When the bell rang, Liam hurriedly threw all his things into the bag and stood up, scratching the chair on the floor. Theo looked up at him at the noise "Ah- Hey Du-" Liam accelerated his pace quickly disappearing into the crowd, before Theo had time to say or do anything else.
"Liam!" When he heard someone calling him, he jumped.
Did everyone really remember him? It was almost creepy.
He turned to the girl who had called him, and he almost had a stroke when she jogged over to him. Was that ... was Hayden? The girl, panting to catch her breath, gave him a smile "You surely run fast eh"
"Uh- sorry, I don't want to risk getting lost" he stammered, blushing.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to- you know, say hi, I didn't recognize you until the coach said your name, it's ... nice that you're back here!"
"Um thanks, I'm happy too ... I think. It's all a little ... overwhelming."
Hayden chuckled. "Yes, I can imagine. Well then I think we'll see you around. Maybe one day you'll tell me what you've up these 5 years"
Liam laughed in turn "Yes okay"
"Hi Liam" she greeted him cheerfully, before passing him and stepping away.
Yes okay, Dunbar? Didn't you think of anything better to say? Liam groaned as he slapped his hand over his face.
Heck, back in elementary school he had a crazy crush on Hayden! As much as a ten-year-old boy's crush could be, by the way. But he liked her... yes, until Theo had ruined everything.
5 years ago - Fifth grade
"If you like her, you should tell her," Mason said cheerfully as they sat down to lunch.
"You make it easy," Liam muttered disconsolately, glancing at the table where Hayden and her inseparable friend Tracy were sitting, a few tables away from them. "I don't even know what to say to her."
"You can always write her a letter," Mason suggested with a shrug.
"A letter?"
"Uhuh then we will put it secretly in her locker!" Mason exclaimed excitedly. "It will beso cool!"
"I don't know, what if she tells me she doesn't like me?" Liam asked hesitantly, playing with his food instead of eating it.
Mason rolled his eyes "You cry and you get over it, that's what my father always says." He took a bite of the sandwich.
Liam smiled at his best friend. "You're really weird."
"Ouch," he said dramatically, feigning a blow to the heart. Liam laughed even more. Mason followed suit. "And you are so much cuter when you laugh, Liam" He took back his sandwich "Off that sulking face and be brave!"
"Do you know what?" he exclaimed suddenly. "Maybe I will, I'll write Hayden a real letter, like the ones my dad writes to mom." He smiled at the thought. "But you will help me," he pleaded.
Mason laughed "Of course, what friends are for otherwise?"
*
He had written the letter. It had taken him most of the afternoon, but he was satisfied with the result. He would put it in Hayden's locker, hoping for the best.
"Hey Li," Mason whispered from the row next to his as they waited for the lesson to begin. Liam raised his head to look at him. "Will you let me read it first?"
Liam blushed. "Mason, no way? It's personal!"
"But I'm your best friend," he whimpered. What a drama queen.
"Uh okay." Liam rolled his eyes, bending over his backpack to pick it up, unaware of Theo's eyes that had been following their exchange from the back counter from the start.
When he reached out to pass it to Mason, with a shot the best runner would envy, Theo grabbed it, already chuckling. Liam looked at him standing up. "Hey give it back!" he exclaimed, already blanching, the panic that was mounting.
"Oh my- what is it? A love letter, Dumbar?" he exclaimed, all too amused. Everyone turned to look at him curiously.
Mason stood up too. "Theo, it's not funny, give it back!"
"Shut up, Hewitt," Theo snapped, annoyed.
"It's not yours, don't mess with things that don't concern you!" Mason insisted.
"But we're all curious now, aren't we?" Theo said, his voice full of mischief, looking around.
He jumped onto the teacher's chair, and then on the desk. "Who wants to know what Dunbar wrote to ..." Theo turned the envelope to read. "-Hayden? Seriously?"
Everyone laughed. Someone urged him "Read, read!"
Liam seemed on the verge of catching fire as everyone turned to Hayden, also embarrassed and almost on the verge of running away.
"Theo, enough!" Mason glanced desperately at Liam who looked completely paralyzed. He started to march towards Theo, but someone grabbed him by the arm
"Stop it, Hewitt! Don't be a buzzkill!" Josh, Theo's best friend, said to him. "Come on, Theo, read!" he laughed then, looking at his friend.
Theo cleared his throat dramatically, still standing on the desk. "Dear Hayden" he began to read, making a deep voice "I didn't know how to tell you, I'm not good with words ... Really, Dumbar, we didn't notice-" he snorted, someone chuckled "so I decided to write you this letter. I like you so much, you are always so kind to me and you don't make fun of me, on the contrary you always take my defense ... hey, Dumbar, who is the man of the two? "
"Theo-" Mason snapped.
Liam just wanted to disappear. He didn't have the guts to look up from the ground.
"-You're the prettiest girl I've ever met, and I really want you to be my girlfriend. I like you. -Liam Dunbar" Theo's tone had become more and more sour, word after word. As he read Liam's signature, he jumped off the desk and walked over to Hayden's desk where she was still sitting, completely red and embarrassed, her eyes fixed on her own hands clasped in her lap.
He threw the letter on the desk. "So yes or no?" he asked sourly.
Hayden stared at the letter for two seconds, before running off, out of the classroom without saying a word. Tracy shook her head in disappointment at Theo before following her.
At that moment the bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats. Mason tugged on his arm and Josh let him go with a grin as Theo walked over to Liam placing a hand on his shoulder. Liam didn't even look up. "Apparently the answer is no, Dumbar, sorry" he commented, before chuckling back to his seat.
Mason followed him with a stunned look, and then looked at Liam petrified.
And he couldn't help but wonder - why?
Present - tenth grade
Everything went smoothly until lunch. Luckily he hadn't had any other lessons with either Theo or Hayden. Just thinking back to that day five years ago made him want to bury himself again.
As he reached the cafeteria for lunch, he pulled out his cell phone. His mother had texted him, telling him that she and Paul had started moving. And she'd sent him the location of Paul's home where he was supposed to join them for dinner.
He put his cell phone back in his pocket as he queued up for lunch. "Uh-uh Liam!" he heard Mason calling him from a nearby table. He turned to look at him, and saw that he was waving a hand in his direction. Liam smiled at him and nodded.
When he had bought his lunch, he marched to his table. "Hi," he muttered hesitantly when he saw the other three boys sitting with him.
"Hey!" "Hello" they all greeted him cheerfully. The curly boy closest to him made room for him and he sat down.
"Guys, this is Liam, I told you about him. Liam, they are Alec, - he pointed to the hedgehog sitting next to him - Nolan - the blue-eyed boy next to Alec waved to him - and this is Corey, my boyfriend" Corey held up a hand.
"Nice to meet you guys! Thanks ... for letting me sit down with you"
"You're welcome, mate," Nolan said lightly.
"So ... this first day?" Mason asked curiously.
Liam shrugged. "So-so"
"Mhh" Mason mumbled thoughtfully. He probably figured it all out already. "You ... have you met any of the ... old classmates?"
Liam pursed his lips and lowered his head on his plate "I have eco with Hayden .. and Theo
"This sucks eh"
"Well..."
"What do you mean?" Alec asked with a bite in his mouth.
"Nah nothing! But Theo wasn't exactly nice in elementary school" Mason cut short
"Well he isn't even now" Nolan commented calmly.
"Corey and Nolan are on the lacrosse team, and Theo is the captain," Mason explained to Liam.
"He's an asshole," Corey murmured. And they were the first words he said. Liam couldn't agree more.
"And what about Hayden? Did you talk?" Mason said mischievously.
Liam blushed but rolled his eyes laughing "Please, Mason, again? It's been five years"
"Well, maybe she forgot about that embarrassing scene"
"I don't think it's possible to forget it" Liam replied. He had certainly not forgotten.
"What scene?" Corey said.
"Oh forget it," Mason snorted.
Liam was distracted from the conversation as he reached for the bottle of water and opened it. After he had drunk, he took a look around. His gaze met Theo's, so he quickly turned it away. When he dared to look again, he found that the boy was still staring at him, a half grin on his face.
Liam shivered.
Then he noticed Hayden and another girl approach the table where Theo was and sit down, chatting animatedly. Hayden said something to her friend and then looked around, making eye contact with Liam. She smiled at him and raised her hand in a wave of greeting.
Liam answered awkwardly, before returning to his table neighbors.
Hayden meanwhile had leaned over to Tracy beside her, whispering something and giggling, under Theo's searching gaze.
*
Liam got off at the stop that according to Google Maps was the closest to Paul's house. The school bus took almost half an hour, and when he got off he had to walk another 10.
Great, he was sure to miss it the next day!
When Google Maps advised that he had arrived at his destination, Liam stopped, peering at the beautiful house from the sidewalk. It looked like the classic 90s TV show house. All it missed was the white fence. As he made his way up the driveway, he noticed that there were two cars parked in the garage next door. One must have belonged to Paul's son.
Liam couldn't help but wonder what type he was. He could only hope he was a good guy. His mother just told him he was about the same age as him. In fact, it seemed suspicious that his mother had not inquired about this detail in advance. But what reason did she have to keep it hidden from him?
Liam shook his head, to dismiss the thought, and walked to the door. He swallowed nervously. He'd only seen Paul a couple of times, even though they'd never really had a real conversation. His mother, despite having been dating for almost two years, had never officially introduced them, nor had she ever brought him home. According to her, because she didn't want him to get attached to someone who could soon get out of his life.
He braced himself and knocked, then half stepped back "I'm coming!" a muffled, energetic voice came beyond the door, but strangely familiar.
When the door opened, Liam looked up to stare at the boy in front of him, petrified. The other boy also looked shocked. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, eyes wide open.
"I-I-I could ask you the same question," Liam stammered.
Theo rolled his eyes "I live here, Dumbar"
"It's Dunbar, not Dumbar!" he snapped with a dirty look.
This is a joke, right? A candid camera, right? It couldn't be what he thought it was ...
"It will be as you say," he replied with a grin.
"Hey then you know each other as we imagined," a man's voice exclaimed, before Paul appeared with his mother beside him.
"What does that mean?" Theo asked, his voice filled with what sounded like anxiety.
"Theo, that's my son, Liam-" Jenna smiled.
The two boys looked shocked past their parents.
"Jesus ..." Liam muttered between his teeth.
"When we found out that you were the same age and therefore definitely went to school together, we thought we wouldn't tell you anything and give you a nice surprise!" said Paul, overly enthusiastic.
Liam forced a smile. "Yeah ... um ... what a great surprise" he muttered between his teeth trying to hold back the sarcasm as much as possible.
Paul grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him inside. "Nice to have you finally here, Liam, I've heard so much about you from Jenna!"
"Um- I-" he stammered in panic, then met his mother's radiant expression. And she returned Paul's smile, looking at him. "I'm also really happy to be here"
"Theo?" Paul looked at him expectantly.
Theo was still motionless. He looked literally shocked. "I would like to say that I will go to my room, but I don't think that's the answer you want to hear ... so, yes, as you say" he rolled his eyes.
Liam snorted at his stuck-up tone.
"Stop being an idiot and let's go," his father muttered cheerfully, before disappearing with Jenna into the living room.
Theo shifted his gaze to Liam, who summoned all his courage not to lower his eyes and hold his gaze.
Then Theo gave him a sardonic smile. "Well maybe it will be fun, little brother"
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