13 // It's okay not to be okay.
I groaned from the light sifting through the curtains. I tried to move my hand, only to realise it was intertwined with someone else's. And as a yawn escaped my mouth and my vision cleared, I felt Liam stir beside me. I snuck a glance over to him sleeping beside me, before deciding that he was possibly the cutest sleeper in history.
The way his hair was a ruffled covering his eyes, the way his mouth was left open only slightly the way his nos --
Snap out of, Wren!
And of course, Liam just had to wake up right in this moment, asking groggily as he rubbed his eyes and stretched with a grin, "Wren, why are you staring at me?"
In the shock of his words I managed to tumble off of the bed -- with my hand suddenly feeling cold without his touch -- and bringing a sense of déjà vu with me. "Why does this always happen?" I mumbled, rubbing the side of my head as it throbbed.
"Jesus, Clumsy. Are you alright?" Liam asked, but I could tell he was stifling a laugh, and, well, he wasn't putting up a very good fight, because seconds after I rolled my eyes at him, he finally let go of the loud laugh he'd been holding in. It still amazed me that a loud that obnoxious and loud still managed to make Liam even cuter.
"I'm terrific," I muttered, though he could barely hear it.
"So," Liam clasped his hands together. "I think we both deserve a break from werewolves and witches, and everything supernatural, really. Today, we are gonna call up Mason, and we're going to act like normal teenagers, even if only for a day."
Liam grinned and I felt the butterflies return to my stomach, for both that smile of his, and the words I couldn't have put together better than myself.
Because in the end, we're still just kids, and we're fighting battles we shouldn't be able to win.
-
"When did you get so good?" Mason asked as he lost yet another round to Liam. I wasn't doing too badly, if I may say so myself. "Have you been practising, or did you suddenly just get superhuman reflexes?"
I stiffened at the thought of how on point Mason was with his assumption. I breathed out in relief when he laughed, Liam joining in with him.
"Uh, practising. Yeah, just practising," Liam confirmed-slash-lied. Hey, you never know, maybe Liam really had been practising. But, I highly doubt it.
We had been playing various video games in Liam's room all day, and I had to say Liam had succeeded. Because not once was I reminded of the supernatural. In fact, it barely even crossed my mind.
"And, I should be studying," Mason realised, breaking the mood and handing Liam back the controller.
"Wait, where're you going?" Liam asked, sounding worried that Mason was getting up to leave.
"Home? We have a history test tomorrow," Mason responded, confused.
"Wait wait, we have a test tomorrow?" How did I not know about this?
"Look, I'm just gonna say it, Wren. It amazes me how you're not failing," Mason shook his head with a laugh and I playfully punch his shoulder, getting up along with him.
"C'mon guys, just one more game! Y-You can study here! Just one more," Liam pleaded, with that sad look on his face that made my heart melt.
I started to get worried about Liam, "hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah. N-No you're right, you should go," Liam contradicted himself, with sad eyes. Something wasn't right, but a message from my father stopped me from investigating further.
I have pizza here, I think we should talk Wren.
I suddenly felt dizzy. My dad's has always found it hard to hold a decent conversation with me, what would this even be about? The pizza made it better, I guess.
"I'm sorry guys. I have to go, it's my dad," is all I said before leaving the Dunbar residence abruptly and quickly.
It took me two streets and a lot of overthinking before I realised I had made a mistake. I had waited my whole life for my dad to want to talk to me, so I think he could wait an extra night. But right now, Liam needed someone, and I intended to be that person.
-
It was late by the time I got back to Liam's house, mostly because I managed to get lost in a series of backstreets. I knew Liam's parents would be there asleep by now, so I did the only thing I could think of, I climbed up to his window. From there, I could see him tossing and turning with his eyes open, convincing me that it was okay to knock.
I knocked twice on the glass, hoping his parents wouldn't hear. Liam heard it instantly, and I watched as he walked over to the window with a very confused look on his face.
"Wren? What are you doing here? On my roof?"
"I thought about what you said, and I realised that when you lie your nose crinkles up and you can never look the person in the eye, so you fidget a lot. I just wanted you to know that with everything going on, it's okay to not be okay." I answered, and without him even inviting me in, I step inside and and pull him into a bone crushing hug, before whispering, "You don't have to lie to me, alright?"
Liam pulls back, a lopsided grin on his face, "okay."
"So, are you up for another round of that game? You know, the one with all the cars and the stealing and the abandoned, creepy places!"
"Wren, it's Grand Theft Auto." Liam answered, rolling his eyes with a smirk.
"Oh yeah, that."
-
It was around four-thirty that I decided we should probably get some rest. Liam reluctantly agreed, but still switched off his TV from a game I was most definitely winning.
Not.
"Hey, do you want to borrow a shirt or something? I realised I made you sleep in those jeans that look highly uncomfortable last night, so sorry about that," Liam grinned apologetically and I laughed it off.
"Don't worry about it, but maybe something else to sleep in would be nice," I decided, realising that I've worn these clothes for two days here at Liam's. I was afraid they might be starting to smell.
Liam just nodded, walking over to his drawers and pulling out a pair of track pants and a shirt. He walked back over to me, placing them in my hands, before I decided I need to go to the bathroom, and just get changed in there. I tried to move around Liam, but at the same time he tried move around me. Our noses just bumped awkwardly, leaving us both in fits of laughter as we clutched our noses, seconds later. I had removed my hand for only a split second before I realised the proximity of each other. We were so close I could feel his breath on my face. So naturally, I started to worry that I had bad breath or something, only to get annoyed that now was really not the time to check.
"Wren?" Liam whispered, and I could only hum in response, sure that he could hear how fast my heart was beating in that moment.
"I really want to kiss you right now." He didn't wait for an answer, instead closing the small distance between us, placing his lips softly on mine. I swear my heart stopped beating altogether, and it actually took a moment to register that Liam Dunbar was in fact kissing me.
And nothing could've felt better.
While his hand rested softly on my cheek, I moved mine to the back of his neck, while tilting my head slightly. I felt him smile into the kiss, and suddenly I could taste the ice cream we had shared not even ten minutes before this.
As quickly as it happened, it was over. We both pulled apart, our breathing heavy. A few huge grins and slight giggles later, Liam broke the silence.
"Clumsy, I have to say, I've been waiting to do that for a while," Liam admitted, biting his lip but not managing to let the smile go off of his face.
I grin, only whispering a quick, "shut up," before pressing my lips back to his.
-
aW CUTE. THEY KISSED GUYS. THEY KISSED.
omg guys expect quicker updates bc idk, i'm just feeling better about the plot and story altogether xx so just ignore that lil rough patch we hit. and there's about 4 chapters left including an epilogue ahhh
but I swear, thank you guys so much for sticking with me and my long author's notes and slow updates but hopefully decent chapters :-) you have no idea how much it means to me.