Who: Liam me_lucky_charms and Will [NPC] What: Where is Alastair!? When: Late Sunday Night, August 15th Where: Liam's apartment
It was most disconcerting.
Will, Alastair's seventeen-year-old son, continued to come over to Liam's home every hour or so to announce that Alastair was still not home. Therefore, not only was Liam worried about his best friend who was MIA, he was constantly put into a position of having to act like an adult.
That was a role Liam was never going to get an Oscar for. He liked Will, but he would rather not have to talk to the boy without Alastair there as a buffer.
When Will dropped by again just after ten, Liam had been rearranging and cleaning his treasures over his mantle. Alastair affectionately called them his 'junk', but Liam knew Alastair was only kidding and that a house entirely full of trinkets and odds and ends was perfectly lovely. He was mostly sure Alastair was kidding, anyway. He loved his 'junk' and he didn't like being interrupted while he was dusting it. Liam carefully replaced the ceramic figurine of a cat so he didn't drop it while trying to talk to Will.
"Dad's still gone," Will announced, as if Liam couldn't figure that out for himself.
Liam turned to Will, swinging his dust rag around so that it created little clouds where ever it went. "You know, if you weren't so hard to get along with right now, he wouldn't be hiding from you," Liam pointed out, in what he assumed was a perfectly reasonable way.
Will, however, didn't think so. His face crumpled and Liam felt immediately sorry. "Oh! Oh no, was that not right? Should I not tell the truth?!" Worriedly, Liam stepped forward. "Will, do you want me to lie to you?"
Will gave Liam a withering look and then he collapsed into one of Liam's arm chairs, his head in his hands. "Oh, you're sitting down. Lovely. Okay." Liam scuttled around until he reached the other arm chair and he sat down as well, watching Will expectantly.
Will glared at Liam until he couldn't take it any longer. "Liam, can you pretend to be a real grown up person for a little while?"
Liam straightened up and he arched one eyebrow at the boy. "I am several centuries old, Will. I am a real grown up person."
"What's your favourite food group?" Will asked pointedly.
"Candy," was Liam's immediate reply. Technically it was beer, but Liam knew that wasn't really a food.
"Uh huh." Will sighed and he hid his face in his hands.
This was one of those situations where Liam needed a road map to understand. Human emotions were foreign to him and he could fake it well enough to get by most days. He had an affection for Alastair that he didn't have for any one else, but it wasn't really love for a friend like humans felt it. At least he didn't think so. And here in front of him was a young human in pain and Liam couldn't help. He couldn't even understand what Will was feeling. To him, if Alastair wasn't home the answer was clearly to wait until he was.
Without a map, Liam was driving blind. But at least he was trying. "Uh...so...you're sad. Because Alastair is gone. Even though you spent all week ignoring him?"
Will groaned and then, to Liam's surprise, he nodded. "I don't even...Liam, I'm not even mad at him, I'm just mad and he makes this sad face and I don't want his pity."
"I don't think it's pity," Liam said carefully. "He was worried when you wouldn't come out of your room. He wasn't pitying you, he was scared."
Will toed the carpet with the toes of his shoes and he chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah. I did scare him away, didn't I?"
"Maybe," Liam said again, too honest for Will's good. "But he'll come back eventually because you live at his house." Liam nodded, feeling quite sage-like in his wisdom. "I helped, right?"
"Sure," Will groaned. "Liam, do you have any food?"
"Yep." Liam nodded, quite proud of his fridge collection of eatables. "Why?"
"Can I have some of it?" Will looked slightly shocked at having to explain that. He inched to the end of the chair and he hesitated before continuing. "I'm hungry and I'm sick of waiting for Dad to come home. And I don't want to rifle around in his fridge if he's all mad at me."
Liam was pretty sure Alastair wouldn't care if there was rifling in his fridge, since Liam himself did it often. Alastair was very easy-going; Liam had never ever seen him angry. But he supposed he couldn't tell Will no. He didn't want the boy to be hungry. He was seventeen and still growing or whatever it was humans did! "Okay. But don't eat my green Jell-O."
"Uh...okay. Also, gross." Will rose from the chair and he paused, turning back to Liam. "Liam? My dad doesn't hate me...does he?"
"No," Liam answered easily because it was true.
Will smiled slightly. If Liam was saying it, it was probably not a lie. Unless he stood to gain from said lie, and then it was anyone's guess. There was not gain here for Liam, only Will. "Thanks, Liam."
Liam looked proud of himself for helping. "You're welcome" he said loudly. When Alastair got home, Liam was going to tell him all about how he had helped.