You Don't Want Me Like I Want You

Confusion

It had been a few days since Theo had confessed to Liam about how he felt. At first, Liam wasn't entirely sure of how to take it. Was it Theo just drunk rambling? Or was he serious about it? Unsure of how to take it all, Liam entered into his math class before sitting down next to Mason.
Liam had avoided everyone the entire weekend after Theo's confession and he knew the others would be questioning it.
"What's going on?" Mason asked him, looking over at him confused. "You've been ignoring all of my texts. You haven't said a word to Nolan, Cory, or I all day and you missed English. What's going on in your head right now?"
"It's a long story," Liam responded, shaking his head as he spoke without looking at Mason.
"Well, am I gonna hear this story or not?" the other asked, looking at Liam curiously.
"Theo said..." Liam started, unsure of if he should actually say it or not. "Theo said he... he liked me." Liam looked over to Mason, seeing the surprised yet intrigued look on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Liam was completely confused by the look, and was partially scared.
"Theo's into guys," Mason started before looking forward at the back of someone's head. It didn't click for Liam at first until he looked forward. "Nolan is into Theo. We could hook them up together and see how it goes."
Unsure of what came over him, Liam looked at Mason irritated. What Mason had just said sounded completely irritating and the beta wasn't sure why. "Dude, are you insane? They're nowhere near a good match." Liam looked at Nolan who was looking at the two confused.
"Why? Do you think someone else is a better match for Theo?" Mason said this with a slight... nudge in his tone. Trying to hint at something that Liam hadn't caught on to quite yet. That's when he realized what it was.
"I'm not gay!" Liam nearly screamed, looking at Mason. He had nothing wrong with being gay. Mason was his best friend with a boyfriend, Nolan was gay, and now Theo was into guys. Plus, he swore that he saw Stiles wink at him once but that was just weird.
The entire class had gone silent after Liam had spoke. Looking around the room, he took a few moments before standing up and collecting his stuff. Feeling all of the class's eyes in him, he walked out of the classroom and down the hall quickly. Why was he so defensive about it suddenly? It had never been a problem before. And why was he so defensive about Mason recommending Theo and Nolan to be together? This wasn't something he was used to at all.

That Wednesday, they had a Pack night. Stiles had flown in from DC for the remainder of the week. Lydia came down again, talking a lot with Theo. Malia came back from Paris deciding that she missed everyone. To their surprise, she brought back one of the familiar faces to some of the pack. Isaac tagged along with Malia, happy to return to Beacon Hills.
Liam showed up to the pack night with Mason and Cory, Nolan already being their. Once he entered, Liam noticed Mason almost instantly disappear. He didn't know what the male was doing, but he already didn't like it. Before long, everyone was gathered in the living room for some monopoly.
    With how many people there were, people were paired together. Lydia and Stiles were a team, Scott and Isaac were a team. Mason and Cory, of course. Liam didn't expect it, but he was paired with Malia as Theo was paired with Nolan. It wasn't until Mason had recommended it that Liam realized what Mason was doing. Either trying to hook them up or to make Liam mad. And it was doing both.
    As the night progressed, Liam began to notice how Theo and Nolan were growing closer. They sat together for a movie and shared a bowl of popcorn. Whenever they played Cards Against Humanity, Nolan was showing Theo his cards and Theo was showing Nolan his. Why was it driving Liam insane?
    The night was slowly coming to a close as Lydia walked over to Liam, watching him curiously. "Theo told me what happened," she said as she watched him. "I figured it out quickly. I didn't expect him to get drunk at Sinema so I recommended for him to go there to... figure himself out. To be sure if he was actually into guys or if it was just you."
    "What are you getting on about?" Liam asked, looking at the Banshee annoyed. She had to have a reason for what she was saying.
    "Straight to the point," she said as she looked at her feet and then back at him. "Why is Theo and Nolan getting close making you so mad? Malia pointed out that she could smell your chemosignals going insane and Scott said you looked mad. You're also crushing your cup after I said Nolan."
    Looking at him hand, Liam set the destroyed plastic cup on the counter before looking at Lydia confused. "What do you want from me? Are you trying to find out why I'm mad at Mason for trying to hook two of my friends up? Are you trying to figure out why I'm so defensive? Because I don't even know. Okay? I don't."
    "Liam..." Lydia started before looking over at Theo and then back to the beta. "I think you do know. You just... can't accept it because you don't want it to be true."
    "I'm not gay," Liam said as he pointed at Lydia in defense.
    "I never said you were," she pointed out before looking back at Theo. "But you definitely do have a lock on him to the point where you don't want him being with anyone but you. I can see it in your eyes."
    "What are you talking about? I don't like him. I don't want to be with him. Nolan can have him for all I care." As the words slipped from his mouth, Liam felt his heart sink. Why did he care so much for this? He didn't like guys. He had never liked a guy once in his life so why would it be different now?
Liam looked at Lydia for a moment before she raised her hands in defeat. "Okay. Well, while Stiles is in town, him and I are going on a date. Seeing as you're okay with it, I'm going to see if Theo and Nolan want to make it a double." And before Liam could protest, Lydia turned and walked away from the beta.

Once the pack separated, Lydia and Stiles going to the Sheriff's place, Isaac taking up Scott's couch, Malia staying over with Scott, and everyone else leaving, Liam took his chance. Walking over to Theo, he cleared his throat to catch the chimera's attention.
Looking at Liam, Theo's heart sank for a moment as he remembered the other night. "Uh, listen, about my outburst-" but Liam cut the chimera off before he could speak any further.
"Are you and Nolan going to Stiles and Lydia on Friday night?" the question came out as less of a question and more of a demand for an answer. He didn't realize his tone until he saw the look on Theo's face.
"Are you mad about it?" Theo asked, looking at the beta confused. "Last I checked, you hated me and didn't even really enjoy me being in the same room as you. At least this way I can see if I actually like guys or if it's just you."
Liam looked at Theo with his mouth open as he tried to form words that weren't coming out. When he managed to speak, he didn't know why he said it. "Yeah. I am mad about it. You tell me you like me and then go after another guy. Shows how much you like me." And with that, Liam turned away and stormed off.
Once he got home, he finally realized what exactly he had said to Theo. In fact, it was the truth. He was mad that Theo and Nolan were going on a date. It wasn't because he was gay, but it was because of the fact that Theo didn't even give him a chance to think about everything. He wasn't sure how to originally feel about Theo liking him but now he wanted the chimera to like only him. It was selfish, but it was what he wanted.
Lying down in his bed, Liam looked at the ceiling as he tried to figure out why he was feeling how the way he was. Slowly, his eyes started to close as he drifted into a deep sleep. And before he could stop himself, he was dreaming.

As Liam walked down the school hallway, packed as it normally was, he ended up going to his locker and began to enter the combination. As he began to open his locker, he felt a hand rest on his lower back. Turning towards the source, Liam was partially expecting to see Hayden there but he was greeting with the familiar brown eyes that he had looked into so many times.
Theo smiled back to the beta as he leaned against the lockers next to Liam. He watched the beta for a few moments before speaking. "How'd you sleep, cutie?" the chimera asked Liam, reaching into Liam's locker and pulling out their books.
"Good," Liam replied calmly and casually as if what Theo called him was normal. "How'd you sleep?"
"I slept good," Theo responded as he handed the beta the books before closing the locker. "Ready for tonight?"
"Definitely," Liam replied with a smile as he started to walk backwards with Theo walking towards him. As they stopped together, Theo leaned forward towards Liam.

Just before anything more happened, Liam launched up in his bed breathing heavily. Taking a few moments to register his surroundings, he could hear his alarm going off. Looking around for a few moments, Liam climbed out of bed with a groan before changing quickly. He decided he'd run to school that day, try and cool off and get his mind straight after the dream.
    The dream. There had to be a reason for it, right? It had to be the fact that Theo had said he liked him. That was the reason he had the dream.

Getting to school, Liam walked to his locker and quickly glanced around unsure if the chimera would appear. To his relief, no one came to him. As he collected his books, he heard laughter that sounded familiar. Looking over, Liam noticed Nolan and Theo walking together and laughing. Cory and Mason quickly joined them as they walked towards their first class. The only class Liam didn't have with one of them that he now knew they all had together.
    Liam waited for them to pass before walking into his own class. Once it started, he didn't know why, but he felt exhausted. Without realizing it, his eyes slid closed.
    Almost instantly, it felt, he was being shaken awake. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on the floor of the classroom. "Are you okay?" the teacher asked curiously, crouched next to him. "You were muttering something and we thought you were hurt."
    "What was I muttering?" Liam asked, rubbing his eyes with his palms. He was curious, especially after last night's dream.
    "You, uh," the teacher started as she looked to the other students. "You were muttering a name. Theo."
    As she spoke the name, Liam snapped awake and launched to his feet. Grabbing his backpack, he stormed out of the classroom. He was dreaming about Theo again? He hated this.
    Finally stopping in his tracks, in the middle of the hallway, Liam started to think. His anger. His dreams. The past.
    "Do I like Theo Raeken?"