Chapter 43: Bonus Chapter (1)

Ian's perspective

— First Meeting —

Ian frowns when he pulls his car into the driveway. Chris whistles.

"Whose car is that?" Lucas's eyebrows furrow.

"I don't know." It makes Ian uneasy. His parents definitely wouldn't get a car like that, especially not without telling their kids.

They walk to the house a little quicker than usual. It stays locked when Ren and Clint are at work so it can't be a burglar. Still, it's a strange and suspicious car.

Ian opens up the front door and steps inside. He stumbles across a shoe, throwing him off balance, and frowns while kicking it away.

Unsurprisingly, it's his sister's shoe. She never did learn to put them out of the way.

Ian frowns then as whose shoes they are catches up to him fully. Ember shouldn't even be home yet. He might be home a little later than usual but the bus shouldn't have already dropped her off.

It does explain the fancy car in the driveway though.

"Is Ember home early?" Lucas steps in too, beside the man. "Whose shoes are those?"

That draws Ian's attention to the new shoes sitting next to the shoe rack. Those aren't Paige's, she doesn't wear Vans.

"I don't know. Whoever it is, they must own that car too."

"Did Em get new friends?" Chris laughs while shutting the door behind him. "Maybe a boy?"

Lucas snorts. "Poor guy."

"Nah." Ian shakes his head, slipping off his shoes and going to the couch. "She would have told us about a new guy."

And she's desperately in love with Izzy, but he isn't going to say that part.

He plops down on the middle of the couch. Lucas and Chris follow him. The latter sits down first so Lucas crams in next to him, practically on top of the boy as he stretches his legs over him.

This isn't unusual for them. Chris accepts the blond boy sitting on his lap just fine. Ian doesn't even spare them a second glance at the behavior.

"Oh, you're home."

A voice draws Ian's attention to the top of the stairs. Ember is standing there, looking like she just changed out of her uniform.

"Yeah, hi." Ian rotates a little to look at her better. "Who's here?"

"My friend Liam."

"Oh." He's heard about him. Sorta. Paige adopted him in freshman year and the three have been a trio at school since. Ian's never met him though.

Ember then disappears without saying anything else. Ian expects her to come back and introduce the boy at some point so he doesn't worry. Instead, he picks up the remote and argues with Chris about what to watch.

"If you guys don't shut up, I'll decide for you and put on The Vampire Diaries." Ember comes walking in.

The boy next to her is still wearing his school uniform. He's got black slacks and a white button-up shirt with short sleeves. The shirt is a little loose on his frame, the collar slightly stretched to the side.

His hair is a light brown. His eyes are a pretty shade of blue, one Ian doesn't see very often. There are a few freckles on his nose too, barely visible from where Ian is sitting but still there.

Fuck, this kid's adorable.

Chris groans loudly, distracting Ian from taking in the new boy. "No."

Oh, he's talking to Ember.

Ian smiles, moving the conversation along. Time for introductions. "Hey Em, who's this?"

"Oh, this is Liam." She seems to remember that introducing him is the polite thing to do and motions over to him. "He's Paige and I's friend from school."

"Oh." He says, acknowledging that even though he already knew that. "Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Ian, Ember's brother."

Liam nods, suddenly looking even more shy. Ian didn't even think that was possible. "Uh, nice to meet you too."

Ember introduces the other two while Ian continues to check Liam out. The boy shifts nervously on his feet. His anxiety is practically exuding from him.

Poor kid.

"Where's Mom?" Ember draws the attention back to herself, directing her question towards Ian.

He shrugs. "Probably feeling up Dad. Iris is supposed to be here this week so she's supposed to be watching us or something. If you want, we can go ahead and order the pizza. Mom left me with the money."

They agree on that and Ember walks away to order the pizza. Ian looks towards Liam. He's standing tense with awkwardness. He clears his throat to get the boy's attention and pats the empty seat next to his.

Ember and he have always been close, being the same age probably helped with that, so they always hang out with the same people. Their friends always just merged into one big group without a problem. Ian doesn't want this to be any different.

And Liam being cute might fuel his actions just a little, but it really is mostly just because he wants to be friends.

Once Liam sits down, Ian nudges him. "Any suggestions?"

He needs movie recommendations anyway and maybe watching something familiar will help Liam feel more comfortable. The boy doesn't give an answer though. "Uh... no."

"Alright." Ian frowns. He tosses the remote over to Chris with a sigh, giving up. "Fuck it. I'm not picking."

"Yes! Marvel!"

Dammit.

He leans back on the couch with an eye roll. "We're gonna be sitting here binging all day."

Not that Ian has anything against Marvel movies, but watching the same type of movie nonstop gets tiring. And it feels impossible to just stop watching them in the middle when there's so much more to the storyline.

"That's the fun of it." Chris grins.

Ian ignores him.

"Okay, pizza is on the way." Ember comes back in. She looks over at Liam and gives him a smile before taking a seat on the empty sofa.

Liam doesn't relax until much later into the movie. How tense he seems doesn't seem normal. He's overly anxious.

Just as he finally looks to be okay, his phone vibrates in his pocket. His sigh carries weight as he pulls it out, clearly not happy with whoever is texting him. Ian tries not to be a snoop so he doesn't look at the screen as Liam types out a response.

He doesn't miss the worried glance Ember throws at the new boy.

He seems fine afterwards though, quickly relaxing again.

The pizza finally arrives and Ian foolishly leaves his seat unprotected while he leaves to grab the napkins. He comes back to Ember in his seat.

Ultimately, he should've expected that. He grabs his slices and sits on the sofa, watching as Ember makes herself comfortable in his seat. She kicks her legs up over Liam's lap in the process.

He shouldn't pay so much attention to that little detail, but he files it away in his mind. Ember isn't overly affectionate usually with anyone but Izzy, which is obviously a very different situation. She hasn't talked about Liam like that ever, but it's still a little suspicious.

They continue watching the movie in comfortable silence. Liam eats more pizza and it's nice to see him relax more. Even if Ian doesn't know him, he hates seeing people overly anxious. Surely that amount of stress can't be healthy for them.

Ember excuses herself to go to the bathroom and leaves Liam alone on the couch. Chris takes advantage of that, perking up to look at the boy.

"So, please don't take offense, but like are you and Ember fucking or dating or something?" Liam looks over at the boy.

He doesn't seem to fully process the question. He just blinks at Chris. Ian finds himself sitting up a little straighter, paying attention.

Suddenly, his eyes widen and he's quick to deny the accusation. "Oh! No- no, no, no." He slows down a little, but is still defensive, "She's pretty but... I don't know, just not my type I guess?"

What is his type?

Chris chuckles. "Okay, it's cool I was just curious."

It's quiet for a moment. Ian doesn't take his eyes off the boy. All his little tales are obvious. He's thinking about something, or he's nervous. Maybe both.

"So, please don't take offense because I'm just curious, but like are you two fucking or dating or something?" Liam flicks his eyes between the two boys on top of each other on the couch.

The question makes Ian want to snort. That's not the first time someone in the group has been asked that question, especially Lucas. He's the most physically affectionate with people he's known for a long time.

Chris smiles. "Touché." Then he shakes his head. "No, we just kinda have an affectionate friend group so shit like this is normal for us."

"Oh." Liam nods a little.

Ian grins, letting the humor of the situation show. They go back to watching the movie and Ember returns not long after.

Ian decides he likes Liam. Even if the opinion is fragile and new, he doesn't dislike him. There's just something about the aura he gives off that shows he's a good person. And he's so shy it's adorable, which definitely helps.

"I gotta go." Liam breaks the silence and stands up, sticking his phone in his pocket as he does so. He turns to smile at Ember. "Thanks for having me over."

Ember smiles back, more polite than Ian has seen her be in a long time. "Of course. Is it your mom?"

He shakes his head. "No, Paige. She needs a ride home from work."

"Oh. Your jacket and tie are on my chair."

"Oh, right." He walks over to walk up the stairs. When he comes back, Ian turns to smile at him.

"Bye Liam, it was cool having you. Come back sometime!"

Liam smiles softly and he listens as the other two say their goodbyes as well. "Bye."

His voice is soft but happy. It makes Ian grin as the other boy finally leaves. He turns back and finishes watching the movie with his sister and their friends.

•○•○•

"So that was Liam." Ian says, walking into Ember's room without an invitation.

His sister sneers at him but doesn't say anything. She left her door open which was an open invitation. She just sighs as he sits down on the bed too. "Yep, that was Liam."

"He seems like a good kid."

"He is a good kid." She frowns at him. "Why are you talking about him?"

"No reason." He shrugs.

Ember glares. "Don't be too pushy and try to steal him from me. He's shy."

Ian laughs and rolls his eyes. "I don't steal your friends. And yeah, okay. I kinda got that."

"He is a bit obvious, isn't he?" She smiles softly.

"Very. He looked anxious the entire time. Is his nervous system alright?"

Ember snorts. "Probably not. Paige and I are trying to help."

"Good." Ian grins. He wants to see more of the boy. There's something about him that's just intriguing.

□●□

— Swimming at Javi's —

Ian watches in muted entertainment as Paige climbs on Liam's shoulder. Ember quickly gets Izzy onto her shoulders next and the four wear big smiles as they play chicken. Liam seems a bit awkward, but he and Paige win the game. She throws up her arms in victory.

When they look towards Ian and Javi expectantly, Ian already knowz Javi's going to say no. He always says no when they want to play. He refuses to lift Ian or Chris on his shoulders, and will only rarely lift Lucas. Very rarely.

"I'm not lifting him on my shoulders and I'm sure as hell not about to trust him to keep me from falling and busting my head open." Javi shakes his head at them, just as Ian knew he would.

"Fine, alright Li let me down. These guys are ruining the fun." Paige sighs, clearly disappointed. She loves games. Contradictory to her calm nature, she's extremely competitive.

Liam steps forward just to fall backward and dunk them both in the water. Ian chokes on his laughter for a moment at the shock of it. They both come back to the surface with massive smiles.

"Son of a bitch Liam, that's not what I meant!" Paige sounds on the verge of laughter herself.

Ian realizes then that he doesn't want their fun to end. Paige's or Liam's. They both look to be so relaxed and happy, and he's not sure when Liam will get like this again. It might be a good opportunity to get him to relax around them and loosen up.

"Hey, I got an idea." He grins, approaching Liam and pushing Paige towards Javier. He smiles as softly as he can at the boy. "Hop on."

Liam's eyebrows raise slightly and he looks adorably confused. Ian waits patiently for the moment realization crosses his face. He then chuckles lightly and puts both hands on Ian's shoulders, starting to pull himself up.

Ian moves to be lower in the water while trying to stay straight and strong for Liam to climb on. It isn't easy and it takes a moment of awkwardness, but Liam gets on his shoulders and Ian holds his legs. He makes sure to keep his hands just barely above Liam's knees, as far as he can from any boundaries that the boy might not want crossed.

Once Javi and Paige are ready, Ian tries to get as close to the dead center of the pool as he can. The last thing he needs is to accidentally drop Liam too close to the edge where he could hit the sidewalk. A hospital visit probably wouldn't be great for bonding.

No one talks about how awkward it is playing the person on the bottom during chicken. All Ian really has to do is stand there with steady balance. That isn't too difficult, and he only has to catch himself and hold Liam a little tighter twice before they both stumble into the water.

At her win, Paige cheers loudly. Javi takes her on a victory lap around the pool just to really rub it in. Luckily for himself, Ian isn't too competitive and is able to just smile at his friends' antics.

Liam laughs, a soft expression on his face. It suits him a lot better than the anxious one he seems to always be carrying.

Ian bumps their shoulders together, simply for the excuse of having contact. He smiles widely when he gets the boy's attention. Liam returns it with ease.

And fuck, he really is adorable.

"You're lighter than Lucas," Which is a little concerning, but he won't voice this. "I think you might be my new chicken partner full time."

Ian definitely wouldn't complain if that's how it does turn out. Liam just laughs a little at the comment. He smiles a little, awkward but more than happy to be there. Ian grins.

Then their moment is interrupted by Ember obnoxiously throwing herself onto the boy's back and attaching there.

Ian listens to their banter while slowly drifting away, smiling softly to himself. It's clear the two share a tight bond. As do he and Paige. It's a wonder the boy didn't get introduced to the group before now, the two girls obviously adore him.

Then again, Ian can't ignore the hints that were dropped about Liam's really strict parents. That probably has something to do with it.

When Liam finally get Ember off of him, she starts splashing him. Of course that ends badly and drags everyone in the pool into it. There's really no other expected outcome with these things.

As Paige ruthlessly attacks in their general direction, Ian walks a little closer to Liam. When the boy shoots over towards him, he might step out a little in front of him. It's not really to protect him from some splashing water, that would be silly, it's more like juat a natural instinct.

Though, afterwards Liam jumps behind him and wraps an arm around his shoulder. Ian's eyes widen in shock while readjusting his balance for the new— barely there— weight. He finds a grin etching onto his face.

Liam is attached to his back and attacking Paige.

Maybe he's a little too happy about that, but if he is, he'll keep it to himself. No one else needs to know.

He's really just happy that the boy already feels so at home and comfortable with him. The fact that he's cute is an added bonus. Above anything, Ian really is just glad to be approaching friend territory.

"No teaming!" Paige shrieks, something between a shout and laughter. "No teaming!"

"What's that? I didn't hear you!" Ian feels like laughing. The girl is laughing harder than he's heard in ages.

Paige swims hurriedly towards Javi and grabs him the same way Liam grabbed Ian. The boy laughs at this. As they both send splashes towards the other two, Liam ducks more behind Ian for protection.

Ian laughs even harder at this, finding it amusing that he's so easily being used as a shield. He definitely won't complain.

They go back and forth for a while. Paige at some point hides completely behind Javi too so it becomes just the front two boys getting splashed while Paige and Liam juat laugh. Honestly, they probably could've gone on for a long time too if it weren't for Javi's mom coming out and yelling something in Spanish about them having to go.

Iris is there too and she smiles proudly down at them. "Come on guys, you too."

Liam is still clutching tightly to Ian's shoulders so he nods, stalling for time. "Alright."

Speaking seems to do the trick as Liam releases him and puts as much space between them as he can without outright running away. Ian just gives him a reassuring smile because he didn't mind in the slightest.

Actually, if Liam hadn't let go, Ian probably would've carried him out of the pool and the whole way home. He wouldn't have cared.

Iris smiles at Liam, because of course she does, and sticks out a hand for him to shake. Liam seems hesitant, but he shakes her hand.

"You're new. I'm Iris, Ian and Ember's older sister."

Liam nods a little. "Nice to meet you."

And that's it. He doesn't say anything else. Ian finds himself smiling at the poor boy who didn't even introduce himself back. He seems to be processing what to say next, trying to figure out what he forgot.

"This is Liam." Ian decides to help him out, nudging him in the shoulder once again just as an excuse for contact. "He's shy."

Afterwards, Liam asks whose sister Iris is biologically, which is something most people don't pick up on. It surprises Ian, but in a good way, which is something Liam seems very good at doing.

What else is he going to shock Ian with next?

Yeah, he's determined now. He's going to become as close to that boy as Liam will let him get. They're going to be great friends.

•○•○•○•○•○•○•○•○•○•○•

Ian likes to adopt introverts.