I Was Hoping For A Quiet Life, But You Gave Me So Much More

Happy Birthday

Of course, this was Liam and Isaac, they individually suffered more traumatic events than most people would in a lifetime, things, for them, could never be perfect.

The days following the boys silently agreed isolation from the world went surprisingly mediocre. Liam and Isaac had started to develop a new and important relationship skill. Talking. It isn't easy for them. Especially with each other. They both found that they can easily talk to their respective partners, but when it comes to trying to talk to one another it's like a voice in the back of their heads telling them that sharing something that hurts you to family can be used as a weapon later on. Liam had managed to make the jump with Theo, and Isaac with Scott, but no matter how much they trusted each other there was still the constant reminder that this person was the same person who had lived through the same trauma as they had. So disagreeing, or having a different view of something felt like someone analyzing your inner beliefs.

Liam had mentioned that even though he hated their father there was still a part of him that longed to have a dad, or a parent. That he could look back on the fond memories before the abuse and separate their father from whom he once was to who he is today. Isaac hadn't said anything, but the look he gave Liam, like it was the strangest thing he'd ever heard, made Liam want to curl into himself. Or better yet into Theo's arms. Theo hadn't had the same experience as Liam, so he couldn't discern whether or not it was strange to him for Liam to feel how he did.

Theo had encouraged Liam to talk to Isaac about it, and even though it took him almost a week, he eventually did it. Isaac had been incredibly apologetic. Emphasizing that even though he didn't fully understand what Liam meant, that there was nothing wrong with wanting to hold on to the good memories. Liam knew it was difficult for him to admit, and it made him appreciate the apology even more.

When winter break had ended they were all forced to go back to school. School was normal as always. Theo continued to torment their gym class and continuously refused to join the lacrosse team, much to Coach's disappointment. At one point Coach had even cornered Liam in the hall and asked him if he could convince Theo. Liam had laughed and told him he would try his best. When he brought it up to Theo later, even mentioning that it would look good on his record, Theo had explained that despite wanting to join, he didn't know if he would be able to handle, 1, a team sport, and 2, a sport where half the game was running into people. He sometimes forgot his own strength, especially in comparison to regular humans.

The next day Liam had told Coach that he tried, but that Theo still chose not to be a part of the team. Coach stormed out of their economics class, leaving all the other students staring blankly. After class a few people thanked Liam and Theo because the teacher leaving meant they didn't have to take the test that was scheduled that class. Later Coach ran into one of Theo's other classes, yelling about doing literally anything. Apparently a car was offered.

Isaac continued to perform at an average level in most of his classes. However, a strange thing seemed to occur. The middle of January is when the semester ends and the next one starts, which also means classes change. The school required that everyone take at least one semester of art before graduating. Isaac had walked into the art room expecting to be completely incompitent about the whole subject. The teacher seemed like a nice guy, so Isaac was willing to try his best. The first assignment basically just said 'do whatever you want so I can see what you know.' Isaac hadn't really known what to do. He ended up deciding to paint something. He let his mind wander and zone out, and in the end he had made what looked like a hand reaching for a star. The hand wasn't good, he was no artist, but he knew that hands were notoriously difficult to draw. The painting in general wasn't very good, but Isaac didn't care, because for the first time in a while he found an activity that let him shut off his brain entirely.