"Well, err…" Scott mutters, squinting his eyes as he thinks. He doesn't really know how to introduce the subject. "It might be a little awkward."
Liam turns his head, eyebrows knitting together. His face falls into seriousness as he forces a snort, "You sound like you're going to tell me there's someone else."
Scott pulls an awkward expression, showing the bottom line of his teeth. "Well…there kinda is."
"What do you mean?" Liam prompts, sitting up. "What do you mean 'kinda'? I-I thought we liked each other. You said yourself that Saturday was a date… I… I don't understand."
Scott catches Liam's shocked gaze and he realizes he has messed up big time.
"No! I mean, yes! Yes, Saturday was a date and, yes, I do like you. I'm sorry, I don't mean there's actually someone else, like, physically, but…" he rambles hastily, but then hears that he's not making sense. The palm of his hand hits his forehead and he groans.
"You're being very confusing right now," Liam mutters, and Scott can already make out the sad undertone threatening his voice.
"I might still be hung up on my ex-girlfriend," Scott blurts out before the rain. "But she's dead."
Liam's jaw literally drops an inch and he stares at his friend. "What?"
"She died a year ago. Her name was Allison," Scott explains.
"Wait…" Liam says as he wistfully looks away. "…A year ago? Did she go to Beacon High as well?"
Scott nods.
"Was that the girl they had a minute of silence for? Even our school knew about that. Oh my God, and you were her boyfriend? You were with her that night?"
Scott purses his lips inwards, still nodding silently.
Liam's eyes trail off, seemingly processing all the bits of information as they fall into place like pieces of a puzzle. "Holy…" He swallows. "I cannot believe that was you. That must have been…"
"It was," Scott interrupts him quietly, before exhaling a deep breath. The ceiling above him isn't hiding anything interesting, but it still seems to be his main focus of attention. He wishes he had more tact. Then again, had there been a way to make the whole thing sound less dramatic? What had happened was, and still is, horrible, but situations like that are sad. He can't really turn that around. Patiently, Scott gives Liam a minute to think about it all.
"So…" the younger boy breaks the silence. "So what does this mean? I mean…not to sound selfish, but…why have you never told me this? And why are you telling me now?"
Scott swallows. "Like I said, it had never really come up. And it's not like I haven't partly let go of Allison, because I have. But that also means I partly haven't."
"Okay…" Liam replies unsurely.
"I keep comparing you to her," Scott explains after he has inhaled a sharp breath. "It's…odd, I know you're different people, but I keep looking for things in you that I can recognize as Allison's. Yeah, I know how that sounds. It's not like I'm trying to replace her with you, it's more… You have to understand that, before you, I have only been in love once, and that was with Allison. We never really broke up, so I think a part of me is still in love with her as well. Not a big part, though."
Liam's forehead has wrinkled from his frown. "You…you're in love with me?"
Scott gasps, but accidentally chokes on his own saliva. Coughing vigorously, he sits up a little, secretly glad that it's buying him some time. Even though the inside of his throat now feels like he has swallowed sandpaper. Liam pats him on the back a little and Scott holds up his hand.
"Sorry, that wasn't really the point, was it?" Liam mumbles while the older guy catches his breath.
"It… It, no. No, it…" Scott grumbles, rubbing his hands over his face. How come Liam always seems onto him? Every time, there are so many things he wants to tell him. "Look, I…" He presses his lips together. "The reason I told you is because I feel like I know everything about you, so it's only fair if you know everything about me."
Liam shrugs a little indifferently. Scott sharing this probably still sounds like a business transaction to him. Scott sighs, shifting into a cross-legged position, so he can look into Liam's eyes.
"Stiles and Lydia keep pointing out that I compare how I feel about you to how I felt when I was with Allison. Only yesterday morning I realized there's nothing wrong with that, because I feel the same way. I guess I just looked for some sort of confirmation, and I just wanted you to know, okay?"
"Okay," Liam says in an understanding voice. He's staring up into Scott's eyes, eyebrows drooping in a sad way.
So the older guy shows a hint of a smile on the corners of his lips. "…And to answer your question: yes." He can see the reflection of starlight glimmering on the surface of the ocean when Liam visibly cheers up.
"'Yes', what?"
Scott rolls his eyes theatrically, putting his right hand on top of Liam's. "Yes, I'm in love with you."
Liam's grin widens, the boy whispering a provocative 'okay' as Scott slowly moves a little closer.
Their lips brush against each other and Scott easily recognizes the same sensations as he had the first time they had kissed; soft as clouds and warm as summer.
And just as short.
"Thanks," Liam says and for a second Scott thinks he's talking about what they just did, but then the boy clarifies, "For telling me. It means a lot."
Scott bites his lip, smiling. "Thanks for listening."
Liam snorts, shaking his head. "We are disgusting," he jokes.
Scott scrunches up his nose. "We kinda are, aren't we?"
"Yes," Liam nods, turning his hand so that their palms are now touching. He drags his fingernail across the lines of Scott's hand. The older guy shivers and Liam chuckles. "So does that mean…"
Scott doesn't need Liam to finish that question to already know his answer. "Yes."
His boyfriend blushes.
Scott's back home a couple of hours later. Needless to say he and Liam had spent the rest of the evening talking on Liam's bed. Scott had pecked a kiss onto his lips twice more.
The front door falls into its lock behind him and Scott moves up the stairs. Under a quiet breath, he whispers, "February 19th." He doubts he's ever going to forget this date.
Another wave of excitement ignites his insides, so he rings Stiles to tell him the good news.
"Finally!" his best friend exclaims on the other side of the line after Scott has finished his summary of the evening. "Congrats, man, that's great."
Scott's lucky Stiles can't see him beaming like an idiot. He enters his bedroom. "I know, right? I'm so happy, you don't even know."
Stiles chuckles. "Yeah, I get that. After all, you've only been wanting this for what, like, two weeks now?"
"Huh?" Scott's face falls ever so slightly as he sits down onto his bed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, just that it's typical you. You fall hard, Scott McCall."
Scott frowns slightly. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Yeah, of course it is. You're a people person. Hell, I wish I was like that," Stiles answers.
"You're fine."
"I'm really not," Stiles rejects Scott's unnecessary attempt at making him feel better. "But it's alright. I've got the brains."
It stays quiet for a moment. Scott drifts off into the memory of Liam's lips, noticing he already misses him.
"Gosh, Scott and Liam. Liam and Scott. Sciam," Stiles breaks the silence in a babbling manner. "Who would have even considered the two of you at the start of the year?" he continues. "And it happened so fast. For how long have you known each other now? Like, really known each other?"
Scott shrugs, even though Stiles can't see that. "A month? Two?"
"Crazy, huh?"
"It doesn't feel crazy," Scott responds innocently. "It feels right."
"Oh, yeah, no, of course. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just saying it was fast. I mean, he used to be a normal freshman on our lacrosse team and now he's your boyfriend. Hey, we should totally do something again, the lot of us together, like that one time in the mall, remember?"
Warmth spreads throughout Scott's chest. "That sounds nice. We should. We could do a video game tournament or something."
"Sure! If you want to have your ass kicked and make a complete fool out of yourself in front of your new lover."
Scott laughs, but doesn't let Stiles antagonize him. Instead he asks, "How are things with Malia?"
"Good, good," Stiles answers. "We talk, we laugh, we text. Although, she tends to sound a bit stuck up on the phone. She doesn't use emojis."
Scott hisses. "That can be tricky," he jokes.
"I know right? I can never tell if she's being sarcastic or not."
"Why don't you just ask?"
"Oh, I have done that. It makes me sound needy and paranoid. It was a lot of fun."
Scott chuckles. It's typical of Stiles to be aware of his every move, socially. "I'm sure she thinks you're great. She wouldn't text you if she didn't."
"Eh, I suppose you're right. I'm quite loveable."
"You are."
"Ah, thanks, bro. The same goes for you. You're an adorable little puppy and I love you. Now, dad's giving me the evil eye, because I haven't started my homework yet, so, see you tomorrow!"
"Good luck."
"Yes, dad, I know. It was a three minute phone conversation, can you just-"
Scott shakes his head as he taps the red button on his phone.
After that, he listens to the stillness in the house. His mom is working the night shift again. Stiles' words play around in his head and Scott looks back on the past few months. How he and Liam had started off and how Liam had pushed him away at first. Scott can't put his finger on what had made the young boy change his mind, but he figures it has something to do with his persistence. People always want to be saved, don't they? That's why superheroes are so popular nowadays. Oh, does that mean Scott is Liam's superhero? Probably.
Yet, Scott doesn't feel like one. His best friend called it crazy, but to him it had just felt natural. Like his mom says, he cares a lot. Maybe at times a little too much, but hey, if he has to have a flaw, that one suits him quite well.
He gets up from his bed, walking over to his desk where the Valentine's Day card has been placed. From that exact spot, Scott will be able to look at it every morning he wakes up, or when he is struggling with his Chemistry homework again. Yes, of course he had put thought into that.
A gentle sigh slips past his lips and, as he has done a lot in the last couple of days, he notes how happy he feels. It almost seems surreal. He knows it's because he's in love and that that feeling will fade, though. Probably in a week or so, he's going to be thrown back down to Earth. His only hope then is that Liam will be there to catch him.
And that small train of thought makes Scott wonder if Liam will be strong enough for that. In all fairness, he's still depressed. Sure, he's doing better and Scott is proud of him for that, but that doesn't mean it's over. No, not yet. Maybe it will never be over, even. Maybe this is something they will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. Scott's not sure. All he knows is that things don't stay happy and good forever. In life, there are ups and downs, and somewhere deep down he realizes he's scared of the decline.
His neglected phone buzzes from the bed, making him look up and walk over. It distracts him from his worry.
"I'm in love with you, too," Liam's text reads, "I didn't tell you that earlier."
And suddenly Scott feels like he can take on the world again. And if Liam fuels him like that, there isn't much that can go wrong. Even on the decline, when Scott's thrown from cloud nine and rain is pouring down into his eyes as his body hits the ground, he doesn't have to be afraid.
Because Scott can control the weather.
