The next morning, Liam woke up from cluttering noises in the kitchen. He had gone back downstairs when Mason and Corey had entered their bedroom last night. His best friend had of course tried to talk to him, but Liam was still upset, so instead he had gone down and slept on the sofa. The others had been halfway up the staircase as he descended, making him feel like he was doing a walk of shame.

He took his phone from the coffee table and checked the time. It was still early. He rubbed his eyes.

"Hey you," Lydia said as she entered the living room. Her hands held two mugs and her voice was sweet. Liam quickly sat up and she sat down next to him.

"I thought…we could have a cup of tea together." She handed him one of the mugs. "And have a little talk. Just the two of us."

Her hair was still a little messy and she was wearing her pajamas. She smiled gently as Liam blew on his tea. The steam that came off smelled of oranges and cinnamon.

"So what happened yesterday?" Lydia asked after a while, figuring Liam wasn't going to start the conversation himself.

He scoffed. "What? Like Scott hasn't told you?"

Lydia moved her leg under her. One of her elbows was resting on the back of the sofa. "He has," she answered. "But there's two sides to every story."

Liam hadn't expected her to flat out admit it that Scott had told, but appreciated her honesty. At least Lydia was being real with and actually gave him a chance to explain.

"I told him I like him," Liam said.

Lydia nodded.

"He said he likes me too."

"Hmhm."

Liam smiled bitterly. "I feel so stupid," he said. "Why didn't any of you tell me?"

"Because it's not our place to tell," she explained, frowning ever so slightly.

The boy pulled a face. "Yeah, right. But it's Mason's place to tell you all that I have abandonment issues."

Lydia's face softened. She smiled gently and tilted her head a little. It took a few seconds, but then it dawned on him.

"You didn't know."

Lydia shook her head once, pulling an awkward face. "Nope."

It was then that Liam realized he had messed up. He had made assumptions the second Scott let off he had told his friends and there had been no stopping him. His IED had immediately been triggered and Liam had become unable to reason with. He rubbed his face, scratching his cheeks.

"I messed up, didn't I?"

Lydia chuckled softly.

His hands moved up and rubbed his forehead, meeting Lydia's gaze. "I'm so sorry," he said.

"It's okay, sweetie," she said, touching his hand for a brief moment. "But you have some explaining to do."

Liam nodded. "I know. I just…" He was still half-processing what had happened yesterday and slowly everything started to make sense. "I'm scared."

Lydia's face turned more serious. "What are you scared of?"

"That he'll leave," Liam answered, his voice trailing off.

"Ah," Lydia nodded. "That explains. Because Hayden left."

"And my dad did," Liam said. "And Kira left, and so did Scott's dad, and didn't your boyfriend move to London at some point?"

"Okay, okay, I think I understand where you're coming from," she said. "But you're focusing on the bad. It doesn't always have to be that way."

"Maybe not," Liam said, scratching his mug. He could feel tears starting to burn behind his eyes again. "But Scott is definitely going away…" He bit down onto his bottom lip. "And when he does, it will hurt…"

"Oh, honey," Lydia said. She took his mug from his hands and put it down with hers on the table. She wrapped her arms around Liam's shoulders and pulled him close. Liam sniffed.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice sounding a little hoarse. "I didn't mean to make such a mess."

Lydia rubbed his back and kissed the side of his head. "I know. But you need to talk about what your feelings."

Liam sighed. "I have. I talk to Mason about it all the time. He knows. And I even told Corey yesterday."

Lydia pulled away, catching Liam's eyes. She held his face in her hands and wiped a tear off his cheek. "I'm not talking about them."

Liam understood she was referring to Scott, but to be honest, he wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet. Not after what had happened last night. He was too ashamed. But another part of him didn't want to disappoint Lydia.

The living room door opened quietly and Mason and Corey poked their head around the corner.

"Can we come in?" Mason asked.

Before Liam could answer, Lydia told them it was fine. The boys sat down on the sofa across from them, cuddling up to each other. Liam wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and sniffed again, unable to look them in the eye.

"You okay?" Mason asked.

"Yeah, fine," Liam answered, picking up his mug and taking a sip of tea.

Mason nodded. Liam remembered what he had done to him. He had ignored his attempt to help him and shoved him against the door instead. That was the worst thing about having an episode; the embarrassment afterwards. That Liam would have to face all the people he had hurt and needed to apologize. It felt so stupid to say that he didn't have any control over his emotions when he got like that, but it was the truth. He never would have hurt Mason or have told them all to 'fuck off' if he hadn't been beside himself with rage. Of course he wouldn't have. These people were his friends.

"Ugh, look at them," Lydia said, pulling Liam out of his thoughts.

Mason and Corey were pressed against one another other, their fingers toying around in their laps. Corey occasionally pecked a kiss onto Mason's cheek, who on his turn leaned into the touch, smiling.

"You two are so cute!" Lydia squealed. She got up. "I really can't stand it. I just have to…" She went over and pressed a kiss onto each their cheeks. "Mwah! Mwah! Ugh. So adorable. Alright, come on Coco, let's have a shower and give these two a moment," she said, taking Corey's hand and pulling him out of the living room. Corey let himself be swept away, giving a quick wave.

When the door shut behind them, Mason and Liam chuckled.

"She sure is something," Mason said.

Liam nodded, staring after them. "She definitely is."

Silence fell between them and Mason smacked his lips. "So…"

"I'm sorry about last night," Liam said. "Really, I am. I shouldn't have pushed you. I shouldn't have said those things, I'm sorry. I just…I lost it…"

Mason seemed satisfied with that apology, however short, because he smiled and got to come and sit next to his friend.

"It's okay," he said. "I get it. You know I get it."

Liam sighed in relief. He was lucky with a friend like Mason. Really lucky. Not a lot of people were as forgiving as he was. Over the years, Liam had lost a lot of friends due to IED. But not Mason, he had always stuck by him.

"Lydia think I need to talk to Scott," Liam explained.

"Right," Mason replied. "And what do you think?"

"I think that I don't want to."

"Liam…"

"Okay fine," the boy grumbled, finishing his tea. "I know I have to. And I'm going to."

The stern look that had appeared across Mason's face softened. "Good."

"But what if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Liam asked, scrunching his nose.

Mason cocked his head. "Really? This is Scott we're talking about. He'll want to."

"Yeah…okay."

"Do you want to do it now?"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

Liam stammered something that weren't words. He hadn't expected for it to be so soon. Surely he would need some time to prepare what he was going to say, didn't he? Mason couldn't just expect him to go up there and explain everything. He needed a speech, some confidence.

A lot of confidence.

"Hey," Mason said. He had fished out his phone from his sweatpants from and held it to his ear. "Yeah, yeah, you can stop complaining now. Listen, I just need you to go into Lydia's room. Yes, you can sleep there too."

Liam frowned, baffled as to what was going.

"Stiles is leaving the bedroom, so you and Scott can be alone. Don't worry, he understands," Mason said.

Liam's eyes widened. Okay, so apparently this was really happening. He started blabbering again, but Mason had stood up and was now pulling on his arm to get him off the sofa.

"Come on, up you go," Mason said.

"But what if-"

"Nope, we're done. It's time. You're ready. I know you are. Come on. Get that ass into gear."

Finally, Liam caved, even though he still wasn't a hundred percent convinced. But after all, Mason was his best friend and he knew he could trust him, so Liam sucked in a deep breath and got up. His friend patted him on the back as he walked past him. Liam closed the living room door behind him and walked across the hall, stepping onto the staircase. For a moment, he hesitated again. Maybe he couldn't do it. He had already talked to Lydia and to Mason this morning. That was two apologies in a row. Wasn't that enough?

But if the past two days had shown anything, it was that there was no avoiding Scott. Not even in Lydia's mansion. That meant he had to see him at some point today and the prospect of that awkward situation, of seeing Scott without having talked to him, made him ascended the stairs.

When he was stood in front of the door, he took another deep breath. He reached for the handle, counted to three, and opened it. As expected, Scott was still in bed, but Stiles' side had been vacated.

Scott rubbed his eyes. "Hey," he said groggily.

Liam stepped closer, his hands folded behind his back. He didn't really know how to start. Scott was still in the process of waking up, but didn't let Liam out of his sight. He waited patiently.

"I don't have a speech," Liam explained.

Scott snorted. "Okay."

Liam nodded. He rocked himself on the balls of his heels. What Scott couldn't see was that he was tugging on the sleeves of his shirt nervously. "Can I…" He swallowed. His cheeks felt hot. He didn't think he had ever been this nervous in his life. Knowing that he would have to explain himself to Scott terrified him. Liam glanced at the door and then back at Scoot and he knew there wasn't a way out now. Even if he would be able to run out of the room, once he would get downstairs Mason would immediately send him back up again. He wouldn't be surprised if his friend had followed him and was already blocking the door by now.

"Can I come lie next to you?" Liam finally asked.

Scott smiled and nodded, opening the covers. He retracted his legs and Liam crawled in. They lied down facing each other again.

"So what now?" Scott asked goofily.

A grin pulled on the corners of Liam's mouth, seeing where this was going. "I don't know. I hadn't planned this far."

Scott nodded, his smile broadening as well. "Can I talk to you about something?" he asked.

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Always."

"Promise you won't leave?"

Liam's cheeks darkened. "Never."

Scott chuckled. "And you can't freak out."

Liam realized he was going to extort this to the bitter end. He sighed deeply, moving further under the covers. "I won't."

"I just want to talk, so no shouting."

"Okay."

"And no punching."

Liam groaned. "Fine! I get it."

"I like you," Scott said. His face had softened and had turned a little more genuine.

Liam closed his eyes for a brief moment. He licked his lips.

"I like you too."

Scott smiled, he moved one of his hands out from under his pillow and placed it in between them on the mattress. Liam could hold it if he wanted to, but he wasn't sure if he did.

"Do you want to talk about last night?" Scott asked.

Liam found it an odd question, because of course he did. That was the whole reason he was there and surely Scott knew that.

But his mind settled down when he said, "I do." And he was reminded that it helped to say things out loud. It was the little push he needed. "I'm sorry for freaking out," he said.

Scott continued to smile. Liam could tell he was already proud of him, which made him blush even more.

"I really do like you," Liam said. "Honestly. But I… I haven't really told you everything."

Scott moved a little closer. His fingers lightly tapped the bed, but Liam still wasn't ready.

He took a deep breath, because the next part was very straight forward and, he knew, very harsh, and he the only thing he could do was hope that Scott wouldn't get upset.

"I'm not sure if I want to be with you," Liam admitted.

Scott's eyebrows moved up. "Oh, okay."

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," Scott quickly assured him. "I just didn't see that one coming."

"I'm sorry," Liam apologized again.

"Do you want to explain why?" Scott tried.

Liam bit his lip. He could already feel the familiar lump in his throat grow. By now he had said it out loud three times, but it still hadn't gotten any easier. He met Scott's eyes with his own and saw the same concern in them as he had seen yesterday, which made him feel even worse. It was then that he realized how in love he actually was. He really wanted to be with this guy, but he just couldn't get over that stupid fear. His throat was really starting to hurt now and his eyes were burning.

"Hey…" Scott whispered, visibly growing more and more worried. His hand moved and placed itself onto the side of Liam's head, rubbing across the outline of his sideburn. "Tell me."

Liam closed his eyes and sank into his touch for a moment. The friendly and caring tone in Scott's voice was killing him and in that moment he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop this. That voice in his head could continue to shout at him, but it wasn't going to make a difference, because Liam was breaking.

"I don't like it that you're leaving," he said, choking on the words mid-sentence. "Everyone always leaves and I… I don't want to be with someone who's going to leave me."

"Liam…" Scott applied pressure to his fingertips, sliding through his hair.

"No…" Liam said, shaking his head. The tears that rolled from his eyes itched his nose. He pressed his face into the pillow to wipe them off. "I'm sorry, but I can't get rid of that feeling."

Scott's face fell. Not out of hurt, but out of sympathy. Liam could tell the guy was genuinely feeling for him and Liam wanted to tell him how sorry he was, but he couldn't. He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat, but instead continued to cry. It had gotten too much. The past two days had been so intense and he had had so much to deal with. He couldn't do it anymore. He was done. Really done, because now Scott knew, which meant he had destroyed everything.

"Come here," Scott said softly. Liam closed his eyes, but he could feel the guy move closer towards him. Liam shook his head, but didn't say anything. Instead he let Scott scoop him up into his arms. Liam hid his face against his chest, trying to stifle his crying. Scott's fingers continued to card through his hair, telling him that it was okay in quiet whispers.

They stayed like that until Liam had caught his breath again. He felt hot now and pulled away slightly. Scott let him, but Liam's head remained on his arm and Scott's other hand was on his side.

"I'm sorry," Liam squeaked. He had lost track of what he was apologizing for—if it was for not wanting to be in a relationship with Scott or for the crying.

"It's okay," Scott repeated again. "You've really been struggling with this, haven't you?"

Liam's bottom lip started to tremble again. He quickly caught it between his teeth. "Yeah…"

"I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't talk to me about it," Scott said.

Liam wiped his eyes. "It's not… It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"But you thought I did, didn't you? Last night?"

Liam nodded. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I thought you had told everyone that you like me and that Mason had told all of you that I like you, but that I was struggling with my abandonment issues. That's why I thought none of you had said anything to me."

"We would never do that."

"I know," Liam replied. "But I can't think clearly when I get like that."

Scott nodded. He moved the hand he had on Liam's side to his face and carefully stroked his cheek with his thumb. Liam took hold of his upper arm.

"The others did know I liked you," Scott then admitted. "I told them, but that's because I tell them everything."

"I figured," Liam said. "And I'm not angry that you did."

"But you have to know that Mason didn't tell me anything about you. He would never do that."

Liam showed a broken smile. "I know that too."

Scott nodded. "Okay then." He pulled Liam into another tight hug. The boy relaxed into his touch, closing his eyes. Scott's skin was soft and warm, not sweaty warm like people sometimes get in the morning, but nice warm.

Scott McCall, personal teddy bear.

They lied like that for a while, hugging each other. But Liam knew they couldn't stay like that forever. He also knew there was still one question that had thus far been left unanswered. He wondered if Scott had the courage to bring it up, but he doubted it. Knowing Scott, he didn't want to ask, because it would have sounded too selfish.

But Liam knew he owed it to him.

"What do you think we should do?"

Scott let out a deep breath. "That's up to you," he said. "I want to spend with you, but I completely get it if it's too much."

Liam swallowed. He did want to be with Scott, but he didn't want to be with him for four weeks. He didn't want their relationship to be a ticking time bomb. Then again, he also didn't want that for their friendship, but he couldn't deny that that's what it felt like. The only thing left would be to let it blow up right now, just to get it over with, and for Liam to go home. But he didn't want that either.

"Hey," Scott said, tightening his grip. "This is about you. You decide."

Liam felt awful for having to say it, but he knew he had to. It was bittersweet, but it was the truth.

"I think I need to work out my issues first," he said.

Scott squeezed him. "I think that's a good idea." Liam could hear he was smiling from the way he spoke.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked.

"Of course not," Scott answered. "You're my friend. I want you to get better. And it's not like I can't help."

Liam frowned, moving his head so he could look up. "What do you mean?"

Scott grinned. "I'm going to show you I'll always be here for you."