When the shock finally wore off, Liam moved before he could think.
He reached out, grabbed Oliver by the wrist, and gently but firmly pulled him closer. In one swift motion, he shifted and turned Oliver onto the bed, trapping him there with his arms. Oliver gasped, eyes wide, his back pressing into the mattress.
A combination of shock and mind spinning sensation submerged him.
"Do it again," Liam said softly, his voice low and urgent.
Oliver's face burned red. His eyes moved around the room in panic. "Liam—this is the sick bay," he whispered. "We're still in Golden Crest—"
He didn't get to finish.
Liam leaned down and kissed him again.
This time it wasn't careful. It wasn't hesitant. It was full of everything Liam had been holding back for so long.
His hands moved around Oliver's body without thinking, as if his body had been waiting for this moment all his life.
He was biting really hard that Oliver thought he had turned a vampire, fumbling here and there. Just then his tongue came in contact with Oliver's teeth and gums.
"Open your mouth,"
Liam said amidst kisses, and as if Oliver had been bewitched, he obeyed.
The shock of Liam's mouth against his wasn't cold or dominating.
The stunning contact was all glowing, sparkling warmth.
And then Liam's tongue slid into Oliver's mouth, chasing his.
Oliver froze at first, his heart racing, his mind spinning. This was too fast. Too sudden.
Liam's tongue against his, passionate and urgent to communicate something to him that he'd been unable to communicate with words.
Fear mixed with a feeling he couldn't pinpoint, and his chest felt tight.
"Liam,"
But Liam's left hand burrowed into his hair tightly to draw him closer. His other hand reached down. Running around his body as if searching for something.
Oliver couldn't believe Liam was touching him- his chest.. his neck..his waist.. and then lower.
Then—
The door opened.
"Hey, Liam—"
The voice stopped mid-sentence.
One of Liam's teammates stood at the door, smiling at first, then completely frozen. His eyes went wide. His mouth fell open. The smile disappeared from his face as his brain struggled to understand what he was seeing—Liam on the bed, Oliver beneath him.
He looked like he was about to faint.
Before he could scream or make a sound, another pair of hands acted fast.
Tommy appeared behind him, slapped a hand over the boy's eyes, and dragged him backward. "Wrong room," he said quickly, pulling the boy out and shutting the door behind them.
The room fell silent again. Liam turned his gaze back to Oliver, still hazy from the kiss.
Oliver didn't wait. He pushed himself up and jumped off the bed, breathing hard, his hands shaking slightly. He stood a few steps away, his face still red, his thoughts a complete mess.
Liam sat there too, chest rising and falling, staring at Oliver like he had just woken from a dream.
Neither of them spoke.
The air between them felt heavy, charged, and very real.
That night, when Liam got home, the house felt unusually warm.
The dining table was already set, and the smell of food filled the air. His parents had prepared one of his favorite delicacies, something they rarely did unless they were in a good mood or trying to please him. After taking a shower and changing his clothes, Liam walked into the dining room.
For the first time in days, his face was not cold. He even looked relaxed.
Mrs. Adrien noticed it immediately. She exchanged a look with her husband.
"He must be happy because of the sports," she thought.
They started eating. For a while, no one spoke. Cutlery clinked softly against plates. Liam ate quietly, his mind drifting back to the game… and to Oliver standing there, calling his name.
Then Mrs. Adrien stopped eating.
Her grip on her fork tightened. Her face, which had been calm a moment ago, slowly darkened. She seemed to be struggling with herself, but in the end, she could not hold it in anymore.
She placed her phone at the center of the table with a sharp movement.
"Look at this," she said coldly. "Both of you."
Mr. Adrien glanced at the phone first. The moment he saw the screen, his expression changed slightly. It was brief, almost invisible, but it was there. He sighed inwardly, then returned his face to normal and passed the phone to Liam.
Liam picked it up and stared at it.
It was a photo.
A clear one.
It showed him hugging Oliver tightly after the basketball match. Liam's arms were wrapped around Oliver, his head lowered close to his shoulder. Oliver's face was turned slightly, smiling.
Liam looked at it for a few seconds.
Then he shrugged and placed the phone back on the table.
"What's wrong with it?" he asked casually.
Mrs. Adrien's eyes flew open.
"What's wrong with it?" she repeated, her voice rising. "Do you even understand what that looks like?"
Liam frowned. "It looks like a hug."
"A hug?" she scoffed. "Between two boys? In public? Do you know how people will look at you?"
She leaned forward. "And that boy—Oliver, was it? A nobody. You hug him like that for everyone to see?"
That was it.
Liam stood up so suddenly that his chair scraped loudly against the floor. He slammed his fist on the table.
"Stop," he said sharply. "There is nothing wrong with that photo."
Mrs. Adrien flinched, but she did not back down.
"You will not hug a boy like that again," she said. "Do you hear me?"
Liam's eyes burned. "And you will never call Oliver a nobody again."
The room went silent.
Mr. Adrien finally looked up, but he said nothing.
Liam kicked his chair aside and turned away.
"I'm done," he said.
He walked out of the dining room and straight out of the house.
"Liam!" Mrs. Adrien called after him. "Liam, come back!"
The door slammed shut.
She stood there for a moment, breathing hard. Then she turned to her husband, her anger exploding.
"Did you see that?" she snapped. "Did you see what your son just did?"
Mr. Adrien continued eating quietly.
That only made her angrier.
"You always do this," she went on. "You stay silent like you don't care. He is becoming uncontrollable!"
She kept talking, her words pouring out one after another, sharp and fast. When Mr. Adrien finally could not take it anymore, he put his spoon down.
"Enough," he said.
She stopped mid-sentence and stared at him.
"Liam is not a child anymore," Mr. Adrien continued calmly. "You cannot choose who he should be friends with."
She laughed bitterly. "Friends? Is that what you think this is?"
He looked straight at her. "And the marriage you arranged with Lorette," he added, "you know very well he doesn't like her."
Mrs. Adrien stiffened.
"We arranged it for his future," she said firmly.
"You arranged it for control," Mr. Adrien replied. "You cannot choose who he will love."
That was the last straw.
Mrs. Adrien slammed her palm on the table. "We had an arranged marriage too," she shouted. "And look at us. Are we not okay?"
Mr. Adrien's eyes softened, but his voice was heavy.
"Are we?" he asked quietly.
She froze.
"There has never been peace in this house," he went on. "We never loved each other. We only endured. I don't want that kind of life for our son."
Mrs. Adrien's face twisted with anger and pain.
"So now you blame me?" she said. "Everything I did was for this family."
"And that's exactly the problem," Mr. Adrien said. "You forgot about happiness."
She turned away, her chest rising and falling fast. Her anger slowly mixed with fear.
"What if he ruins his life?" she whispered.
Mr. Adrien looked toward the door Liam had left through.
"What if we ruin it for him instead?" he asked.
Outside, Liam walked through the quiet streets, his hands clenched in his pockets. His mother's words echoed in his head.
Nobody.
He laughed bitterly to himself.
"No," he muttered. "She's wrong."
Because for him, Oliver was everything...