Expelled and needing to transfer for his final year, Liam had known immediately where to go. It was the place that'd taken everything from him; that'd ruined him so absolutely it'd twisted his personality beyond recognition.
The place where he'd met...
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Under Charlie's direction, Olivia pulled over beside a park that looked as if it'd never seen children. Hooded teens loitered in small gangs, beer bottles clanging once kicked aside, bins overflowing. It was a few minutes' walk away from Charlie's flat.
ㅤ"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you all the way?" Olivia asked from the front. "It's honestly no problem."
ㅤ"This is far enough, thanks," Charlie politely declined, and Liam stared at him. He'd never had to live embarrassed about his home, not like Charlie who cagily avoided the worse of the estate since he didn't want Olivia—a stranger so completely irrelevant to him—to see.
ㅤCharlie's smile was wooden. "I'll see you around."
ㅤ"Yea..." Liam fought to keep his hands to himself. "At school, I guess."
ㅤWith a perfunctory nod, Charlie climbed out and shut the door behind him. Liam watched on, seeing how Charlie's shoulders stiffened with his guard, his retreating back slipping further out of his reach. The bared line of Charlie's neck that he'd kissed, following skin, as he'd buried himself in him, lithe, wanting to bury himself into his head too. The warmth on his lips.
ㅤThat hadn't been the same man as this one.
ㅤHome was meant to be relaxing; it should nurture one's sore face after the masks slip off with one's coat, hung up and put away for the next outing. A safe place. It wasn't supposed to be tense.
ㅤPangs of discomfort came frequently now. Simple wishes for Charlie to have a better life. Rubbing the tightness in his sternum, he wanted it so badly it hurt.
ㅤComing to fancy the other man hadn't framed him under sappy rainbows, it'd come with hostile spite. It smacked with considerable pain—not pain just for Charlie's present, but for the future of them both. Them, as a pair.
ㅤAllowing Charie's back to shrink further, walking away, without telling him his feelings, felt wrong. He'd waited for an opportunity to confess all morning, but hadn't found a minute alone to do this naturally.
ㅤAs the car engine purred alive, Liam tapped Olivia's shoulder.
ㅤ"Could you please wait like, two seconds? I need to go speak to Charlie real quick."
ㅤHer eyes narrowed as her brows rose in suspicious curiosity. "Why?"
ㅤHe didn't answer, pushing out of the car. "I'll only be a moment." He started jogging before the adrenaline wore off and made him think sensibly.
ㅤIt was ridiculous for a fully grown man to churn with butterflies, terrified to tell of his romantic interest. Proper adults did it all the time. He'd shagged the bloke. Twice! He'd given his arse up, and he was sure as hell Charlie wouldn't have done so too if he wasn't even the slightest bit interested in Liam. It couldn't have been completely and utterly one-sided on his part.
