Not A Monster [LIAM DUNBAR]

Me Either

It was late at night the next day when Aspen heard Mason swearing loudly from Liam's room. She pushed open the cracked door to see Mason and Liam sitting cross-legged on the floor, Wii controllers in their hands.

"When did you get so good?" Mason asked, shoving Liam's shoulder, "You been practicing? Or did you just suddenly get superhuman reflexes?"

Liam glanced up at Aspen. "Uh... Yeah. Practicing.."

She sat down beside him and he pressed his mouth to hers quickly, leaving Aspen wide-eyed and blushing.
Mason raised an eyebrow at them.
"So are you guys dating now or-?"

"No," Aspen said at the same Liam said, "Yes."
She looked at him with blue eyes filled with disbelief. "Yes?"
"Unless.." Liam started, eyes widened, "Unless you don't-"
"No!" she quickly interjected, "No I mean.. Yes. Yes."

She turned back to Mason, a grin on her face. "Yes." He cursed.

"What?" she asked, furrowing her brow. Mason shook his head quickly, saying to Liam, "I just owe your mom a lot of money.."

Aspen nodded uneasily, glancing at Liam who was smiling back at her. Mason sighed, handing Aspen the remote controller. "I should get going," he said, "Gotta study for the History test." Aspen smacked her forehead. "I totally forgot.."

"C-come on guys," Liam begged, "One more game. Please." He made a face Aspen couldn't quite read and she looked at Mason carefully, standing up. "You said that four games ago," Mason commented. Liam hopped up.

"Study here," he suggested, "You guys can stay over." Mason and Aspen shared a worried glance. "One more game. Just one," he pleaded.

"Liam," Aspen said, "You okay?" He sighed quietly and sat down on the end of his bed. "Yeah.. You're right. You should go," he bit his lip, "I should probably study too."

Mason looked at his friend reproachfully. "See you at school," Liam said, slouching his shoulders in defeat. They shared another glance and Aspen nodded for him to go. He nodded slowly in response, leaving the two alone.

She sat down beside him, running her hand down his arm before lacing her fingers with his. "What's really going on Liam?" she asked.

"Nothing..." He shook his head, taking a deep breath, "Nothing."

Aspen nodded, knowing he wasn't telling her the truth, and asked quietly, "Still want me to stay?"

Liam looked up at her and she finally realized what was wrong. He was afraid- of what, she didn't know. Liam laid his head on her shoulder and she put an arm around his waist.

After a minute or two of sitting there silently, she pulled him down beside her on the unmade bed, pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

"You wanna talk about what's wrong?" Aspen asked. Liam swallowed, not meeting her eyes. "Not really."

She nodded and flipped over so his chest was against her back, his breath hitting her neck. Aspen took his arms and put one over her waist.

Liam leaned over her to switch the lamp off, a bit hesitant, letting darkness flood the room. He settled back down beside her as her eyelids fluttered shut, his nose finding a place right under her ear.

Suddenly, he tensed up, his breathing becoming shallow. "You're not there.." She heard him whisper, "You're not there.."

Aspen twisted around to look at him. "Liam?" His eyes were squeezed shut as he muttered that same phrase under his breath. Aspen grabbed his shoulders, shaking him gently. "Liam, what's wrong? Liam!"