Alone • Liam Dunbar

Forty-Two

Mason sits in one of the lowers rows of the bleachers. Sydney, an upperclassman, sits beside him. I smile when I notice she has a sign to support Liam and proudly waves it in the air as the match begins around us. I also notice an empty space beside them and find myself gravitating toward it.

"Seat taken?" I ask when I reach the pair.

"All yours," Mason says.

My attention isn't on the match as I sit next to him. Not only because it becomes abundantly clear that we're destined to lose without Scott and Kira, Devenford taking the lead within minutes, but because Mason's eyes are focused on me, observing me closely.

"Thank you for your help the other night, by the way," I say to him in a hushed tone. It was frustrating not being able to tell Mason how much he had done for us. Without him turning off the music, we would have all been dead.

"Right. Turning off the music for some mysterious purpose that I still don't know the reason for," Mason laughs wryly, taking me aback.

"Mason, I told you-"

"Yeah, it's not your place, it's Liam's, right?" he cuts me off.

Mason shakes his head, obviously aggravated by the secrets that were piling up between him and Liam.

"Ever since you and your friends came into the picture, he hasn't been the same. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing yet," Mason confesses.

I can't help but agree with his claims.

If I had the chance to go back to the night Liam was bit, I wouldn't have left the hospital. My presence there would have changed things and prevented Scott from making a life-altering decision for Liam. It wouldn't have hurt then either, letting Liam go. We didn't know each other enough for me to be upset at having to forget about him.

All of the pain, loss, and secrecy that came with knowing the truth of our world wasn't something I would wish on a person I truly cared for.

"You told me the other night that you wouldn't let anyone hurt him," Mason says.

"I won't," I reply instantly.

"I hope so," Mason says strongly. "Because he's my best friend, and he deserves someone that cares about him and knows how good of a person he is."

I avert my eyes from Mason's, feeling exposed. His words imply affection between Liam and I. His picking up on that meant I had been entirely too obvious about my attachment to Liam, and now feared that there were others who had noticed, too.

"I don't care about whatever secrets you and your friends have, whether you're all in a cult or some underground fight club, it doesn't matter to me," Mason admits. He waits until I meet his gaze once more before continuing.

"The only thing I do care about is my best friend being with someone who keeps him safe and knows what he deserves. If you're going to be in his life, I need your word that's you."

There's an intense amount of desperation in Mason's eyes that I empathize with.

When I first came to Beacon Hills and discovered Allison and Scott were secretly dating, I was horrified. At the time, I was convinced it would end with both of them dead, and couldn't imagine my best friend dying for something as fleeting as love. Her life wasn't worth the risk, and I had told her of such.

That was until I grew to care for Scott, too.

Despite them never getting back together, I had given Scott my unyielding approval. I never thought Allison would die anyway before they had the chance to reconcile. It was one of my biggest regrets that I never helped them return to each other. If I had a chance to change it, I would, but I couldn't.