Retaliation

"What'd you do?" Kit asked when Simon returned from the office.

"Something bad." Simon shrugged. "If everyone else gets to, so can I." Kit eyed him suspiciously.

"How bad?"

"Retaliation."

....

"Simon? I'm home." Liam called as he entered the house. He had a quick break for dinner before he went to his second job. Simon drifted slowly into the room. His sleeves were stretched out as he played with the hems in discomfort. "Are you alright?" Simon shook his head in response. Liam walked wordlessly over and wrapped his brother in a hug. Liam was wide shouldered, and he squeezed Simon tightly, in a relieving embrace. Simon and Liam showed each other affection often, one of the healthiest parts of their strange existence. At the moment a hug was exactly what Simon needed, as Liam suspected. "What's wrong?" Liam attempted and failed to keep his voice from sounding parental when he talked with Simon. Without a true father in the house Liam had grown to fill that slot. Often he felt Simon played the mother in their equilibrium, but today Simon was the child, a role Liam wished he convince Simon to allow himself to play more.

"Everything is so.. messy, and I'm upset with everyone."

"Because of Shea?" Liam's face hardened.

"no..." Simon squeaked, "Asher." His voice lowered to a whisper.

"I thought I told you to keep clear of him.. I don't mean to sound harsh, it just kills me to see you upset."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I tried to stay away from Asher, I really did, but that just angered him.." Simon explained.

"Oh. So he's done something to you?"

"Not to me.. To Shea." Simon mumbled, tugging at his hair. "He's the one who got Shea kicked off the team."

"Of course he is." Liam's solid face refused to let Simon in to see his emotions, but his eyes had a misty film over them.

....

2 years prior.

"You can't flirt with Mary like that, she's Jason's girl." Liam's high school best friend, John, warned him. Jason was the big man on campus, the football team captain. He was a year Liam's senior, and in his final year of high school, and Liam knew the older boy had been the star, until Liam came and out shined him, and Jason only got to retain his captain spot because he was a senior. Liam felt, as did the rest of the team, that the boy shouldn't be captain, but that Liam should. Mary was the head cheerleader, and in Liam's grade. She was just about the prettiest girl any boy had ever seen with large blue eyes, and soft blonde curls. She was clean as the virgin, and it became a game to see who could get the girl. She showed no interest in boys, and wore long sleeved shirts under her uniform; that only made her more attractive though. She was like a gift, the heavy wrapping paper only built the excitement for what was inside.

"Who cares what Jason wants?" Liam grinned cockily, a personality trait that would be drained from him completely over the next two years. "Besides she doesn't give him the time of the day anyway."

"Whatever, it's your funeral." The other jock joked before going to fill himself another beer. The homecoming at Boston central was well known for not having enough adult supervision, and Liam was on an adrenaline high after scoring the first winning touchdown of the season. Mary was sat alone in the corner, she famously didn't drink, and was not interested in hanging out with the other cheerleaders, or having a drunk Jason try to get in her pants all night.

"Hello." A slightly tipsy Liam plopped down beside Mary. Her black tight-ed legs shuffled out of the way to make room for the broad boy. "What's a nice girl like you doing here?"

"All the cheerleaders have to be here. We planned it." She smiled slightly, "What about you?"

"I'm trying to cut loose." Liam smirked. "Live dangerously."

"Oh? so now I'm dangerous?" She laughed, "I suppose you mean the danger of Jason seeing us together?"

"You.. uh."

"I know that he told everyone we're together, yes." Her tone was short, but she didn't seem annoyed, she seemed only mildly amused. "God.. I hate that boy. I just hate him..."

"Why don't you just reject him?"

"Because he frightens me." She said her eyes widening slightly. "I try to stay away from all the football boys because of that. Most girls fancy the lot attractive, but I just see flashing red danger signs."

"What about me?" Liam took another sip from his poorly disguised beer can. "Don't I scare you?"

"You'd never do anything to me." She stated, and Liam's brows furrowed. "Jason likes me, but you.. you just don't want Jason to have me. You don't like me. That's why you're flirting with me here where Jason might see you instead of somewhere private."

"I..."

"It's alright though, you look about the right size to win a fight with Jason, and like I said you'd never do anything with me, so worst case scenario you get rid of my Jason problem." Mary let her head lean back against the wall, her blonde curls drooping over her cardigan covered shoulders.

"How come you dress like that.. I mean, the way you do... I mean.." Liam stuttered, trying to change the subject.

"Not like the other cheerleaders do?" Mary supplemented, looking down at her knee length dress.

"Yeah."

"How come you don't shower with the other boys after practice." Mary pursed her lips.

"I.. how did you.."

"How come you're so worried about Jason? How come you're always out flirting with girls in public, but never in private? How come any girl in the school would throw herself at your feet, but you've never taken one home?" Mary rattled out, holding direct eye contact with a shrinking Liam. "You and I are similar, I think. We just have different methods of shielding ourselves."

Jason caught Liam talking with Mary a while later, and a giant fight broke out, resulting in them being dragged apart by teachers, and put on probation for the football team. Liam barely remembered any of it, he was quite drunk, but Liam could never forget the raw conversation he'd had with Mary, nor would he forget what Jason said to him in the main office.

"Why are you so obsessed with me?" And Liam couldn't ever scratch the thing he did next from his memories.

"How much do you want?" John asked him the next day at school.

"I don't know, however much you can get." Liam shrugged. John's parents were pharmacists, and he had easy access to left over supplies. "I want this to look real." Liam insisted, as he embarked on the worst thing he'd ever do to another human being. Liam planned to fill Jason's gym locker with opioids.

"Shit." Liam ran a hand through his blonde hair as he stared at the boxes of opioids John had brought to the park where they planned to meet. "What am I gonna do with all of this?"

"Fill the crap out of his locker, then stash the rest." And that's exactly what Liam did. He hid the majority of the pill bottles in his room to dispose of later, then went into the gym, picked Jason's lock, and filled his locker with as many bottles as would fit. After that it was just a quick call to the coach to say he suspected someone had drugs in their locker, combined with a search that led to Jason being booted from the team, and suspended from the school.

The next week Liam and Mary were dating, and they'd be together until they graduated from high school. But Liam never kissed Mary, nor did she ever kiss him. They had a dysfunction-ally functional relationship.

Liam's actions had consequences though, Liam would learn one day when he arrived home. Liam shuffled up t his room wracked with guilt, and saw his mother lying on the floor surrounded by open pill bottles.

"Mom?" Simon cried, walking into the room, after getting home from school moments behind Liam.

"Call an ambulance!" Liam screamed.

"But.."

"Just go!" Liam cradled his mother's head trying to get her to wake up. His mother's overdoes was sadly just the beginning of the poor women's struggle with drugs. After time in the hospital she came back only to get hooked again. Liam's mother spiraled after that, having to go to a permanent rehabilitation center, but Liam never forgot the sight of his mother like that, nor did he ever forgive himself for what he'd done.

....

"Hey Mary.. it's been a while since we've talked, but I think we should try and get together soon. I think it'd be nice to catch up... Call me back when you get this."