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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Aaron's scowl was sour when he glanced Liam's way for the last time. "What's with that look?"
ㅤIt was a lazy Sunday evening in front of the television, a film playing in front of Liam's vacant eyes. Only Aaron and himself were around. He hadn't been able to concentrate on the screen, his mind drifting to his confession to Charlie that morning. His chest melted and a grin split his cheeks each time he thought about it. His boyfriend. His.
ㅤ"What look?" Liam replied, rousing from his drug-like daze.
ㅤAaron's nose wrinkled in disgust. "That gross smile."
ㅤ"I'm just happy"
ㅤ"Okay, well, can you stop? It's vile."
ㅤLiam threw a pillow that Aaron easily deflected with his arm, the offending object falling to the floor lightly. They glared at one another.
ㅤ"That was rude," Aaron accused.
ㅤLiam was going to retort, but then his mind went blank and flashed back to Charlie again. He held his face in his hands, smiling.
ㅤHim behaving like a thirteen year old girl with a crush wasn't lost on him. It was fucking pathetic—not to mention unseemly—but his chest throbbed with happiness, feeling so high he couldn't find it in himself to care. His joy was all so colourful and brimming with life, as though standing in a field of flowers that'd finally bloomed—the awe.
ㅤThis was the feeling he'd been chasing after for years. And he'd finally got it. He'd finally fucking got it.
ㅤEverything was so bright.
ㅤAaron stared and clapped, snapping Liam out of his daze for the second time.
ㅤ"Okay, we're going to talk about this." Aaron paused the film, crossing his arms as he jutted his jaw up in challenge. "What happened?"
ㅤ"...Nothing."
ㅤAaron scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You're a terrible liar. What is it? Did you get a girlfriend? Win the lottery? What?"
ㅤLiam was going to deny it. He almost did. But, even with his opened mouth, the lie didn't come out.
ㅤCharlie was someone he wanted to yell about from rooftops, flaunting his luck as though he'd returned home with an Olympic medal. Pretending such a thing hadn't happened felt like denying who he was as a person—trivialising what was important to him. It was simply wrong.
ㅤLiam ruffled his unfixed hair, messy locks hanging over his eyes, hiding. Growth was a continuous journey, and he was far from becoming the man his parents had raised him to be. Even though he'd come a long way from the pit of the ravine, he couldn't stop halfway up.
ㅤAlthough unconfident, he didn't want to betray Charlie any more than he already had.
