"Dude, I'm telling you, it was the weirdest thing ever," Stiles rambles. "Dinner was great; food was nice, service was perfect, I tripped over a table, she laughed. It was awesome."
"Then how was it weird?" Scott asks.
They're in Stiles' bedroom, playing videogames, since they hadn't really had a chance to talk about Stiles' date with Malia.
"Well, I took her home, you know, to my place…"
Scott's eyebrows rise as he throws him a look.
"Jesus, no. Not like that. God, Scott, who do you think- it was still early, okay? She's a really fast eater; you know, she rushes through it like a hungry coyote or something."
Scott snickers.
Before he continues, Stiles pauses the game they're playing. "Anyway, as I said, I took her home, and I figured, why not watch a movie, right? Exactly. That's a perfect way to end a night, thank you. Right, so we settled on the couch downstairs and all of a sudden, she wraps her arm around me and pulls me against her chest."
Scott's face turns to awe. "You cuddled?"
"Yes, we cuddled, but that's not the point," Stiles answers with a roll of his eyes. "The point is that she cuddled me. And, like, isn't the guy supposed to cuddle the girl? I'm pretty sure that's a rule. I mean, come on, it is…right? It's just weird the other way around."
Scott looks a bit hesitant. "I don't know, man, that kinda went out of fashion years ago…"
Stiles' face falls. "Yeah, well, then I think someone forgot to pass me the message," he replies bitterly, unpausing the game.
Scott hits the 'Start' button again, demanding Stiles' attention.
"Was it nice? Did you like it?" he asks.
Stiles grumbles, looking away a couple of times before he reluctantly admits, "Scott, I'm a teenager. Hormones are partying in my veins like it's the freaking 4th of July. Of course I liked it."
"Well, then why are you being so weird about it?"
"Because I felt weird about it, okay?! Can't I just feel weird about it? Has that become some sort of crime? Should I have my dad arrest me?"
"Okay, well, I'm not talking to you when you're like this," Scott replies, shaking his head. Still, he chuckles lightly and turns back to the game. They get soaked up by the graphics for a while, but Scott breaks the silence when his character dies for the fifth time in a row.
"At least it's not as weird as inviting someone to go swimming with you on the first date," he mumbles.
Stiles snorts. "Who did that? Oh my God, no…did you do that? Oh, Scott, why? Why?"
"I brought Liam lunch this afternoon," Scott interrupts his friend. "You know, because he gave me a card yesterday. I wanted to do something nice, so my mom said I should just take the spaghetti and meatballs we had last night."
Stiles' grin widens. "Dude, what?"
Scott gives him a look. "I know." His cheeks fill with air. "Anyway, I didn't really think about the fact that is was going to be disgusting, because the whole reason I gave it to him was just an excuse to ask him out on an official date. But then the food tasted horrible and I felt super ashamed, so to make up for it, I asked him to go swimming."
"Yeah, but seriously, why swimming?"
Scott throws up his hands hopelessly, falling backwards onto the floor. "I don't know, okay? I looked into his eyes and it was the first thing that came to my mind."
Stiles chuckles. "Man, the last time I went swimming in that pool, it wasn't a particularly nice experience."
Scott rolls onto his stomach. "I know," he groans. "Luckily we're not going to the school's."
"Then where are you taking him?"
"To the leisure centre downtown," Scott answers.
Stiles laughs, crawling towards Scott. "Does that mean you're gonna have to take him there on your motorbike? Wow, well done. Maybe he'll hold onto your waist as you drive," Stiles teases.
Scott's face heats up, because that had already happened. Twice.
"No, but seriously," his best friend continues, patting Scott's back, "I'm sure it'll be fine. You guys click. You're gonna have fun, trust me."
Scott twists his head. "You think so?"
Stiles nods reassuringly. "Sure! You even had fun at the mall last week. You'll be fine."
"If you say so…"
It's Saturday, almost noon, and Scott has just arrived at Liam's house. It's a cold and cloudy day; ideal for swimming, Scott finds. There's nothing better than to walk into the fresh air after spending a couple of hours in a hot and humid pool.
He takes off his helmet and steps off his bike when Liam exits the front door. Scott's heart skips a beat, and noticing that causes a bright blush to colour his cheeks. Liam jogs up to him with an eager grin. There's a duffle bag hanging over his shoulders and the jacket he's wearing hasn't been zipped up. Scott's about to point out that he'll probably get cold when he notices something else.
"Hey, you're wearing your new shirt," he says, beaming down at Liam.
The boy looks down at himself shyly. He pulls a bit on the hem, expanding the green fabric for a moment. "Yeah," he murmurs. "I kinda like it; looks good on me."
Scott nods quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, it does. Like I told you."
Liam smiles, humming softly. He then seems to register the cold and zips up his jacket, which is good, because Scott has completely forgotten that's what he had intended to advise. He hands Liam the extra helmet and waits for him to hop on.
"You ready?"
And after Liam nods, Scott takes off, following the signs that lead them downtown. A nervous excitement is racing through Scott's bloodstream; tingles of anticipation, like freshly cut grass tickling the bottom of his bare feet. As hoped – and a little bit as expected – Liam's hands are on Scott's hips the whole ride there. To Scott, it's a constant confirmation of reality. Every time Liam squeezes him a little tighter is a continuous reminder that this is all actually happening. He's going on a date with Liam. And Liam's wearing the shirt Scot had said he liked, which shows he had tried to look nice for him.
Scott has never had this feeling before; he didn't have it with Allison. Not because they didn't like each other, but because they had never voiced it towards one another. They had simply started dating – double dating, actually, thanks to Lydia – and one thing had just led to another. One day they kissed and the next they were together. They never had to tell each other; they just showed it.
It's so much different with Scott and Liam now. They already know they like each other, and it makes it all the more exciting. Scott feels exactly like he's supposed to during a first date, but for once without all the insecurities. Generally, people always ask themselves the standard questions: 'Is he going to ask me out again?' and 'Are we going to kiss?' and mostly those questions are finalized by 'Do they like me too?'
But since Scott doesn't have to ask himself that question anymore, the only thing he has to worry about now is if they're going to kiss, because that would be so awesome. Then again, Lydia did say you sometimes shouldn't give it all away, so maybe Scott should hold out for a while longer.
"Have you been to this pool before?" Scott asks when they've arrived and taken off their helmets.
"Nope," Liam answers, "Have you?"
Scott nods. "Only once, right before Stiles had an incident at the swimming pool at school. After that, we never went swimming ever again."
"What kind of incident?"
The lines on Scott's face become more visible as he thinks. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you," he admits with a quasi-surprised look. "Stiles is quite private about it."
Liam shrugs lightly. "Alright then. You don't have to tell me."
Scott nods gratefully. They walk towards the entrance, but then Scott can't help feeling a little uneasy about keeping something from Liam, especially since Liam has always been so honest with him. And about much more sensitive things. Yet, Scott realizes it's not his secret to share.
"Let's just say Stiles had to save someone from drowning," he finally spills.
Liam's eyes widen when he hears that, the boy looking very impressed, but he doesn't ask any more questions. Scott appreciates that.
They order their tickets at the counter, but when Scott takes out his wallet to pay, Liam has already started handing over the money. Scott frowns at him, a little offended, because hey, this was his date after all. But Liam smartly reminds him that he had already paid for his hot cocoa, three weeks ago. Scott's eyebrows rise, but then he nods in appreciation. Apparently he shouldn't take Liam's memory for granted.
"Besides, it helps with the guilt," Liam adds when they walk towards the changing rooms.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, the guilt I sometimes feel towards you," Liam reminds Scott. "Yeah, I still have it. No, not as bad as I used to. It's fine. It kinda went away a little when I gave you the Valentine's Day card."
"That makes sense," Scott says. "You feel less guilty when you're able to do something nice for me." Liam nods affirmatively. "But that doesn't mean you have to pay for everything," Scott still adds, elbowing him playfully.
Liam chuckles, swiftly turning on his heel as he opens one of the private cubicles. "Alright. Then I'll let you treat me to an ice cream later. Deal?" The tip of his tongue is sticking partly out of his mouth.
Scott laughs, shaking his head, because before he can close that deal, Liam has already locked the door.
Scott takes the stall next to him. His jaw hurts a little from smiling so much, but no matter what he does, he can't stop it. Liam has changed over the past few weeks. He has grown more confident, it seems, and with his confidence comes a sort of playfulness that Scott really enjoys. It's childish; it makes him feel liberated and optimistic.
After changing into their swimwear, the boys walk to the showers, towels in hand. Scott can't help but sneak a few peeks at Liam, which is odd, because they've seen each other before, in the locker rooms at school. Yet, something inside of Scott tells him it's different now. Probably the first-date-tingles.
They enter the tropic heat and the smell of chlorine fills their noses. Scott moves to the side where the white pool lounges are. He picks two free ones that are next to each other and throws his towel on one of them. Liam does the same with the other.
There are three pools. One of them is shallow enough for you to stand in, and houses a lot of cool features like waterfalls. The bottom of the waterslide is there as well and usually it leads to a small outside area, but that's closed because of the cold. On the other side of the room is a deep pool, where, during the weekdays, people swim for sport. The third pool is just for babies. Since the first one is warmer, the boys decide to go there. Scott watches Liam dipping his head under, splashing Scott in the face when he comes up and shakes the water from his hair. Scott grins, wiping his eyes. After opening them again, he sees that the familiar spikes of Liam's hair have lost their usual rigidity. Scott thinks he prefers this look anyway.
It only takes them seconds to start splashing water into each other's eyes. Scott has the perfect technique to make huge splashes, which annoys Liam greatly. It comes to the point where he can't take it any longer and with a brutal roar he jumps onto Scott. The latter boy laughs as Liam tries to push him under, but since Scott's taller he can easily take the weight, especially in the water, which means Liam only ends up as Scott's jetpack.
After a while they get tired, so they decide to float around a bit, moving casually closer to the water slide. Scott is moving himself forward with his hands touching the floor and Liam jokes that he looks like a dog. Scott barks and starts peddling even more fiercely and he has no idea why he does that, but it makes Liam laugh so it's fine.
They have to wait a couple of minutes on the spiral staircase before they can get onto the waterslide. When they're finally at the top, Scott turns around.
"Wanna go first?" he asks. His eyes have darkened a little, so Liam gives him a suspicious look.
"Sure…" he answers, hesitating before he steps in front of Scott.
Scott grins widely as Liam holds his stare. He pauses for a second, hands on the bar above where the water is jetting down. Then, he takes off, basically throwing himself down.
When Liam has just turned the corner, Scott rushes after him. He flails onto his stomach, arms spread out in front of him. An evil laugh erupts from his throat and a bit further down he can hear Liam, in a terrifying tone, saying "Oh my God. You asshole!"
Scott enters a straight bit and he can see Liam in front of him. The boy looks behind himself, his face filled with tension as he shouts, "Scott, I swear to-"
But Scott has already killed the distance between them and he pokes his fingers into Liam's sides. The boy spasms, sitting up and trying to turn himself around to throw Scott off, but the taller one is quicker and has already lifted himself up onto his knees. He tickles Liam mercilessly.
"Scott!" Liam exclaims in between laughing fits. "Scott, get off!"
They turn another corner and they thrash along with the rushing water, almost making a 180. They near the end and Liam's expression grows even more horrified, scared Scott's going to land on top of him.
"Scott!"
They exit the slide and Liam can hear the rushing sound of water clashing with water. He feels the slide disappear from under him and awaits the impact of Scott's body onto his.
But, somehow, Scott manages to flip himself under Liam right before that moment. He lands a fraction earlier and when they're underwater, Scott has wrapped his arms around Liam's waist. His chest is pressed against Liam's back and, because it's only for half a second, Scott tries to snap a memory of the feeling of Liam's small frame against his. Skin pressed against skin; smoothened and softened by water. He tightens his grip a little and Liam rests his head in the crook of his neck. The moment passes way too quickly, though.
Liam is the first to gasp for air when they resurface. Scott grins at him and the younger boy chuckles, splashing water at Scott. "Jerk," he comments, quickly hiding his face under the tide in a defensive matter, only his eyes and hair poking out.
But Scott doesn't need to see Liam's cheeks to know he doesn't mean it. He can tell from just the shy glimmer in his eyes what he really thought about that little interaction.
"Come on," Scott prompts. "I'll make it up you by buying you ice cream."
Liam chuckles, shaking his head. "I thought that was payback for the tickets."
A couple of minutes later they're relaxing on their lounges, enjoying their ice creams. Scott in particular is engaging himself in a moment of pure bliss, a result of the combination of the humidity of the room, the coldness of the ice cream and the leftover water droplets trickling down his stomach.
That moment shatters when Liam gives Scott's hand a gentle push, right as he is about to lick the ice cream. His nose dips into the vanilla sweetness and he throws Liam a disbelieving look.
"Payback," is all Liam says, along with a smirk.
Scott rolls his eyes theatrically, but decides he's not going to be defeated.
"Lick it off," he demands.
Liam's eyes widen. "What?"
Scott's face remains serious for a couple of seconds longer, but then he can't withhold the brimming laughter in his throat anymore.
"Since when have you been such a joker?" Liam teases.
Scott chuckles. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'll stop," he swiftly avoids the question. Like he's going to tell Liam he's only acting like this because he's nervous as hell. And because he's having fun. And, yeah, maybe he does gets a bit more provocative and playful when he's on a date.
Liam smiles and lays back down. Scott watches him from the corners of his eyes, thinking how lucky he actually is. Liam is handsome as hell, especially with the glistening drops of water on his body. God, he really has an urge to touch him.
"Are you having fun?" he asks after a while.
Liam nods. "Yeah, this is great. I told you, I like swimming."
"Me too," Scott admits.
"Not so lame after all, is it?"
Scott snorts, cheeks burning lightly. "Not at all."
Liam finishes his ice cream and sits up a little, looking around the room until his eyes fall onto Scott's hip.
"Hey, what's that?" He points at the bruise. "Is that from the slide?"
Scott looks down at what Liam's referring to. "Oh, that. No, it's not from the slide," he answers. "I walked into a dresser at home."
Liam hisses.
"Yeah. I got a bit worked up from the talk with my dad."
Liam swallows, voice lowering a little as he asks, "You mean when he explained to you why he left?"
Scott nods. "Yup." He goes back to looking up at the ceiling, frustrated at the memory. He had tried to forget about it.
"How are things with your dad now?"
Scott sighs. He debates for a second if he wants to talk about it, but after catching Liam's look and seeing the worry in his eyes, he turns onto his side towards him. "He left. Again," he answers simply. He wants to elaborate, but doesn't really know what else to say. He suddenly realizes how much harder it is to talk about deep stuff in broad daylight, instead of when surrounded by the dark and the stillness of the night. He licks his lips, touching Liam's pinky finger with his own. Liam smiles gently.
"I know," he says.
It makes Scott smile and it proves to be the little push he needs. Liam understands a lot of things and, in all fairness, Scott enjoys talking to him. He refuses to let himself be scared off by a little boundary.
"To be honest, I'm glad he left," he tells him. "I know it sounds harsh, but I am. I want to forget about him coming back in the first place. I mean, good for him that he explained it to me, but it doesn't change anything. He can never take back how he made me feel, so…"
"It's whatever," Liam finishes his sentence.
"Yeah." Scott shrugs a little.
Liam nods understandingly. "I'm quite surprised you got so worked up, though."
Scott snorts. "You should've seen me. I was really angry. And we both know that hardly ever happens."
Liam hums affirmatively.
"I don't like it either," Scott continues. "It doesn't feel like…me."
"It doesn't sound like you."
Scott scrunches his nose. "I know, right? It's odd. It only happened, like, last week, but looking back at it now I can hardly believe that was me."
Liam's face falls and his lips curl into a small smile. Scott frowns at him.
"Are you okay?"
Liam nods. "Yeah. I just hope I will feel the same someday. I hope I'm going to have a point in my life where I look back at all this…" He glances at his left arm. "…And can say that isn't like me anymore."
Scott can feel his heart breaking a little, but…Liam has never said something like that before. He would always just assume that it never gets better. Every time, it had sounded like he had accepted that fact, like he didn't have any hope.
And now he does. He has hope.
So Scott grins widely and gives him a reassuring look. "It will."
Liam's face lights up ever so slightly, and Scott decides it's time to distract him. "Wanna go into the deep pool?"
They dip in and do a little workout, swimming back and forth in straight lines. Automatically, it turns into a competition, but Scott is the first one to get tired and fed up with it.
"So what do you like so much about swimming?" he asks, holding on to the edge of the pool.
"What don't you like about swimming?" Liam shoots back, panting a little.
Scott shrugs. "I don't mind it, but I can live without it."
Liam nods. He throws his legs over the edge, floating on his back. His ears are underwater as he stares up the ceiling. Then he moves and scoots a little closer to Scott.
"I like the feeling of the water. The flow," he answers. "And…" He swallows, pursing his lips.
Scott gives him an expectant look. "And…?"
Liam hesitates, opening his mouth once or twice, but ending up closing it again. Scott raises his eyebrows at him. "What?"
Liam lets out a sigh, blowing bubbles in the water. But then his face suddenly lights up, like he's having an epiphany. His hand disappears underwater and a second later Scott can feel his pinky finger touching his. It's a small and simple gesture, but shivers creep down Scott's spine. Liam holds his finger and continues.
"And I like the silence when you dip your head under. Every sound is muffled and everything is weightless," he says in a low voice. "I love that feeling. It's like…it's like there's nothing holding me down anymore."
Scott nods, smiling gently. He doesn't reply and he can see Liam growing more and more self-conscious by the second, until Scott's smile broadens. After taking a deep breath, he disappears and quickly gives Liam's hand a yank. Scott's ears fill with water and he listens to the dim sounds of splashing and people talking. He blows out some air through his nose, causing his body to sink deeper.
After an unsure attempt, he opens his eyes. They immediately start stinging from the chlorine, but that eventually subsides. He watches Liam, who's a little above him. He still has his eyes screwed shut and Scott closes in, so close that he can make out Liam's jawline and the little bubbles on his skin. Their pinky fingers are still entangled and in a rush of boldness, Scott takes his other hand and brushes it across Liam's cheek. The boy starts and opens his eyes in a reflex, but then smiles. They catch each other's gazes and Liam shies away, quickly resurfacing.
"I think I get what you mean," Scott admits when he has come up as well.
Liam blushes.
They decide to leave a little after four o'clock, considering they still have to change and drive back home, and since Liam can't be late for dinner. Besides, their skin has started to wrinkle, so it's time. Their walk back to the showers is a quiet one, mainly because Scott's feeling so at peace again, and he figures Liam is experiencing the same blissful sensation.
They both disappear into their own changing cubicles afterwards. Scott doesn't need much time to dry himself and put on his clothes, so he's the first one out. He waits for Liam at the end of the hallway, in front of one of the mirrors. There are a couple of women next to him blow drying their hair. The boyfriend or husband of one of them shows up from behind her and they press a quick kiss onto each other's lips. Scott watches them, immediately projecting it onto his own situation. He's so ready to kiss Liam, but he still can't shake Lydia's words from his mind. If he does decide to kiss Liam, it has to be perfect. Scott's a romantic like that. It can't be some quick, sloppy or embarrassing thing. It needs to be a moment they'll both be remembering for a long, long time. Or so Scott hopes.
He checks the time on his phone twenty minutes later, frowning at the still-locked cubicle Liam's in. Scott thinks that he's taking his sweet time, and simultaneously wonders why. Liam isn't one of those people that care too much about their looks. At least that's what he has picked up from post lacrosse practices.
Naturally, Scott starts to worry and he walks back into the hallway. At Liam's door he waits, listening carefully. There doesn't seem to be much noise coming from the other side, so he knocks.
"Liam?"
Silence.
"Liam? Are you still in there?" Scott calls questioningly. He shoots a friendly smile to the stranger a couple of feet away from him, who's looking at him weirdly.
Scott knocks again. "Liam?" His foot starts tapping the floor. "Hey, are you almost done? It's getting quite late…"
A reply still doesn't come and Scott sighs, starting to get worried. That worry grows when he embarrasses himself by crouching down and sneaking a peek under the cubicle, recognizing Liam's shoes and his bare feet.
"Liam. Hey! Open up," he says, his heart starting to beat in his throat.
Suddenly he can hear a soft click and the symbol changes from red to white. Scott pushes the door open and crawls inside in a fluid motion.
Liam's sitting upright on the bench, still dressed in his trunks. Scott closes the door behind him and notices Liam's hands are clutching at his knees. He's shaking, biting onto his bottom lip, the skin there changing from pink to white. With big eyes, he looks up at Scott.
"I'm sorry," he chokes out.
Scott drops his backpack onto the floor, beyond caring that it might get wet, and quickly sits down next to his friend. "What's wrong?" he asks. He places a hand on Liam's back, feeling his spine rise and fall from his heavy breathing.
"I'm sorry, I…" Liam swallows, closing his eyes for a second. If Scott didn't know any better, he would think the boy is in pain. "…I feel a bit weird about today."
Scott's face falls. He starts rubbing Liam's back gently. "Why?"
Liam sniffs, wiping his nose. He looks up at the ceiling a couple of times, Scott waiting quietly and patiently. "I guess I just don't understand why…" He swallows again. "Why you wanted to take me out…on a date…" He inhales a sharp breath. "And I know that sounds stupid, because you have never said that this is an official date. I mean, I was the one who assumed it was and now I feel like an idiot, because what if it's not?" He finally looks at Scott. "Scott, I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. I didn't mean…I mean…I get if you don't..." A tear spills from his eyes and Liam quickly wipes it off with his arm. "Ah, man," he says in a defeated tone.
Scott gently wraps his arms around him, closing the little distance between them. Their legs are touching and Scott pushes Liam's head into the crook of his neck, near his collarbone. He slides the hand that was on Liam's back up through his hair in a comforting manner.
Liam holds on to Scott's upper arm as he cries softly, hiding his face in the softness of Scott's hoodie. He groans a little before he asks in a shaky breath, "Why? Why does this happen every time?"
Scott can't answer that question, so instead he just starts rocking Liam from side to side a little.
"I'm sorry. We were having such a good time…and now I'm ruining it."
"You're not ruining it," Scott assures him in a brief whisper. "It's okay. You know it's okay."
Liam nods slowly, resting his head against Scott chest.
Scott hugs him like that until Liam has calmed down. When he can hear his breathing has gone back to normal, he asks, "Did you want to…?"
"I tried to distract myself," Liam instantly defends himself. "I did. Really. I just…I couldn't find anything…"
"Why didn't you come up to me and talk about it?" Scott offers, making sure he's not sounding obvious, but sincere.
Liam averts his gaze to the floor. "I wanted to, but I kept thinking I would be bothering you."
Scott squeezes his neck. "You don't have to do this on your own, you know," he reminds him. "I'm here for you."
Liam takes a deep breath, seemingly collecting himself. "I know," he says. But then repeats it in a more convincing tone. "I know."
Scott smiles and ruffles his hair. "Come on, get dressed. It's late," he says. "I'll stay right out the door. If it happens again, just unlock it and I'll come in. That way you don't have to say anything."
Liam gapes at him in disbelief, but only for a mere second. "Thanks, Scott."
"It's okay."
