though." Liam explains.
"Too bad." Theo says and lays back down.
"You're going too." Liam says.
Theo sits up and stares at him. Since when was he going to some work event with Liam's dad?
"No. I am not." Theo complains.
"Too late. He already bought them. I called Mason though and if his mother allows it, then he is going in my place. I cannot miss my game." Liam points out.
"Why can't someone else go in my place? What about Corey?" He asks.
Liam looks thoughtful. He opens his drawer and throws more clothes around.
"Why don't I have clothes? I knew my mother going away on a game week was going to be a problem." Liam sighs.
"You don't know how to do your own laundry?" He asks.
Liam turns slightly red.
"I can, but I never had to." Liam says.
"If I do your laundry, can I stay home?" Theo asks.
"As much as I like the idea of you being domesticated into doing laundry, no you may not. You are going. You have never been to a family work event. It will be good for you." Liam smiles.
"It is YOUR family Liam." He points out.
"We talked about you doing more normal things. This is normal. Deal with it." Liam says.
"I take what I said back. You are no longer my favorite person." He grumbles and throws the blanket over his head.
He peeks his head out to see Liam checking his phone.
"You can't take that back. It has already been said. Oh, look Mason can go. This is even better. You get to bond with Mason. Long overdue." Liam says, looking at his phone in excitement.
"NO. NO. NO." Theo says.
"Why? You guys only hang out with the rest of us, and I need to go to this game. It is settled." Liam says.
"You're not the boss of me Little Wolf. I am not going." He sneers.
"OK, that is fine. I will just tell my dad that he wasted money on it and that you do not consider him buying you a ticket to be a kind gesture. He only thought of it since you live at his house and he has tried to make you a part of the family." Liam says.
He narrows his eyes. Liam's guilt trips are something else. He looks back at Theo will innocent blue eyes waiting for a response. How did this happen to him? He went from being with the dread doctors to going to work events with his friend's parents. He growls.
Liam jumps over to the bed and pulls the covers off. Blue eyes watch him in anticipation. Theo cannot say no to those eyes.
"Fine." He says.
Liam smiles and grabs a handful of clothes and walks out of the room.
He feels awkward hanging with Mason alone. He seems okay, but they have not spoken about Theo trying to kill him while he was the beast. It never came up and technically Liam is correct. They do not hang out unless the rest of them are together. He is not a group friend, or whatever Liam called it, but he is not really a close friend. He is more the boyfriend of Corey who might be a friend to Theo, and his only friend at that. Nolan might disagree but he is still getting used to people trying to hang out with him.
"THEO? WHAT DO I PUT THE RINSE CYLCE ON?" Liam yells.
He rolls his eyes and gets out of bed to help a little confused wolf. From being a chimera Alpha to doing laundry. Interesting.
He looks awkwardly at Mason and turns to Liam. He hates him for this. Liam does not seem to notice and keeps talking to Corey about their game strategy.
"Does it matter? The year is pretty much over. We have all been accepted somewhere." Mason points out.
Liam and Corey look at Mason like he has grown two heads. Mason holds up his hands and rolls his eyes at them. He looks at Theo and Theo averts his eyes. Mason is a friendly person, but he has not spoken to him much. He almost feels shy. Shy is a new thing for him.
"OK, ready to go?" Dr. Geyer asks.
Theo sees him come down the stairs and Theo looks at Liam one last time for a way out. Liam smiles back and shakes his head. He heads out the door with Mason.
The ride there is okay. Dr. Geyer talks a lot and Mason keeps his eyes out the window. He wonders if he is only doing this for Liam too. He sees a huge banquet hall as they pull into the parking lot. He observes people walking in the parking lot with their families. He tries not to let it bother him. He does not remember going to work events or too many places with his parents. They did work a lot though.
"Are you coming?" Mason asks.
He nods and heads inside. He looks around and sees a buffet with different people all standing around talking to each other.
"Well, I have to go talk to some people. I will meet you back here when we eat." Dr. Geyer says.
He walks over to a group of people talking. Theo tries to slide his way into a corner when Mason grabs his arm and pulls him over to the open bar. This seems like a very fancy work event if you ask him. He watches while Mason taps the counter for the bartender to come over. Mason smiles at him. He wonders what he has planned.
"Can I help you?" The bartender asks.
"Sure, can I get…" Mason starts to say.
"They will have a coke. Thanks." Melissa says, coming up behind Mason.
"Right." Mason says sheepishly.
"I can't get drunk, so this is on Mason." He says.
Mason huffs at him.
"Where is Liam?" Melissa asks.
"He had a game, so he forced us to come so Dr. Geyer didn't pay for no reason." Theo explains.
Melissa stares at him in confusion and looks at Mason who has started motioning to her. He looks at Mason who throws his hands back down on the bar. He smiles at him. He narrows his eyes and looks back at Melissa. She smiles at him.
"I am not getting involved." She says and walks away.
"Ok, want to go sit down?" Mason asks, grabbing their drinks.
"Mason. What?" He asks.
"Nothing. You know Melissa. She forgets." Mason says nervously.
"No she doesn't. Did Liam lie to me?" He asks.
Mason sighs and leads them back to a table in the back. He hands Theo his drink. He does not even like soda. He stares at it and pushes it away. He glares at Mason who is twirling his straw around, while avoiding his gaze.
"Mason." He says.
"OK, but don't tell him I said anything. He did have a game, but this work event is free. He wanted you to go because he wants you to experience more normal things. He said you did not experience a lot of life events in the past that are important." Mason explains.
"How is going to a work event considered a needed life event?" He asks.
"Well, it was more so you can bond with his family. His mom is not here but his dad is. He wants you to feel apart of the family." Mason says.
Theo frowns. He looks down at his drink and wonders why he does not feel more angry at Liam for lying. He felt forced to come to this thing. He feels a warm feeling in his chest. Liam wants him apart of his family. That is new. He never really felt like he belonged to his own family. It creates a weird warmth and a dull ache he is not used to. He sees Mason smiling at him. He looks away but Mason keeps staring back at him.
"What?" He asks.
"I think you like Liam just as much as he likes you. It is written on your face." Mason says.
"I….why are you here anyway?" Theo asks.
"Nice subject change. Liam wanted us to talk." Mason says.
"He is so involved with everything." He grumbles.
"Yeah, but he is more so now than he used to be. I think becoming a werewolf changed his outlook on things. Now he wants to help everyone and he feels responsible for everyone. More so when Scott is away, but he tries. He cares a lot about his friends." Mason points out.
"I know. That is why he showed up at the preserve and forced me to move in." He says.
Mason chuckles.
He starts to feel bad. He did try to kill Mason when he was the beast, and he wanted the power. He never brought it up, but he doubts Mason forgot about it. He has never been one to apologize for anything, but he thinks he should say something to put it behind them. Even if it is awkward.
"About everything when I was trying to take over…"
"Don't worry. I am not holding that against you. No reason to bring it up now." Mason says.
"Why?" Theo asks.
"Because I think that was not the real you. If you are so evil then why would you be helping Liam with his laundry today? He told me. He is a mess." Mason smiles.
"Maybe I am using it to take over the pack again." He points out.
"Nah. I think you like Liam and Corey too much." Mason says.
Dr. Geyer sits down and looks at both of them.
"Ready to eat?" Dr. Geyer asks.
"Oh my gosh that is why I am here." Mason exclaims.
"I thought you were here for Liam?" Theo asks.
"I mean yeah, but free food? Come on dude. You haven't lived yet." Mason says.
He pulls Theo over to the buffet table. He picks up 4 plates and Theo shakes his head. Mason hands him a plate. Theo is not used to so much food at one time. He takes a few things and Mason frowns at him and then proceeds to put more food onto Theo's plate. He smiles and continues down the line of food. Theo feels his phone vibrate.
He takes it out and looks at it. It a group text from Corey and Nolan. He looks at the time. The game is about to start. He scans the text message.
Corey: Hello. We have the game soon, but we wanted to check that you are having fun.
Nolan: I cannot imagine you having fun on purpose. It seems more like you have fun on accident because of how great we are. 😊
Theo: OK. Modest people. Have a good game.
Corey: Tell Mason not to try to order at the bar. He always tries it, and it never works.
Theo: He tried, and Melissa caught him.
Nolan: LMAO
Corey: Sounds like my Mason.
"Talking to your friends?" Melissa asks him.
He looks up at her surprised. Friends? He looks back down at his phone. Since when did Theo have friends? Are they friends? He has never really had any, other than Stiles and Scott briefly. He sees Mason waiting for him and he walks down to the end of the buffet.
They walk back to the table with plates of food and to an amused Dr. Geyer. Mason start shoveling food into his mouth and Melissa joins them at the table. She has been a lot more friendly to him than normal. He wonders if it has anything to do with the thoughts he wrote down on his computer. Only Corey and Lydia know what it said, but they keep telling everyone that Theo is not how he seems. Whatever that means.
He watches Melissa and Dr. Geyer talk about work. Mason seems to be enamored by his food and Theo starts to eat.
"Oh. Dr. Greyer is this your son?" He hears someone say.
He looks up and sees an older lady standing near them, with her hand on Dr. Geyer's shoulder.
"One of my sons. My other one is at a lacrosse game. This is my son Theo." Dr. Geyer says.
Theo looks at Mason who is watching him.
"Hi." Theo says.
He does not feel like correcting Dr. Geyer and maybe he can pretend for a while that he does belong to this family. The older woman sits down and talks to Theo about her cat and her deceased husband. She pats his shoulder and tells him he is a good-looking boy, and she works part time at the hospital with Dr. Geyer. Apparently for something to do. She seems lonely. He gets that. He looks over at the others and they are watching him.
Melissa hides a smile and Mason snaps a picture.
"MASON." He growls.
"Sorry. I wanted to capture the moment where you have gone fully soft." Mason says.
He gets back into the house and sees Liam growling on the couch. He knows that look. It means they lost, and Liam is mad. He walks over to the couch and sits next to him. He looks over at Liam who is frowning and staring at his lacrosse stick. His eyes flash back to blue when he looks at Theo.
"Mason sent me a picture with your new friend." Liam says.
"Haha. Make fun of me." He says.
"I am not making fun of you. I think it is nice. An elderly lady likes the evil chimera. I can see it." Liam says.
He rolls his eyes at him.
"Um….I might have tried to read your paper. Corey gave it to me, but I stopped myself. I wanted to but I know how private you are." Liam admits to him.
"Oh." Theo says.
"That is all you have to say?" Liam asks.
"You didn't read it. What else do you want me to say?" He asks.
"I want you to let me read it." Liam frowns.
"I don't want you to read it yet. Someday, but not yet." He says.
"Why?" Liam asks.
"Because there are personal things in there Liam. I might have talked about you guys." He says, looking away from him.
Liam's eyes widen and he smiles. He grabs Theo's shoulder and turns him, so he is forced to look at him. He searches his face and his eyes light up. Theo feels his heart flutter. He likes when Liam is happy because of something he said.
"I am in there?" Liam asks.
"You and Corey are." He says.
"Ok. Then is it you professing your love to me or Corey?" Liam teases.
He shoves Liam off and gets up to go get Liam's laundry. Liam needs a lot of help in that area. Liam follows him to the laundry room and watches him take his clothes out of the dryer. He starts folding them and Liam sighs. Theo looks at him and Liam starts shifting back and forth on his feet.
"What?" He asks.
"Nothing. I just wish that I knew what it said. What if you're trashing me?" Liam asks.
"Why would I be trashing you?" He laughs.
"I don't know. I get paranoid when I don't know what people think of me." Liam says.
"I noticed." He smirks.
Liam narrows his eyes and takes Theo's hand in his.
"Liam….."
"I want you to know that I was mad when I found out that you are going to a college so far away. That is what I get for applying to a college across the country, but I liked their lacrosse program. I also did not expect you to live here when I did apply. I am not mad anymore and I am sorry I reacted that way. I don't like you being away from me." Liam says.
Theo looks at the sad puppy eyes looking back at him. He takes Liam's face in his hands and kisses him quickly. It is all he can really feel comfortable with doing at the moment. He is not one to show affection easily. Liam smiles and he looks like Theo just told him the best news in the world. Liam takes the basket from him and they walk back towards the living room.
"Are we…"
"No." Theo says.
"Ok, but are you kissing other people?" Liam asks, looking annoyed.
"When would I be doing that? I am with all of you all of the time." He says.
"I know, but …I don't like to share." Liam says.
"You are ridiculous. I only have time for one angry werewolf." Theo says.
Liam smiles.
Realization dawns on him. He feels confused and annoyed. He always knew feelings were a weakness, but he never counted on Liam. It only took Liam part of the school year to have Theo having feelings he cannot control. He does not know how he feels about it. He feels an ache in his stomach and he tries to ignore it. He looks at Liam again and decides he might like Liam a little more than he originally thought. He thinks about Liam yelling he loved him and how he reacted. He did not mean to be so rude about it, but it caught him off guard. His family did not normally express themselves that way. Liam is always so intense with his feelings.
He helps Liam fold his laundry and put it away. He looks out the window and sees it is dark outside. He checks the time and sees it is almost 9pm. Anything with Liam is always a process.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Liam asks.
"Sure. What is it this time?" He asks.
"Toy Story." Liam says.
"Really?" He groans.
"You have about an entire childhood of movies to catch up on Theo. This is one of them. Sit down and shush. You are going to love it." Liam smirks at him.
He sits down on the floor while Liam puts the movie in.
He watches Liam's eyes light up at different scenes. For someone who has been through a supernatural war he seems to be innocent at times. He wishes he felt innocent. He lost that a long time ago. He watches the movie with Liam and his eyes become heavy.
Liam is on Toy Story 3 at this point and Theo is having trouble staying awake. He feels Liam shift him, so he is laying down. Liam throws a blanket over him and runs his fingers through his hair. He shivers at the touch and goosebumps creep onto his skin. He feels Liam slide his hand into his shirt and rest it on his torso. He feels Liam looking at him, but he keeps his eyes closed. He moves closer to Theo. He feels Liam pat his head and he growls. Liam chuckles and continues to slide his fingers through his hair.
It is nice. He is not used to it, but he does not hate it.
