shadowtina (shadowtina) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-09-01 00:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, grady, hunter, jen, jen x liam, liam, sebastian |
Who: Liam & Jen with Grady, Hunter & Sebastian
Where: The Barrett House
When: Evening, Friday, November 10
Status: Complete
Liam told himself that he would totally run over to a friend’s house in the pouring rain. It was because his power was out and it was Friday night and he wanted something better to do than stare at the walls once his phone battery died. It wasn’t because he liked Jen. Because he was past that. He’d have totally gone out in the storm for Ophelia or Justin or David. He’d just about convinced himself of this when he made it to Jen’s door, feeling like a drowned rat. A bike would have been faster, but would have also been more dangerous with all the lightning, so he was soaked everywhere that his raincoat didn’t cover. Now was one of those times that he wished his powers with water were just a tad bit stronger, so he could pull it out of his clothing. Instead, he’d just have to air dry and hope he didn’t freeze. Pulling his hood back, he knocked on Jen’s door as the storm raged behind him. At least her power was still on.
Jen was telling herself that she was happy he was coming over because they were friends and she was not excited about it in any way other than having someone to hang out with. Then of course about two minutes before he knocked she realized her brother had his very secret boyfriend over and this was going to be a clusterfuck. She was pretty sure she could trust Liam to keep a secret and for all Hunter knew he'd just come over without asking first so... She had a life, she had friends, she wasn't going to just stop being social because his boyfriend was in the closet. She still felt a tiny bit guilty about it but she smothered it stubbornly and texted Hunter that there was a guest in the house so they needed to be quiet and sneaky and text her before Sebastian left.
She had stopped the movie to start it over and hurried to the door when Liam knocked, laughing with some sympathy when she opened the door. "Did you not see the umbrella icon I texted you?" she teased him as she backed up to let him in. "You need a towel. Hold on."
“I did,” Liam said with a little laugh, shaking out his raincoat and leaving it outside. “But the wind is so bad it would’ve been useless. You weren’t kidding when you suggested swimming.” He stepped in the door, but didn’t come much further, not wanting to drip on her floor. He pulled off his shoes and socks, noticing another pair at the door, but didn’t think too much of it at the moment. They were probably Hunter’s. His toes curled up, finding it awkward to be barefoot in someone else’s house, but wet socks would be worse. At least his shirt was dry. And track pants didn’t retain water like denim did.
"Should've worn swim trunks," Jen teased him when she returned with a towel and handed it to him. He probably looked good in swim trunks, or a speedo, which was totally not something she needed to be thinking about. She'd already told him she wasn't interested in more than friendship and she was pretty much asexual or something but the thought still intrigued her and he was awfully pretty for a boy. "C'mon in, we have some leftover pizza if you want and a blanket 'cause you look cold."
“Right? And just brought a change of clothes,” Liam smiled as he accepted the towel. He did what he could with his hair, but he had the feeling it was just a puff of blonde fluff by the time he was done. Not at all what he was going for, but at least he wasn’t trying to impress her. He did what he could with the rest of his clothes, but accepted that he was just going to be slightly damp from the knee down for a bit. “Thanks,” he said, setting the towel aside. “I just need a bit to warm up. But pizza sounds great. I’m surprised you got someone to come out in this weather.” Maybe Point Pleasant pizza companies were like the US Postal Service— rain or shine, you get your pizza on time.
"I'm glad we got someone to come over in this weather," Jen replied. "Otherwise it would have just been scrambled eggs for dinner or something." She caught his arm and tugged on him to come inside, pointing to the couch. "Get comfy under a blanket, I'll bring pizza, do you want a coke or something else?" Maybe he wanted coffee or tea, being cold and wet and all but that would take more time so she hoped he'd be happy with a soda.
“Yeah, without power I was stuck with a PBJ,” Liam said with a little laugh. He couldn’t even make scrambled eggs, something he should probably learn. Cooking was not his forte. He smiled when she tugged him along, then went to settle on the couch, pulling the blanket around himself. That definitely helped. “Coke would be great,” he smiled, then looked up as a noise from upstairs caught his attention. Music? “Your brother home?” he asked.
"Mmhmm," Jen murmured as she walked out of the living room because the less she said about that the better. She'd warned him by now that she had a guest so if Liam heard any loud sex noises that was purely Hunter's fault. She returned with pizza and soda and settled down next to Liam, sneaking her feet under his blanket before handing him his plate. "If the power goes out here too then I'm very sorry I made you run here. At least there's pizza though."
Liam nodded to himself, but didn’t think any more of it for the moment. If Hunter came down, maybe he’d get to meet him. If not, no biggie. He smiled back at Jen when she returned with pizza and a Coke, an added bonus in his opinion. He hadn’t been expecting her to feed him. “There’s pizza and you,” he reminded her. “Even without the power, we can still talk and hang out. At home it was just me, my phone, and a bunch of candles.” He wasn’t sitting around in the dark, but he was at the mercy of his cell phone battery.
"I'm almost afraid to watch this movie now," Jen admitted. "In case the power goes out right in the middle of it. That would really suck." She stretched out to put the bottles of soda on the table then leaned her side against the back of the couch, looking over her shoulder at the tv rather than stare at Liam while he was eating. "You haven't seen this one either, right? I hear it's really good." Glancing at him again she couldn't help but grin a little at how fluffy his hair was after he toweled it.
“If the power goes out, we can always finish it later,” Liam told her, smiling as he felt her toes press against his leg beneath the blanket. “Or we can watch something else. I’m flexible.” He’d come over to hang out, not specifically because he wanted to see the movie. He mostly wanted to see Jen. Which he wasn’t admitting. “Nope, haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard the same. What do you wanna watch if we watch something else?” he asked before taking a bite of pizza.
"Oh I want to watch this one," Jen replied and stretched out again to reach the remote. She considered getting another blanket but the one covering Liam right now was pretty big and... was she a total tease if she snuggled underneath it with him? The way he'd reacted to her sort of rejection had scored him a lot of points because he hadn't ghosted her or treated her like shit since. They'd had lunch together and chatted about stuff at school all the time and he was really nice. Really nice and stupidly pretty for a boy. Jen turned the movie on and hoped the plot of it was good enough to quiet her mind. "Share," she told Liam as she tugged on the blanket and settled down again this time facing the tv and pulling her side of the blanket over herself. He was still a little cold but that was okay, he'd probably like how warm her arm was against his then.
“Then we’ll watch this one,” Liam said with a little laugh. “If it cuts out, we’ll just pick it up another time.” It wasn’t like he minded spending more time with her. Despite his lingering feelings, he thought he was doing a good job at the just being friends thing. He’d never been all that good at flirting anyways. So this was nice, even if sharing a blanket with her made him want to curl up with her in a more than friendly way. He smiled as he passed some of the blanket over to her, then tried to focus on the start of the movie, though her arm pressing against his was distracting in a way that it totally shouldn’t be. She was so warm and sitting close enough that he could smell her, that clean girly scent that had nothing to do with perfume or flowers, but was somehow so nice.
Despite whatever awkwardness that might linger, Liam was quickly become Jen's favorite movie-watching partner. He didn't talk too much during a movie but he also wasn't too quiet and he didn't make her feel like commenting was a bad thing. They noticed some little things throughout the movie and each pointed out a few little details that the other would have missed otherwise and Jen was really excited about the film. The power didn't cut out in the middle - or at all - and she had pretty much forgotten about her brother having his boyfriend over and anything else that didn't exist in the small space that included the couch and the TV. "So good," she said as the credit started rolling. "Did you like it?" She looked expectantly at Liam and tugged the blanket up to her chin.
By the time the movie was over, Liam was really glad that the power hadn’t cut out. He would have felt like they were left hanging until they finished it and it was one of those movies that you just had to see through to the end. He hadn’t known what to expect, would probably have watched anything Jen had wanted to watch, but ended up really impressed with the movie. “Oh definitely,” he smiled over at Jen, shifting on the couch to face her now that the movie was over. “I’d even watch it again, just because I feel like I’d pick up on things we missed the first go round.” He liked movies like that, where you understood them better the second time around. It didn’t happen often, but it always impressed him.
Jen grinned at him and almost suggested they watch it again right now. There were things she wanted to double check, theories she wanted to test but it could wait. "I'm glad you came over," she said instead of suggesting another go. "You've been really cool about everything." She wrinkled her nose and pulled the blanket up to her nose, eyes crinkling at him. Maybe she should be bringing it up but... oh well.
“Thanks,” Liam laughed softly and looked down, picking at the blanket for a second before glancing back up at her. She was so cute like that, peering at him from behind the blanket. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. I’m really glad you still wanna hang out.” There were a lot of girls that would have found it to be too awkward, which was a little frustrating because if he didn’t try, how would he ever know? It always hurt to be turned down, but it seemed worse not to try. Like he had no hope. But he also didn’t want to lose friends over it.
"It's cool," Jen said and pulled the blanket down again, watching him intently. "I'm still trying to figure stuff out." Like why she was interested and not interested at the same time, how did that even work? She felt flaily and trapped when she thought about being someone's girlfriend and at the same time Liam's lips looked so kissable and he'd never been an ass to her like a lot of boys tended to be. "I don't wanna fuck you up," she added because wouldn't that be typical, if she was the girl who kissed him and then broke his heart and turned him into a total douchebag.
It wasn’t the first time that Liam wished he had some kind of insight into a girl’s brain and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He wasn’t all that sure what she was trying to figure out, but if she needed time, then she had it. He didn’t want to be one of those guys that pressured someone to explain themselves, like he needed an explanation as to why she didn’t want to date him. The why wouldn’t really help anything, unless he was seriously doing something wrong, in which case he hoped if they were friends then maybe she’d tell him so he didn’t keep doing it. Her follow up comment tore a little laugh from his lips and Liam shook his head. “I don’t think it works like that,” he said. “I mean, sure, you can fuck someone up if you’re messing with their head long term, but you don’t seem like that kind of person. Otherwise, we’re all just figuring it all out, aren’t we?”
Jen shook her head. "It's easy to fuck people up," she said and maybe the fact that he didn't know that meant he was still pretty un-fucked up. "I like you," she added and shifted a bit so she was facing him more, opening her mouth to say more when she heard footsteps on the stairs. A surge of annoyance went through her, even if it was probably a good thing since she'd been tempted to kiss him and it was dumb. Still, she'd warned Hunter that she had a guest and this was very obviously both of them coming down. She moved again to press her back against the couch, giving Hunter a pointed look when he appeared in the doorway.
That was what she’d said last time and Liam had to admit it confused him a little. If she liked him, then why didn’t she want to date him? The only explanation he could think of was that she was about to follow that all up with “but just as a friend”, but then footsteps on the stairs cut her off. Liam looked in the same direction as her, seeing Hunter first, then Sebastian McCarthy right behind him, their hands linked together. At first Liam didn’t know what he was seeing, his brain having a hard time, like dealing with a math equation that didn’t make sense. Then his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but stare as he cursed under his breath. “Holy shit.”
Jen sighed quietly, her expression hardening when her brother looked at her with hurt and confusion. "I sent you a message," she said pointedly. It had been delivered and everything so it wasn't her problem if he couldn't check his phone. A lot was said between them without words before she turned to Liam. "You're good at keeping secrets," she said and it wasn't a question or a request. He'd keep his mouth shut about this.
The second Sebastian saw Liam, his hand tightened around Hunter’s and he pressed up behind him, like if he got close enough Liam might not see him. Which was silly. He had several inches on Hunter, there was no way Liam had missed him. Sebastian swallowed hard, glancing at Jen when she spoke, then back to Liam. Sure, Liam was good at keeping at least one secret, but would he keep his?
Liam’s attention returned to Jen when she spoke and he nodded even before he had a good answer. He was good at keeping secrets. And he would keep this one, though he was desperate to know if Ophelia knew. Because he seriously hadn’t seen this coming. “Yeah, I won’t tell a soul,” he said, eyes ticking from Jen back to Sebastian.
Hunter had fumbled for the phone in his pocket and yes, there it was, a message from Jen. It could be worse, he supposed, she could have texted them to tell them Grady was back and Grady might have nearly walked in on them having sex. He looked back at Sebastian with an apologetic look before looking at Liam. "Nobody can know," he said, as if Jen hadn't been clear enough already. If they hadn't been holding hands it could have been easier to lie that they had homework together or something but even then he had a feeling it was transparent. He was a little flustered still from the sex and it felt like there was a neon sign above their heads pointing out exactly what they were to each other.
It really wasn’t the fact that they were holding hands that gave them away, though that sealed the deal. It was the way they crowded close together, the flush in their cheeks and their swollen lips and it now made sense why Hunter had had music on. “I get it,” Liam told Hunter. “Sebastian knows I can keep a secret.” He wasn’t going to say how, but he got that some things were sacred. Not that being gay was like being a witch, but he got that it coming out would be a huge deal.
Sebastian breathed a little easier when Liam promised to keep quiet and nodded in agreement. Liam could keep his mouth shut when he had to. He didn’t know the other guy very well, but Ophelia trusted him, and apparently Jen did too, so maybe this would be okay. It wasn’t that he expected Liam to freak out, but that he wanted to come out when he was ready, not because his secret got fed into the gossip mill. “Thanks,” he finally said, feeling bad that all this fuss was about him. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it was to him.
Jen and Liam weren't in the middle of a movie but Hunter still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd interrupted something. He was about to say they were just down for some food so he could get out of his sister's hair when he heard a car pull up. Some nights Grady didn't come home until near-morning but of course he was home now and Hunter gave Sebastian a nervous look. "Uhm... I think my dad's home," he mumbled and while he'd been ready to introduce them, now wasn't really what he'd had in mind.
As nervous as Sebastian was about Liam finding out about him and Hunter, that didn’t hold a flame to meeting Hunter’s dad. He felt like he needed to check himself over, make sure his fly was zipped and his shirt right side out, and he hoped to god that he didn’t smell as much like sex as he thought he did. There was nothing he could do about his hair, but he ran his fingers through it anyways. “Should we… sit? Or… go get pizza?” He honestly didn’t know what to do, but standing there awkwardly seemed so much worse.
Liam’s eyes ticked from the boys to Jen. He didn’t think it was a big deal to meet her dad, seeing as how they were just friends, but he’d kind of wanted to hear what she had to say and now it felt like he never would. They were so far off track that he wasn’t sure it would come up again. “I’m allowed to be here, right?” he asked, not having considered that. Some girls’ parents got weird about them having boys over, friends or not.
"No, you need to go hide in a closet with Sebastian," Jen said dully before looking at Liam with a hint of a smile in her eyes. She didn't think their dad would mind much, he might not be happy about it but he wouldn't be an ass about it either. Maybe a little annoyed that he was coming home to strangers there but it was a shitty night and they were allowed to have friends.
Hunter was halfway panicked though, uhming softly as he thought about it. "Let's sit," he blurted out then and pulled Sebastian over to the couch. As if they'd all just been watching movies together, nothing weird going on, no sex or anything his dad might disapprove of. Of course there was no movie on at the moment but they could have just finished and were talking about it, that seemed believable enough. Only they didn't have time to plan which movie they'd watched if that was the case.
Liam bit back a laugh and shot Jen the finger, a little grin playing on his lips, not nearly as concealed as hers had been. This was going to be weird, he thought, but maybe they could pull it off. Hunter and Sebastian just needed to chill out, something he wasn’t entirely sure was possible in the time it would take Jen and Hunter’s dad to get in the house. With the way the rain was coming down, he’d most likely run from the car to the door and it felt like as soon as Liam thought it, it happened, all the while the four of them sat awkwardly in silence.
After the past couple of weeks, it was a rarity for Grady to get a Friday night to himself. But that wasn't unusual while working as a police officer in Point Pleasant. A lot of the responsibilities to this town fell on his shoulders, and he had known that would happen when he took the job. He didn't regret it, but it certainly heightened his appreciation for the days he could clock out at a reasonable hour. Like tonight. He drove home with the intention of ordering a pizza for dinner, though he wasn't entirely sure if Hunter or Jen would even be home. It was a Friday night after all, even with the weather being as shitty as it had been all week.
When he parked in the driveway, Grady grabbed his badge and jacket from the passenger seat before locking up and heading inside. He didn't exactly run to the door, but he walked briskly, his keys out in his hand to unlock the front door... which was already unlocked. So the kids were home, or at least one of them. Grady stepped inside and shut the door, hanging his jacket up before placing his keys and his wallet and badge on the table beside the coat rack. When he wandered into the living room, he wasn't really expecting to find four teenagers sitting there, looking guilty as hell despite their relatively calm faces. Okay, Jen didn't look guilty, but the boys...
Grady's gaze ticked over everyone before he cocked a brow. "Uh, hey guys. What's going on?"
Hunter got up (which amused Jen to no end since he'd just sat down). "Uh, dad?" he started, nervously pointing to Sebastian. "This is Sebastian, my boyfriend..." This was so not how he'd imagined the introduction going down. He thought he'd be telling Grady Sebastian was coming over, it'd all be a bit formal really, he certainly wouldn't have just sucked his boyfriend's dick some thirty minutes earlier.
"And this is Liam," Jen drawled. "His power went out." She had a feeling the whole 'my boyfriend' thing was a bigger deal but it felt rude not to introduce him and Grady would ask.
"Yeah," Hunter said distractedly. "We were watching movies." God he hoped this wasn't going to ruin their plans of curling up in his room to watch Netflix. What if Grady offered to drive everyone home? It made him feel like whining and it hadn't even happened yet.
Sebastian had always felt like he was good at meeting his ex-girlfriend’s parents, but he’d never been as nervous as he was now. It was usually planned, a thing where he showed up and shook the father’s hand and put on a good show, not stumbled down the stairs smelling like sex to pretend they’d been casually hanging out. When Hunter stood, he did too, then wondered if that was the right thing to do. “Hi,” he said, and gave Grady a nervous smile and half a wave, which felt so insanely stupid that he dropped his hand back to his side almost as soon as he did it.
Liam watched the whole exchange with a touch of amusement and surprise. He’d always considered Sebastian as smooth and put together. Perfect, as Ophelia had once said. Yet at the moment he looked just as awkward as every other teenage boy meeting a parent of their significant other. It actually made Liam feel more relaxed, and he gave Grady the casual smile that neither of the other boys had managed. “Jen promised pizza and Annihilation.” Maybe he’d win points for dropping the movie’s name before they all blurted out something different.
It was a bit overwhelming, trying to focus on the fact that Hunter was introducing him to his boyfriend, and Jen was introducing him to her... friend. Who was a boy. Pizza and annihilation. Annihilation? Grady blinked and was about to ask what that meant before he realized it was probably a movie. He wasn't really sure where to start, and a part of him wanted to retreat to the other room as quickly as possible. But he didn't want anyone to think he was annoyed or bothered by the gathering, as he wasn't. He just hadn't been expecting it.
"It's nice to meet you both," Grady told Sebastian, and then Liam. He glanced at the television, and then the four kids again. "How was the movie?" It probably could have been worse. They could have all been sitting down in a more formal setting, like the dinner table, where Grady would have to come up with stuff to talk about for an hour or so.
"I loved it, Hunter didn't," Jen said with a little roll of her eyes. "What else is new. We just finished so if you want to watch something..."
Hunter glanced back at her. He'd never really wanted to watch that movie because it looked like a horror movie with a bunch of chicks and only one hot guy who probably got killed in the beginning or something. Shallow? Sure. "It was creepy," he said with a little shrug, thankful that Jen was covering for him. "We ordered pizza, not sure if there's anything left though, we would have waited if we knew you'd be home. They were both kinda... surprise visits." He glanced at Sebastian with a slightly pained expression.
Sebastian didn’t have a good explanation for that, not without mentioning that he’d been grounded, and that wasn’t really how he wanted Hunter’s dad to think of him. But he’d also never needed an explanation for dropping by a friend’s house, especially someone he was dating. It was Friday night. Wasn’t that normal? “Plans kinda changed last minute,” he added, since that was the truth. It was always better to go with the truth, in his experience, even if leaving out specific details changed the way it looked.
Liam just sat back and listened, not sure there was anything he could add. He supposed his visit was a surprise to Hunter, but Jen had invited him over. It wasn’t like he snuck in the window while no one was looking. It did make him wonder if he should get going, though the storm sounded even worse than when he’d arrived. Not a good sign for someone traveling on foot.
Sometimes over-explaining was a sign of trying to cover up something else, but given that they didn't appear drunk and he couldn't smell cigarettes or pot lingering, Grady decided not to push it. The plan of an evening home to spend time with his kids seemed to have been derailed, but that was all right. He was sure they would much rather spend their Friday night with their friends - boyfriends? - than hanging with their dad. Still, he studied them in a quiet way just for a few more moments, content with letting them stew, before he gave a small nod and smile. "Yeah, my plans changed too. It's not a problem. Uh, just... uh make sure you clean up when you're finished," Grady said. "If anyone needs a ride home..." He trailed off, unsure if that was an embarrassing thing to offer their friends or not. How long did Liam and Sebastian intend to stay? At least they weren't holed up in bedrooms, otherwise he would have had to make sure they left their doors open the way his mom used to do to him when he was hanging out with a girl.
Hunter felt a small jolt of panic because if his dad drove Sebastian home, his parents would definitely know something was up. "Uhm," he started, inwardly flailing. "Sebastian has his own car so uh, no?" He wanted him to stay the night and if Grady hadn't come home, that would have happened. Now Hunter wasn't so sure. He looked at Sebastian questioningly. "Maybe you could just stay the night, if you... call your parents." He wouldn't be telling his parents shit and Hunter knew that but maybe, just maybe, Grady would have a harder time saying no this way.
“I’ve got my car,” Sebastian said with a little frown. So long as the water wasn’t too high, he should be able to drive home, something he hadn’t even considered when heading out. He’d just wanted to see Hunter. As much as he wanted to stay the night, he seriously doubted Hunter’s father was going to agree to that. Maybe if they’d “accidentally” fallen asleep while watching a movie, but a sleep over with his boyfriend seemed awfully progressive. “I could call them,” he said carefully, not wanting to lie outright. He could call them, but there was no way in hell he was telling them where he was.
Liam held his tongue as Hunter and Sebastian dug themselves a hole. He had to hand it to them, it took a lot of balls to suggest it. He couldn’t imagine asking his mother or father if his girlfriend could spend the night. If he had one. He supposed he needed one first. “I might need a ride,” he said after a minute. “Not right this second, but whenever. If you don’t mind.” He could always call his mom, but Grady had offered.
Grady cocked a brow when Hunter suggested Sebastian staying over. That sounded like something Hunter should have asked Grady directly before offering. He also remembered Hunter telling him that Sebastian was closeted, and Grady didn't want to find himself in a position where he had to lie to the kid's parents. He certainly wouldn't have wanted another parent lying to him about this kind of stuff. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," Grady told Hunter, realizing now that he had to slip into 'dad mode'. "If you're not comfortable driving home, I'll take you," Grady told Sebastian. His gaze ticked at Liam then. "I certainly don't mind giving you a ride either. But the rain's not going to let up anytime soon and the roads are only going to get worse. I'd say twenty more minutes, for safety's sake. I'll let you guys to it for now." He thumbed behind him toward the stairs. "I'll go change while you figure out what you want to do."
Hunter felt like whining He felt like he deserved good things after all the horrible things that had happened but he couldn't very well say that without having to tell his dad about those things. He opened his mouth to protest because twenty minutes was not enough for a cuddle and a Brooklyn Nine Nine marathon but then he clamped his mouth shut and nodded. He did not need to annoy his dad in front of his boyfriend, he wanted them to get along and he didn't want Grady to regret bringing him and Jen to stay in Point Pleasant. It took everything he had though, and he bit his lip a little too hard as he watched his dad leave. "Fuck," he whispered then and turned, grasping Sebastian's hand. "I'm sorry."
Jen didn't comment. Her brother was going to be in a pissy mood tonight, no matter how hard he'd try to hide it. "Well, you got a movie out of this," she told Liam cheerfully. "Hope the power's back on at your place."
It was really unfortunate that Hunter’s dad hadn’t gotten home later. Sebastian would’ve liked the excuse that the roads were too flooded to get home. Unfortunately, now it was the opposite, that he had to leave before the roads got too bad. “It was a long shot,” he whispered, giving Hunter’s hand a squeeze. “Maybe we can hang out tomorrow, work on college applications and… watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” he added with a hint of a smile. It wasn’t what they’d hoped for, but it was something to look forward to and it was a lot sooner than next weekend.
Liam tried to ignore the guys, certain this wasn’t how they’d wanted their evening to end. It hadn’t been so bad for him; he’d gotten to hang out with Jen and they hadn’t been near as awkward as he’d worried they’d be. Maybe he could really do this. He wanted it to work. “Doubt it, but this was fun,” he smiled. “Thanks for having me over. We should do this again sometime.”
"We definitely should," Jen said warmly and thought about how she'd almost kissed him earlier. It was probably a good thing Hunter had interrupted that, especially since her dad had ended up coming home and all, but it still irked her a little. Liam was going to move on and she might end up kicking herself for letting him slip away. Or not, maybe they were better as friends. It drove her crazy that she couldn't predict just which way was safer to go. Hunter seemed so sulky right now but then he also seemed so happy whenever he was with Sebastian. Jen didn't think she had that kind of romance in her but fuck, did anyone? These boys were so over the top.
It was times like these that Liam wondered what he was doing wrong. Things with Jen felt good, really good, but maybe the wasn’t reading it right and this was what it felt like to be friends with a girl. It wasn’t like he was any good at flirting. And when he saw other couples, like Hunter and Sebastian, he just wasn’t sure he felt that strongly about anyone. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to. But it still would’ve been nice to figure it out. “Next weekend?” he asked. “My pick?”
"You got yourself a deal," Jen replied and at this point she was really glad she hadn't kissed him. Hunter and Sebastian looked all sorts of guilt ridden and suspicious while she and Liam were chill as fuck. Chill was better than pouty and awkward any day. She did feel just a tiny bit pouty that they couldn't hang out for longer than this but it was probably for the best anway. This way they could hang out at lunch on Monday and things wouldn't be weird.