airplanes(Thiam)

chapter 11: The end

The drive to the water park hadn't seemed long at all. A half hour was nothing compared to the past few days. Liam knew he'd definitely spent more time in the car than out of it. The passenger seat had to have a permanent Liam shaped dent by now with how many hours he'd spent in it.

So thirty minutes, thirty minutes was nothing, especially not when he was full and happy and Theo smelt happy, lips tilted in a quiet smile. It had been filled with the soft thrum of the radio and an easy silence as the engine hummed beneath them and wind rushed through the open windows. It was safe, nice.

The drive back, however, felt far too long, the thirty minutes stretching to an agonising eternity. The silence was tense in a way that left the hairs on the back of Liam's neck standing on end. The radio was off, Theo had tried to put it on but Liam had jabbed the off button again almost immediately when the tiny hum had left Liam wanting to claw his ears off.

His phone buzzed a near constant crescendo in his pocket that he refused to acknowledge, passed actively trying to ignore the way each vibration felt like it was burning a hole in his leg, focusing instead on trying to keep breathing, Theo's fingers were tapping a constant heartbeat on the steering wheel that was almost unbearable and the scent of chlorine and his own confusing mix of emotions left him wanting to gag.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or are we going to do the whole night in uncomfortable silence?" Theo asked as the car crept through traffic. Liam kept quiet, eyes wandering aimlessly out the window. "Great." Theo snorted. His fingers tapped harder against the wheel, once, twice. The truck continued down the road, wheels bumping in a pothole jostling the two in their seats.

"That one looks like a duck." Theo blurted.

"What?" Liam asked, finally drawing his eyes from the horizon.

"The cloud." Theo hummed, taking a hand off the steering wheel as he pointed to the horizon. "It looks like a duck." Liam knew Theo was trying to distract him from whatever he thought was wrong and honestly, it was a pretty good effort, enough to throw Liam through a loop for a moment and make him peer at the duck-esque cloud but then he remembered why Theo thought of it. Remembered sitting in the bed of the truck talking about cloud watching when he was younger. With Mason, who was pack, a pack he'd lied to and still hadn't called back. A pack who Theo had torn apart.

Liam grit his teeth, sliding further down in his seat trying to ignore the way Theo's heartbeat seemed to echo in his ears.

"That one looks like an umbrella." Liam closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose when his chest tightened. What if Scott hated him? What if he never trusted him again? What if- "And that one looks like an old couple stuck in a loveless marriage having dinner and wishing the other would just die already so they could live their last few years in peace." Theo said, hand returning to the wheel.

"Will you shut up?!" Liam groaned. Theo didn't reply further than clicking his tongue. finger tapping against the wheel. Once, twice.

Liam slapped his hand before he could think about it. Theo barely managed to stop the truck swerving straight off of the road.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Theo hissed, slapping Liam away again.

"I asked you to shut up!"

"I wasn't saying anything!"

"No but you were tapping. What the hell is it with the stupid tapping? You're worse than Stiles-" Stiles who was going to disown him faster. Theo slammed his foot on the break, drawing them to a sudden stop in the center of the road. The car behind them screeched to a stop, horn blaring.

"Okay seriou-"

"Our Motel is literally there! Drive you idiot." Liam growled. "You can't just stop in the middle of the road!"