Never Let Me Go » Liam Dunbar

the one with the firm grip

Sophie found herself waiting outside by the buses the next morning, her backpack hanging lowly off of her shoulders and a tired look on her face. Instead of hearing the endless nagging from her sister for not dressing to the nines, Lydia had stayed quiet and let Sophie leave the house in a pair of leggings, a loose navy blouse, brown riding boots, and messy hair with a headband on top to at least make it look like she'd tried.

The perks of watching a boy get axed. Sophie considered trying to be present during more disturbing murders. Maybe after another two or the she could get away with sweat pants.

Instead of attempting to cover the gaunt skin and dark circles, Sophie'd only put on some powder and mascara, because being bothered by what others thought was not on the agenda for the day. Instead of getting lost in her thoughts again, Sophie tapped her toe as the buses pulled up and students began flooding off, swarming around her as they walked into the school.

"I am not watching another movie again on Friday night." Garrett's dominating voice broke Sophie's ignorance to the crowd and she forced herself to match pace with her friends, finding herself walking beside Mason. "Soph, there has to be something going on?"

"Uh- no, nothing." Sophie shook her head, ignoring Violet's eyes on her ask she ducked her head and focused on not tripping.

"We're freshman, remember?" Mason pointed out. "We just got off a school bus. We won't exactly be hitting the clubs till four AM." He laughed.

Violet sighed, tired of the two boys bickering and speaking with confidence. "Okay, movie at your place. At nine?" She directed at Mason, who nodded. Violet and Garrett began to walk off to class together, and Sophie let out an involuntarily heavy sigh as she stopped short next to Mason.

"Shake it off, Martin." Mason said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Shake it off. Garrett's a tool, in case you forgot."

Sophie let out a musical laugh, a weight seeming to fall off of her shoulders at Mason's comforting words. If only he knew that Garrett was not even half of the problem. Instead she had thousands of questions going through her head over and over. "Thanks, Mase. It's kind of hard to forget." She added, earning a laugh and a squeeze on the shoulder. "Listen, I need to go by my locker so I'll see you in class, right?"

>>>>>

"Sophie!" The girl closed her locker and turned to see Liam walking down the hall quickly, his bag bouncing on his back as he approached the girl. It was easy to see that she was out of sorts- her hair was a mess, there were dark bags under her eyes, and she had startled so easily at hearing Liam's voice. The brightness in her eyes had even dulled, but she still looked beautiful.

"Hey, are you okay?" Liam asked quietly, his hand wrapping around her arm as he pulled her into an emptier hallway. She stared down at his hand and instantly he let go, balling his hand into a fist.

"I should be asking you that. First you get attacked by some- some cannibal, who by the way got axed, then a boy bites you with fangs that he definitely didn't have yesterday, and then kidnaps you. Why are you worrying about me?" Sophie asked, crossing her arms tightly and digging her nails into her skin.

Liam didn't hesitate to grab her arms again, forcing her to let go of the death grip on her elbows. She let his hands hold hers for a second before they dropped and wrapped around the straps of his backpack instead, looking around nervously. "You looked pretty fr-"

"Liam!" Both of them turned and gave a start, seeing Scott and Stiles in the hallway they'd stepped into. Liam grabbed Sophie's arm and began walking towards their first class, but Scott hurried and stepped in front of them.

"Can you just listen to us?" Scott asked in anger, Stiles stepping up next to him. Sophie tried to step back but she just bumped into Liam, who stepped in front of her protectively.

"Liam, we're brothers now." Scott began awkwardly in what seemed like a stiff and staged voice. Sophie curled her fingers around Liam's wrist which was tensed and tightened into a fist.

"What?" Liam's eyebrows pulled together, his fist clenching tighter. Sophie's fingers slid around his, tugging as she tried to loosen his hand. He was getting angry, and now was not the time. Not in front of the school. Stiles mumbled an, 'oh my god' and she couldn't help but to agree. Scott sounded crazy. "What are you talking about? I just met and you- you bit me!" Liam said, looking somewhere between confused and pissed.

"The bite-"

"Scott, please don't." Stiles sighed, crossing his arms. Sophie's eyes were watching a game of tennis looking between the pair in complete confusion.

"The bite is a gift."

"Scott, stop. Please stop." He groaned, clearly as done with his best friend as they were. This time he looked at Liam, who was still tensed. "We're trying to help you, you little runt."

"By kidnapping me?" Liam's tone was disbelieving that they possibly believed they were helping him by taping his mouth shut and locking him in a bathroom.

"Just to clarify, Scott kidnapped you." Stiles interrupted. "I aided and- and abetted."

Liam and Sophie looked at the boy with their foreheads wrinkled, and a part of her wondered why Stiles was even there. "Look, Liam. I've gone through this before. Something's happening to you. Something big." Scott tried to explain again.

"Nothing's happening to me." Liam denied, pulling his hand from Sophie's grasp and raising his arm. She sucked in a breath, expecting a punch to be thrown, but grew even more confused when instead he ripped the bandage off of his arm to reveal a clean, fresh patch of skin. "See? Nothing. Nothing." He repeated.

Scott and Stiles exchanged a look as Liam grabbed Sophie again, this time leading her away from the pair and the deserted hallway. "Let's get to class. We don't want to be late." He breathed lowly, his hand holding a hard grip on her arm. Sophie stopped short, pulling her hand from his grip and wrapping her fingers gently around her arm. Liam turned to face her, his face moving from anger to confusion to guilt at the look on her face.

"You're hurting me."

WHAAAT a double update you say?¿