Never Be The Same // Liam Dunbar

Chapter 6 ~ Game Time

During English class, Luna wandered down the halls. She wasn't in the mood for the class, and quite frankly, wandering was helping her clear her mind a bit for the Scrimmage game tonight. She couldn't be out there thinking about everything that had been going. She had to be focused so that she could potentioanlly help her team win out there tonight.

The sound of talking in a classroom caused Luna to stop in her tracks. "Wolfsbane. This is Wolfsbane? I thought it was popular." The voice was masculine and oddly familiar. Luna couldn't seem to pinpoint a voice to a person. She silently huddled against the wall, listening in curiously.

"Not this species," a female voice replied. Luna didn't recognize this one. "Which is very rare and very expensive."

"What's that supposed to mean? 'Don't screw up'?" the male scoffed. Luna peered her head around the doorframe, seeing that the two voices belonged to Garrett and Violet. Her eyes widened, and she quickly moved back to her original stance.

"Don't miss, okay? All you have to do is nick him. It'll work fast. Even on an Alpha," Violet said. An Alpha. Meaning Scott? What were they trying to do? Were they planning on killing him tonight?

Garrett sighed. "Are we really going to do this again?"

"I'm just saying, I don't know why we're going after a Beta when there's an Alpha on the field," Violet stated. Beta. Meaning Liam. Luna gulped, her eyes widening. They were going to try to kill Liam? Quickly, she turned on her heels, rushing back to class.

~~

Luna sat at one of the tables outside during free period, working on her essay for English. Since her hallway adventure had resulted in her missing about half of the class, she had no other choice but to do her essay now.

"Liam, wait!" she heard a boy call. Luna looked up curiously, seeing that the voice belonged to Mason, Liam's best friend. She looked to where Liam was storming, seeing the team they were playing tonight getting out of their bus. "No, no, no." Quickly, Luna stuffed her papers in her bag. She swung her bag over her shoulder, pushing past the crowd forming to Mason.

"What's going on?" she asked. Mason nodded his head towards the bus. Luna read it, seeing that they were playing Devenford Prep. The school that Liam had just recently gotten kicked out of. She gulped.

"Brett!" Liam called as he approached the team.

"And here we go," Mason mumbled. Liam was breathing quite heavily, obviously in an angry mood.

"I just wanted to say," Liam started, pausing and holding out his hand, "have a good game."

The boys began to laugh at Liam. "That's cute, Liam. Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything fine? You demolished Coach's car."

"I paid for it," Liam growled through gritted teeth. Luna looked down at his hand, seeing that they were curled into fists. Blood dripped from his palms while his claws began to grow in.

"Yeah, you're going to pay for it," Brett said. "We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault." Luna couldn't stand watching them treat Liam like this. She had to stop it. The girl walked forward, forcing a smile and putting one hand on each of Liam's shoulders.

"Hey, what's going on, prep students? Welcome to our little public high school. How you doing? Luna," she said quickly, offering her hand. Brett glanced down at her hand, and she quickly put it back by her side. "That's a firm handshake you've got there. Let's not play too rough out there tonight, okay?" She turned to Liam. "And we're leaving."

~~

"Let me go!" Liam shouted, trying to break free from Stiles and Scott, who held him under the running water of the shower with a firm grip. Luna was sitting with her back against the wall, looking down at the ground.

"Okay, are you calm yet?" Stiles asked. Liam looked over at Luna, who looked back up at him. She offered a small smile.

"Okay! Okay!" Liam yelled, panting. Finally, the two Juniors shut off the shower water, and Luna looked at Liam. Liam sat down, his back against the cold tile wall and arms resting on his kneecaps.

"That car you smashed. . . I thought you said it was your teachers," Scott interrogated.

Liam nodded. "Well, he was also my Coach. He benched me for the entire season."

"What did you do?" Luna asked, curiosity getting the best of her. Liam looked at her, a more gentle look on his face when he looked at her versus when he looked at Scott and Stiles.

"I got a couple red cards," he explained.

Scott butted in. "Just a couple?"

"Liam, please, you have to be honest with us," Luna begged. Liam looked at her. "What else did you do?"

"Nothing. I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for an evaluation," Liam stated.

"What did they call it?" Luna questioned, referring to his obvious anger problems.

Liam sighed. "Intermittent Explosive Disorder."

Stiles scoffed. "I.E.D.? You're literally an I.E.D.? That's great." He looked to Scott, giving him a sarcastic thumbs-up. "You gave powers to a walking time bomb." Scott ignored the boy.

"Did they give you anything for it?" he asked.

"Risperdal. It's an antipsychotic," Liam stated. "But I don't take it."

"Obviously," Stiles commented. Luna rolled her eyes at Stiles.

Liam looked at him. "I can't play lacrosse on it. It makes me too tired."

"Okay. I think you should bail out of the game. Tell Coach your leg is still bugging you," Scott said.

"No, no, I can do this," Liam insisted. He glanced at Luna. "If she's playing, I'll be fine. You said it yourself, she's my anchor."

Stiles scoffed. "Great. First we find out a walking time bomb has powers, and now my little vulnerable sister is his anchor."

Scott sighed. "But Liam, it's not just about tonight's game. We think that whoever killed Demarco might be on our team."

"Who's Demarco?"

"The one who brought the beer to the party," Stiles reminded. "The guy who was beheaded. Remember?"

Scott nodded. "We think the person who ordered the keg killed Demarco."

Luna sighed. "Guys, it was Violet and Garrett."

~~

"I don't care if he's a foot taller than me. I think I can take him," Liam announced as he, Luna and Mason sat on the bench, watching Devenford Prep while they waited for the game to start.

Luna scoffed. "Oh please. He's a good six-feet tall, two-hundred pound guy full of muscles. You're, what, five foot seven?"

"Yeah, says the one who is half a foot shorter than me," Liam smirked. Luna rolled her eyes, unable to help but to chuckle at the fact. She and Liam noticed Mason staring at Brett. "What do you think you're doing?"

Mason turned to Liam. "What? Me? Agreeing with you. I'm. . . being agreeable."

"You think he's hot, don't you?" Liam questioned. Luna watched the two boys closely.

Mason scoffed. "No, no! Maybe. . . Okay, maybe a little." His eyes wandered back to Brett.

"He wants to destroy me," Liam reminded.

"I think you could definitely take him," Mason said. "And then give him to me." Liam chuckled, shaking his head and looking at Luna.

"Hey! Think fast!" Brett yelled. As Luna looked up, she noticed Brett extending his arm and a lacrosse ball flying in the air towards her face. Inches away from her face, Liam's fingers wrapped around the ball as he caught it. Luna gulped, her eyes wide.

"Now I really want to kill him," Liam growled.