souls :: thiam

f i f t y - e i g h t

It was just now that Liam realized he didn't even check where he was in the first place, — looking around the room now, it turned out he was in one of the school's storage places that were so dusty and messy that literally no one would go here voluntarily; which would also explain why the room was unlocked when he grabbed the door knob and slipped inside.

There were all sorts of things piled up: from broken desks to unused, outdated Lacrosse gear and odd instruments you'd normally find in a physics lab. Bottles with chemicals substances that Liam was pretty sure weren't even legal to hold as a High School, and a plastic skeleton with only one arm. Right next to Liam, who was still sitting on the floor, it seemed was a bit cleaner, almost brand new table, where the charwomen would usually leave their stuff during the school day or in the evening when they were done with their work. Apart from that, everything in here looked as if it hasn't been used in centuries.

The room was poorly lit, as no one bothered to open the window properly, which fit the entire atmosphere in here just right,— whoever it was that kept the window half shut probably didn't want anyone from outside seeing all of this chaos.

In the center of it all, in front of Liam, there stood a handsome young man wearing a black jean jacket, light blue jeans and black combat boots, — looking as if he didn't belong here any more or less than Liam did.

"Are you crying?", the boy asked, at first with his eyes narrowed; until suddenly his eyebrows were raised — only slightly, but not in the critical or sarcastic way. It way more the worried type.

His left hand was slightly opened and unnaturally tilted so that his palm faced Liam, as if he was trying to use body language while talking but unfortunately failed because this gesture really didn't support any of his words. It was kind of as if he was self-conscious about it.

"No! I'm not— what?", Liam spat back, almost too harsh for Theo's gentle way of putting things. He immediately got up from the floor, brushing off his hands on his jeans as if he didn't just sit on the floor in the dustiest room on school proberty; so dusty that it should be considered illegal. His eyes scanned Theo, then flickered away from him and around the room, trying to escape his gaze. Looking past Theo's figure, his eyes wandered over to the nearest corner, trying to explain the boy's sudden appearance. When Theo noticed what he was trying to do, he took one step to the side to block his view. But Liam was already pretty sure that he saw something made out of bright red fabric with a grey inlay; something like a sleeping bag.

"Are you living here?", Liam looked up at Theo's face again.

"No.", Theo replied almost instantly, then noticed Liam furrowing his brows at how awkward this blunt reply was. "Are you?"

"No?", Liam pulled back, looked puzzled. As soon as he noticed that Theo's facial expression didn't change one bit, he knew that Theo definitely did not expect a yes as a response.