airplanes(Thiam)

chapter 18: Walking in a wolfy wonderland

It was only once Sara and Eric were positive that enough time had passed for all the tents to be pitched that they were being herded out of the water. The group had grown over the course of the day and by the time Liam was walking in squelching shoes back through the forest in the iridescent red glow of sunset he felt a lot like he was on a field trip.

Sara was the teacher, the youngest teens crowded around her were the teacher's pets, spouting off stories of things she'd been there to witness, not that she seemed to mind. Laughing long to the retelling's of the afternoon like she'd never heard them before.

Behind them was the mass of the group, tired and just ready to get home, take a warm bath and eat some real food because the pb&j their parents packed wasn't enough. At the back was the group of troublemakers, those who still somehow had enough energy to be throwing cans and paper airplanes at each other.

Liam, well Liam wasn't in any group, he'd managed to find himself stuck between the main mass and the 'bad kids' stomping along sullenly wet jeans chaffing uncomfortably and shoes squelching with every step.

Theo let out a silky laugh behind him making his eyes roll in his head for the umpteenth time that day. Still, he itched to look round, head tilting just enough that he could spot the last dregs of people through his hair. Theo, of course, was right in the middle of them, wet clothes clinging to his skin in a way that must have bothered him, but he didn't show it. Just continued to swagger along, smiling wolfishly and chatting with Eric, Guns and Moe like they'd been friends for years. His eyes shifted to Liam.

Liam's scowl darkened, eyes snapping back to in front of him as an ugly feeling burnt in his chest that Liam knew he couldn't quite blame on the moon. Shoving his hands into his wet pockets Liam trudged on, glaring at the ground in earnest.

It wasn't that he'd wanted people to hate Theo, or that he thought Theo should actively shut everyone out and just play the role of a nice normal werewolf. He just hadn't expected Theo to be so open with them.

Theo laughed again and Liam fought the urge to groan. It was a real laugh, a genuine laugh, the same kind he did when Liam had freaked out on the skywalk and that was his problem. Liam wasn't faking anything, he wasn't making polite conversation and hiding behind fake smiles and sure, maybe he was being evasive to any personal questions, he hadn't even told anyone that he was part coyote despite them asking what exactly him being a chimera meant but he was still genuinely laughing at their dumb jokes and seemed every bit just like a normal part of the group.

He knew it was petty and stupid, but well, he'd worked hard to get Theo to laugh with him like that, they literally had to travel across state lines for Theo to actually start opening up to him and yet within a few hours of being with the pack he was all buddy buddy with them, and had left Liam's side to do so.

Not that he had to be at Liam's side it was just...disconcerting to see how easily Theo veered off the moment other people were around.

Liam could see the appeal of the group behind him, they were nice and unlike everyone in beacon hills they didn't hold the same underlying tension at talking to Theo and if Liam hadn't been being irrationally petty he was sure he'd be right there with them. Liam wasn't about to grovel for Theo's attention. He'd been stuck with nothing but it for nearing two weeks. He could survive a few hours with Theo being distracted.

He continued in silence, gritting his teeth against the soft sound of Theo's voice.

Theo had made him come to the pack. He'd pushed him into the water. It was his job to babysit him and make sure he didn't lose his control. It was totally reasonable that Liam was feeling pathetically dejected at not being the centre of Theo's attention. Hell, it was irresponsible of Theo to not be keeping a closer eye on him.