Thiam One Shots

Learning How to be Loved

He sits alone. Nobody near. He eats alone. He is alone. He's got no friends because he's feared. They view him as a monster because he's killed. But he just wants to be loved. That's all he's ever wanted.

Liam watches him every day. Walking in and crossing the cafeteria with a lunch bag in his hand. He can't afford the school lunches.

He's got dark black circles under his eyes, a sign he doesn't sleep much if he does at all. As each day passes, the circles under his eyes get darker.

Liam watches as he sits at the same table every day. He always has the same lunch. A bag of crackers, a protein bar, a bottle of water, and pepperoni sticks. It's not a very healthy lunch so Liam suspects he doesn't have much money.

His hair looks ruffled, like a mess sticking out of his hood. The hood that is always up no matter what sweater he's wearing. He wears a baggy hoodie everyday interchanging his pants from blue jeans, to black jeans, to ripped black jeans, to black cargo pants, to khakis.

He's got five outfits he wears. That's it. Liam thinks his home situation might not be the best. Maybe his parents are poor. Maybe he was kicked out. Maybe he's in foster care. Maybe he just lives on his own.

One day he walks in, right to his table, without a lunch bag. Liam's friends carry on conversation like usual. Corey is trying to get his attention, but Liam can only focus on him. He's got wired earbuds in, listening to music, Liam can hear the music through straining his supernatural hearing. His head is on the table with his arms over the back of it.

Liam had finally had enough. He stands up ignoring the flashes of confusion on each of his friends' faces. He grabs his lunch and says "I'll meet you guys tomorrow." They go back to their conversation utterly confused, but ignore Liam's antics.

Liam makes his way across the cafeteria to him. He sits across the table from him and slides his lunch tray to hit the other boy's head lightly. He flinches and sits up, not expecting someone to sit with him. His heartbeat is unsteady and he's nervous. His leg is bouncing and his fingers are tapping a steady rhythm against the table.

Liam breaks the silence. "Eat up," he says.

"What are you doing?" The boy looks unamused and very confused.

"I thought it was obvious, I'm giving you my lunch."

"Why?"

"Because you need to eat. It's unhealthy to not eat much every day. Plus I'm sure you're sick of the pepperoni sticks, protein bars, crackers and water. A turkey sandwich is much more filling and apples are good for you. Plus juice is better than water, there's actually flavour."

"What?"

Liam realizes he's said too much, that it's obvious that he's watched him every day. He's watched him eat but he has no shame about it.

Liam's never seen him up close before and he has to admit... he's quite attractive. With hazel eyes and perfect teeth behind soft- or what he thinks are soft, pink lips. They're a little chapped from the constant biting he does, Liam notices. He's got a soft, defined jawline and he's beautiful.

Liam tries to keep himself from staring but ends up failing.

The boy slowly begins to eat the lunch Liam gave him, not paying any more attention to him. His cheeks burn as he notices he's being watched.

Liam smiles when their eyes meet. It's a gentle and warm smile that makes the other boy feel fuzzy inside. It's a foreign feeling that's not necessarily bad, just unexpected.

"What's your name?" Liam asks politely.

"Theo," the boy answers through a mouthful of turkey sandwich. He uses his hand to block his mouth as to not be disrespectful.