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Liam jumps, stopping his nervous fidgeting in the bed just long enough to gasp at the scream coming from the tv. Gripping the covers with forceful fists, his eyes never leave the girl on the screen running and looking behind her with panicked eyes. When she runs right into the bag guy she was trying to lose, Liam lets out a small scream and jumps yet again. Looking away to catch a break, Liam panics when he sees Theo peacefully falling asleep by his side.
“No, no, no!” He shakes him awake. “You can't! Theo, you have to stay awake! I can't watch this without-” The movie cuts to a jumpscare, revealing a close-up of the villain and Liam screams in broken harmony with the girl.
Theo can barely keep his eyes open, his entire body melting in Liam's bed like the world's comfiest sarcophagus.
“…just a movie. You'll be fine,” Theo pains to say between two deep breaths. His eyes now closed again, the brutal light of the tv flashes on his pale face.
“How can you even fall asleep with that on?” Liam screams, more to keep talking and hopefully keep Theo awake.
“It's not even scary.” His voice is soft and distant as if he was speaking in his sleep.
“But all the screams and the-”
“...used to it,” Theo slurs before he clearly falls asleep.
Liam frowns, not getting the meaning of his last words before he remembers who is lying next to him. With a small pout, Liam cuddles his boyfriend, careful not to stir him awake. Firmly lodged against him and holding him tight, Liam feels the choking sensation in his chest slowly loosen its hold. He lets the chimera sleep in warm comfort, only reassured by the fact that Theo can now have the luxury (which really isn't one) of having a safe and comfortable rest.
After giving his cheek a peck, Liam tucks the covers on the Liam-less side of Theo. He gladly lowers the volume of the television and gets his phone out so he doesn't have to look at the screen.
THE “Bad Bitchez” GROUP CHAT
the bronz (how tf do u write that???)
my knith in dubious armer failed his mission (fell asleep on the job)
ur best friend needs u 🫵 2 walk the battlefield so he doesnt die of frigth
Thankfully Mason answers him quickly. This movie is way too scary!
The Brainz
🫡🫡🫡
My sword is yr shield!!
Or wtv soldiers say!!
the bronz (how tf do u write that???)
😰😫the bad guy can disappear n reappear mason! n he has finger knives 😭😭😭
The Bryantz
And? Dont you have powers!?
the bronz (how tf do u write that???)
oh shit wrong convo mb :/
He switches to his chat with just Mason.
THE “the 2 most dateable mid guys BH has ever seen” PRIVATE CHAT
wingman (sucessfull!!!)
im all alone with theos useless sleeping body n freddie kruger👀👀 im scared itll haunt me if i dont finish the movie… LIKE IN JUMANJI!!!
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
Jumanji *is* scary
The big mosquito 💀
wingman (sucessfull!!!)
DONT MENTION IT! ILL HAVE NIGHTMARES!!!
😔 guess i prefer mosquitoes 2 being actualy killed by the man in the striped pajamas
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
Not his pajamas! Do not say it like that!!
He can't even ask Mason what he means by that because his phone keeps buzzing and buzzing, his screen invaded by Corey asking why he can't know about him being a scaredy cat. Something – Corey boldly declares – he already knew. Mason answers him, mostly agreeing with Corey's statement but Liam can't deal with that right now, this movie is trying to eat his soul!
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
Why cant Corey know about this? He knows about u and Theo AND that u dont like horror movies
wingman (sucessfull!!!)
whats the point? he wouldnt help me if freddie lruger was after me!!!
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
It has less to do with who he is than the fact that he thinks u 🫵 wouldnt help HIM if Krueger was after him
Liam thinks about this for a moment. Would he? He likes to think he would try to help even if his relationship with Corey isn't the best. That guy kinda stole his best friend from him and they barely ever talk just the two of them anymore. Maybe if he were sure it wouldn't lead to his own death, he'd help Corey fight Krueger. Or if they had a plan. Anyway, isn't the chimera known for running away and vanishing when there's a threat? Isn't that the one thing he's particularly good at? That and making Mason happy which is why Liam forgives the fact that he thinks Corey is – at his core – meh. Maybe if he died, Mason would find a banger boyfriend and out of the tragedy would blossom a victory? Who's to say that helping Corey is what's best for the future?
Also, Freddy is scary as hell, Liam's not running towards him, no way! Unless it's to save Mason. Or Theo. Or Scott. Or-
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
Yr silence is deafening
Liam winces and looks. He hasn’t answered in a few minutes.
wingman (sucessfull!!!)
i was at the toilet w/out my phone 🙄 give me time 2 answer! of course id help him!! jeez
Wingbreaker (putting Theo back underground Whack A Mole style)
Uh-huh
Liam closes his phone and trudges through the final act of the movie, his ear directly on Theo's heart, trying to keep himself calm. Why would anyone watch this of their own volition? He could be watching a comedy right now! Or a documentary! He could be learning! Instead of almost shitting his pants! He’s never letting Theo pick a movie ever again! Mortified and tense, Liam tries to block his view by raising some of the covers.
“Keep running,” he mumbles to the protagonist, “don’t look behind, keep-”
Clink!
“Ah!!!!” Liam shrieks in fright and jumps, turning towards his window where he heard the metallic knocking. It’s Freddy and his finger knives!!!!
Except that it’s not.
There's a storm – a real tempest – going on outside which is why Theo suggested a horror movie in the first place. So, storm + outside tree = clink. Perfect logic. Nothing more.
Thunder growls in the furious and dark sky and Liam closes his eyes, his heart racing. He should've known better than to try to face his fears and become a better, stronger version of himself! What a load of bullshit! He's on the verge of crying and he can't even begin to know how he'll be able to get some sleep tonight. Or any time soon! It'll be just like that one week when Theo couldn't sleep and he started hallucinating!
But Liam's alright. He's a fierce werewolf who has fought literal monsters and murderers in the past. He has his trusted boyfriend by his side. They're watching a movie. His best friend is only one call away. Nothing to be scared of. Things are perfectly-
Clink!
His neck cracks as he speedily turns around to look at the window and, as soon as he catches a white shape in what should be a familiar sight, the room gets swallowed by darkness and silence. The tv is out, the lamp by his side is no longer shining. Everything has a layer of death coating it and Liam is shaking like a leaf.
Vaguely aware that he woke Theo up, Liam closes his mouth, the rest of his scream squeezing his throat. When Theo turns to look at him, Liam isn't man enough to say why he got woken up. He just looks at the window again. No white shape.
“The- the- the power went out.”
Theo takes a moment to understand the situation. Sitting up with a yawn, he looks around and, realizing that Liam is right, he simply lets himself fall on his back again. “Okay, well, good night.”
What!?
“No, I- I think there's someone outside. Theo, please, I'm serious.”
Theo groans, turning around to face Liam. Staring right back at him, Liam nods. He's serious. Theo groans again but he takes off the covers and gets on his feet. Liam is surprised by how quickly but he hates the idea of Theo checking alone so he gets up as well. They walk slowly to the window, Liam close behind Theo.
But there's nothing but rain, the tree and Liam's backyard. Nothing but the darkness of a moonless night and a sucking silence, as if it was swallowing sound instead of simply marking the lack of it.
Theo glares at him even if he can hear Liam’s heart still hammering in his ribcage. Although he feels a bit silly, he quickly hugs Theo who's obviously grumpy about the false alarm and the chimera immediately softens. Before Liam can do the same, there's a sudden sound in the room and Liam jumps again, his eyes scanning the shadows. He finally sees the hidden light of his phone turned upside down.
Right. Just a text.
“Do you have candles?” Theo asks with a low voice, keeping Liam close to him for a beat longer. Liam nods, his face nuzzling his neck. “We'll get some and bring them here.”
“Okay…”
They part. Liam stays in the room to check his phone and Theo goes to the linen closet for candles. Liam calms down a bit when he reads Mason's text. He's asking if the power went out at Liam's house too. It's a comfort to know that this is a regular storm blackout and not some nightmare killer cutting the phone line and the electricity.
“Hey, where's the lighter?” Theo asks from the corridor and Liam finally gets up to help him.
The house feels cold and strange in the forced darkness and Liam wishes his mom and dad were here. They're spending the weekend at David's parents’ house, helping them pack up their things and get the paperwork finished with the retirement home.
Once they spread out the candles in the bedroom, Liam feels a bit better. He can see and it casts a soft and warm glow on everything, Theo included.
“Liam, put the phone down. You need to save the battery.”
He sends one last text to Mason to tell him that “his knith in dubious armer is awake again” and he tries to calm his breathing. Outside, thunder and lightning still paint a pretty scary picture and-
He tenses in one frightening jump, fear seizing his heart in its crushing grip. He… He saw a reflection in the tv.
“D-did you see that?” he whispers to Theo.
“Don’t tell me. You saw a ghost. Or was it a vampire?”
“In the tv, there was a reflection and-”
“Was a werewolf looking back at you, Liam?”
After giving his boyfriend’s arm a good whack, Liam crosses his arms and leans back against the headboard with a big old scowl on his face. It’s not his fault he’s a tense bottle of nerves right now! It’s the fault of Mister “I’ll insist on putting on a movie but then fall asleep while we watch it”! Why couldn’t they have watched The Care Bears or something?! What’s wrong with a good Scooby-Doo episode?! No, wait… some of those episodes are actually scary…
Besides looking at him spiraling, Theo isn’t really sure what to do. He’s never seen Liam this scared before. Or, at least, not over nothing.
“It's just a storm…”
“Storms are scary, Theo! It’s a normal human fear! Dogs are scared of thunder!”
“Because they don't know what it is. It's just temperature and electricity. We're safe in the house.”
“What if someone came in?! A storm is the perfect time to break in! What if Freddy Krueger is here? What if I fell asleep and now I'm gonna die!?”
Theo blinks at him for a few seconds before he decides that making Liam see logic won’t work. The beta jumps when he feels his boyfriend’s arms envelop him but he immediately leans into him, eager to shake the chill off his skin.
“Okay, okay,” Theo says while shushing him like someone does to a baby. Liam would be offended if it weren’t so soothing. “You’ve fought worse than a few raindrops and a charge of random electricity coming from the sky.”
But Liam is still too tense and the comforting words don’t help his shaking or his spiralling. His words are just a touch too rude when he says, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but when there’s a storm, there’s trouble! And is it really so ridiculous to think that maybe the finger knives guy could exist? He gets people in their sleep! He-”
“Shhhh… everything is alright. You're awake and nothing is-”
“Oh, yeah, because you're the reference on reality! You know… if we look past your psychotic break last month.” Liam starts crying at his own words. “I'm sorry,” he immediately exclaims, putting his arms around Theo and holding him tight, scared that the chimera will push him away. “I'm sorry. I'm glad you're here!”
“It's okay.” Theo makes sure to hide his grin in the hug. He always forgets how Liam can be so nervous. He's always so… well, he's not confident but he's… he's far from the chihuahua one jump away from a heart attack that he is now.
Liam is still sobbing like a drunk girl sitting on the bathroom floor. “You're literally so wonderful when you're not making me watch horror movies and when you're not bullying me and when you're not being a bitch.”
“That's pretty much all I do.”
“I knowwwww.” Liam takes a big snot-filled inhale before pulling away to look into Theo's eyes with all the seriousness in the world. “I just need you to know that I feel so lucky to have you and, if anything happened to you, I wouldn't…” He makes yet another big sniffle. “You're amazing and, even when you're a bitch, I still love you.” He can’t add anything more, Liam just breaks into another sob, resting his head against Theo's chest.
Theo takes several deep breaths in an attempt to suppress the laugh bubbling in his chest. Although Liam is being dramatic, it’s still quite nice. So he's trying not to bully him or “be a bitch” about it. Instead, he puts his hand on Liam's nape and rubs his thumb there.
“Theo?” He raises his head to meet Theo’s eyes with nothing but seriousness. “If this is our last moments together, I have something to tell you.”
“I'm not marrying you.”
“I- What? I wasn't… You don't want to marry me!?” Liam shrieks through his tears. “Why not!?”
Theo doesn’t answer, instead, he diverts Liam’s attention by getting him a tissue. Liam takes it but still gives him a nasty side-eye. The chimera curses mentally. He's never gonna let that go now. Shit.
“We'll circle back to that…” Liam says menacingly, still looking pissed for someone who was just declaring his love a moment ago. “I just… And that was so long ago, you probably don’t even remember but… I’m the one who may have possibly grazed your car.”
“You mean the dent that appeared a week ago?!”
“Ancient history. But I just don't want us to die with this on our consciences.”
“On your conscience, Liam!!! I specifically asked you ten times if you had anything to do with it and you said no! What the hell did you do to my car, Liam!?”
Liam wraps his arms around him again. “Let's not fight in what could be our last moments. We love each other too much for that.”
Theo stays there, his jaw tight and barely breathing, squeezed like an emotional teddy bear. Something he might actually be now that he thinks about it... He's still furious about what Liam did and the fact that he lied about it but a part of him has to respect Liam's opportunistic strategy to get out of what would normally have consequences.
Another growl of thunder strikes as lightning blinds them for a few seconds and Liam squeezes Theo even tighter.
“Superstrength,” Theo chokes on his last breath before Liam realizes the faint sound he's been hearing is Theo's ribs waiting to crack.
“Sorry! It's just-”
A piece of floorboard creaks.
A piece of floorboard creaks downstairs.
They both freeze, staring wildly at each other. They didn't hear the door open and they can't hear any other heartbeat in the house. They look at each other, Liam with terror and Theo with genuine surprise.
Walking down the stairs as quietly as they can doesn’t do much in terms of subtlety if Liam keeps on whisper-shouting his way down. He only stops, both his talking and his feet, when he hears the ear-splitting sound of a blade against blade in the distance. With a deep shiver rearranging the bones of his spine, Liam thinks he’s gonna throw up. Instead, he turns around to face Theo with an angry frown.
“I told you it was him! If I die, I'll haunt your ass just to say I told you so! And if I survive, I'll tell you I told you so every day of our lives! I'll say I told you so in my goddamn vows, asshole! I’ll-” He gasps in fearful revelation. “Wait, you're not even you. If he's here, it means I'm dreaming!”
“I wish…” Theo sighs, ignoring the small hits Liam delivers to his chest.
“Could Dream You at least be nicer to me!? These are my last minutes-”
“You're not dreaming, so he can't be here,” Theo whispers before he hears himself. “Also, Freddy Krueger doesn't even exist!”
“Oh, I didn't know we had a Freddy Krueger expert in the house. Could've fooled me, what, with you falling asleep in the first five minutes of the movie and everything!”
Theo sighs tiredly but continues walking down the stairs, going first. Liam immediately stops him and makes sure Theo is behind him as he goes down and explores the first floor where the sound happened. If he’s dreaming and he’s going to die, then, at least, he won’t have to witness Theo being brutally murdered too!
Another sound of blades clashing slowly against each other makes them stop and Liam's body grows numb. His heart is pounding in his chest. It seems the noise is coming from the dining room and his feet have stopped just a few inches away from the corner leading to it. Trying to catch his breath, Liam stretches a tentative foot forward before a body crashes into the wall on their right. Both taking a few steps back, they freeze when they see the mangled body of Corey regaining consciousness after the collision. Blood on his face, his torn shirt reveals big, gory slashes covering his chest.
“R-run…” Corey whimpers between two coughs. “It's-”
But before he can say any more, Corey is suddenly gripped and raised by an invisible force. The wall behind him opens into a thick slash and, rattling through the drywall behind the wallpaper, an imperceptible knife makes its horrifying way towards Corey. The chimera bursts into an ear-splitting cry.
Liam doesn't know where to look. Krueger is here but he can't see him and therefore attack! He decides to charge into the smack of it and only ends up hitting Corey straight in the chest. They both fall to the floor like bowling pins, struggling to get back up. Corey gets dragged sideways by the same invisible force, accidentally kicking Liam’s feet and making him fall once again. Groaning against the floor, the beta still tries to get back up and help Corey before the chimera stains his mom’s floor with his guts and viscera. Just as he manages to get back on his feet, he gets a bag-full of white powder sent directly at his face. Coughing on the powder, Liam quickly identifies it to be flour. It doesn’t mean he’s not perplexed by it.
“What the hell?!” Liam exclaims but Theo isn’t looking at him, his eyes are glued to a flour-covered shape walking away from Corey. “Theo, wait!”
Just as Theo is about to hit it with a clawful hand, the shape dodges the hit and Theo’s body collides with a chair, knocking the air out of his lungs.
A laugh booms in the room and both Theo and Liam freeze. This isn’t Freddy Krueger’s laugh. Far from it.
Actually, Liam recognizes that voice. He looks around. “Mason?”
“Yep?” Where used to be void appears a very smug-looking and flour-covered Mason.
Seeing the prank unfold in front of his eyes, Theo pushes an angry scream the likes of which they’ve never witnessed. All three boys stay very still as they stare at the chimera with wide eyes.
“You owe me a night of sleep!” Theo roars as he points at Corey and Mason. And then he grumpily makes his way towards Liam's room again, done with this shit. “Idiots,” he grumbles under his breath.
Liam can understand the sentiment but he’s far too relieved that it's over. Still, he looks at the wall where there are now three long cuts into the dining room wall.
“Dude, that’s my mom’s favorite wallpaper!” Some clouds of flour explode in the air around him as he talks.
Mason nods apologetically. “I got a bit carried away.”
“You think?” Corey groans as he gets back up on his feet, rubbing the back of his head and wiping the flour off his sticky (fake blood-covered) clothes. Mason immediately rushes to kiss it better.
“Buuuuuut!” the overly happy human says, raising an index finger. “We now have proof!”
“That you have an evil gene in you? Yeah, I’ve known that ever since you pushed me into a ravine when we were kids!”
“I didn’t push you! I was running towards the scoutmaster and you just happened to be in my way. He had thin mints, Liam. Thin mints!”
“I had to get a cast!”
“The important part here,” Mason says quickly, ignoring Liam’s last comment, “is that you tried to save Corey, just like I knew you would! Point made!”
“I- What? This was to… I already told you I would!”
“But you didn't believe it,” Mason adds, still so triumphant.
“That's not true,” Liam retorts.
It is.
Of course, he wants to be pissed at his friends for playing such a mean prank on him and Theo but… the moment has passed and he just feels tired now. Besides, it’s nice to see them. Mason seems pretty happy for one thing and Corey too. All will to fight leaving him, Liam sighs. “Can you turn back the power at least?”
“Oh, that's very real. That's why we came here, the occasion was too perfect,” Mason says with a nod before he breaks into a proud smile. “And Corey's been working on making things invisible without even touching them so it was the-”
Liam grabs Mason’s arm in a deadly grip, his face pale once again. “Wait, you guys came here after the power went out?” He can barely get his mouth to work again as he sees Corey and Mason nod. “But… I saw a white figure before that.”
Mason and Corey stare at him with wide eyes, immediately freaked.
“...Are you sure?”
Liam nods. They all take a step forward, regrouping like a couple of scared lambs, looking around like something might pounce very soon.
30 minutes later…
Liam is lying in his bed, holding on to Theo for dear life. He's still checking every corner of his room every minute but… he's slowly growing more relaxed with each new monster-less check-up. He lays his head against Theo's chest again but, noticing a change in its rhythm, Liam pulls away again and gasps when he sees him with his eyes closed, obviously asleep. Of course, he shakes him senselessly!
“You said you'd wait until I'm asleep,” Liam whines in a panic, pleading.
“I'm awake,” Theo groans before he can even remember where he is. “It's okay, I just… Just go to sleep. I'll watch over the room.”
“You promise?”
“I already did, Liam. Just go to sleep.”
“Okay… good night, Theo. But don't fall asleep! But good night.” Filled with gratefulness, Liam kisses his dumb, perfect little cheek and gets back to his tight spot against him.
“Good night, Liam,” he says, humoring him. Two seconds later, his eyes start burning and he doesn't know how long he'll last. Liam better fall asleep soon.
“Good night, guys,” Mason adds lovingly from his mattress on the floor.
“Good night,” Corey echoes with a yawn, also lying on a mattress on the ground.
Barely a minute passes in silence as they all try to find enough peace to fall asleep when a noise breaks that creeping feeling of ease: Theo’s snoring.
“Theo!!!!!” Liam, Mason, and Corey all shout in panicked harmony. “Wake up!”
Theo jerks awake yet again, choking on his own snoring. “I'm awake!” he lies, straightening himself.
Twenty minutes later, Mason and Corey are fast asleep and Liam is still nervously looking at the candle, the only source of light in the room. It's looking far too short in his opinion…
“It was just a prank,” Theo whispers close to him.
“What about before? At the window.”
“Just the tree tapping against it.”
Liam stays silent. Theo obviously doesn't believe him. He's not sure he even believes himself but it would be nice to be listened to at least.
“I don't know why I can't just… you know. Be like you. Be fine with… I don't know. Scott isn't scared of tree branches.”
“No, he's probably not.”
Liam smacks his arm and he can almost see his stupid grin.
“But he's scared of a lot of other things that don't scare you,” Theo continues even if his shit-eating grin is still on. “That's just how people work.”
“Like you being afraid of my mom?”
“I'm not afraid of your mom!” the chimera objects, offended, creating some distance between them so he can look at him.
Liam snorts. “Right. You just threw up when she invited you to dinner because you ate something bad.”
“I didn't throw up.” He scoffs with attitude. “I was just precautiously standing above the toilet.”
“…Hyperventilating.”
“You can't fall asleep if you keep talking,” Theo groans, taking the covers and shoving Liam under them.
After a laugh and getting himself settled again, Liam's expression turns slightly sad. “That's the plan…”
“Just try, at least.”
Liam doesn't say anything, he keeps his eyes towards the candle.
“Liam…”
“Fine!!!” Liam says with more fury than needed. “But next time, we're watching Air Bud! Or The Aristocats or something!”
“Deal.”
Of course, Liam whines a bit more before he finally blows the candle, the room now pitch black. Theo rubbing his thumb over his arm, Liam tries to close his eyes and only focus on his pack's heartbeats.
This makeshift sleepover is almost nice, survival instinct to stay grouped notwithstanding. Maybe they should do this again when Liam isn't fearing for his life. This is just like when he slept at Mason's house when he kept having nightmares about the berserkers. Suddenly filled with a wave of gratitude for his friends, Liam finally relaxes against the mattress and he can feel the pull of sleep at last.
The tv turns back on with a loud shriek and the light blinds the whole room like lightning. Liam, Mason, and Corey all scream in terror. Mason and Corey don't even know why they're screaming, they just heard Liam shout and they followed suit.
“Guys!” Theo screams on top of them. “GUYS! Shut up! It's just the power!”
Their voices slowly die down.
“For fuck’s sake…” Theo curses under his breath as he lets himself fall on his back again. At this rate, he's gonna start seeing Tara again!
30 minutes later…
They're watching the Aristocats. Theo can’t believe they are, but they are. After a 10-minute argument about whether or not they should put on a movie, another 10 minutes looking for the right one in the Geyer-Dunbar’s impressive dvd collection and yet another 10 minutes watching the movie, Liam is snoring like a whale – not really audible and yet impossibly loud – way too close to Theo's ear. Mason and Corey are also tightly cuddled on their mattress, facing the screen. Theo, on the other hand, can't look away from the gory scene on the tv where a despicable butler has just kidnapped a family of cats, shoving them inside a bag to better drown them.
“What the hell,” Theo mumbles to himself, looking at the screen, appalled. He glances around to get some sort of explanation for the alarming plot of what he thought was a children's movie but the only other person awake is Corey and he doesn't seem bothered at all.
“Don't worry, they don't die,” Corey tells him with a reassuring smile.
Theo scrunches his nose as if he didn't really care. Crossing his arms, he stays there, a low-frequency snore rattling his ears next to him and a horror show in cutesy animated form in front of him. He can't take his eyes away from the tv as a chill runs down his spine.
He's not gonna sleep tonight, is he?