thin white lies

Chapter 2

Melissa McCall was an angel amongst mankind, and Theo would stick by that until the day he died.

It was Friday night, and Theo was standing on the porch of Scott's house. He lowered his fist where it had been raised to knock on the door and stepped back to wait for either Stiles or Scott to answer. Instead, however, Scott's mom answered the door, her expression quickly transitioning from confusion to shock.

"Oh! Theo, sweetie, what are you doing here?" Melissa asked. She looked exhausted, already dressed for bed with her hair let down. She obviously wasn't expecting anyone, which was Theo's first clue that something was off.

"I was supposed to be studying with Scott and Stiles. We already have a project to work on together for math, and Scott told us to meet him here," Theo explained. Melissa frowned; Theo felt his stomach sinking before she even opened her mouth.

"They didn't tell you about the party?"

Part of him didn't want to know, but he still asked anyway. "What party?"

"I'm not sure what it was about, but both Scott and Stiles said they were going, and Scott asked a girl to be his date. He was so excited about it, I just... I naturally assumed you had been invited, too. I don't think the three of you have ever been apart from each other for very long since fourth grade."

Theo deflated under Melissa's apologetic gaze, unable to hide the hurt that flashed across his face.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. I didn't know—"

"No, it's not your fault. I'll just—"

"Do you... want to come in?" Melissa asked. She eyed his truck, parked in the empty spot in the McCall driveway. "I'm off tomorrow, so we can have a mother-son night tonight if you want. Stay up late, watch a couple movies together?"

Theo snickered at the "mother-son" comment; it was a running joke that Theo was Melissa's favorite son, a joke that always made Scott pout like a little kid but still lit a small fire in Theo's chest every time.

"I could order pizza," Melissa said, obviously trying to bribe him into hanging out with her, although Theo couldn't figure out if it was for his benefit or for her own. Theo sighed, a smile working its way onto his face nonetheless.

"As long as you order stuffed crust," he said, giving in. His parents wouldn't care if he came home or not, and it wasn't like Scott and Stiles were going to suddenly change their minds and ditch the party and Allison to come study with Theo.

"And extra garlic sauce for you to dip the crusts in, I know the drill. Now come inside before you freeze to death out here, it's cold."

When Scott and Stiles found them in the morning, Theo's head was firmly on Melissa's shoulder as they both slept on the couch to the background noise of some romcom that Melissa had undoubtedly picked.

"We need to tell him," Stiles muttered to Scott. Scott sighed, crossing his arms as they listened to Theo snore lightly. Something in Scott's heart clenched, seeing Theo looking younger and more peaceful than either of them had seen in years.

"We do. But we need to wait for the right time."

Scott should have known that the universe had it out for their little friend group, and that there never would be a "right time". Stiles didn't mention it either, though, a fact that Scott was grateful for.

*     *     *     *     *

The following Monday, Theo was once again sitting by himself in the bleachers while Scott and Stiles attended lacrosse practice. He had yet to take out his homework, however; he was stressed and tired after his earlier classes, so he allowed himself a moment to simply sit and watch what was unfolding on the field. That's what he told himself, at least, but in reality he actually wanted to pay attention. He was still pissed at himself for not going to practice two days ago when Scott had actually made first line and Theo wasn't there to celebrate his friend's success the moment it happened.