Thiam - The War Is Over

Chapter 11

Liam hated this. He had ended up letting Brett drag him around random places, and now, he was aimlessly wandering around the 99¢ Only Store, shifting through random shelves as though he were actually looking for something to buy. He wasn't entirely sure where Brett had gone. He had told Liam to look around and pick something out - as if Liam were some kid who was going to pick out a toy all excitedly... - and said he needed to go do something, saying he wouldn't be long. Well, he sure wasn't a man of his word seeing as he had left Liam for almost twenty minutes! Okay, maybe it had only been, like, eight, but it felt longer since Liam couldn't really find anything of interest in such a cheap store. What the hell could he possibly buy here? Not anything he needed, he could tell anyone that. He sighed and picked up one of those coloring books that were supposedly calming. He didn't remember what they were called, but was it really worth it to remember? Nope, not to him, anyway. Name aside, he didn't find these types of coloring books calming at all. In fact, they made him frustrated if anything.

Liam set the book back down and continued to browse, but, as expected, didn't find anything of interest. He'd had enough of standing around doing nothing, but apparently Brett still wasn't ready to leave since he didn't catch any sight of him. Liam looked around. Despite the short display shelves, he didn't spot Brett anywhere. Finding this strange, he walked around, quickly catching his scent, though it seemed very... spread out, as if Brett had passed there multiple times and went different directions each time he got back to that point. He didn't have much time to think about it before Brett jogged over, saying,"By the looks of it, you didn't try tearing anyone apart. Good job."

Liam scowled. "Why the hell would I do that?" he snapped dryly.

Brett didn't give an answer to the question, only raised a brow at him. "Come on, we can leave now. Did you find anything you wanted?" Liam rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"No. What could I possibly find here? Besides, weren't you gonna get something from here?"

"They were out of stock." The response was quick and short, but by the way Brett quickly tried to drop it, Liam could tell something was up. As they headed towards the exit, he tried to question him further.

"What were you looking for?" he asked, picking up his pace to walk alongside the taller male. Brett gave him yet another one of his looks that spoke for him, this time, his eyes narrowed and mouth drawn in a tight lipped frown; he wasn't about to answer Liam, it seemed, so Liam pressed on. "Is it illegal stuff? 'Cause if it is, tell me now. I don't wanna be seen with you if you're doing drugs or something-"

"I'm not doing anything illegal, they're just out of pens, Jesus Christ."

"Pens? Really?" Liam focused and listened to Brett's heart rate. It seemed rather normal, a hint that he wasn't lying, but Liam wasn't sure if he really believed that that was the truth. Why would he wait to tell him he was buying pens- what the hell was he doing? Why was he expecting Brett to tell him these things? It shouldn't even matter. Liam didn't even want to be there! "Whatever," he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Quit being so pouty all the time," Brett scoffed as they approached his car. "No one wants to see a someone your age pouting in public."

"Ya should've let me go home, you wouldn't have seen my face then...," Liam grumbled under his breath as Brett unlocked the car. Liam quietly opened the door and entered, settling down in the passenger seat, shut the door, then proceeded to buckle himself in, Brett doing the same beside him. The whole time the two remained silent. Even after they were settled and ready to go, Brett didn't start the car. Liam stared out the window, waiting, but when he noticed Brett wasn't starting the car, he turned to look at him, confused, but found Brett staring at with an expression that was a bit... unexplainable. When Brett saw Liam turn to him, he quickly faced forward, his face going slightly red, and cleared his throat almost awkwardly, though Liam didn't really get why. "Uhh... you okay?" Liam asked, his brows furrowing.

"I'm fine, sorry." Brett let out a small cough, then quickly scrambled to insert his keys to start the car, but from the way he was fumbling with them, they fell, causing him to curse under his breath. Liam reached for the keys, but Brett did as well; their hands grazed against each other, and to Liam, it wasn't anything to freak out over, but apparently to Brett, it was, for he immediately jerked his hand back, basically jumping away. When Liam looked at him, Brett looked... embarrassed?

"Dude. What the hell is wrong with you?" Liam gave Brett a weirded out look and picked the keys up, holding them out to Brett. Brett stared at Liam, then back at the keys. His face was noticeable flushed, which freaked Liam out. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna walk home..." Liam slowly placed the keys down, unbuckled himself, opened the door, then stepped out, all while watching Brett. He was acting weird all of a sudden, and he was probably planning Liam's death, and Liam very obviously wanted no part in that, no dying for him yet. He shut the door and backed away. As he did so, he watched Brett sigh and lay his head down on the steering wheel. Liam felt a little bad, but he didn't want to be a part of whatever Brett was planning.

Giving a small wave, Liam made his way out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of his house. It would definitely take a while, but it was okay, so long as he didn't die.

Too bad things never went the way he wanted them to.