What the hell are we?

3. Head and Heart

Theo could hardly sleep at night. Sleeping in the back seat of his pickup seemed to get more and more uncomfortable night after night. May be 'cause of the cold that penetrates his bones while he is laying there looking at the roof, may be 'cause of the deputy on duty that knocks on his window the second before he is about to fall asleep, may be 'cause of the nightmare about his dead sister that rips his heart out that creeps into his subconscious as soon as he closes his eyes ... or may be 'cause of Liam who punctually calls him to the cell phone whenever none of the previous hypotheses occurs.

And tonight is not different. Theo had just lost feeling in his feet - wondering if the Dread Doctors had secretly made him partly Abominable Snowman, because he should have been dead for hypothermia nights ago at that point - but he had anyway managed to finally close his eyes, sleep that made his eyelids feel heavy ... when the damn cell phone rang. Once, twice. Theo jumped on the spot, cursing and grabbing it. Liam. Again.

It's true. He could ignore it. He could turn it off. He could do many things actually, but, Theo still wondered why, he did what he had done every single night before. He answered.

"What the hell do you want again?" He asked abruptly.

"Hello to you too" Liam's cheerful voice answered on the other end of the line.

"Liam, it's almost 2:00 in the morning!"

"See? It's the witching hour, so meet me at our usual spot"

"Liam, no matter what's written on your pajamas, you're not the Beacon Hills Batman, let alone I'm your Robin"

"Of course you're not Robin," Liam replied lightly. And Theo could swear he felt him roll his eyes throught the phone. "I am now more and more convinced that you are Mr. Freeze because of your ability not to freeze to death, just because you are too stubborn to accept hospitality"

"We will not talk about it again. And I'm not Mr. Freeze "

"Penguin?"

"Fuck you"

"Then, are you comin'?"

Theo sighed "Give me five minutes, I must first defrost my feet"

He heard Liam giggle before hanging up.

*

"The usual spot" for Liam was under his house. Because obviously Theo had to be his chauffeur as well. And Theo was still wondering why he'd ever agreed to team up with Liam, but he seemed to forget about it the exact moment when Liam sneaked silently out the front door, and then into the car, greeting him and holding him a huge plastic cup full of hot coffee. "Thank God" he sighed grabbing it. "I thought you were an atheist"

"Me too thought so many things, like you could tell the difference between reality and a cheap crime movie, but apparently it's not like that" Theo replied, rolling his eyes and starting the engine, with the hot cup still in his right hand . "You know we do not have to do night patrols, do you? It's not what Scott asked us "

Liam shrugged. "I just want to make sure everything is all right. I do not want anyone else to get hurt." Theo pursed his lips, he wanted to say something, but he held back. Liam looked at him "And anyway why do you keep coming with me if you think it's stupid?"

To make sure that you do not get hurt. He thought, but he did not say it. He had not yet found a rational explanation for the almost physical need he felt to keep Liam safe, since the day they had fought together the Ghost Riders in the hospital. And Theo was not used to the unknowns, to the variations in the scheme. He was the selfish asshole, who was only thinking of his survival, right? Still, he had often put his life on hold with disregard for Liam. Why? He still had no answer.