Alone • Liam Dunbar

Forty-One

Since the Dead Pool ended, not much had changed. Of course, we weren't running for our lives every second of every day, but other than that, things were as normal as they could be in a place like Beacon Hills. Stiles had gotten back into helping Malia study, while Kira and Lydia were prepping for the AP classes they were going to take their senior year. 

As for Scott, he returned to his usual sappy self.

Tomorrow night was his official first date with Kira. They were basically together already, but Scott, ever the romantic, wanted to make it official with a grand gesture. It was sweet of him, and I tried not to be resentful, no matter how much jealousy tempted me. I wished I could be as open with my affection for Liam as Scott was with Kira. 

He and I hadn't spoken for days. 

The morning after I asked him to stay was probably the worst morning of my life. Waking up in his arms felt right, but it couldn't last. I had to take him home, both of us saying nothing but goodbyes. Since then, I'd been avoiding him. I couldn't even work up the courage to make eye contact in the hallways at school. 

It also didn't help that Scott seemed more at ease after I made my promise. He seemed relieved, and admittedly, I was glad to see that. There was a deeper part of me that wanted to ignore his wishes, but I understood that grief presented itself differently for every person. If my not being with Liam helped him heal from Allison, I had to find a way to bear it. Scott had been there for me as I faced my own phases of mourning, so I owed him this, even if it hurt like hell. 

"You know, most people just go to dinner for their first date," Stiles quips as we stand in the doorway to Derek's loft. 

Scott turns to scowl half-heartedly at his best friend's comment. 

His plan was to hang cords from the rafters of the loft's ceiling. Each cord had a socket we could screw a lightbulb into, and have Kira turn on with her kitsune abilities when their date actually began. Scott had it all planned out, he just needed Stiles and I's assistance in setting it up. 

"Is that what you and Malia did?" I interject rhetorically, smirking at Stiles. 

Scott attempts to hide his laugh for Stiles' sake but does a poor job of it. Stiles gives us both annoyed scowls, but puts most of his attention on me, speaking with one hand on his hip like a lecturing mother. 

"Stop smirking and get up there." He gestures to the rafters overhead. A cruel and slightly creepy smile works its way onto his face. "You're tying the cords."

"Where's the ladder?" I retort. 

Stiles then proceeds to point to one of the metal support pillars nearby. I groan under my breath as I approach it and Stiles seems overly satisfied with my reaction.

"Yeah, smartass, I bet my dinner idea isn't sounding so bad now, huh?"

I send him a mocking expression before focusing on the pillar. It has large bolts welded into each side of it that I use to scale the post until I can reach for one of the horizontal overhead beams and pull myself up. I sit on the metal column, watching the boys from above. They work to detangle the various cords we brought, tossing them up to me one at a time. I tie them across the rafters and pipes of Derek's ceiling at varying heights, giving it a less uniform display. 

"Is Derek coming today?" I ask the boys as I work. It felt strange to be in his home but not actually have him here. 

"He said he had some stuff to take care of with Braeden. Why?" Scott replies. 

"The other day he mentioned he wanted to talk to me about something but we haven't yet." I shrug lightly. 

I wasn't sure what Derek wanted to talk about, but I was interested as to why it wasn't something he could simply mention in passing. It seemed as though he wanted to sit down to discuss it, as it had taken him a while to reach out to me.