YOUTH || Liam Dunbar [1]

THIRTY

Katherine walked up the bleachers at the Lacrosse field with her Dad and Malia to watch the game. They were playing Devonford Prep — again — and she was worried about Liam. She hadn't spoken to him since she left him and Mason in the weight room.

Just as she was about to sit down, she noticed Brett walking to a couple of the other players on his team. She pursed her lips and looked over at her Dad. "I'll be back in a few," she told him, glancing at Malia. "Save me a seat."

Before either of them could ask where she was going, she darted down the bleachers and across the grass field. She tucked her hands into her back pockets as she trudged towards Brett, letting out a quiet huff. "Oi! Talbot!" She called loudly. She let out a small laugh when he cringed at the loudness of her voice, but turned around anyways.

After a short sentence to the people he was talking to, he jogged over to her and held his helmet under his arm. He slowed to a stop a short distance away from her, not even remotely out of breath. "What's up?" He smiled, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm just checking in on everyone," Katherine shrugged truthfully.

"They're all doing better," Brett sighed, looking down at his feet. "We're just trying to get used to how many we lost."

"That's understandable," Katherine nodded. "How's Lori? I didn't get a chance to ask her last time."

"She's doing okay," he answered with a faint smile. "How are you holding up? After everything, I mean."

"I've been better," Katherine shrugged honestly. "I don't think I'm going to be okay any time soon. I guess that makes me pretty messed up, huh."

"I wouldn't say messed up," Brett disagreed with a small shrug. "You've just got a lot more on your plate."

"My plate is literally big enough to feed Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, man," Katherine groaned, grimacing slightly. Brett let out a quiet laugh, causing her to smile. "Anyways, I'm going to give you my cell number." She handed him a piece of paper — much like she'd done with Ethan — and handed it to him with a small smile.

Brett read it over and raised his brows. "What, no XOXO or lipstick print?" He grinned cheekily.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "I'm not asking you out, dipshit," she laughed. "But just in case you need someone, I'll be there. And now you can text me to, like, let me know you're alive and whatever."

"Thank you," Brett smiled, looking down at the piece of paper again.

"I didn't really do anything," she shrugged softly. Then she held out her fist. "But if you leave me hanging I won't be happy," she warned him.

Brett rolled his eyes and bumped her fist with his, then waved goodbye as she walked back to her Dad and Malia.

•••

Katherine cringed each time Stiles faceplanted onto the field.

She glanced over at Malia, who was grimacing as well, and stood up. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Stiles you suck!"

"Yeah, I know! Thanks!" Stiles yelled back with a roll of his eyes, but she could see him smiling behind his helmet.

"Support, Katherine, support," her Dad sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Katherine shrugged as she sat down. "I am being supportive. Constructive criticism and all that."

Her Dad rolled her eyes as she grinned. She played with a loose thread on the sleeve of her sweater. Then she watched Stiles shuffle over to the bench and pull out his phone, and frowned.

She had already noticed that Scott and Kira weren't there. While she was insanely worried about them, she had to trust that they were okay. Liam sat next to him on the bench and they seemed to be talking quietly before Stiles got up and walked over to them.

"We need to go find Scott," Stiles breathed.

"Do you want us to stay here in case he shows up?" Malia asked, nodding her head at Katherine.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. Katherine watched the two walk away before she shifted awkwardly in her seat. Metal bleachers were not comfortable. Not even a little bit.

She looked up just in time to see someone loose the ball to one of the Devonford players, and sighed. Liam jogged over, and her eyes widened. He could help them actually get a goal. But instead, he froze. Katherine could see him staring wide eyed at something — just beyond the player — in the distance. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

Devonford got their goal, but she didn't care. The incident at the hospital with Berserkers had messed with Liam's mind more then he was willing to let on.

She noticed someone sit next to Malia in the empty space where her Dad had been sitting earlier in the evening, but didn't pay attention to it. But the mans voice made her breath catch in her throat.

"So," Peter Hale asked casually. "Who's winning?"

•••

Katherine had been told to go and sit with Mason, and she did it without complaint. There was something about Peter that gave her the chills.

Maybe it was the fact that he'd tried to rip her to pieces in the middle of a school hallway less than two years earlier.

Nevertheless, she'd spent the rest of the game with Mason, cheering for Liam and the rest of the Beacon Hills team. The fact that they'd lost the game was the least of her worries.

Scott and Kira never showed up, and Stiles was still out with her Dad. Malia seemed to have disappeared with Peter and Mason had gone home already, leaving her on her own. She no longer had a ride.

She tucked her hands into her back pocket and trudged towards the school in search of Liam. Once she reached the boys changeroom, she sat down next to the door and played Candy Crush until the door opened. "Is Liam Dunbar still in there?" She asked the boy who came out. When she received a nod, she let out a quiet huff and continued on with her game.

Brett exited the changeroom a few minutes later, and her head snapped up. "Liam's still in there, right?" She yawned.

"Yeah," Brett nodded. "No one else is, so you can go in."

Katherine smiled thankfully at him and stood up, then lightly patted his arm before she pushed the changeroom door open. "Err, Liam? Brett said you were still in here."

"Yeah," Liam's voice answered faintly. "I'm in the back."

Katherine wandered through the changeroom until she found him sulking on one of the benches. She sat down next to him and started down at her muddy vans. "You did well tonight," she commented.

Liam scoffed quietly. "We lost."

"But no one died, right?" Katherine smiled faintly. "That's a first for these games, so I'm considering that a win."

"I guess so," Liam mumbled, staring down at the ground between his feet.

Katherine rolled her eyes and dusted off her jeans before standing up. "Go get changed and shower and whatever else you still need to do, dorkball," she laughed. "I don't want to walk home by myself, but I will if you smell like that."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Liam's lips as he grabbed his bag and nodded.