Not A Monster [LIAM DUNBAR]

Not A Monster

At first, Aspen thought she was hallucinating. Allison was dead.

Yet here she was, dark hair and dark eyes, a small smile painted on her face.

"Allison?" she breathed. Allison held up a finger, beckoning her to follow. Aspen, of course, reacted hastily, swiftly making her way to wherever Allison wanted her to go.

"How are you still alive-"

Aspen stopped herself when she spotted two figures through the trees. One was Liam, on his knees, head down looking at the forest floor, Scott standing above him.

"Allison I-" Aspen turned to thank her friend, but Allison had vanished completely. Aspen's blonde eyebrows pinched together and she looked around, trying to find a place where Allison could've gone.

But she was simply gone.

"They can't see me like this.."

Aspen's head snapped to the two figures, Liam and Scott, as the younger werewolf choked out words. "Like.."

"Like a monster?" Scott asked. Liam's head dipped lower and Aspen stepped into the clearing and began to walk over to them. "Oh my god," she sighed in relief, falling to her knees in front of him. "Are you okay? What happened- how-" she rushed out but stopped seeing the shamed look in his eyes.

Aspen was completely oblivious to Scott standing merely two feet away, and she lifted her hands to his face, gently making him look at her. "Hey," she whispered firmly, "You are not a monster. Not to me."

Liam's eyes glittered with tears. "She's right," Scott said, smiling slightly. "You're not a monster. You're a werewolf."

"Like me."

-/-

Aspen's life had turned completely upside down ever since that night.

Lydia had discovered something from the old record player in their lake house. A hit list of every supernatural creature in Beacon Hills. Every one of her friends was on it- except for Stiles.

Aspen also hadn't quite figured out what happened with her vision of Allison the other night. And the time in the hospital with the Wendigo. It was all some really realistic Supernatural episode. She was practically praying for Sam and Dean to show up.

She was currently sitting in the school weight room, pretending to study for a History test, when really she was watching Liam work out. His jaw was clenched in concentration as he bench pressed more weight than he should've been able to. She watched the muscles strain against his shirt and she bit her lip.

Aspen nearly puked he was so beautiful.

Mason was lifting two weights nearby as Liam stood to put more weight on his. He was talking about something Liam wasn't very interested, apparently.

"You know how I keep reminding Garrett to give me my hoodie back?" he said, pausing a second as he waited for Liam's answer.

"Yeah."

"Well, I remembered you said he lived in that housing development on Spaulding. So I went there and guess what? The housing development is still in development," Mason said. Liam shook his head. "So?"

Mason rolled his eyes at his friend, looking at Aspen. "There are no houses yet," Aspen said to Liam. "So, unless this dude lives in some backhoe, there's something he's not telling us." Mason held a hand out. "She gets it."

Liam ignored them and sat down on the bench. Mason continued. "And there's this guy I know.. Man, he's been acting really strange... Running to school for no reason, disappearing at parties.." He gave a look to Liam. "Used to be my best friend."

Liam nodded, lying down under the bar, unaware. "Uh-huh."

Mason rolled his eyes again. "And apparently he's on steroids.."

This got Liam's attention. "W-what?"

"You're not actually going to try and lift that, are you?"

Liam sat up, looking back at the weight. Mason sat down beside him. "Are you alright? I-I mean.. Is it about the game tonight?"

Liam dismissed him. "I'm fine. It's just a scrimmage.." Aspen and Mason shared a look. "You.. You know who we're playing, right?" Aspen asked him.

He sighed. "Yes. I-I mean, no. I guess I missed the announcement.." Mason hesitated.

"Liam, it's your old school.. Devenford Prep."

-/-

"Liam, wait, no no no!"

Aspen and Mason fought through the crowd of students as the Devenford players climbed off of their bus to get to Liam as he went to face Brett Talbot.

"Brett!" Liam yelled, coming to a stop in front of him. Mason backed off, seeing it was too late, but Aspen surged ahead, taking the spot next to him.

Liam looked angry, but he only said, "I just wanted to say.." He stuck out a hand. "Have a good game."

The taller, curly-haired boy stared at him for a moment before he laughed. "That's cute, Liam," he commented, "Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything's fine? You demolished Coach's car."

Liam clenched his fists together, his claws poking into his palms. "I paid for it."

Brett snickered. "Yeah, you're gonna pay for it. We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault."

Liam's lip turned up into a snarl and Aspen gave a panicky look to Stiles and Scott nearby, who both ran forward, grabbing him by the elbows. Scott pulled him away and Stiles started talking.

"Hey, what's going on prep students? Welcome to our little public high school. How you doing?" Stiles held out a hand and Brett stared at him. "That's a firm handshake you got there. Uh, we're very excited for scrimmage tonight. Uh, but Let's keep it clean, all right? No rough stuff out there. All right, see you on the field." He offered a half hearted smile before pushing Scott and Liam along.

"Er, hi, I'm Aspen," she smiled, though her chest burned with hatred for him already, "Nice to meet you." Brett grinned at her.

"Brett," he said, "Remember that, you'll be screaming it tonight." Aspen's cheeks burned and her eyes widened, flustered. Brett continued, "Since you're cheering for Devenford, right?"

Aspen's mouth parted slightly and he winked at her as he walked away, his team following behind. 

Aspen's cheeks were still red as she made her way to where Stiles just texted her to go to. When she entered, she found Scott squatting in front of Liam, Stiles leaning against the wall beside them.

Scott stood, noticing her walk in. "I think you should sit out of the game," he told Liam, "Tell Coach your leg is still hurting."

Liam shook his head, jumping to his feet. "No! I-I can do this," he looked between Scott and Aspen, "Especially if you guys are there." Aspen smiled gently.

Scott sighed. "But.. Liam, it's not just about the game.. W-we think whoever killed Demarco might be on the team." Aspen frowned. "Who's Demarco?"

"The one who brought the beer to the party? The guy who was beheaded? Remember?" Stiles deadpanned.

"We think the person who ordered the keg killed Demarco," Scott said. Aspen and Liam shared a look, both remembering exactly the conversation held at lunch today.

"What? You know something?" Scott asked. Aspen bit her lip as Liam said, "I-I don't know who ordered the keg, but I know who paid for it.." Aspen sighed.

"Garrett."

A/N:
Edited