February 17 | Monday #17
“Not from here, from Greenhill,” Will explained, thinking of the town where he grew up.
“Besides, only a few of them are actual friends. Most are guys I met online and was supposed to meet up with, but nothing came of it… Or guys I did meet up with, and nothing came of that either. I should clean out my contacts.”
“Never anything?”
“Nothing.”
“Why?”
“I’m just… kind of… like… you know.” Will didn’t quite know how to put his thoughts into words.
“Not very attractive. Not like Dan. I always told him, Danny, if you just cleaned yourself up a bit, everyone would be all over you. But Dan is Dan, he totally ignored me until KC took an interest in him. And now he looks like a heartthrob. God, don’t listen to me,” he mumbled, realizing he was trashing his own friend and sounding like a bitter, jealous asshole.
Fortunately, Liam diplomatically changed the subject.
“What was Greenhill like?”
“Good. To be honest, not much happened. I was looking for my place, but I couldn’t quite find it.”
“I think you’ve found it now, haven’t you?” Liam asked with a smile.
Will smiled back.
“Yeah. I think so.”
The situation with Norma had pissed him off, but he had to admit that overall, he felt good here. He could count on the people around him.
They kept talking. The first drinks disappeared, then the second, and soon they were on their third. Will was feeling very relaxed.
“Can I ask something that will probably ruin the mood?” he suddenly blurted out.
“After an intro like that, you have to. Otherwise, the curiosity will kill me.”
“Why did you pick on me?”
Liam froze, looking genuinely surprised.
“What?”
“I’m talking about the damn ball,” Will confessed with a hint of resentment. “And please, don’t tell me it was an accident.”
“It wasn’t.”
Good, at least Liam wasn’t going to treat him like an idiot.
“So why?” Will repeated, watching Liam carefully. That behavior didn’t fit the Liam he knew at all. “Why did you single me out?”
To be fair, Danny had gotten hit a few times too, but probably only because he was with Will.
“Do you remember the first time I hit you?”
“Was it any different from all the other times?” Will muttered, not sure what difference it made.
“Well, I remember. I was roughhousing with Kent and knocked the ball out of his hands, and it hit you. You picked it up, came over to return it, smiled, and said, sorry.”
“Okay.” Will still didn’t get where this was going. “And?”
“So when I saw you the next day, I threw it at you on purpose. You did the same thing again. You gave me the ball back and apologized with a smile.”
“And?”
“And I stood on the field wondering what kind of guy apologizes to another guy for getting hit with a ball.”
“I wasn’t apologizing for you hitting me. I just… I don’t even know, I don’t even remember doing that, but if I did, it was out of nervousness.”
“Maybe, but I found your behavior so interesting that I kept trying. I was waiting for you to finally react like a normal person.”
“That was a normal person’s reaction! Besides, I didn’t always apologize.”
“True, you stopped later. I mean, first you’d apologize with irritation, then you’d just give me the ball back without saying anything, sometimes you’d wince or mutter something under your breath, but nothing more.
And I waited. I was waiting for you to defend yourself, to tell me I was a jerk, to tell me to leave you alone. ”
“So what? This was some kind of social experiment? I did do that, eventually.”
“I know. And it was awesome.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t feel awesome last year.
And don’t be surprised I reacted that way.
I was scared. Look at you, you’re huge, you’re on the team, you have tons of friends…
Are you really surprised I didn’t want to get on your bad side?
Besides, you should be glad it ended with a few snarky comments, because there were moments when I seriously wanted to punch you.
Good thing I didn’t,” he added with a hint of fear.
Treating a werewolf like that couldn’t have ended well.
“I wouldn’t have hit you back,” Liam replied, amused.
“How was I supposed to know that?”
“You couldn’t have. You can never be sure until you try. That’s why it’s worth a shot.”
“What if I’d hurt you?”
“You, hurt me?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“If that lunatic could handle you, I might have been able to as well.”
“Fair point,” Liam admitted, half-serious. His eyes were sparkling. He looked happy. But then he added seriously, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I shouldn’t have picked on you like that. I guess I just didn’t think this through.”
“Apology accepted.”
They had one more drink each and decided it was time to go. Well, actually, Liam decided, because Will was so drunk by then that rational decisions weren’t really his style.
They walked through the city together, still deep in conversation.
“So what guy did you kiss?”
“Why are you so nosy?”
They were close enough that their shoulders were practically brushing.
“I’m not nosy, I just want to know.”
“I just want to know is the definition of nosy.”
“No, it’s not!” Will protested, then swayed violently.
Liam caught him just in time, steadying him.
“God, you’re such a lightweight.”
“I know,” Will confirmed proudly.
Liam chuckled.
“Come on,” he said, starting forward but not letting go of Will.
“You can’t hug me,” Will protested, wriggling out of his grasp.
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t discussed with Oscar whether strange guys are allowed to hug me.”
“I’m not a strange guy, I’m your friend.”
Will looked at him, astonished.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s awesome.” Will grinned happily. “But it doesn’t change the situation, because I haven’t discussed with him whether my friends are allowed to hug me either.”
Liam couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“You’re great, you know that?” he asked when he finally composed himself a bit.
“Thanks. Walk me home, okay? I don’t want to get eaten by a demon.”
They walked on, laughing and joking, until suddenly Liam stopped short and fell silent.
“What’s up?” Will asked, surprised.
Liam didn’t answer, staring at something. Will tried to see what he was looking at but didn’t notice anything suspicious.
“What is it, Liam? What do you see? Is it the demon?”
“No,” Liam said slowly, frowning. “It’s nothing.”
“So, are we going?” Will instinctively started forward, but Liam remained rooted to the spot. “Liam…”
Only then did Liam snap out of it and fall into step beside him, but stopped again a moment later.
“Wait,” he requested, grabbing Will’s arm. “Your Surfer… I think I saw him go into that club,” he said, nodding his head toward the building next to them.
“Oscar?” Will snorted. “That’s impossible. He’s at home with his brother.”
“And I don’t think he was alone.”
“What are you talking about?”
He assumed Liam was joking, because although it would be in exceptionally poor taste, it was the best explanation for the situation. But Liam looked dead serious, which was not his natural state. Will felt a flicker of unease.
“Okay. Let’s check it out.”
They both went into the club. Will was a little nervous, but he quickly concluded that Liam must have just been mistaken. The city streets were lit by streetlights, but it was still night. Maybe he’d seen someone who just looked similar?
They’d only walked a few steps when Liam suddenly grabbed his shoulders, spinning him around abruptly.
“What is it?” Will asked, astonished.
He instinctively tried to turn his head, but Liam cupped his face in his hands, holding it in place.
“Liam. What’s going on?”
Liam seemed unsure what to do.
“I’m not sure you want to see this,” he finally said.
Will swallowed nervously. He pushed Liam’s hands away and turned to see… Oscar.
The mere fact that Oscar was having a great time in a club instead of supposedly looking after his brother would have been a serious blow to his trust, but of course, it wasn’t that simple.
Because Oscar wasn’t alone. He was dancing with some guy.
Well, dancing was an overstatement. They were basically grinding on the dance floor, glued to each other, kissing passionately.
Will started toward them.
“Will.” Liam tried to stop him, but the boy tore himself away. “Maybe you should wait until tomorrow.”
He ignored the warning. He pushed his way onto the dance floor, then approached the inseparable pair.
“Oscar!” he called, but he couldn’t break through the thumping music. “Oscar!” He tried again, with no result, so he grabbed the boy’s arm.
Oscar turned around with a smile that promptly vanished from his face. His eyes widened in shock.
“Hey! He’s dancing with me!” Oscar’s partner snarled, then shoved Will hard, sending him stumbling.
“Stop it!” Oscar shouted, stepping between them.
“Is this your little boyfriend or something?” the other guy snorted.
Oscar ignored the question. He grabbed Will’s hand and pulled him along. They ended up in the hallway leading to the restrooms. It was a little quieter here.
“Will. I swear, it’s not what you think,” Oscar whispered nervously.
Will stared at him with tears in his eyes.
“No?” he asked bitterly. “So you weren’t just making out with another guy while you were supposedly taking care of your sick brother?”
Oscar looked down. Will gave him a moment to explain, mainly because he was trying to calm his own emotions, but since Oscar remained silent, he finally spoke up himself, “So what’s your explanation?
That you’re so unlucky you just happened to trip and get stuck to some guy right when I was looking?
” he sneered venomously. “No, wait. You probably think you’re unlucky because I caught you.
But somehow I don’t think this is the only time you’ve pulled something like this, so it’s not bad luck, it’s just statistics. ”
“Will… please,” Oscar whispered pleadingly.
“What are you asking me for?” Will hissed.
“Let’s just talk calmly, okay?”