Going grocery shopping with Liam was a fucking nightmare. Theo was trying so hard not to treat him like the child he was acting like, but it was easier said than done. He felt like at one point Liam might have been trying to get on his nerves just to get rid of him.
"Liam you are learning how to make something simple for lunch and then for dinner, as I suspect you will need supervision for both. I'm not going to just get tv dinners! They will kill you! You need something healthy and filling, by the way" Theo said firmly. He tried not to roll his eyes at this grown man, who is actually surprisingly toned and athletic and full of energy, despite his eating habits. Theo knew he'd probably overstepped, but if Liam ever had company over, especially if it was Theo, he was going to need more of an assortment. Even if he was to have a roommate in the future, he shouldn't cheapen out on food and expect the other person to just take care of it all the time.
"I am doing just fine! I eat plenty healthy! Plus, I exercise and take all my vitamins, doctor" Liam rolled his eyes and didn't even try to hide it from Theo. Why would he? The man met him less than a week ago and is all of a sudden, his mother. I thought he was a weirdo bc he was closed off. Now he's too openly... whatever the fuck he's doing.
"Liam what if Mason stayed over? Or a girl? I don't know if you know this, but women actually like real food and it helps if you know how to cook!" Theo was huffing. Can't he see I'm trying to help?
"I don't want a girl..." Liam stopped in his tracks and looked at the floor. Theo had really made an ass of himself, forgetting about Liam's recent breakup. Theo just parked the shopping cart in the middle of the aisle and walked over to Liam who looked like he could cry.
"Oh... No- Liam-" Theo just floundered for a while until he saw a few tears making their way down Liam's cheeks. Theo's body made its way to Liam of its own free will and his arms made their way around Liam's shoulders, fingers rubbing small, slow circles on the back of Liam's neck. "Sshh... It's ok..." Theo tried to be reassuring, but he was completely out of his element. He was in a public place hugging another man who was crying... that he just met... Theo looked for an exit or a chair. Anything that made the situation less awkward. He was openly gay, but he hadn't really dated since Brett. He's been too scared and now he wasn't used to being in a vulnerable situation like this, even though he wasn't the vulnerable one in this situation.
Liam was starting to fall apart. He started feeling everything. He hated Hayden. He wanted her to hurt like he did their entire relationship. He wanted to see her suffer through falling in love with someone and believing that they felt the same and then years later, that love ripped apart. He wanted to know someone hated her friends for once and make it difficult for her to ever enjoy anything that she loves. He wanted her to get to the point where she felt like she had to change everything about herself to even make the person she loved, even notice her. He wanted her to feel what it was like to have her entire self, stripped away and shredded for the sake of love that faded out.
"Hey. Let's go to the bathroom, ok?" Theo spoke softly so not to startle him. Liam had been so calm after it all. It was only a matter of time before he came unraveled. Lack of sleep for a couple days did him in. Theo felt bad for him. From what he'd heard, the girl went up to his job and they had it out in the parking lot.
"Yeah... ok" Liam sniffled wiping away tears. He was shaking. He felt like he was going to be sick. It was as if his whole relationship was playing on rewind, and he'd finally seen what Mason and his friends were so skeptical about. He loved Hayden, but she didn't love him. He was no longer in this hazy glow of the good times that could excuse the way he'd let himself be treated. Why had she done this to him? Why did she stay so long if she felt the need to change him so much? Change his relationships with his friends? Why did he let her? So many things were going on in his head as Theo let him into the bathroom. He was void of anything pertaining to the world around him. Any thought. Any movement. Any noise.
"Liam can you wash your face?" Theo kept trying to ask him, but it was as if Liam was in another place. He wasn't snapping out of it. Well, this wasn't exactly how I wanted to bond. Theo turned on the faucet in the men's room and looked around. Thankfully, there was no one else in the room, so Theo could do what was necessary. He didn't know how Liam would feel about having an audience while a man cleaned off his tear-stained face in a public restroom. After the water got cold enough, Theo soaked a paper towel and gently pressed it to Liam's face. He didn't know how actually aware Liam was at this moment, so he tried his best not to surprise him or make him especially uncomfortable. It was then that Liam seemed to come out of this trance because he whispered something softly to Theo that he almost didn't catch.
"She wouldn't have done this" Liam said. His eyes were so red and bloodshot, and his face was just as red. It reminded Theo of that night with Brett. He winced internally. He knew it wasn't the same, but it triggered Theo's defenses.
"What do you mean?" He asked, trying not to think about it. Of course, Brett would make his way into any situation. He was just like a cockroach. He could find a way into anything, and when he did, he was there forever.
"Hayden. She never took care of me like this" Liam said in a sorrowful whisper. Liam didn't know why it was so hard for her. If a stranger could do this for him, why couldn't the person he'd considered spending his life with?
"I was just getting you out of everyone's view" Theo said honestly. He didn't really get what Liam meant by taking care of him. So, he helped wipe his face? It wasn't serious enough to compare to his ex.
"No... She didn't care what I ate..." Liam said looking into Theo's eyes, tears threatening to surface again.
"Liam. That sucks but-"
"No! You don't get it! You are basically still a stranger in my life and that was a woman that I've known most of my life! I was going to ask her to marry me! She didn't even care if I ate on a regular basis, let alone what I ate!"
"I'm sure that's not-"
"It's completely true! I just never noticed how one-sided our relationship really was... I never noticed how much she didn't love me..." Liam said exasperatedly. Theo was shocked, to say the least. Liam came unraveled in public and was yelling out his personal drama in Theo's face. It was a lot to handle. At the same time, he didn't seem to be mad at Theo or seem to feel like Theo had been insensitive earlier. He just seemed focused on his past relationship with this Hayden girl who had apparently done a number on him.
"What do you say we get outta here. We can go do whatever you want, or I can leave you alone and let you deal" Theo proposed, trying not to sound like he cared either way.
"I really don't wanna do the cooking thing today. I know you picked out all this-" Liam's eyes widened "oh my god the food!"
"It's ok Liam. It wasn't paid for and none of it was cold. We haven't even been in here that long, but if they restocked it from the cart, it'll be ok" Theo reassured him. Liam was an emotional person; Theo was beginning to notice. He kinda wished he could allow himself to be more like that. So carefree and brave. Not a care in the world about who was preying on his naivety. Theo missed out on his childhood and even when he'd thought he could rely on someone to love that side of him, he found out it wasn't true. Love wasn't an option for him, and he'd made peace with it. Liam may be hurting over this girl, but he wasn't doomed. He would grieve their relationship and move on. Liam didn't seem like the type to break over something as trivial as a breakup. No matter how gut- wrenching it might have been.
"I still wanna hang out. I don't really want to be alone with my thoughts" Liam admitted cautiously, hoping it wouldn't be too much for Theo. They had spent virtually every day together since they met and mostly because one or the other of them didn't want to be alone.
"You got it. I'm still buying the food. You're gonna see what it's like to have next-level cooking, for once" Theo smiled a fragile smile.
"Hey! My mom is a great cook!" Liam rebutted. He didn't like to be accused of being entirely irresponsible.
"While I'm sure that's true, I'm also sure your mom would agree with me that you need to learn for yourself" Theo's smile turned into a smirk. "However, we can still get a few extra things. I hear people are partial to chocolate or ice cream during a breakup?"
"I am a gummy candy type of guy actually" Liam's face turned to a small smile.
"Alright. Get your gummies and I'll get in line and wait for you" Theo said softly. He wasn't sure what to do exactly, because Corey and Malia never really talked much about their relationships after he and Brett. Probably because they thought it would trigger him. It wasn't like that. He wasn't a bomb ready to go off any time he saw a couple. He just couldn't hear about or see Brett without everything coming back to him. The timelines on social media didn't help either. He didn't want to see memories with Brett. He hated even feeling low enough to thing he deserved it.
"Well, if it isn't little Liam. Fancy meeting you here" a voice came from behind him, and he knew who it was. Brett. Liam's hair stood on the back of his neck, and he got actual goosebumps. "What could you be doing here on this fine afternoon? Could it be that you aren't working today? Are you leaving me to be entertained by the rest of those incompetents?"
"Well, I did go in on my day off. I feel that my off days are well-deserved" Liam said with a glare. He didn't know what happened between Theo and Brett, but he knew enough to know it was definitely Brett's fault.
"Hey! I forgot we needed-" Theo stopped abruptly after his eyes met Brett.
"Well, hello again Tyler" Brett said so exaggeratedly that any passerby would know that he was calling Theo out on his alias.
"Liam. Can you take the cart and go wait in line. I'll be there in a few minutes" Theo asked just as calm and soft as he had been, but he never broke eye contact with Brett. Liam didn't want to leave Theo alone with that guy, but he still said yes and went on his way.
"He's a real cutie. Better hold onto him before-"
"What the fuck are you doing Brett" Theo's nice, reserved stature dropped.
"Well, I'm shopping. Obviously. And I've heard that supermarkets are a great place to meet people these days" Brett said sarcastically. Because God forbid, he ever be serious.
"No. I mean in Beacon Hills. You know I have a restraining order-"
"Hey, you're the one who approached me. Didn't figure you for the jealous type, but seeing your new boy-toy, I can see it" Brett smirked, eyeing Liam from a distance.
"He is not anyone's toy, Brett! He is a friend of a friend an-"
"That you're taking grocery shopping" Brett rolled his eyes. Brett wasn't convinced that there wasn't at least something going on.
"Look- it's none of your business! ok?! If we barely know each other, or if we are fucking all day every day! It does not concern you, Brett. You gave up that right years ago!" Theo was shaking with rage. He wanted to rip Brett apart.
"Backing off" Brett raised his arms in surrender. "Just know that when he gets bored with you, he's fair game" Brett's devil smirk returned.
"Brett, he's straight" Theo rolled his eyes at the man. It was hard to believe he ever loved him, the way he is now.
"Yeah" Brett laughed "not from where I'm standing" he continued laughing like it was absurd. The most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.
"Of course, because you live in another world in your own reality, where people's feelings and truths can be bent to your will." Brett's face turned into something actually resembling offense and with that, Theo took his leave. If only for that ridiculous, stupid face, it was worth it.