"liam?" (hfjone fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-three

(a/n: okay back to normal chapters!! sorry about the goofiness there! i was doin a bit of experimentin lol
once im done with this fic and get to the next one, i might make a compilation of owen and liam's conversations
also this chapter is a bit angsty again sorry)

As the four arrived in the shabby fast food restaurant, Bryce led them all to an area out of the way from the lines of objects. "So, is there anything in particular you guys want?" He asked, looking over at Liam and Owen. Liam frowned a little and looked at the ground, waiting for Owen to respond.

"Uh, just a chicken sandwich and some fries, I guess." Owen said. Afterward, Liam spoke up. "Nah, I'm not that hungry." He shrugged. He looked quite closed off, and Bryce could tell, with his crossed arms and tight grip on his upper arms.

Bryce gives him a bit of a worried look, but doesn't pry for more. "Alright." He walks up to the counter and starts to order, while Owen and Liam talked.

"You okay?" Owen asked, looking over at Liam, who was still staring down at the tiled floor. "I'm good, just... Kinda embarrassed after falling like that..." Liam said, holding the back of his neck. "Y'know, if you ever need to talk to me about anything, you can." He says, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm good, really. You can trust me." Liam seemed a bit irritated. A lump formed in his throat.

Soon enough, Bryce came back, carrying a tray of food. He led the three others to a booth next to a window, overlooking the mostly empty street near the building.

"wishing i had some food right now"

"Don't you have that spaghetti I scribbled for you earlier?" Bryce said with a chuckle, looking over at the laptop.

"you didn't give me utensils" Texty responded, after Owen turned her toward Bryce. "Can't you eat with your hands?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "the hands that i dont have?"

Bryce didn't respond after that. Owen turned the laptop back to him, and Texty started chatting with him.

T: when r they going to hold hands im getting impatient smh

Owen stifled a laugh, and Bryce immediately noticed. He pulled the laptop away from Owen and looked on the screen, his expression changing slightly when seeing what Texty had said.

"What's wrong?" Liam said, making Bryce's head immediately snap up. He pushed the computer back toward Owen, sharply turning it around. "Nothing!" A light blush of embarrassment began to show on his face.

"Did Texty do something?" Liam asked, giving a slightly worried look. "I mean, yeah, but-" He was swiftly interrupted. "What'd she say?" Liam raised an eyebrow. "O-oh, nothing-" Bryce was interrupted again, this time by Owen. "Why don't ya wanna show him?" He said, giving Bryce a mischievous grin. Bryce glared at Owen. "yeah bryce show him what i said" Texty said.

"Uh, maybe we should talk about Liam seeing my sister in his coma?" Bryce quickly changed the subject, still coated with a blush of embarrassment.

"Right, uh.." Liam tried to stall to think of something to say. "Well, as I said earlier, I saw her right before I woke up. She just kinda... appeared. Not in a sort of sudden way, it felt like she had been there for so long, but I just hadn't seen. We made eye contact for a few seconds, but as soon as I could realize what was going on, I woke back up." He explained, looking down at the cold grey table.

"She didn't say a thing?" Bryce looked a little worried. "Even if she did, I wouldn't be able to hear. She was so far away." Liam explained. "She was expressionless, too." He added.

"Well, uh..." Bryce said, holding his neck. "Nothing else to elaborate on?" He asked. "Nope." Liam responded candidly.