The Hunt For a Pack [A Teen Wolf Thiam Fanfic]

That's Nice Of You

Theo shook out his hair and placed the towel around his waist. He tried to figure out what the hell Mason, Corey and Liam had been talking about. Liam had sounded jealous, but over what, he couldn't be sure. He sighed and headed to his room. He dried himself off and lay on his bed. It was nice laying on a real bed. Not that the blow-up mattresses were that bad. He checked his phone and read a message from Alec asking about Ben. He smirked and chuckled. The two of them needed to get their feelings in the air. Sometimes he regretted not kissing Liam that day in the elevator at the hospital. Not grabbed his face and kissed those stupidly soft-looking pink lips. He had been so close to, and for a moment, he had thought he saw Liam looking at his lips as well. But he had chickened out, convinced himself there was no way in hell or on earth for that matter, would Liam feel the same way. Liam probably would have shoved him away and told him to stay away from him forever. And Theo would have done so. He would've listened if Liam had told him to go away. He still would.

But in 6 years of friendship, somehow Liam hadn't. Even when Theo had given him every reason to. Even when Theo had insulted his favourite film or when he told him that he was the worst Mario Kart player he had ever met. Or when he insulted him with completely untrue comments. He still didn't know why Liam only ever met all these things with jokes of his own and insults that Theo didn't even remember because they had never cut that deep. The fact was that Liam was an amazing person, kind, and compassionate, and Theo didn't deserve his friendship, let alone his affection. And yet, for nearly 6 years, Liam had put up with him every minute of the day, as well as his stupid pining. Liam was the best friend Theo had ever had, even if he was the only one he'd ever had.

He sighed and got dressed. He glanced at his backpack and debated bringing extra clothes with him. Even if he didn't wear any himself, he might be able to loan some to Isaac, Ben, or any of the other males in the pack. He decided to pick some of his warmest clothes from his closet, folding them and placing them in the backpack. After zipping it up, he placed it by the door and wandered back to the living room. He might as well spend some time with the man he loved and his best friends.

"Hey, Theo. How was your shower?" Liam asked.

"It was good. Gotta love running water." He said, sitting next to Corey.

"So, they don't have running water?" Mason winced.

"There's a stream close by, but that's it. I was thinking of taking them to the school to use the showers." Theo said.

"That's nice of you," Liam said.

Theo shrugged. "No harm, right? I'll have to pick up some shampoo, conditioner, and all the other essentials. I'd probably have to bring one of the girls, though, for that." He chuckled, imagining how pissed Serena would get if he brought back the wrong stuff.

"So, what are you, their personal shopper?" Liam asked bitterly. Corey tensed up, and Mason frowned. Theo tilted an eyebrow.

"No? They don't exactly have their own money." Theo explained.

"But you do?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. I have savings from my job last summer and the year before that." He reminded him. "What's your problem, Li?" He asked, beginning to get upset.

Clearly, that had been the wrong thing to say; he realized as Liam's eyes went gold and his teeth started to descend. "Nothing." Liam lisped.

"Sure looks that way." Theo taunted.

Liam growled in response as his claws came out. "Li, calm down." Mason said, rubbing his back. Theo rolled his eyes, already growing tired of the melodrama.

"I'll see you guys later." Theo said, heading back to his room and grabbing his bag before slamming the door behind him. He opened his truck and started it. He hated the growing tension between Liam and himself. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what was wrong with Liam or what had set him off. He was usually able to help Liam stay calm, but evidently not now, and Theo couldn't understand why.

Theo got into his truck and smacked his hands on the steering wheel once, twice, three times. He felt a tear roll down his cheek, and he groaned, wiping it away so fast he thought he might get a burn. He felt so incredibly frustrated and sad. He felt like gagging as the scent of his emotions filled his nose.

It was starting to feel like his friendship with Liam was on the outs, and he didn't know what to do about it. He thought back to the last few weeks and wondered what he had done wrong, but he couldn't really pinpoint anything. He questioned whether the only reason he and Liam had ever been friends was due to the close quarters or the fact that they were constantly forced to work together by circumstances. But he doubted that as Liam had been the one, in the beginning, to push them together. Volunteering to search the preserve with him or even helping him with his English essay, but now it seemed that Liam was pulling away. Or maybe it was Theo himself who was pulling away. But that didn't make sense. He had agreed to gather intel for Liam's pack. Not because he had genuinely wanted to join them. He shook the thoughts from his head and pulled out of the parking space.

He thought about going back to the Hale house, but truth be told, he wanted to be alone for a bit. He pulled over, shot a text to Ben saying that he'd be back later, and elected to go for a drive. These days, it felt empty in the cab without Liam or any company in general. He wasn't exactly used to being alone anymore. And when he was alone, it just made his brain think back to the memories he had from years ago. The memories of watching his sister freezing in that river or when he had woken up and traced the scars over his heart. Or living underground with the Dread Doctors. He hated those memories. He didn't want to think about that anymore. He turned on the radio to a random station and sang along to the music as he drove, effectively stopping his thoughts in their tracks.