The week passed in a heartbeat and soon it was already the last Friday before the Christmas break, or also the Friday of the fateful prom. At the end Corey had arranged for Theo a date with Jake, the barman he had met at Sinema. At that point Theo didn't care anymore, the important thing was not having to be the only one without a date. It would have been humiliating.
Liam still did not want to say who he would take, despite Mason's insistence, and Nolan was by now convinced that this date did not actually exist. But Theo knew it was not true: in the last few days Liam had been restless and nervous, more and more as Friday approached, and it could only be for one reason. Whoever was his date, it was shaking him to the point of making him even more intractable than usual. And that's saying a lot.
He had peaked the afternoon before - when Corey had declared that now that Theo had his date too, all of them were happily arranged for prom - when Liam had tightened his glass so tight that he shattered it to pieces, drenching everyone of them of pieces of glass and coca cola. And Theo could not help wondering - while he was removing pieces of glass from his hair - why people would ever agree to go to dates, if they had to end up like this.
Fortunately, Nolan had saved the situation and raised everyone's mood, saying that his parents would let him invite a couple of friends to their chalet in mountains during the holidays for a few days. Everyone had been very happy.
*
Theo was not happy. With the music roaring around the gym, and a glass of punch in hand, he watched Mason and Corey, Nolan and Phoebe dance on the dance floor. Jake was standing next to him, swaying slightly to the rhythm of the music, and trying to pull him into a conversation, without success.
Theo could not focus. He kept looking at the entrance every minute, hoping to see Liam go in. He was the only one missing. Obviously, he was just worried that he had definitely crashed somewhere with his wrecked car!
"Wanna dance?" Jake asked him suddenly. Theo shifted his attention to him as if he were aware only now of his presence.
"I'm ... I'm fine here, maybe later" he replied absently, turning his head back to the entrance, then sighing and taking a huge sip of punch.
He looked up again on the dancefloor, and smiled, shaking his head, at the sight of Nolan dancing awkwardly with his date. Then he turned his gaze to the right, where he saw Mason stuck, eyes wide, clinging to Corey's arm, as if he had just seen a ghost. Like Corey, Theo frowned and turned to follow his gaze.
It was as if someone had punched him in the stomach, cutting his breath sharply. Liam had just entered the front door, clutched in his black tuxedo, arm-in-arm with none other than Hayden Romero. The boy looked around the room, looking for them probably, stopping to greet the acquaintances he met with his eyes. Theo heard Mason and Corey reach him, he did not see them because his eyes did not seem to want to leave Liam. Then finally Liam made eye contact with him, and that seemed to shake Theo. He turned suddenly towards Jake, taking him by the wrist "Now I wanna dance, let's go"
He did not want to be near those two, he did not want to talk to them, he did not want to see them. So he dragged him away firmly without noticing Corey following him compassionately with his eyes.
Theo was definitely tired of feeling that strange way. He felt weak, he felt sick. Perhaps there was something seriously wrong with him, perhaps the Dread Doctors were right when they had called him a failure.
He was even more convinced of it when Jake took his hands and placed them on his shoulders, then sliding his on Theo's hips pulling him closer, and all that Theo was able to think was that time at Sinema when he and Liam had danced in the same way. He recalled the feeling of Liam's hands on his shoulders, how he had leaned his head against him, laughing, how he had felt relaxed when he had reached him. Nothing compared to now, now he felt uncomfortable, he felt restless, he felt wrong.-
He dared to glance toward the sidelines of the dancefloor, and he saw Liam handing a glass to Hayden, who smiled at him, leaning over to say something in his ear, something that made Liam smile. Theo swallowed and returned to look at his date. He should not have felt that way. He felt like he wanted to run to Liam and take him away, get him away from Hayden as much as possible.
He looked up to meet Jake's gaze, hoping he could feel the same magnetic attraction he had felt when he was next to Liam just a few days before in the store's dressing rooms. Nothing. He kept moving to the rhythm of the music with him, but his mind was elsewhere. It was with Liam that day, when they had fallen asleep together, the way Liam had clung to him had made him feel good, for the first time he had felt at home.
Then all of a sudden, he was back on that fateful night, the one they had promised to never talk about again, the one Theo had tried to forget at any cost in the last two months. Why did it happen only with Liam? Why could not he take him off his head? He was constantly with him, at all times.
Maybe it was just the fault of that wild night, maybe he just had to let go, kiss someone else? Do even have sex with someone else? Maybe someone else so would take Liam's place and the two of them could only be friends as they had decided with that deal. And he would not bother again if Liam brought Hayden to proms, they could even come back together, they could kiss each other, they could sleep together, they could- Theo swallowed. No they could not. Theo did not want them to go back together. He did not want Hayden to have Liam again, now that he knew what it felt like to have him ... Hayden and no one else. He wanted Liam for himself.
At that moment Theo realized he was fucked. He had broken the deal, he had left that night to influence his way of being next to Liam, and that was what had not to happen. Having sex with your ex-enemy could be a thing, but developing non actually platonic feelings for the aforementioned ex-enemy, werewolf, whose pack barely stands you was at the level of a cheap teen drama. Theo could not accept it.
Not to mention the fact that the deal was Liam's idea, so even if Theo had agreed to be the Romeo of the situation - because they had already established that Liam was Juliet - there was no way that Liam could ever have felt the same way for him. Why would he ever have to?
No, he had to go over it, as they had decided. He had to make these feelings disappear as soon as possible. And how do you say? Nail crushes nail, no? And he was lucky enough to have a nice nail right in front of him.
Theo struggled to return to focus on the guy in front of him, placing his arms around his neck better and getting closer, and tilted his lips into a smile. "So, are you having fun?" He shouted as he approached his ear
"Now yeah" Jake smiled in response to him by touching their foreheads. Theo already knew what was going to happen, and his brain agreed, it was suggesting him to let go against Jake's lips, but his body had other plans. And it won on reason.
So he remained motionless, while the other boy tentatively brushed his lips with his, waiting for a reaction, which did not come. Jake pulled back, watching Theo still motionless, eyes wide. "Are you okay?" He asked doubtfully.
"Yeah- I-" Theo sighed "I'm sorry, I can not do that." He took his hands off Jake's shoulders and stepped back.
"Is it because of your friend?" Jake asked him without too many words. Theo looked up at him. "What? What- what friend? " Was he so obvious?
"The one you've been waiting for all night to cross that threshold," Jake said ironically.
"The one who did not take his eyes off me from the moment you dragged me to the dance floor." Theo's eyes widened. Uh? "The one who jumped out of the room as soon as I kissed you"
Theo whirled around to where he knew Liam and Hayden were, and saw that the girl was now alone. "Do you like him?" Jake asked then, making him turn back to him.
Theo paled. "No-no, I ..." he sighed again. What the hell was happening? "I do not know"
"Well I do know, you practically looked for him all night, you literally turn stone when he came in with that girl, what else could it mean?" Jake exclaimed in amusement. "You should go talk to him"
Theo snorted between the amused and the bitter. "It's not so easy"
"Then make it easy"
Theo looked away, "He's got a girlfriend" he muttered.
"Didn't seem to me when he ditched her, running away in some jealousy rage"
Theo issued a strangled verse. Jealousy? Why should Liam be jealous? It made no sense. "You're wrong-" Theo whispered weakly, bowing his head. "You're wrong"
Jake sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, it will be as you say. But one day very soon you will come to Sinema and tell me that I was right. Then you will have to offer me a drink "
Theo raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bet?"
"I'll give you a month," he said, walking backwards across the dancefloor.
"Where are you going now?"
"I need a drink" he concluded before turning around and disappearing, leaving Theo alone with his thoughts.
*
"Nice job, dude" Jake chuckled when Corey high five him.
"Corey, you're a fucking genius, that's why I love you so much," Mason said, looking at the two. "I do not know about Theo, but Liam was literally on fire"
"Those two are two mugs, they will never admit to having feelings for each other, if we do not give them a boost," Corey muttered.
"I think Theo needs a lot more than a boost," Jake said, raising an eyebrow.
"And Liam owes me $ 20, I told him he would not be able to 'pretend nothing happened and not talk about it'"
*
If Theo on one hand struggled to name what he was feeling, Liam was fully aware of it. It was just burning and painful jealousy.
He knew it from the moment Theo asked him how to invite someone to the stupid prom, and he spent the week tormenting himself over who he would ask without daring to ask him directly. He knew it from the moment Corey told everyone that Theo now had his date too, and the glass he shattered unconsciously was just another proof. He knew it from the moment he stepped into the gym and his gaze had fallen on Theo. Theo who had completely ignored him, taking that guy by the hand and dragging him to the dancefloor. Theo dancing with him, pulling him close and whispering something in his ear. For a moment that guy turned to where Liam was, and Liam recognized him, the heart that jumped into his chest. It was the barman, the barman of that evening at Sinema, the one that had shamelessly tried to hit on Theo, the one Theo had smiled to for half an hour. So it was not just a flirt? Did they exchange numbers? Had they talked to each other for so long? Had they gone out together other times?
Liam clenched his fists, his arms dropped at his sides, the punch he had taken for him and for Hayden now forgotten. It is not fair, it was not fair that among all the people in the world his stupid heart had decided to go crazy for Theo. What had he done wrong to deserve this? He should have been smarter than that! Falling in love with Theo Reaken certainly could not lead to anything good, would not have led to anything but to find himself with a broken heart, when Theo would laugh in the face of his feelings, and his inability to respect a simple deal. He could already hear his laughter in his ears. And he could already imagine Scott's disappointed and worried look, Stiles and Malia's disgusted and horrified one, Lydia's anxious and surprised. He was fucked. And he also owed Mason $ 20!
Liam returned to reality, when he felt his claws pierce his palms, the warm blood that began to slip between his fingers. And he became aware of what was happening on the dancefloor. The barman was closer to Theo and now he was pushing his lips on chimera ones'. Liam gasped, and he heard a growl coming up his throat. And he knew he could not stay there anymore. He started to turn around, but Hayden grabbed worried the sleeve of his jacket. "Liam, are you okay?"
"Ye-yeah, I just need to use the bathroom. Wait for me here, I'll be right back" And he left in a hurry.
He needed air. What should he do? He knew he would not be able to hide it now that he realized it. If Theo was very good at disguising his emotions and his thoughts, Liam, on the contrary, was absolutely incapable of it. Mason had understood what had happened between him and Theo without he even opening his mouth, he had spun the truth to Scott without he even asking. How could he go on pretending indifference? Especially since they lived together and went to school together?
The prospect of leaving that Monday for a week with Theo -and the others - for Nolan's parents' chalet had suddenly become terrifying. Yeah, Liam thought, clapping a hand on his forehead, he was really fucked.
TO BE CONTINUED