Liam's POV
Liam woke to the sound of banging on his bedroom door. "Get up, Liam!" Thomson yelled through the door. Liam reluctantly got up, knowing that Thomson was going to keep an extra close eye on him today. "Come on, Liam! You have 30 minutes to get your arse ready!" Liam walked over to the door and opened it.
"Can you stop yelling at me like some kind of drill sergeant?"
"Ugh." Thomson grabbed Liam's face with one hand, turning it to get a better look at his neck. "And cover that up." Thomson let go of Liam and walked away without saying anything. Liam watched him walk away then noticed Calvin watching from Thomson's doorway. Calvin gave Liam a sympathetic look, then went back to Thomson's room.
"So, everyone just decided to be complete arses today?!" Liam yelled down the now empty hallway. He turned back into his room, slamming the door behind him. "Do this Liam. Do that Liam. You're going to ruin your life Liam." He mocked as he began getting ready for school.
After getting dressed, he applied some makeup, which he had stolen from his mom, to the spots on his neck. "Wouldn't want people thinking I'm slut now would we? Nope, just cover up anything that would make them think maybe I'm not a virgin."
Once he was ready to go, he grabbed his phone and headed downstairs. He was halfway down the stairs when he received a text from Alban.
Alban: "We're still good to hangout tonight, right?"
Liam: "Yeah, I could use some time out of the house, anyway."
Alban: "Good. Well, I'm not going to be at school today. So, I guess I'll see you around 7."
Liam: "Why won't you be at school?"
Alban: "I have to make preparations for tonight, obviously."
Liam: "Preparations? What do you have planned?"
Alban: "You'll have to wait and see."
Liam: "Umm, alright. I guess I'll see you tonight then."
Liam put his phone back in his pocket and continued down the stairs. Thoughts raced through his head of what Alban could possibly have planned. He figured they would just play video games or go see a movie. What could he possibly be making preparations for?
Liam walked into the kitchen to find Thomson and Calvin both sitting at the table. Thomson must be keeping a close eye on Calvin, too, Liam thought as he went to the fridge. He was going to make his lunch, but discovered a paper bag with his name on it. He took it out of the fridge and turned towards the two at the table as he peered inside it. "What's this?"
"I made you lunch," Calvin said with a proud smile that made Liam smile to himself. "It's my last day here, so I thought I'd do something special." Calvin still had a smile that Liam assumed was fake, but Liam's smile had disappeared.
"Uh... um... thanks," Liam stuttered as he put a on a fake smile himself and took a seat at the table.
"What took you so long coming down the stairs?" Thomson curiously asked.
"Oh, Alban texted me. He just wanted to make sure we were still going to hangout."
"Why didn't he just wait until he saw you at school?"
"He said he's not going to be there today. Something about making preparations for tonight." Liam said casually. He looked at Thomson whose eyes went wide and he had a slight smirk. "What?"
"You have a date." Calvin sat up straight, suddenly interested in the conversation.
"It's not a date." Liam said defensively.
"He's making preparations, so either it's a date or he's planning on killing you."
"But I don't see him like that." Liam defended, mostly saying it to Calvin.
"You might want to make sure he knows that." Thomson stood up, patting Liam on the shoulder as he walked past him. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at Liam. "Good job with the makeup, by the way." Thomson teasingly gave him a thumbs up as he turned and left the room. Liam rolled his eyes and faced Calvin.
"Really? He's going to just leave us alone together?"
"I promised him he would have his best friend for the rest of the time I'm here, and not some guy that he's constantly protecting his brother from."
"So, what, we're just going to lose all contact once you leave. Are you just going to go back to the states and tell yourself that I don't exist?"
"Liam," Calvin gets up and walks over to him, placing his hands on Liam's shoulders. "I don't want that, you know I don't."
"Then what's going to happen?"
"Why do you care so much about what's going to happen? You're the one always saying you hate me."
"I don't really hate you. I'm still not a huge fan," Liam teases, "but this has been fun and I'm going to miss it."
"Alright, enough about that. You need to get to school and I need to avoid getting killed by your brother for 24 more hours. Besides, you're going to have a good time tonight with Alban."
"I don't want Alban, Cal."
"I know." Calvin lightly brushes his hand over Liam's cheek and settles it under his chin. "I know, but I won't be back for a while. There's no telling what's going to happen in that time."
"Are you going to just go back to the US and shag the first guy you see?"
"Well," Calvin shrugs his shoulders. "I'd be thinking about you the entire time," Calvin jokes. Liam punches him in the shoulder, trying to hold back a smile. Suddenly, Thomson pokes his head around the corner.
"It's time to go, Liam." Liam sadly nods and gets up, walking past Thomson. "See ya, Calvin." Liam hears Thomson say before catching up with him and heading for the car.
During the car ride, Liam stares over at Thomson while in deep thought. "What?" Thomson finally asks him.
"How are you so happy?"
"Huh?"
"Your best friend is about to leave for who knows how long and you're completely fine. You seem completely unphased." Thomson gives him a look of disbelief.
"You think I'm fine? You think this doesn't affect me? Calvin is my best friend and while he's in America, doing god knows what, I don't hear from him for months on end. So, yeah, it's affecting me. I'm sad my best friend is leaving again, but I'm also worried."
"Worried about what?"
"What it's going to do to you. You have clearly warmed up to him and I don't want you to be crushed when you have to go through the same torture of not hearing from him for months on end."
"We haven't even decided if we'll talk to each other once he's gone. We haven't gotten that close. He's still a dumbarse and I can't fucking stand him most of the time."
"But you care about him." Thomson finishes Liam's thought.
"No, I don't care about that bampot." Liam defends.
"Good, you should keep telling yourself that, maybe it will become true." They pull up outside the school and Liam gets out without saying anything. Thomson runs to catch up with him as they enter the building. "I'm just saying, Liam—"
"Shut up," Liam cuts him off. "I don't want to hear about this. I'm trying to have a good day. I don't want to spend the entire day thinking about this." Liam doesn't give Thomson a chance to respond as he quickly walks away. He walks to his locker and grabs some books, then heads for his first class. He walks into the classroom and is disappointed when he remembers he has this class with Thomson.
Calvin's POV
Calvin spends the first hour of his day moping around the house. He decides that he needs to go say goodbye to some people, since he won't see them tomorrow, but isn't sure where to start. He wants to see Isla, Magnus, and try to talk with Finn. Deciding Isla would be the least explosive interaction, he decides it would be best to start with her. Calvin doesn't want to walk all the way across town to her rundown flat, so he gets his phone out.
Calvin: "Hey, Isla."
Isla: "Hey, laddie. What's up?"
Calvin: "I leave tomorrow. I wanted to see you before I go. Can we meet somewhere? Your flat is really far from Tommy's house."
Isla: "Yeah, there is a park about halfway between my flat and his house. We can meet there. I think it's actually a little closer to you than it is to me."
Calvin: "Alright, that works. I'll see you in about 10 minutes then."
Isla: "Alright, darling, I'll see you there."
Calvin put his phone in his pocket and headed for the door. He didn't need to ask where the park was because he remembered seeing it when he thought Tommy was going to kick him out. He walked to the park and chose the first bench he saw. It was only a few minutes before Isla showed up, her wife in tow. "Hi, Aunt Isla. I didn't know you were going to bring Cameron with you."
"Well, she just hasn't gotten to see very much of you and I thought it would be nice for her to get to know you before you left."
"Hello," Cameron awkwardly said from behind Isla.
"Well, sit down then." Calvin slid over, making room for the two.
"So, you leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have a ride to the airport?"
"Yeah, Tommy is going to take me."
"Was there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah, I was wondering if you could check in on Magnus every once in a while. With mam gone there isn't anyone to stand up for him when dad gets drunk. Finn is there, of course, but he's got his head too far up his own arse to actually do anything for Magnus. Also, he might need a ride to school. You know how father gets when he drinks and the bus doesn't come to the house."
"Oh," Isla gently places her hand on the side of Calvin's face. "Has it really gotten that bad? I had no idea."
"It will be fine," Calvin grabs Isla's hand, gently pulling it away from his face as he reassures her. "That's what I keep telling myself and that's what I have to believe. If I don't believe it, then I can't possibly go back to America, but I have too, I can't stay here." He lets go of her hand and looks around at their surroundings. "This place is suffocating. I have to go."
"How long will you be in the states?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'd love to continue talking, but I have other people to see before I go."
"Do you want a ride?"
"No, I want to walk. It will give me time to think about what I'm going to say."
"Oh, alright. I'll talk to you soon, my sweet boy." Isla embraces him in a hug before standing up. Cameron stands up too, giving Calvin a soft smile. "If you need anything, just call." Isla grabs her wife's hand as she turns to walk away. Calvin watches them leave, then gets his phone out.
Calvin: "Are you home right now?"
Finn: "Why?"
Calvin: "Just answer the question."
Finn: "Of course I'm home. I haven't left since mam died."
Calvin: "Then why the hell is Magnus not getting rides to school? Why is he having to hide from our drunken father alone instead of his big brother protecting him?"
Finn: "You know what, fuck off."
Calvin: "I'm coming to the house."
Calvin put his phone back in his pocket before he could read Finn's response. He got up and began walking, part of him hoping that Magnus wouldn't be home so that he could talk to Finn without Magnus hearing.
It didn't take Calvin long to get to the house, not bothering to knock before entering. He tries his best to calmly walk in, but fails when he instinctively slams the door behind him. Finn comes down the stairs, already annoyed with Calvin. "The hell do you want?"
"We are going to finish our conversation."
"You know what, Calvin? No. You don't get to leave for months at a time then come back and act like you've been the best big brother anyone could possibly ask for. I know I haven't protected Magnus, but I didn't exactly have a role model. Where were you when I was the youngest and father first started drinking? You didn't protect me from his wrath. You locked yourself in your room and I had to fend for myself." Finn continued ranting, nearly in tears, and Calvin stayed silent. "I banged on your door for what seemed like hours, but you refused to let me in. Mam couldn't help me because she was already pregnant and didn't want to risk dad hitting her and hurting unborn Magnus. So, no, I'm not good at protecting my brother. I do what I learned from you, I hide in my room. The only difference is, that when Magnus knocks I let him in, but he doesn't always knock. Sometimes there is no time to get to my room, so I tell him we're going to play hide and seek. He's gotten really good at hiding and it's kept him safe almost every time." Calvin stared at Finn, shocked by the new information.
"Finn, I was a child too. I was terrified. You think what happened to you was bad, but I went through so much worse. I was the one that he disowned. I was the one that he wanted to hurt. If I unlocked that door for even a second I knew there was a chance of him pulling me out of my room and throwing me outside. He'd lock me out there and I'd have to stay until he passed out and mam could finally let me back in."
"I didn't know."
"I know you didn't. Finn, I didn't come here to fight. I'm leaving tomorrow. I wanted to make amends and I wanted to be sure that you are both safe."
"You're leaving again?"
"I have no place here, Finn. I just wanted to say goodbye." Without saying a word, Finn runs over and wraps Calvin in a tight hug.
"Don't leave me here again."
"I have to go." Calvin pushes his brother back. "Is Magnus here?"
"Yeah, he's in his room." Finn says as he wipes the tears from his eyes. Calvin heads upstairs, finding Magnus playing in his room. Magnus looks up when the door opens, his eyes going wide and a huge smile appearing when he sees Calvin.
"Cal!" Magnus jumps up and throws his arms around Calvin's waist. Calvin holds on to him.
"Hey, Magnus."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you, buddy. I leave in the morning."
"Where are you going?"
"I have to go back to America." Calvin gets down to Magnus' level. "But I'm going to talk to you every day. I promise."
"Alright, Cal. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, but I'll be back." Calvin got up and hugged Magnus one last time. "Goodbye, Magnus."
"Bye, Cal." Magnus waved to Calvin as he went back out the door. He gave Finn a quick glance before leaving. Exhausted, he walked back to Tommy and Liam's house.
Liam's POV
After school, Liam and Thomson come home to find Calvin asleep on the couch. They both just let him sleep. Liam goes upstairs to get changed before he goes to hangout with Alban.
While getting ready, he hears a knock at the door. Liam opens the door to see Calvin. "Oh, hi Calvin."
"Hey," Calvin says clearly exhausted. "How long have you been home?"
"Not long. I'm going to be leaving around 7."
"Have you found out yet where you're going?"
"Nope. I haven't heard from Alban since this morning. I really hope he doesn't think this is a date. I don't like him like that, but he is a nice guy and I don't want to hurt him." Liam says mostly to himself before looking at Calvin. "What have you been up to today?"
"Eh, nothing. Just went to say bye to a few people."
"Like your brothers?"
"They were one of the people I needed to see."
"Who else?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"I'm just curious, you don't have many people to say bye to. I know you haven't even started to say bye to Tommy or me."
"Yeah, but I'll see you both tomorrow. I just went to see Magnus, Finn, and Isla."
"You didn't try talking to your dad?"
"I don't have anything to say to him. I mean, I do have stuff to say, but it's not worth it."
"Yeah, I get that. If I saw my father I would just walk away, I don't think I could even look him in the eyes."
"Gotta love us and our daddy issues."
"Don't say it like that Calvin."
"Heh..." Calvin awkwardly laughed to himself. "Well, have fun on your date." Calvin turns to leave the room.
"Calvin," He turns back around to look at Liam. Liam quickly walks over to him and grabs his shirt, pulling Calvin's head down into a kiss. After a few seconds, he pushes Calvin away. "It's not a date." Liam tells him before walking back into his room and closing the door, not giving Calvin a chance to say anything.
When it was getting close to 7pm, Liam went downstairs to wait for Alban to get there. Thomson was sitting in the living room when Liam came down the stairs. He turned to look at him. "Wow, you're just going to wear your typical clothes?
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Liam looks down at his outfit, confused.
"Well, you have no idea what Alban has planned. What if he wants to go to some fancy restaurant or something?"
"It's not a date so he has no reason to take me to a fancy restaurant."
"Whatever you say."
Liam was about to protest when his phone buzzed. He looked at it to see that Alban had texted him.
Alban: "I'm almost there."
Liam: "Are you texting while driving?"
Alban: "Don't worry."
Liam: "Well, don't die then."
Liam put his phone back in his pocket and flopped into the nearest chair. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the front door. Liam went to answer it and found Alban standing there with flowers in his hand. Thomson came up behind Liam and tried to hold back his laughter when he saw the flowers. "Hey, Alban."
"Hi, are you ready to go?" Alban hands Liam the flowers.
"Yep, let's go." Liam tells Alban as he steps out the door. Alban heads for the car and Liam quickly throws the flowers at Thomson before closing the door behind him. When he reaches the car, he finds Alban holding the passenger door open for him. "Oh, thanks." Liam climbs into the car and Alban closes the door.
As they are going down the road, Liam is trying to figure out where they are going, but nothing looks familiar. They had completely left town and were driving down a country road. There were trees on either side of them. Liam figured that if he knew where they were going it would seem peaceful and feel less like a horror movie.
When the car finally stopped, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. "Where are we?" Liam turned to Alban.
"Just trust me," Alban reassured him as he climbed out of the car. Alban went around the car and held the door for Liam to get out. Once they were both out of the car, Liam followed Alban down a small path.
A little ways into their walk, a lake came into view. "I didn't know there was a lake here." Liam said, mostly to himself, as they continued to walk.
After a few minutes, they came upon an open area. The sun had started to set and the area was lit by the glowing light of candles. In the center was a blanket with a basket sitting on it. They had a perfect view of the sun setting over the lake. "Oh, wow. This is beautiful." Liam said as he took in his surroundings.
"That's why I chose this spot."
"Do you come here a lot? I've never been here before."
"Nah, I just found it one day when I was hiking."
"Cool." Liam followed Alban as he took a seat on the blanket. Liam thought it was strange that Alban set all of this up just to hangout with a friend, but he still refused to believe that Alban thought it was a date.
"I'm glad you like it. I wanted it to be perfect."
"Why?"
"Because I like you and you deserve it." Liam freezes. This can't be happening. He has to reject Alban. It could end with him sinking to the bottom of the lake. Maybe that would be better than actually having to have this conversation.
"Alban-"
"Yes Liam?"
"I don't like you in that way."
"Oh."
"You see you're a great friend and I don't want to ruin that."
"It's Calvin right?"
"What? Why would you think that?"
"You're always around him."
"Well, he's been staying at my house so I don't have much of a choice."
"That's not what it is."
"I don't like Calvin. I don't have feelings for you or Calvin."
"Then who?"
"I don't see anyone like that right now."
"I don't believe that, but it's fine if you don't want to tell me. Let's just hangout. We can still just be friends, right?"
"Of course."