liam dunbar (firstbeta) wrote in thecityof, @ 2018-01-23 19:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | liam dunbar, mal, theo raeken |
WHO: Liam, Theo and then Mal
WHAT: Video games, fights and McDonalds
WHEN: Backdated to a few days after the soul snatching plot
WHERE: Around town
WARNINGS: A little language, a little violence a little love at first sight and chicken nuggets
STATUS: Complete
Nothing was right and everything was a mess and it was making Liam a little jumpy. He already had an anger problem, he knew if he got to the point where he would like, lose control, then he would do that. Lose control. He was trying to prevent it. And things were so weird right now with Scott. Scott was in his room, he wouldn't talk to anyone. He wouldn't do anything. Something happened, something bad. It was like Liam could feel it because Scott was his alpha, but it wasn't like Scott was saying anything. Even when Liam tried. He was sure everyone had too and it was like getting nowhere. It made him feel like the walls were closing in. There was only so much he could take until he had to get out of the apartment.
"I just don't get what's going on. I mean, that's how this place is right?" Liam was still new to LA and their 'challenges.' But Scott had been here awhile. Scott even talked about a deathmatch where he died. Like, things weren't normal anymore. Well, their normal. It wasn't the same and as much as Liam hated it, it wasn't like he could do anything about it.
Liam and Theo practically walked all over. They went to get some food at In-N-Out and then they went to an arcade and blew so much money on video games. Liam was on the last of the cash that he he brought with him and he was currently doing everything he could to beat a guy in the game he was playing. There was a crowd around him and he was getting his frustrations out by fighting on the screen.
When he finally won, he slammed his hands down on the game before laughing and looking over at Theo when suddenly he was pulled back and spun by his opponent and his eyes went a little wide.
Shit.
"You got something to say you little punk?" He shoved Liam back. Liam looked really small but well, he was a werewolf and he was strong. Plus? He was already pissed off and starting to get over it and now he was getting pissed all over again.
"Better luck next tim-" He didn't even finish that sentence because the guy punched him in the face and Liam literally spun landing into Theo. He tried to calm down. He knew he could literally kill this guy but the guy kept going because his friends were egging him on and he moved to pull Liam back but Liam literally jumped on him and starting beating him, his eyes burning yellow.
Theo figured that this was what the normal would be for him and Liam. Theo wasn’t one to really hang out since he was trying to help Malia prepare for the baby. He was reading books and making sure that he actually had a job so that when the baby did come he could help support it. All these things were happening and Theo, doing a complete one-eighty degree turn, was changing his lifestyle because this city was his life now, that baby was going to be his life.
It was a little weird telling Liam about it who thought that Theo was crazy until he showed him the pictures that proved that Malia was preggo with his baby. Theo gave Liam a purple nurple for making fun of him and calling Malia his baby mama even though....she was pretty much that. The two of them weren’t dating. Theo didn’t know what they were but he promised her that he would be there throughout it all which meant no girls. No sex. Malia wasn’t giving him anything but that was probably expected given what happened the last time they had sex.
Theo wasn’t one for the arcade but here he was, sighing as he waiting for Liam to finish his round with Thug #1 who looked as if he was about ready to turn into the Incredible Hulk. The crowd around them wasn’t helping so when Liam finally did win Theo clapped with about as much enthusiasm as someone had watching paint dry.
And that’s when everything went to Hell.
The guy was a sore loser and Theo took a step back when Liam was pushed. Theo was wise to not get in the middle of Liam’s fights. The little pup had a temper and it showed when Liam jumped onto the guy, his fists wailing into him to the point where the guy would have been pummeled if it wasn’t for Theo pulling him off.
“Hey, relax!” Theo wasn’t Scott. He didn’t have a commanding authority but he could try, his nails digging into Liam’s bicep.
It was like Liam blacked out, his fists coming down hard. People tried to pull him off and pull their friend back but Liam was much stronger and it was going to take a lot more to stop him. Once he got himself going, it was hard to just stop completely. He could smell the blood though and he felt nails digging into his upper arm as he felt himself being pulled off of him. Liam snatched his arm away from Theo and looked at the guy who was being lifted by his friends and he - shit. The guy was really messed up. Liam almost looked horrified. The place was so loud and confusing at the moment that Liam just turned around and pushed his way through the crowd to get himself out of there.
When he hit the sidewalk, he felt the air on his face and he breathed in deep. It was gross. It was nothing like Beacon Hills. The air was so fresh there. There were trees all around. This place was nothing was busy and loud and smoggy.
Turning around, he saw Theo walking out and he shook his head. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” He asked, but it was more to himself than Theo. He breathed in deep and shook his head, looking down at his hands before he dropped them at his sides.
Everything just had him on edge and now he felt like shit. It wasn’t worth it, he knew that, but that guy thought he was going to just push him around.
“That was crap,” Liam complained. “At least I won though.”
“You need to get a better handle on yourself.” Because Theo wasn’t that strong to stop Liam during one of his fits. When a werewolf got angry he got powerful. It was was pretty much the reason why he knew that Liam could beat Scott during a Supermoon, where Liam’s anger could potentially push him over the edge to kill Scott. That had been the plan. Kill Scott and then kill Liam. Of course it didn’t work out that way.
It felt like so long ago that Theo had arrived to Beacon Hills to take Scott’s pack from him. That was the entire goal. He wanted them. All of them. Lydia and Malia. Liam and Stiles. His own pack. In the end he had to make his own because the plan failed. Theo failed.
It had taken a lot for Scott to forgive him. He knew that he didn’t deserve a place in Scott’s pack. Scott had no reason to trust him but he did. Some of them did even though Theo had betrayed them all. Of course not everyone thought that he deserved it. Some of Scott’s pack hated him still.
“Come on, let’s go through the woods.” It would be faster that way. They could get back to the complex and then go back to Liam’s room to play videogames. “I’ll beat your ass at that new game you got.”
Liam knew that things could have been a lot worse. Like, he could have killed the guy. He didn’t - which was good, but Liam could have and then he would have to carry that for the rest of his life. It wasn’t like Liam wanted to hurt people. Scott had told him over and over that he wasn’t a monster. He was a werewolf. He just had to remember that. And he had to keep his power and strength and everything else to that. He wasn’t here to hurt anyone. But that guy really pissed him the hell off.
He had a few scratches but they had healed and now Liam just wanted to go home. Which he was planning to do but something caught his eye. Actually, someone with bright purple hair caught his eye as she was walking their way and Liam just stood there, staring. Staring.
His mouth fell open just a little as she got closer and he could feel Theo pulling him along but he didn’t move. “No, no, wait,” he said.
Wait for what?
Liam brought his hand up to wave - he thought, but instead, his hand was just there, just up, not moving. Not anything.
“Hi,” he whispered. It wasn’t loud enough for her to even hear him so he was just an idiot standing on a sidewalk with his hand to his chest.
Staring.
Theo would think that he would see that bright purple hair coming from a mile away but he really didn’t. He was focused on getting back to the apartment because half of him wanted to play that game and the other half wanted to check in on Malia to make sure she was okay. He was half tempted to text her to see if she was hungry. Malia was feeding for two and she knew that her pregnant ass was in the mood for all kinds of weird shit these days.
“What are you looking at?” Theo asked, pulling him along as he turned and looked and yeah, wow, he knew exactly why Liam was staring because this girl was pretty and her hair was weirdly out there for someone who looked like a teenager. She was dressed entirely in purple, in clothes that didn’t look like it matched any sort of outfit one would find in Los Angeles. Theo and Liam looked out of place compared to her.
“Pick up your jaw from off the floor, you dumbass.”
Mal wasn’t expecting to be out but she was for her own personal reasons. She liked walking because when she was outside she could think and right now Mal had nothing but thoughts with her ever since Dizzy’s arrival. She just didn’t understand it. Mal didn’t get why everyone saw the pirates as martyrs when they weren’t. None of them could have been deemed as innocent but the things that Mal remembered, how Ben was kidnapped, Mal’s own feelings on her departure from Auradon and being ridiculed for it, for wanting to go back. She just didn’t get it. She didn’t understand Carlos and Evie and their choice to be pirates after everything.
She had told them both that she respected their choices but now she was starting to question if she had made the right call. How could the two of them find themselves wanting to be on Uma’s crew? It felt like a slap to the face to arrive to some strange city and learn about that, as if it was the most natural thing to explain. Neither of them needed to become pirates but they wanted to. Mal just couldn’t see that reason, she couldn’t grasp it and it was pushing her away from them.
To pass the time Mal would have just loaded up some spray cans to find a big giant building to tag but tonight she wasn’t in the mood to express her feelings through graffiti. Mal wasn’t in the mood to even talk but she found herself stopped after coming across two guys. One of them who didn’t seem to know the concept of blinking.
“Hey,” she said, greeting them with odd looks because they were just standing there, the two of them not moving.
Liam honestly thought she was just going to walk by but she didn’t. She stopped. And now he didn’t know what to say. Like even him and Hayden, it wasn’t like it was love at first sight. They actually hated eachother in the beginning. But this, he was just stunned. She was so pretty. And her eyes. Oh my God. He was just staring. And not saying anything. He felt a shove from Theo and that made him shout out his name.
“Liam!”
Which got a strange look from her.
“I mean - that’s my name. Liam.” Shit. She never asked for it though. And was Theo laughing? He looked back at Theo then and gave him a glare, a warning before looking back at purple haired beauty in front of him.
“Not that you asked.” He paused. “I like your hair.”
Shit. Liam just wanted to go crawl under a rock at this point. It wasn’t like he did this. Saw a girl and like … he didn’t even know because things like this just didn’t happen. Theo could probably have any girl (who didn’t know him personally) because they always went out and girls were looking at him. Liam would hear him joking about it but now Liam felt like one of those girls. You know, the ones that look and gawk and did he close his mouth? He touched his lips and yes, they were closed.
Okay, he felt a little better. But not by much.
Theo couldn’t help but laugh because this was a little amazing. He had never seen Liam like this, not even when he was with Hayden which Theo thought it took kind of forever for Liam to get over when she dumped his ass. Not that there was really a choice in the matter because Hayden had moved away and Liam had to stay in Beacon Hills. Theo didn’t know the girl but he thought that she looked familiar, maybe because of her profile picture and it wasn’t like there were a lot of purple haired chicks in Los Angeles that lived at the complex.
“And I’m Theo,” he introduced, patting Liam on the back, trying his best to keep his friend from making a complete idiot out of himself because jesus, it was really bad. Theo didn’t know how he was going to go back to the apartment without cracking up the entire way.
“Thanks…” Mal couldn’t help but give a half chuckle because Liam was kind of adorable in his own weird way. Of course everything else went over Mal’s head because she didn’t really take notice of guys who were gawking. Mal had too much on her mind to take in that because she was so worried about the pirates and what her friends thought about her.
“I’m Mal.” It wouldn’t hurt, right? Telling them her name? Mal didn’t fully recognize them but she figured that maybe they were people she had seen around the apartment once or twice. There were so many people in Los Angeles but there was still that handful that she took notice on.
Liam moved, clearing his throat. He just felt that if he didn’t say anything then things would be okay because he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. She was really pretty. Her hair was like … hot. Mal. Her name was so easy. Mal. Liam and Mal. Mal and Liam. He cringed a little but swallowed either way and looked at her.
“Nice name too.” There he went, with words again. Words were going to get him into trouble. But luckily, Theo had taken over for a moment as he talked about the arcade and whatever else. It wasn’t like Liam was really listening to anything that Theo said at the moment, he was just looking at her. Which okay, was really creepy. And he should stop. Right about now.
“So what are you doing out here by yourself? Are you meeting someone?” He was just curious if she had friends here. Then again, Liam hadn’t really noticed her before which meant that he had no idea if she was even part of the complex. She might have been just here.
“Not that it’s any of my business.” He sighed and looked at Theo, then back at Mal. “We should probably get going. We’re heading back to the complex.” But he wondered if she was even going to be safe out here. Anything could happen. If she lived in the complex, then he was going to offer to walk her back.
“Oh, well, first we’re stopping by Mickey Ds. Our friend wanted food.” Like usual. “Do you want to go? Well … if you’re not meeting someone.” He really needed to stop talking.
Mal smirked because okay, she was starting to catch on a little about what was going on and especially since the one named Theo was giving Liam these small looks, ones that were like eye daggers telling him to stop talking. It was probably the first time Mal had found something else so funny. It was good natured and different from her friends. There wasn’t anything familiar about either of them but she felt like she wanted to get to know them both, to talk befriend other people in LA.
“I was actually just out here walking to get some air.” Mal had every intention to just be alone but she didn’t think it would hurt. Mickey Ds? She didn’t even know what that place was. They didn’t really have restaurants on the Isle and everything at Auradon was just fancy. Fast food wasn’t really a thing, just a bunch of slop and rotten apples.
“I’ve never had that so I wouldn’t even know what to get.” Mal looked at Theo who looked a little stunned, like he didn’t believe that anyone alive could have never had McDonalds.
“You’re joking, right?” Theo laughed because okay, maybe they didn’t really need to go to get food after spending all that time in the arcade but he knew that Malia would be hungry, too. He needed to get food for the mother of his child. It was only right that he bring something back so she wouldn’t starve to death.
“You’ve never had it?” Liam was blown away and now more curious than ever. Who doesn’t eat Micky Ds? Now he was glad that he had brought it up because now hopefully she’d want to go. “You see the golden arch? It’s like the most recognizable sign. Anywhere. You have to get some nuggets at least.” Okay, so the food was crap but it was whatever. But if a pregnant werecoyote can chow it down nearly every night then it was good enough for the rest of them.
“Do you want to go with us?” Liam asked then. Maybe they would all eat there and they could get to know eachother. Well, her anyway. Liam knew way too much about Theo and this wasn’t about knowing him.
When they all decided they were going to go, they turned and started heading for the MacDonalds. Liam nudged Theo and looked at him. “I spent all my money at the arcade. Give me a twenty,” he whispered, trying to be discreet. Theo just gave him a look. “Give. Me. A. Twenty.” He glared at Theo. He didn’t want Mal to think he was broke or anything and he was obviously going to offer to pay for her. But he needed money in order to do that.
“Dibs. FYI,” he whispered again. “You already knocked up one girl, you don’t get to knock up this one.”
When Mal turned around, Liam smiled at her as if he hadn’t been saying anything at all.
Theo rolled his eyes because he wanted to punt Liam in his ass because he was being so dumb right now. There was no way that Mal, someone that pretty, was single. She had to have some guy already drooling after her and he couldn’t wait for Mal to break the ice by saying she was taken. Theo decided that he had to stick around to see the look on Liam’s face when he asked Mal out on a date and got turned down. The chimera smiled at the thought.
As the two walked Theo thought he didn’t hear right. Mal was a little up ahead, not really paying attention to them because she was so transfixed on the dumb M sign that should have stood for obesity because really, who ate McDonalds and somehow stayed sexy?
“No, I’m not giving you a twenty,” Theo hissed, shaking his head and then Liam glared, telling him again with a hint of anger and Theo just glared back, digging into his pocket to handle Liam’s broke ass a twenty. “You know, I hope you feed her a chicken nugget and she chokes on it.”
Theo had to smile when Mal turned to look at them, giving them both a weird look because she thought that she heard them talking about her. It didn’t take them long to actually get to the place, Mal looking around and Theo swore that she actually looked impressed. Like, for real? It was just a McDonald’s. It wasn’t like they were eating at Olive Garden.
“I hope you … choke,” Liam said then and they all walked inside. Mal looked really in awe. It was kind of amazing. He just watched her and saw Theo from the corner of his eye giving her a look like she was dumb or something. But Theo did that with everyone. Everyone was dumb to him.
“Everything is pretty good here.” Liam stepped beside her, leaving Theo behind them and he finally drew his eyes away from her and looked at the menu. “And whatever you want, I’ll get it. My treat.” Really, it was Theo’s but whatever. She didn’t need to know that.
When the cashier called for them, Liam stepped up and looked at the menu but really, he got the same thing. Always. The chicken nugget meal with sweet and sour sauce and a vanilla milkshake. So good. He looked at Mal. “Whatever you want,” he said and waited as she ordered. Once she was done and Theo stepped up to order, Liam stepped in front of him.
“That’s it. For here.” He paid the cashier out of the twenty he got from Theo and kept the change too, pushing it in his pocket so the two of them waited for Theo to order.
After they got their food and drinks, they sat down in a booth and Liam sat across from her with Theo beside him so she had her own space or whatever. Liam wasn’t trying to crowd her. Much.
“So where are you even from that doesn’t have this?” He asked and dipped his nugget in his sauce.
Mal took notice of the menu and she really didn’t get all the different numbers and meals. Mostly when they had to eat back on the Isle they had to steal their food. Obviously their parents didn’t really care if they lived or died. They had to fend for themselves. It was their way of proving that they were strong, that they could eventually live up to the name of being a villain. The worst of the worst which is what Mal wanted to be once upon a time.
“Well, I was on a place called the Isle,” Mal said, knowing that it was easier to talk about her home given how bad it was. How pathetic it was for all of them to live there for their entire lives while the heroes lived their happy endings. “It’s kind of where we all ended up. Um, me and my friends, we’re…”
Mal didn’t know why it was hard to tell them, to explain that she was a villain. That she had evil inside of her. It wasn’t the best thing to tell her potential friends. They didn’t need to know her entire life story.
“Just different.” Mal chickened out but that was just because she didn’t want Theo and Liam to see her as some kind of freak. She already looked so weird standing there, her clothes so different, her hair so purple. “I’m just glad to be somewhere better. If that makes sense.”
She was definitely hiding something. Liam already knew that. Theo and Liam were like human lie detectors. They could hear heartbeats. And she might not have been ‘lying’ but she was swaying from the truth, hiding things. It was okay. Like, they just met anyway. It wasn’t like Liam was going to come out and say that he was a werewolf. There was no way. That might scare her.
Especially if she had never even heard of a Mickey Ds before.
“Yeah, we’re used to different. I mean, where we’re from. But this is just … really different.” He frowned. And it was. The angels for one, the challenges for another. Watching Scott go through that … yeah - he wasn’t trying to think of it right now. Right now, he was focusing on this. And this - being Mal - was more pretty than what he could have been thinking about.
“So your friends are here? Our friends are here too. A lot of them actually,” he told her and dipped another nugget before eating it. He watched her for a moment wondering how many friends she had here and if there was a boyfriend. She’d mention him right?
“Do you like it?” At her look, he continued. “The food?”
Yup. This girl was definitely a liar, something that Theo caught on when he listened to her heartbeat and knew that she wasn’t tell the truth about where she was from. There was something that she was hiding about her past. Theo didn’t really care but at the same time it’s not like Theo had a bright and happy past, either. There were things that Theo did that he didn’t want strangers to know so he got it. He understood her a little.
“Yeah, I mean, it smells really good.” Mal actually hadn’t dug in just yet although Theo was already on his second burger, his corner lip smeared with ketchup as he looked confused when Mal smiled at him, shrugging his shoulders as Liam had to point it out and then when Theo didn’t get it the other werewolf tried to dab his chin with a napkin.
“Hey, stop, I’m not a baby.” Theo kicked Liam from under the table, sneering a little as Mal got up to get a drink, Theo taking his time to smirk.
“Bet you wish she had ketchup on her lip, don’t you, Dunbar?” Theo quirked a brow, slurping obnoxiously from his straw.
“Are you sure about that?” LIam smirked and then watched as Mal walked away to refill her cup. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Theo and smacked him.
“Shut up.” He said, glancing over at her and then looking back at Theo.
“She never said she didn’t have a boyfriend. Besides, what kind of girl goes out with two guys if she did have a boyfriend?” Liam raised his eyebrow. Then again, that meant nothing and he knew it, but still. She hadn’t mentioned him once. Looking back over at her, he shook his head. Now he was wondering what she thought. Well, about him.
“I shouldn’t ask her out, should I? I mean - what would we even do?” Liam was starting to psych himself out before he even went up to bat. Whatever that meant.
“Also, she’s definitely been through things. She’s lying about that.” He frowned. What if she was a serial killer or something in her world? Or what if she just had a really bad past. Now all of a sudden Liam wanted to save her but he didn’t know what he was saving her from.
“What should I do? Should I ask her out?” He asked Theo but then she started walking back over. “Don’t answer that,” Liam said quickly and shoved a french fry in his own mouth.
“Well, if she’s a serial killer then maybe she’ll murder that dick before you die.” Theo laughed, knowing that he was being crude but there was something off about her. Theo knew that she was hiding something but at the same time was it really dangerous? Whatever she wasn’t telling them? It wasn’t like it mattered given their shared disaster. They were all stuck in Los Angeles and all of them had to deal with the bullshit that came from the angels and also the stupid demons.
“And no, you shouldn’t ask her out. You don’t want to be desperate, man. I mean, look at her and look at...you.” Theo made a face, pointing out that Liam was a very rounded up 3 and Mal was clearly a 10. “You’re way out of her league. You don’t even know what she likes. She’s never been to a McDonalds before because she probably doesn’t have that shit.” Theo saw how she was checking out all the sodas, too. Damn. Where did this girl live? A different planet?
“Besides, there is one thing you need to tell her about. You can’t just date a girl, like her and then tell her that you’re a werewolf.” Theo smiled when Mal turned around, the chimera realizing that she decided to try cherry coke as she came back to the table.
Theo had a point. He couldn’t just date someone and then let them know what he was. She had to know everything but … Liam wasn’t ready to tell her that yet. He wanted to at least get to know her. And he wanted her to get to know him. Just because he was a werewolf though, it didn’t mean that’s all he was. He watched her as she returned to the table and Liam tried to play it cool as they finished their meal and he didn’t ask her like a thousand questions.
When Theo left to get Malia’s food, it left just the two of them and Liam gave her a small look before going back to his food, finishing it up and pushing the tray a little away from him.
But then of course, he opened his mouth.
“I think you’re pretty cool. And I just wanted to tell you - so it didn’t seem like I was keeping things from you, but I’m … a werewolf.” He watched her, eying her as she took that in and he wondered if she was surprised by that, but he could tell by the sound of her heartbeat. And he really wasn’t going to mention that because that would just be creepy. Just like being able to hear her stomach growl. Nobody liked to hear that.
“I just didn’t want us to all be friends and then weeks later I tell you and then there’s this whole ‘I feel so betrayed’ thing. I just wanted to get it out of the way. And if you think I’m going to hurt you, I’m not. I wouldn’t.”
Mal was eating her nuggets and they tasted funny but good. The soda was alright. It wasn’t sludgy or gross looking like the stuff back on the Isle. Really, getting fresh anything was difficult so she had to get by with what her mother gave her or what she could get on her own. Growing up wasn’t easy but Mal was over all of that now. She was here and she wanted to change her life to something better. Something worth having.
She was finished rather quickly but that was because Mal had been hungry, her eyes finding Liam’s as she felt him staring at her. He seemed like he wanted to tell her something she she wasn’t surprised when he started talking and Mal listened, giving him her full attention.
“Oh.” Was all she could say. It was all she could actually give to him because it wasn’t that big of a deal, or was it? Mal knew that Harry was a vampire so werewolves weren’t that big of a jump, was it? There were werewolves in the stories. Mal figured that it was normal to come across the fairytales here in LA.
“I don’t think you have to worry about hurting me.” Mal smiled, not trying to be dismissive because she was sure that being a werewolf was dangerous but Mal’s eyes glowed green, brightening in color as she smiled. “I have secrets, too.”
But before she could tell Liam anything Theo came back with his two bags of food, his mcflurry and his milkshake, things he expected for Liam to carry. “You two ready?”
She didn’t seem that surprised. Or scared and Liam just gave her a nod until she told him that she had her secrets too. He knew it. He so knew that. But so did Theo and he wondered if she was going to tell him anything. Before she had a chance, Theo showed up with his bags of food and the drinks that he knew Theo was going to make him carry, which made him drink down his milkshake a little faster.
He wished that Theo hadn’t come back so soon. He really thought that she was going to say something about her since he really knew nothing at all. All he knew was that she came from a place that didn’t have McDonald’s which really … kind of sucked.
“I am,” Liam said then and looked at Mal who was finishing up. Liam got up and tossed his trash away before coming back to the table and grabbing the drink tray that he knew he would have to carry because Theo had two bags of food. Geez, was that all for Malia?
“Can we walk you back to the complex? Or are you going to hang around some more?” Liam asked, looking at her.
“No, I’ll go back. Just in case Ben is worried.”
Theo made a face but Mal wasn’t looking at him to see it. He made it at Liam because uh, who was Ben? Theo figured that maybe Ben was someone she was seeing. Why mention just him? Theo knew that Mal could have just said anything else but no, she threw the name out there and oh boy, here it came. Theo could just see the gears in Liam’s head turning, the sensation of not knowing for sure if Mal was actually in a relationship.
“Right, well. We should get going then. Come on, Liam. Let’s walk her back.”
Mal wanted to explain more, she wanted to tell both Liam and Theo that she wasn’t all normal. If Liam was a werewolf did that mean Theo was, too? Were they just friends? Did they have other werewolf friends, too? Mal remembered the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. She was sure that back in Auradon there was some sort of hero kid born from Red. Someone who knew about werewolves since Mal had never met one before until now.
“I had fun,” she said, not wanting to sound like she just tagged along to get free food. She was looking more at Liam since Theo was walking in front of them. “And we should hang out more. Eat more, I guess. Or we can do something else?” All Mal wanted was to make friends. She wanted to matter even though she had lied to Gabriel, having told him she didn’t care what people thought about her.
Ben. Wait - who was Ben? Liam made a face, but he didn’t say anything. He just held onto the drinks and started walking. Theo was walking ahead of them and probably on purpose. It wasn’t like he couldn’t hear what was going on anyway. Super hearing and all that. The name bothered him because one, it was a guy and two, it was the only name she said. Unless Ben was her brother. Could have been - right?
“Yeah, me too.” He said, glancing over at her before looking ahead. “And we can do anything you want.” Which was very true. Liam would do just about anything she wanted in order to hang out with her. She just seemed cool in a hot kind of way. She wasn’t like any girl he had seen before so right now he was just like … eager.
“So who’s Ben? Your brother?” He looked at her. “Boyfriend?” Liam could almost feel the disappointment starting to rush through him and right now, he was just hanging on whatever she was saying.
He thought for a second he heard Theo chuckling ahead of them and Liam sighed, holding onto the drinks. At least she wasn’t alone here. She seemed to have friends and a brother. Or boyfriend. Or whoever Ben was.
What kind of name was Ben anyway?
Mal couldn’t help but smile because okay, she was really catching on now and she didn’t want to hurt Liam’s feelings or anything. She thought Liam was sweet. He bought her food. He didn’t have to hang out with her or show her McDonald’s but he did and she liked him for that. Mal honestly wanted to get to know him more. He was the perhaps the first person in Los Angeles that she didn’t feel so awkward around. Theo seemed sort of a jerk but Mal had grown up on the Isle. There were worst people than Theo walking around.
“Ben is my boyfriend, yes.” And Mal hoped that it didn’t turn Liam away from her. She loved Ben. They were together and yes, maybe she was a little upset at him for some of the things he did but that didn’t change how she felt about him. Right now things were just a little tense because of the angels and not exactly knowing what to do with themselves.
“But I can have guy friends, if that’s why you’re asking.” No, Mal knew why Liam asked but she wasn’t going to bring it up because Theo was standing ahead of them.
“I mean, if you want to be my friend…” Because these days nobody seemed to care about how Mal felt, how strange it was for her to be thrown into this place, a city she once lived in but didn’t remember anything about. How her closest friends seemed to somehow be charmed by the likes of the pirates who never cared about anyone but themselves and their own ambitions. Mal just wanted a break from all of that.
Of course Ben was her boyfriend. Because of course her boyfriend would show up here too. He shook his head but he was fine. It wasn’t like he was expecting anything. Just hoping. And now he was kind of crushed, but he’d get over it.
“Yeah, totally why I’m asking. We can be friends. We are friends,” he looked over at her before looking ahead and yep, he was pretty much knowing that Theo was amused right now and he was going to kick his ass for it.
“Anyway, it was cool to meet you.” The complex was coming up and he was grateful for that. He could go and hide in his room for the rest of the night and ignore Theo. Which wouldn’t be that much of a problem since he was probably going over to Malia’s after this.
Theo went ahead and disappeared inside of the building and Liam stood with her in the lobby of it. He knew he had to follow Theo because he had the drinks but he could at least say bye to her.
“Whenever you want to hang out, just,” he shrugged. “Let me know.” He didn’t really expect her to. Besides, she was probably just trying to be nice or whatever girls did these days so actually talking to her again? Wasn’t something he thought was going to happen.
“Anyway, I have to go. I’ll see you around?”
Mal could almost hear the disappointment and it didn’t help that Liam’s entire body language seemed to change. Of course Mal couldn’t do anything to fix that. She really did want to know more about Liam, more about what it was like being a werewolf. Mal guessed that she would ask her friends if they knew about them, what they were like, if they were more of them in Los Angeles.
“I promise. I’ll let you know.” Mal didn’t want to leave Liam empty handed. He did seem really nice and for once Mal felt like someone actually cared about her and not just about where she was from and what horrible choices she apparently made. Liam wasn’t someone from the Isle. he wasn’t someone who blamed her for leaving and that was something she needed.
Mal decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator. She needed the extra time to think about everything, anyway. Mal did stop as she reached the top steps, turning around so that she could at least speak to Liam once more. “Goodbye, Liam.”
“Okay, cool. Maybe we can play video games or something,” he said, but he honestly didn’t think it would happen. Theo was going to be teasing him about this for weeks, he knew it and he was dreading that. Sometimes Liam could be so stupid but it wasn’t like he lost something and if she did want to be his friend, then hey, they were friends.
He started to move finally when he heard her voice and he looked up at her. “Bye, Mal.” He smiled to himself a little and walked toward the elevator to press the button. And it felt like forever until the doors actually opened. And of course, when they opened, there was Theo. A smirk on his face and he just walked in and let the doors shut.
“Don’t event start,” Liam said, knowing the night was going to get so much worse. He felt it.