Chapter 31: Twenty-nine

Liam's eyes blink open. He rolls onto his back and then sits up slowly. Looking around, everything comes back to him. He's at Ian's house.

He looks over and on the other side of the bed is Ian. He's laying on his stomach, one leg hanging off the edge of the bed. Liam feels a smile tug at his face.

He looks around for his phone, locating it on the side table. He grabs it and turns it on. He squints at the brightness and immediately turns it down before anything else. It's nine in the morning and after discovering he doesn't have any notifications from his parents, he puts it back down.

He rolls over to lay on his stomach, smashing his face into the pillow. He knows the chances of falling back asleep are slim, yet he doesn't want to wake Ian up. He'd feel bad.

He heaves out a sigh and rolls back over to grab his phone. If there's nothing else to do, he might as well just watch YouTube videos. He can keep the volume low.

This plan doesn't work out though. With sleep still clouding his brain, he clicks on a video without checking the volume first. A Domino's video sounds out, a little too loud for his liking. In his rush to turn it down, he hits the wrong button and turns it all the way up. He quickly mutes it again and glances over, panicked, at Ian.

He's still fast asleep. He didn't even stir. Liam lets out a sigh of relief. He adjusts his volume so it's quiet and then plays the video.

He leans up against the headboard of the bed and watches YouTube videos for the next forty minutes. He's halfway through a video when the boy beside him finally starts to move. Ian rolls on his side and blinks up at Liam, slowly a little smile forms.

"Good morning." His voice is slightly raspy from sleep. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long." Liam admits.

Ian rolls onto his back and sits up. He stretches his arms above his head, then lets out a yawn. He turns back to look at Liam, scooting back beside him and leaning against the headboard too.

"You could've waken me up, y'know?" Ian bumps their shoulders lightly.

Liam smiles, turning off his phone and sitting it down by his thigh. "That's okay. I'd feel too bad."

"Nah, I feel bad knowing that you're probably bored while waiting for me to wake up." Ian says dismissively.

"I was okay." Liam mumbles quietly.

Ian just hums in response. He stands out of the bed and stretches his arms above his head. A low grumble vibrates out of his throat.

"I should probably go home sometime this morning." Liam says. He knows he should.

He also knows he should really shower after getting sweaty and everything yesterday. He's actually grossed out with himself for not showering last night.

Ian looks over. "Do you have to?"

"Yeah, my parents won't believe I've locked myself away forever." Liam nods.

Ian groans. "Alright. Have breakfast first."

"Okay." Liam feels himself smile.

The two of them leave Ian's bedroom and start the walk downstairs. Liam walks closely behind Ian, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. They make it to the living room and see Ember and Clint sitting at the table.

"Liam?" Ember looks over with her eyebrows raised. "What are you doing here?"

"He came over yesterday. Your ass was too busy hiding in your room." Ian says with a teasing tone.

Ember scrunches her nose up and sticks her tongue out at him. Then, she turns her attention to Liam. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming over?"

Liam rubs the back of his neck. "It wasn't really planned."

"Yeah, that's my bad. We were playing basketball and I heard he hadn't had dinner so I made him come over and eat." Ian shrugs, walking over to the counter. He pulls out two plates from the cabinet and then looks over at the table. "Hey, Li, you want one or two breakfast burritos?"

"Um, one's fine." Liam then slowly sits down next to Ember. It's then he sees she has some sort of burrito on her plate with eggs, cheese, sausage, and ranch in it. It honestly looks good.

"Being polite, my boy?" Clint looks over with a knowing sort of smile. "Who are you and where's the real Ian?"

Ember laughs quietly. Liam smiles lightly. Ian full on laughs while pulling orange juice out of the fridge.

"How are you Liam?" Clint looks over, smiling kindly.

Liam's throat feels tight at Clint's attention on him. He gives a slightly tense smile. "I'm good. Thank you for allowing me to stay."

Clint waves his hand. "Of course, you're always welcome around here."

"Yes you are." Another voice appears. Liam looks behind him to see Ember's mother walking over. "You're so polite, it's nice having you around. Maybe you'll rub off on our own little demons."

"Hey!" Ember looks over with wide eyes. "That's rude."

Ren rolls her eyes. She walks over and passes Ian. He sits a plate and a glass of orange juice in front of Liam before walking back over to the counter to pick up his own. Ren lovingly pats his shoulder when he picks up his own.

He sits down across from Liam, beginning to eat his food. Liam starts to eat too. He hears Ren digging around in the counters.

"Ember, do you want a cup of coffee?" Her voice carries over.

"Yes please!" Ember grins.

Clint smiles and looks over to his wife. "Do I get one too, sweetheart?"

"Of course." Ren comments. "Ian, you want some?"

Ian's face scrunches up in disgust. "You should know better than that, Mom."

"You're right, I just want you to feel included." Ren smiles while Ian rolls his eyes. "You want a cup Liam?"

"Oh no, that's alright." Liam sends her a smile, one she returns.

As the coffer maker turns on and starts it's work, Ren grabs a plate. She walks over to the table and sits at the end, next to her husband. She starts eating her food as well.

The environment is so relaxed and warm. It's so unlike anything Liam is used to. In his home breakfast is eaten in a silent, uncomfortable environment.

It doesn't take long for them to finish eating. Ian takes Liam's plate to put it in the sink. Liam stands, Ember standing as well.

"Do you gotta go home?" She follows him out of the kitchen, heading back towards the stairs.

"Yeah." Liam nods. "My parents don't know I left yesterday."

"You snuck out?" Ember's eyebrows raise. "To play basketball?"

Liam shrugs. "I was in trouble, couldn't leave my room."

"But why basketball?" Ember furrows her brows, confused. Although, seconds later she starts mumbling about all the better sports so it clearly wasn't an actual question towards him.

Ian joins them on the way up the stairs. They all go to his room, Ember crossing her legs and sitting on the bed. She watches as Liam grabs his phone and sticks it in his pocket.

"I gotta take him home." Ian says, throwing a hoodie on.

"You drove him?" Ember says, tilting her head to the side.

"I had to sneak out, Em, I couldn't drive myself." Liam says, his voice gentle as to not make her feel stupid. She blinks at him blankly, her head still tilted sideways.

"Oh." Her eyes widen with realization and her head tilts back up. "Okay, makes sense."

Her eyes narrow a little and she flits them between the two. Liam takes it as she's just upset he texted Ian and not her. He turns away from her with guilt. When his back is to her, Ian and her make eye contact. Her eyebrows wiggle at him, making him roll his eyes.

"Come on Li, I'll get you home." Ian waves his hand. Liam stands up, looking back at Ember. She smiles while standing up.

"I'll see you later." She pats his back, walking with him out of Ian's room.

Liam nods with a smile. "See you."

While the two boys head downstairs, Ember goes back to her room. Liam and Ian leave out the front door and climb into Ian's car.

The drive back is quiet but comfortable. Ian parks in front of the entrance of Liam's house. He looks over with a simple smile.

"It's gonna rain tonight." Ian starts, making Liam look over at him confused. "I'll be here to pick you up at nine."

"What? Why?" Liam gives him a confused look, waiting for an explanation. He doesn't get one. Ian just laughs.

"Trust me. You'll have fun."

"Um, okay." Liam opens the door. "Bye weirdo."

Ian laughs again, saying his goodbye as Liam steps out. Liam shuts the car door and waves. He turns around and sprints over to the side of the house.

He climbs back up the tree and dives back in his window. He shuts it behind him and looks over his room. Ensuring that it is just how he left it, he walks over to his closet.

He grabs some shorts and a white T-shirt. Leaving his closet, he slips into the bathroom for a quick shower. Afterwards, he goes over to the door and unlocks it. He makes his way downstairs, surveying the area.

His mother isn't around from what he can see. He walks through the living room and then, at the sound of a radio, down the hall. His father's office door is open and he's listening to his older CDs.

"Oh, William." The man looks up and smiles a little at his son. "Come in here, sit."

Liam hesitantly steps inside the office. He sits down on the gray chair in the corner of the office. There's a small bookshelf next to it. His father's desk is on the opposite side of the room, two matching filing cabinets on either side behind him against the back wall.

"Um..." Liam clears his throat, feeling awkward. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm filling out forms. Nothing important." He says simply. Liam wonders why he waved him in here. He seems too engrossed in his work to even talk.

Immediately after this thought, his father finishes what he was doing. He sits his pen down and moves the paper to the side. Suddenly looking more serious, he threads his fingers together and sits them on the desk in front of him. His eyes shoot up to Liam in the chair. Subconsciously, Liam straightens up so he's sitting 'properly' in the chair.

"Son, I want to talk about what happened yesterday."

"Oh." Liam looks down, mentally preparing for another scolding. He nods once.

"Your mother was wrong." Liam looks back up, not expecting that. His father continues, "You should know, nothing you're doing is wrong per se. It is perhaps not ideal, but it is not wrong. Part of growing up is having friends and doing things. Life isn't always going to allow you time to do these things, certainly not when you're working for me, so I think it is quite alright that you're using your youth wisely. So long as your grades don't drop, I'll see to it you aren't punished for going around with your friends."

After his father's little speech, Liam feels a small smile forming. "Thank you."

"Now, this does not mean I approve." His father says. "I do think there are better people you could be spending your time with. People you could be learning from. However, I think while you're still a boy it shouldn't affect your overall image too much."

Of course, he's still worried about the 'image'. Liam nods. His father copies the action and then turns his attention back to his papers. Sensing that the conversation is over, Liam stands and leaves.

He goes back up to his room, hoping he won't run into his mother any time soon. His father might have said he won't be punished but Liam knows his mother is still probably holding a grudge against him. She is a very spiteful woman, he wouldn't put it past her to still be angry.

He reaches his bedroom and shuts the door behind him. He still hates this room but at the moment it feels safer than anywhere else in this house. He goes over to his bed and falls onto it, sighing with relaxation.

He just needs to drive away the boredom until tonight.

While he pulls his laptop over, he thinks back to his conversation with his father. It may have been one sided but Liam thinks that it might have been the longest conversation the two have had one on one.

He opens up his laptop, logging into his Netflix account. He pays his own subscription with his credit card so it's just his. He clicks on the show Ian had introduced him to.

Liam gets comfortable in his bed, ready to binge the TV show until he gets bored and switches over to a movie.

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I'm sorry it's a little short! It was kind of just a filler chapter that was incredibly difficult to write due to writer's block. T-T

Love you ♡

- Z