𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑─𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐚𝐫

23.

I walked down the hall during lunch with Scott by my side. The whole day at school he had been following me around to ensure I was okay. No matter how many times I told him I was one hundred percent fine, he wouldn't let up. 

I had barely seen Liam all day, thanks to my brothers hovering. However, as Scott and I walked past the weight room near the end of the lunch period, he froze.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, stopping beside him with curious eyes. 

My brother was listening, either to voice, or emotions as he spoke, "It's Liam, he-" Before he could even finished his sentence, Mason walked out of the weight room a worried look plastered on his face.

"Mason what's wrong?" I questioned, his worry transferring to me. 

"Something is going on with Liam," he announced,  "He's trying to bench press like 300 pounds in there," he explained, jerking his thumb in the direction of the weight room.

"And you just left him?" I demanded as Scott ran into the room. 

"He wouldn't let me spot him- he's delusional" Mason shot back. I gave him an apologetic look as I nodded. Something was wrong with Liam and it had been for over a week now., that wasn't Mason's fault. 

I followed after Scott, making it into the weight room just in time to see Scott lifting the weight off of Liam's chest. The minute he was free of the weight, Liam sat up, gasping for air. 

"What the hell were you thinking?" I snapped, already making my way toward him,  "Have you lost your mind?

"Sydney, back off" Scott warned, lightly shoving me backwards.

I glared at him as I took a step back, crossing my arms in anger as I stopped beside Mason, both of us trying to figure out what was going through Liam's mind 

Scott was now crouching in front of Liam, "If you don't want to be with us that's fine," he whispered, his voice low, "But don't push your friends away."

Liam looked down, clearly ashamed for the way he had been treating Mason. Scott gave Liam a small nod as he gave him a light pat on the back before standing up and turning to me, "Come on, Syd."

I nodded as I watched him and Mason make for the door, "I'll be there in a minute." I explained, giving him a reassuring smile. 

Once Scott was gone, I moved closer to Liam, crouching down in front of him. He looked up at me, his eyes pained and anxious.

"Is this about the game tonight?" I asked softly.

Liam shrugged, "I mean it's Devenford Prep," he breathed, "They destroyed us last time." 

I reached out and took his hand, "You'll do fine," I promised, giving him a warm smile, "Don't stress yourself out" 

He nodded,  giving me a small smile, "Thanks, Syd" he mumbled.

"I'll see you in class" I announced,  leaning over to kiss his cheek before rushing to rejoin my brother before he became suspicious. 

---

"Hey Syd," Scott greeted, joining me at my locker at the end of the day, "I'm heading out now with Kira. I'll see you at the game tonight."

I turned to him, closing my locker, "You're gonna be there right?" I questioned, concern seeping through in my voice. 

My brother nodded, giving me a reassuring smile, "I'll be there, don't worry," he promised, "And tell Liam not to worry either, I can tell he's freaked out."

I gave him a smile as an awkward silence settled in between us. I readjusted the strap on my backpack as I stared back at him, "What?" I questioned, noting the look of suspicion that covered his face. 

Scott nodded slowly, as if I had just given him the answer to a question. "What's going on with you and Liam?" he finally asked. 

I resisted the urge to widen my eyes as I shook my head, "N-nothing." I stuttered, caught off guard with his question. 

My brother sighed as he shook his head, "You know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, "Liam and I are-" I cut myself off, trying to figure out how to phrase my next words, "Well I guess we're a couple." I admitted.

Scott's face softened, "Why didn't you tell me?" he questioned, clearly hurt from being excluded. 

I shrugged as I leaned into the locker, "Because you would have freaked out," I explained, "It's what you do."

Scott scrunched up his face, "What do you mean 'it's what I do'?"

I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest, "Remember when you and Stiles followed me to my first ever date in seventh grade? You stared the poor kid down until he called his mom to come pick him up?" I reminisced, trying to stifle a laugh at the memory. 

Scott threw his head back, "Okay, that was one time," he argued, "And that kid was weird...we were just trying to help."

I nodded, raising my brows, "Well, we could also talk about the start of this year, when you two idiots scared away that guy in my math class who came over to study." 

Scott rolled his eyes, "Again, weirdo." he muttered, "And you didn't even like him."

I let out a small laugh, "You can't scare Liam away." I pointed out, "He's not scared of you like the other boys were."

My brother nodded, "You should have told me right away." he mumbled, "I wouldn't have freaked out."

"I know," I answered, giving him a small smile, "And I'm sorry."

Just then, with the worst possible timing in the world, Liam showed up, oblivious to the situation, "Hey bab-Sydney!" He quickly worked to correct himself,  his eyes widening as he saw Scott.

"He knows Liam." I mumbled, causing his  face turned red as he looked to Scott who was currently staring him down.

"You know if you hurt her, I'll kill you." Scott warned.

Liam tentatively smiled as he wrapped his arm around me. "Yeah I know," he answered,  "but I'll never hurt her."