Flares in the Dark

1.08 | a boy of lies

THE PACK OF CIGARETTES FELT HEAVY in Liam's pockets as the two reached the end of the street, safe enough from the house to not be pursued by the drunk and deranged man. Walter's eyes were still ripping his face with tears, and Liam grunted in pain with each step he took.

He dreaded going home after this fiasco, knowing that his mother would overreact and definitely not in a good way.

But that would come later, for now, he had to figure out where the rest of his teammates were and then drag them all back to the hideout— the last place either of them wanted to be.

Before he could ask Walter to help him search for his team, a voice froze him in his tracks, "Liam."

Soft and feminine, it didn't contain the harshness he had heard the first and the last time she had ever spoken to him. Then again, how could he have expected softness when he was insulting her best friend right in front of her eyes?

"Liam," She said again, her voice coming out coated with softness again and something more— worry— she was actually worried for him, the boy who had hurt her best friend in ways that should've been unforgivable, "Your face is all red and your hands are bleeding."

He couldn't look up at her. Not after what he had done the last time. To her best friend and to his. Yet, he was hyper-aware of each and every move she made, immediately stepping back when she took a step forward in his direction.

She didn't stop, though. She was too persistent for that, "You're hurting Liam, badly. How did this happen?"

He didn't reply. He couldn't. So he stayed silent while she continued bombarding him with the question she would not like the answer to, "Tell me, Liam, please, let me help you. I know you're not half as bad as you behaved that day, Owen told me so himself. You used to be best friends, didn't you? So what happened?"

She took another step forward and he took another step backwards, "He's waiting for you, you silly boy. He still wants to be your friend, if you just apologise to both him and Jessica. Neither of them deserved what you did to them that day, but they're willing to look past it because we all know that it wasn't the real you, Liam. We're all waiting for you."

Walter nudged his hand hanging by his side and Liam was broken out of the trance he had trapped himself in. He knew Owen would take him back without a moment's hesitation and that Jessica would forgive him eventually, but he couldn't bear to think about what the gang would do if they found out about his betrayal.

He looked up at the girl standing before him. Blaize Sears deserved her name. She had eyes which reflected fire in every situation, she never backed down and she was loyal to the bone. She would never go against anyone's back and never hesitated to put people back in their rightful place.

Her eyes reflected a tornado of an inferno and it was headed straight to him, hell-bent on destroying the walls he had put up between his past life and himself, the walls he had never had the courage to break.

And she wanted to demolish them all.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. The two words spoke volumes about what he didn't have the guts to say. I'm sorry for hurting Jessica. I'm sorry for disappointing Owen. I'm sorry for disrespecting you.

I'm sorry for being.

But her fire was only growing stronger by the second, engulfing him in the burning embrace now, "Come back, Liam." Her hand reached towards him, to the wounds on his face, but he stepped back. She sighed and withdrew her hand, looking at him with eyes brimming with disappointment, "You're better than this, we all know you are. So come back."