Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“HELP!!” yelled the terrified teenager. “SOMEBODY HELP!!”

The teenager yelling for help was called Liam Dunbar. He was a sophomore in high school, a really good lacrosse player, a friend, a son, and he struggled with anger problems. In fact, he was diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder or IED for short. Currently, he was experiencing a whole range of different emotions. Fear, sadness, regret, guilt, shock, and many others. The reason he was experiencing these emotions was because he was standing before the very recent dead body of his friend, mentor, and lacrosse teammate Scott McCall.

Scott McCall can be described in many ways. Some would say he was strong, brave, and confident, since he set his mind to something and he would follow through. Others would say he was impulsive, dumb, and easily distracted, he would struggle with classes and sometimes not think things through. Others would say he was sickly, weak, and fragile since he suffered from severe asthma attacks all his life and had been to the hospital many times due to this. But the one thing everyone agreed on was that Scott McCall was kind, loyal, and compassionate, and he definitely deserved a lot more than to simply die at such a young age.

What happened?

Well... what happened can probably be surmised in one of two ways.

The first one, Liam Dunbar killed Scott McCall. The second, Scott McCall had a severe asthma attack at an importune time which resulted in his death. I suppose there is the third possibility in which both ways occurred at the same time. Either way, that is for a judge or the police to decide, which I am neither.

Who am I?

Let’s go one question at time, I was explaining what happened.

I won’t go into too much detail, but Liam Dunbar has had a bad morning, and at lunch he was at the cusp of blowing up, which is why he decided to go for a walk in the woods to calm down. Scott McCall was a kind senior. He was worried about his young mentee and followed after him to make sure he was ok. Liam was really angry and so he went deep into the woods and Scott, being such a kind soul followed without a second thought. Eventually, Scott found Liam who had not calm down at all. Scott McCall would try to reason with his young friend and get him to calm down, and Liam would brush him away until his anger, which was ever increasing, would cause him to lash out and punch his friend in the face, hard, and more than once. One of the times he was punched, Scott lost his balance, fell, and twisted his ankle. When he hit the ground, he recognized the signs of an asthma attack beginning. “Just leave me alone!!!” yelled the younger teen as he walked away, too distracted to notice Scott’s medical dilemma. He was starting to feel regret for his actions, but his anger was still there, and he thought he should walk away before he hurt Scott anymore. Ironic, by walking away he was actually hurting him more, well… killing him. Scott searched for his inhaler and phone in his pockets, only to realize that in his haste to look for his younger teammate he left them in his bag with Stiles, his best friend. All of this was almost Shakespearean… almost, we were missing a love story. I digress, Scott tried to walk and get help but between twisted ankle, his severe asthma attack, and the pain in his face from being punched, he was having trouble going anywhere. He wouldn’t get far, neither would Liam before his regret over his actions overtook his anger and he needed to make sure his friend was fine. After all, Liam did saw him fall. Liam found him, but Scott was not fine at all… and now we are back right where we started. With a young teenager screaming into a silent and lonely forest.

Who am I?

That’s a bit of a loaded question, after all, there is power in names. I suppose you can call me what all humans do, Theo Raeken.

At this point I’m sure you’re wondering what I am?

I’m nothing but a watcher of chaos and there is nothing more chaotic than humanity, so I enjoy watching the twists and turns of their lives, as all demons do.

In some cases, humans get happy endings while in others they get tragic ones. Regardless, both are equally interesting and captivatingly chaotic. On some occasions I intervene, I’m currently considering intervening and giving poor, sad Liam a chance to become master of his own fate, however briefly it may be. However, like with everything, there is a price. In this case a small price, almost insignificant. For if Liam chooses to accept my help all I would ask for is his soul, and at this point is it really all that much to ask? Considering his soul is currently broken without any way to fix it.

Oh well. Please don’t think too badly of me, after all, it will be his choice should he take my little deal or not. Regardless of his choice, I’ll enjoy watching Liam’s life unfold from here on out. After all, one way or another it will be chaos at its best.

Chapter Text

“HELP!!” yelled the terrified teenager. “SOMEBODY HELP!!” Liam was shaking ‘this isn’t real, this isn’t happening’ were the thoughts running through his head, stuck on repeat. “Somebody… please help” he begged in a small voice, with tears running down his cheeks.

But no one answered, and reality began crashing down, as it always does ‘I need to call 911’ he pulled his phone out but, in his nerves, he couldn’t unlock his phone, despite trying several times, and in desperation he threw it to the ground with a yell “AAARRRGGGHHHH” then he started sobbing on top of his friend “Oh my god, what did I do?”

“Liam?” asked a voice from behind him in a worried tone. Liam quickly turned around and recognized the other boy as Theo Raeken, a senior and fellow classmate of Scott. “I heard a scream” Theo then looked over to Scott lying on the floor “is Scott ok?” asked Theo in a worried tone as he rushed to Scott’s side on the ground.

“H-He isn’t breathing” Liam was stuttering.

“What happened?” asked Theo as he checked Scott, his tone growing more worried.

Liam swallowed “W-We argued, and I-I punched him, then I left…” Liam was sobbing and was having trouble finishing his story.

“What happened then?” queried Theo, his voice oddly calm despite sounding so worried not so long ago. Liam didn’t know why, but that calmness got him to relax and be able to finish telling what happened.

“I came back and found him like this. I’ve tried everything but he won’t wake up.”

“He can’t wake up, he’s dead Liam” and with that statement everything became real. Theo got up and looked Liam in the eye and softly repeated the statement “he’s dead.”

Weirdly, Liam didn’t cry, it was just this numbness that overtook his whole being, as he felt his life end, as he imagined how his parents would react, how Mason would react, how Stiles would react, and how Scott’s mother would react. He was having trouble breathing.

Theo closed the distance between him and Liam and pulled the other boy into a hug, and Liam immediately took to the hug sobbing into the older boy’s shoulder “Shh…is ok… I get it…it was an accident, right?” Liam nodded into Theo’s shoulder unable to speak. “I wished there was something I could do to help you” said Theo in a soft and soothing voice. Liam didn’t respond and just took the comfort knowing it wouldn’t last long and he’ll have to deal with what he did.

“Liam… there is one option... if you’re interested” said the older boy in a low voice like he was telling a secret.

Liam pulled away from Theo putting a small distance between them. “What are you talking about?” he asked confused.

“I have a way to help… if you want me to.”

Liam though for a second about how Theo could help him and he could only come up with one thing and it angered him “You want to get rid of the body!!” he said grinding his teeth and clenching his fists at the thought of Scott becoming a missing kid just so Liam could escape the consequences of his actions.

Theo smiled softly at the accusation “I was thinking of something else.”

Liam could only come up with another option, but he couldn’t imagine Theo would do this “…you want to take the fall for me?”

Theo chuckled at this “no… I was thinking of something a little bigger” Theo said as he walked closer to Liam. Liam took a step back, instinctively sensing something was wrong. Liam’s retreat was stopped by a tree and Theo stopped right in front of Liam with almost no space between them. Theo raised his right hand and wiped away Liam’s right cheek full of tears. He then repeated the motion with his other cheek. Liam was too shocked to respond.

“I was simply thinking that all your troubles would be solved if I simply… resurrect Scott” it took a minute for Theo’s words to register. But once it did, Liam became livid ‘how dare him’ he thought as he understood for the first time why Stiles didn’t like Theo. He was a heartless asshole, making jokes and laughing while someone lay dead.

“FUCK YOU!!” yelled Liam as he tried to push Theo away. However, Theo wasn’t moving, he remained right where he started, despite Liam’s best efforts. Liam didn’t consider himself a weak person which is why despite his failure to shove the older boy he refused to stop trying.

Eventually, Theo sighed and sidestepped Liam, causing the younger boy to fall to the floor due to the momentum. Liam got right back up with the intention of charging the older boy once more. However, something happened then. Something which would change his understanding of reality and myth for the rest of his life, however long that may be. Theo’s eyes turned completely pitch black. Liam couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. All he could do was wonder if he was in the midst of a psychotic breakdown. It wouldn’t be a stretch given the kind of day today had turned out to be. “I’m not kidding Liam” said Theo as his eyes slowly returned to normal “I can bring Scott back, he’ll be alive, graduate high school, become a veterinarian, and maybe fall in love, you know, the whole package.”

Theo took a step towards Liam and Liam took one back in fear “what are you?” he asked pondering his sanity.

“Someone giving you more options than you had a minute ago.”

‘His eyes turned black’ thought Liam as he wondered if what Theo was saying was true. If it was, it would mean Scott would be alive. It would mean he wouldn’t be a killer. It would mean he wouldn’t lose everything “are…are you serious… you can bring him back?” Theo smiled.

“I can bring him back.”

Liam though about this for a few second as his words registered.

“Then yes, bring him back!!” said the younger boy with urgency.

Theo chuckled at his excitement “is not that easy” Theo took a few steps forward but was careful to leave plenty of space between the two of them. Not wanting to spook the other teen. “I can resurrect Scott, however, there is a price… I need your soul Liam.”

Something clicked in Liam then and he understood what he was dealing with and the true nature of the offer “you… your talking about a demonic contract… you’re a demon.”

Theo let a loud laugh at that “well! Congratulations are in order… someone is clearly a fan of Supernatural” said Theo with clear amusement “the eyes gave me away right; you know, the show got a lot of stuff about us demons wrong, but that, it got straight on point… kudos to its creator.”

Theo made eye contact with Liam “yes Liam, I am a demon and if you make a contract with me, in exchange for your soul, you’ll be able to ask me to resurrect Scott.” Liam was shaken, his whole life had been overturned in a span shorter than 24 hours. Theo saw Liam’s distress “like I said, it's just an option, you can choose to not make the contract with me Liam, and I’ll leave, just as quickly as I appeared… you can even think that it was your mind playing tricks due to the situation, and forget that demons exist in this world.”

“Scott would remain dead though” stated Liam with sadness.

“Yes, he would” stated Theo as if he was stating a random fact “but then again… he is supposed to be dead… this is where the natural order of his life was always meant to end.”

Tears began spilling slowly down Liam’s cheeks again “it isn’t fair” said Liam in a broken tone.

“Order rarely is” deadpanned the demon.

Liam looked at Theo as he was tempted to take the deal “you’re a demon, your evil.”

Theo gave a loud sigh at the accusation as he broke eye contact with Liam “here we go… demons are evil” he said as he walked around in short steps “demons aren’t evil… similar to humans, there are those that are dangerous and those that aren’t, but to catalog all demons as evil would be inaccurate.”

Liam was skeptical “you mean I was lucky enough to get a good demon” said the boy with clear disbelief.

That brought a grin to the demon’s face “I wouldn’t necessarily say that either” he made eye contact with Liam again “concepts of good and evil are far more complex than how you humans define them, you love your black and white world, but the fact is, it isn’t that simple.”

“Enlighten me then” demanded the human with determination.

‘He is amusing’ thought the demon as he saw how this human boy who a few minutes ago was terrified and crying in the floor currently demonstrated so much strength in his features and in his voice. He briefly wondered if his soul was not as broken as he had initially thought it would be.

“Demons are creatures of chaos, think of your favorite song, the one you can listen to on repeat and no matter what you won’t get tired of hearing it, that, is chaos to a demon” explained the demon “human lives are the very apotheosis of chaos and is fascinating to a demon like myself to observe, and at times, intervene, to some small extent.”

“Apotheosis?” Liam thinks he has heard that word in the past, but he wasn’t sure.

Theo rolled his eyes “like… apex, ultimate, pinnacle… basically human lives are the best kind of chaos… is that simple enough?” questioned the demon mockingly.

Liam frowned “I’m not an idiot.”

Theo smiled “never said you were… a little defensive aren’t we” stated the demon mockingly “anyhow, there is nothing necessarily good or evil about me or my offer… it’s just an offer.”

 “If I take this deal it means I won’t get to go to heaven doesn’t it… I’ll go to hell instead…heaven and hell do exist, right?”

“Yes, they exist” another sighed escape his lips “I often forget you humans love the idea of heaven…if only the real heaven lived up to the hype.”

“What do you mean?”

“Is really not worth getting into right now” Theo tried to stir the conversation right back to the main point of all this, the deal.

However, Liam wanted an explanation “tell me!” he demanded in an angry tone.

“You know Liam I like you… I do… you have spunk and moxie and that’s always fun to watch” Theo gave Liam the best smile he had “but I don’t have to be here… I can just leave…poof” he motioned with his hand like he had just disappeared “and I’m getting the urge to disappear due to this undeserved rudeness and hostility I’m sensing, when out of the kindness of my heart all I’ve been trying to do is provide assistance.”

Liam knew he was being manipulated, but he couldn’t stop the fear he felt at the prospect of the demon leaving and he finally understood just how badly he wanted to take this deal. Despite this, Liam knew he couldn’t fold like this or the demon would take advantage of him. Liam forced himself to calm down and made sure his next words would not contain any trace of anger “I just want to make an informed decision.”

“Smart, but that can turn out to be a long conversation you know, and we don’t exactly have that long of time available.”

That caught Liam’s attention “what do you mean? Is there a time limit to resurrect Scott?”

“Not at all” said Theo with a gleeful tone causing Liam to glare at the demon. “But our time is limited either way, or more precisely the time in which you’ll actually want to make the deal is limited.” Liam forced himself to take a deep breath in order to quell the feeling to lash out “souls that have left a corpse are always in need of guidance, a duty that is performed by reapers” Theo spoke like he was telling story, calm and eloquent “reapers take the soul to one of three places.”

“Let me guess, heaven, hell, or purgatory” interrupted Liam.

Theo smiled “correct and there lies your dilemma, you see a reaper may appear the instant someone dies, but the longest they’ll take is 24 hours without fail, after this time the soul will be taken to either of the three realms you mentioned and we may still make a contract and resurrect dear old Scotty, however, his soul will definitely be altered by the experience, and given that time passes differently in these places, you may not recognize the resurrected Scott at all… I’m assuming this would not be a desirable outcome.”

Liam thought for a second looking for anything that he was missing and then it came to him, something that would make him be ok with Scott’s death, something which would make him be ok with going to jail and garnering everyone’s hatred, so he asked his question “will Scott go to heaven?”

Theo gave an annoyed groan “still with this heaven talk, I told you already, is a complex topic.”

“It isn’t!!” defended Liam “ will Scott go to heaven? YES OR NO” demanded the younger boy in clear desperation.

“I don’t know, is not up to me, is the reaper’s decision.”

The answer initially frustrated Liam before he came to a resolution “Scott is a good person they’ll find him worthy of heaven.”

Theo smiled at that “but Scott life is full of chaos worthy of hell itself… oh well, is pointless to think how reapers ultimately decide since you nor I are one.”

“Scott's life isn’t chaotic. He is the kindest person I know” he would not let this demon defame Scott.

“Are you sure?” Theo looked to the sky like he was searching for an answer to his question “Scott… is there chaos in his life or not… that is the question” Liam rolled his eyes and scoffed at the theatrics.

“Scott's parents got divorced because his father drank a lot and one night, he send him down the stairs. He loves animals and has always wanted a pet, but he couldn’t, because his mother is very allergic to different animals. He fell in love with lacrosse at a young age, yet due to his weak medical constitution he has never been that good a player, and often times has been forced to miss entire seasons” Liam shuddered not really knowing about the father and not thinking of how his condition affected his ability to play lacrosse “wait!!” shouted Theo in mock excitement “when he was a sophomore he played really well to the point he was close to taking the spot as the best player… oh… but then Jackson ‘accidentally’ injured him during practice and he was out for the rest of the season… let’s not get into Scott’s love life, I mean, he fell in love for the first time with the gorgeous Allison Argent but was too scared to make a move… he then discover he was bisexual when he developed a crush on one of his teammates, Isaac Lahey when they hanged out during prom, he didn’t do anything then either, nevertheless, he found Allison and Isaac making out in the closet at a party in his junior year breaking his heart twice over” Theo looked at Liam once more “I can go on but, are you sure there isn’t any chaos in Scott’s life.”

Liam didn’t respond “that’s what you don’t really understand about the afterlife’s final resting place, is not about good and evil, is about order and chaos, and even the holiest of person may be surrounded by so much chaos that they end up in hell, while the most vile criminal may use the most perfect order to execute his crime and end up in heaven.”

Liam began trembling, he didn’t want to go to hell, but he couldn’t take the risk of Scott going to hell either, he had no idea if the demon was lying or telling the truth. “Liam, I like you… I do… you have spunk and moxie and that’s always fun to watch” the demon repeated the words he issued earlier “that is why I’m actually going to be helpful and tell you what is the best course of action” for some reason this terrified the human more “don’t take this deal, after all, Scott was supposed to die today, that, is the unreputable truth, so don’t sell your soul for something like this, it won’t have any form of happy ending.”

Liam realized why he was so terrified, is because there was no option, he needed to do this. This was his mistake and selling his soul to a demon was how he made amends “I’ll do it” he stated with conviction.

“Oh Liam, you’re not good at taking advice” said the demon as he shook his head “this deal is a mistake.”

“I’ve already made a mistake. This is how I fix it” said Liam with conviction “so let’s make this deal, how long do I get, 10 years?”

“You really are basing your understanding of demon kind on the Supernatural TV show, aren’t you?” Theo said mockingly “I supposed there are some demons that give 10 years, there are actually some that give 20, I even know of some that give as much as 50 years before claiming a soul.”

Liam nodded as he waited to hear how long he will get “I, will give you, until tonight at midnight” Liam felt his heart stop “long enough for you to say goodbye to all your loved ones.”

Liam couldn’t speak, he started breathing faster. ‘I’m going to die tonight’ that was the thought running through his head over and over. He started shaking and he felt like his heart was going to burst through his chest.

He was having trouble breathing “Liam, you need to calm down, you’re fine, you’re just having a panic attack” said the demon in a soothing voice, almost ethereal. The demon positioned himself behind Liam and pulled Liam towards him until his chest was pressed against the younger boy’s back. “Focus on me and breathe, match your breathing to mine” he said soothingly.

Liam did what he was told, he felt Theo inhale and exhale and did his best to match it. It took some time, but Liam managed to find himself breathing better and getting his heart to beat at a normal rhythm, yet he was far from calming down, thinking of his impending death. Liam all of a sudden didn’t want this deal anymore. But that was selfish, and he needed to do this. It was his only option to atone for what he did, there was no alternative.

“I’m ready to make this deal” stated Liam, yet he found himself shaking once more, not ready to face imminent death in several hours.

Theo smiled “I like you Liam… I really do” Theo said as he released Liam and turned him around to make eye contact. “So, this is what I’ll do… I will extend your time limit and give you one year and on the anniversary of Scott’s first death your life will end as I collect your soul.”

Liam swallowed nervously, that was a better deal and he wonder if he could get a few more years “can’t you give me 5 years.”

“I could… it’s just that I don’t have the patience to wait 5 long years to get one weak, insignificant soul… if I had I would have given you more years” said Theo smiling “generally, the longer a demon takes in claiming a soul in a deal the more powerful a demon will be able to become.”

“Then isn’t it better to extend my time.”

“Alas, it is you great misfortune I’m the demon you found, I’m an old and powerful demon already, thus, the power I’ll gain should I take your soul here and now, or I take it 50 years from now is pretty much the same” explained the demon “be grateful I’m giving you a full year, the only reason I’m doing that is because I’m hoping you will provide an entertaining year.”

Liam was disappointed but he knew he still needed to go through with this. There was no alternative “ok, I’m ready” stated Liam once more, ready to sell his soul to resurrect his friend “let’s make this official” he needed to do this before he got cold feet.

“Really?” asked Theo in mock surprise “just like that, no follow up question, no clarification on what happens if you’re walking home and get hit by a bus or something before the year is up, Liam, no offense, but you are not a good negotiator.”

Liam hadn’t thought of any of that “what would happened?” he asked with uncertainty.

Theo shrugged “your soul would belong to me at the end of the year as per our contract, but before that your soul would be bound to the place of your death within a small radius until the time I come to collect it, in this particular case a reaper would not appear to guide your soul because your soul has a clear destination, thus, does not need their guidance.”

‘That seems unpleasant’ thought Liam as he thought about being stuck on one spot for a year without being able to do anything else. Despite this, he knew he still needed to make this deal no matter what, for Scott’s sake.

Theo sighed “would you like to negotiate that part?”

“I can negotiate that?” Liam asked in surprise.

‘Humans can be so silly’ thought Theo “of course, is a contract, there are clear things you want and clear things I want, establishing clear clauses on how everything is obtained is common sense on any form of contract, demonic or human.”

Liam could hear the condescending tone and felt frustrated “ok, then I want to make sure I live completely my last year of life” he said trying to sound confident, although he could not keep his uncertainty of the situation out of his voice. He was out of his depth.

“No problem” stated Theo with a smile “however, I have conditions.”

Liam frowned at that. He should have figured there would be something else, another price to pay “I have nothing left to offer.”

Theo's smile changed to a predatory smirk “of course you do Liam, you have a lot to offer, I could ask for every single happy memory, the bond between you and your best friend, or maybe I just want the explicit permission of taking your soul in the most painful manner.”

Liam shudder at Theo’s words and Theo burst into laughter “I’m just messing with you.”

Liam wanted to get angry, but he was too tired to feel angry. All he was feeling was fear and sadness. Here he was about to do something which would change the course of his life and afterlife forever and this demon in front of him was laughing, without a care in the world.

Theo picked up on Liam’s distressed “ok… forgot that today is sort of a traumatic day for you… I will try to minimize jokes for the time being” he did not sound apologetic while he said this.

“Thank you” said Liam in a small voice still unable to muster any strength. He truly felt like he was at the mercy of this demon.

“But seriously, they're conditions rather than a price you will pay” clarified Theo. “I may be a powerful demon, but I’m not omnipotent, I cannot guarantee that you will not die in the spectrum of a year like that… well I could, but that would take some serious magic and a price I’m 100% sure you cannot pay.”

“Then why make the offer?”

“Because, what I can offer for a very small price, if it can even be called a price, is me acting as your personal bodyguard and keeping you from harm.”

Liam though that didn’t sound so bad except the fact that there was another price “the price?” he asked warily.

“Just your privacy” clarified Theo “I would need to be with you in order to keep you safe.”

Liam thought about it for a second and then answered “ok, let’s make this deal” at this point he just wanted to be done with this and bring Scott back.

Theo gave a long sighed in frustration “we need to go over the fine print in this” Liam gave a small groan in frustration “this is important Liam” Theo clarified “this is the part that may give you an out of me owning your soul.” Liam looked up at Theo, becoming intrigued at the coming explanation “I see that caught your interest.”

“Please, just tell me what you mean” demanded the teenager.

Theo grinned at the enthusiasm “gladly, although I may use magic if needed in order to ensure your safety is not like there will be a specific form of magic protecting you at all time. So, basically I will be actively protecting you should the need arise, thus, if we put this in the contract, should I fail in my duties to ensure your safety as we agree upon until the time I rightfully claim your soul, I will be denied ownership of your soul and you would keep what you gained from this contract, aka Scott’s life.”

“So, if I die before a full year you don’t own me” said Liam happily, yet disappointedly “I still die.”

“Sadly, yes, if you lived, the contract would go on as it’s supposed to” explained Theo “however, I have conditions to ensure you do not take advantage of this clause.”

Liam wasn’t sure of how he could take advantage of this clause “ok.”

“I will not lose ownership of your soul should you commit suicide” Liam was starting to see how he could take advantage of this. If he lived for the next 11 months with Theo protecting him and then killed himself before the date Theo is supposed to claim his soul, then he would be getting the best out of the deal and going into the afterlife free.

“Second, I will not lose ownership of your soul if your life were to end as a result of you divulging the contents of this contract to another party, regardless of whether you intended for your life to be terminated or not.”

“So, no telling others” said Liam.

“You can tell, just be careful who you do, because it will not be my responsibility” explained the demon.

“Then we have our optional rule, I’ll let you decide if you want to accept this one or not… if you want, you may have the option to request privacy from me, however, during this time in which I will not be around to protect you I will not lose ownership of your soul should you die… do you want to include this one or not?”

Liam saw the appeal of this clause. After all, having someone follow him 24/7 would quickly become tiring. But if something happened during that time, then the privacy would have been for nothing.

“Your choice Liam, yes or no?”

“Yes” he couldn’t have Theo 24/7 on him, how would he explain that to everyone. Surely there would be times where he would need Theo to not be there, if not for everyone else’s sake, just for his own sanity. He will just have to be careful when Theo is not around.

“Ok, that’s pretty much it, there are some things left to clarify regarding how you’ll request your privacy, but we can clarify that later.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just the correct wording, kind of like a code we’ll agree that will make it official that I do not need to protect you and you need to be alone… with this we can seal the deal if you want and make everything official.”

‘I need to do this’ Liam told himself this over and over in his head as he mustered the courage to go through with this “ok” he said as he went over to Theo nervously and closed the distance between them. He tried to press his lips against Theo when a finger stopped his lips from making contact.

“What are you doing?” asked Theo with a raised eyebrow.

Liam was confused “sealing the deal” Theo’s eyebrow somehow rose even further.

“With a kiss?” Theo asked incredulously.

Liam blushed “is-is that not how it’s done?”

“No” answered Theo bemusedly “is sealed by blood… we both cut ourselves and then make contact between the injuries.”

“You couldn’t have said that before?” asked Liam embarrassed with a blush adorning his features.

“Sorry, didn’t think you would mouth attack me” answered Theo. 

Then all amusement died as Theo brought his right thumb to his mouth and bit into it until he bled. Liam mimicked Theo’s actions with his left thumb “fuck” he said in pain as he started bleeding “oh my god you made it looked so painless.”

“I’m a demon” was Theo short replied as he offered his thumb up in invitation.

Liam put his bleeding thumb over Theo’s and then it began. Liam can’t really explain what he felt, it was not natural. All he knew was that he felt it running through every cell in his body, it felt hot and cold, soothing and painful, soft and rough. Theo’s eyes first turned completely black once more and then shifted to an orange color. Then, the blood started floating out of their wounds. Liam briefly though he might die from blood loss. The blood then made its way towards Scott corpse and disappeared in a blinding light as it made contact with the body. Liam was looking intently when he felt his legs give in. He fell onto Theo who was right in front of him “shh… is ok, I know this can be overwhelming” said Theo soothingly as he ran his hand up and down Liam’s back in a comforting manner. Liam opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, rather, his vision begun to blur. Then darkness came over as he passed out against the demon. His last though being about Scott and if this deal would really bring him back.

Chapter Text

Liam woke up startled. He was sweating, breathing fast, and disorientated. He was looking around trying to make sense of where he was. He recognized the place as his own room. He began calming down after that. He looked at his cell phone on the nightstand and noticed it was 5:00 am. He didn’t have to get up for school for another hour, yet he knew he would not be able to go back to sleep. He was too high-strung.

He was out of it “when did I get home?” he whispered to himself as he tried to remember yesterday. For some reason everything was fuzzy. Then, everything came back at the same time. Liam started breathing faster once more as the memories poured in.

“It was a dream” he said to himself as his memories ran through his head overlapping each other. Upon remembering how he sealed the deal he took a look at his left thumb and it was fine. No evidence of any form of pierce skin. A normal, perfectly healthy, and uninjured thumb. He let out a long breath in relief.

He then began laughing as he fell back onto the bed. He realized how ridiculous that dream was. Liam couldn’t wait until he got a chance to tell Stiles about the dream of Theo being a demon. Stiles would probably start a whole conspiracy theory around it.

“It was a dream” he repeated with relief and a smile on his face.

Liam took a long shower that morning. It was the best shower he’s ever had.

He woke up before his parents for the first time in who knows how long, so he decide to make breakfast. Scrambled eggs and toast for everyone. He hadn’t made breakfast in a long time. It might not taste as good as it’s supposed to.

Liam’s mother and stepfather were both surprised by Liam being up an about at such an early hour. They were even more surprised to find Liam in such a good mood and cooking.

“What’s the occasion?” asked Liam’s mother.

“I just feel like cooking this morning.”

Liam’s mother and stepfather did not ask any follow up questions regarding his reason for being so helpful this morning. The family had breakfast together for the first time in a long time. Liam inquired how they’ve been doing at work while his parents checked in with his performance at school. Liam made sure to leave yesterday’s argument with his English teacher out of his report since nothing was apparently sent. He told them how things had been at school, with his teammates, and his friends. His mom told him he should invite Scott and Stiles for dinner since she would like to finally meet them. Liam couldn’t help the pang of guilt he felt at Scott’s name. Which was stupid because everything had been a dream. Scott was fine, he would see him in a few hours at school.

The rest of the morning went pretty uneventful. Liam helped with doing the dishes and then he went to his room to get dressed. He chose simple things, a long sleeve black shirt, blue jeans, and black and gray Nike sneakers. He had a feeling today was going to be a good day.

His mother dropped him at school and then went to her job. Liam walked into the school, there were still 30 minutes before classes began, so he went looking for one of his friends. The first person he ran into that he knew just happened to be Theo Raeken. Theo took notice of Liam and with a big smile walked over to him “good morning Liam.”

For some reason the greeting took Liam by surprised “good morning” he replied nervously.

“You know is weird seeing you right now, I always see you getting here just when the bell is about to ring” he said, still with a big smile in his face, perfectly friendly. It made Liam uncomfortable.

“I got a ride from my mom today and not Stiles.”

“I see” was Theo’s reply “well, I’ll see you around” finished Theo and made to leave Liam alone.

“Hey Theo” Liam was surprised by himself that he called after the other boy.

Theo halted his movement “what’s up?”

Liam didn’t know what he was doing, this was stupid “did we spoke yesterday?”

Theo smile again. That smile unnerved Liam “yes we did.”

“About what?” Liam found his heart beating faster.

“You don’t remember?” Theo’s features shifted to those of confusion and surprise. Liam shook his head. “In that case maybe is better if I don’t tell you, is nothing you need to know.”

Theo made to leave, and Liam quickly grabbed him be his arm “tell me!” it came out louder and more forceful than he intended. A few people turned to looked at them. Theo appeared shocked from the sudden outburst.

“Seriously Liam is not a big deal.”

“Then tell me” he said again this time softly and vulnerable.

Theo gave a small sigh before answering “yesterday when you left the cafeteria, you walked passed me, you looked really angry, so I asked you if everything was ok, you said fuck you and go to hell.”

“That’s it?”

“Is there supposed to be something else?” inquired Theo with confusion.

Liam quickly shook his head “no, I’m sorry, I guess yesterday I was so angry I kind of blackout the rest of the day and I remembered you, but not our interaction, I’m sorry I said that to you yesterday.”

Theo smiled again “I get it, yesterday was a bad day, we all have those, hopefully, today you’ll have a good one.”

This time Liam smiled “yeah, thank you Theo.”

“No problem, you know, we should spend some time together, you look like a good guy.”

Liam chuckled “yeah, except when I’m having one of my episodes.”

“You just need to practice getting a handle on them, you’ll get there eventually, anyhow got to go, I’ll see you around” with that Theo gave a small wave and walked away from Liam.

“See you around” Liam waved back.

“Liam!!” Liam turned around when he heard his name being called out. It turned out to be Stiles calling him. From the looks of it he was not happy. He was walking over towards Liam with Scott and Isaac following behind. Isaac had an amused face at the thought of witnessing Stiles overreact while Scott had the face of a disappointed and embarrassed wife towards his husband.

“Why are you saying, ‘see you around’ to Theo?”

Liam rolled his eyes at Stiles attitude “we were talking, then our conversation finished.”

“Theo Raeken is bad news, stay away from him.”

“Ok, Stiles, relax, we were just exchanging pleasantries, we are not best friends all of a sudden” Liam knew Stiles hated Theo, he never really understood the why of it all. No one would tell him. Apparently, something had happened between him and Theo.

Scott was about to interfere when Isaac stopped him by placing a hand over his mouth “is just Stiles venting, let him have that” said Isaac unhelpfully. Isaac and Stiles argued all the time, yet they were surprisingly similar in their sarcasm. Liam supposed that was the reason they still hanged around despite all their bickering.

“Thank you, Isaac, I’m glad to know you are useful for some things, I knew there was a reason we kept you around.”

Isaac gave Stiles a sarcastic smile before flicking him off. Stiles simply rolled his eyes before turning back to Liam.

“Look Liam, Theo may seem nice at times, but he is not a good person, trust me when I tell you to stay away” Stiles had he’s serious face on, but Liam couldn’t really take him seriously.

“Yeah, yeah” he said unimpressed. Liam figured he should wait until tomorrow before he told Stiles about his dream of demon Theo or he would be insufferable for the rest of the day.

Stiles squawked at Liam’s dismissal “listen here you little shit-” the bell rang before Stiles could say whatever he was going to say.

“Sorry Stiles got to go” said Liam as he made his quick retreat. Liam distinctively heard Stiles yelled they weren’t done discussing this and Isaac was laughing at Stiles expense.

Liam sometimes felt sorry for Scott, for having to constantly put up with both of them, when they got in their obnoxious mood. He supposed Scott has the patience of a saint. After all, he put up with Liam.

Liam was in math class as he thought about his brief interaction between Stiles, Scott, and Isaac. Most of it went as usual and expected by him. However, there was some part of it he couldn’t help but be surprised, in the sense that it was perfectly explained by his odd dream last night.

Liam noticed when Isaac held Scott back to let Stiles address his issue with Theo speaking with Liam. Scott had blushed, a lot, and Liam noticed it fully even if Stiles and Isaac remained oblivious to it. The only thing Liam couldn’t believe was that he didn’t notice it before, because there were so many signs about it. Then he began to wonder how he first notice it. Because he didn’t remember any previous thought regarding Scott’s feelings towards Isaac before his weird dream last night. He figured it was possible that he picked up on it unconsciously. At this point it was the only thing that made sense. After all, how else could Liam make sense of all his sudden insight regarding his friend based of some false dream if he didn’t notice these things at an unconscious level.

It was eerie to say the least. But there needed to be a logical explanation for everything. After all, there is no way Theo was actually a demon from hell. That would be crazy. Wouldn’t it?

It was with this question in mind that Liam found himself alone in the woods during lunch. He dreamed about them last time and he wanted to make sure it was a dream. He walked them during his full lunch period and during his next class. He was guessing his parents would be getting a call from the school.

Liam searched for a long time, but he found nothing. No blood on the floor, no signs of anyone being there. No signs of anything happening. Granted he wasn’t any kind of tracker, however, if last night was more than a dream there should have been something. He sighed in relief as he found nothing. Reinforcing the fact that everything relating to Theo and Scott had been nothing but a nightmare.

Then Liam heard a noise behind him. He immediately turned around and came face to face with someone he didn’t want to meet in this forest. Theo Raeken was there looking at Liam. Liam wanted to say something, but no words came out. He was too shocked at the prospect of Theo’s sudden appearance to voice his concerns of what it could possibly mean.

“Hey Liam, what are you doing here?” inquired the older boy.

Liam didn’t respond because he feared where this conversation would end. Then, out of nowhere a girl appeared and hugged Theo “Theo, what’s taking so long?”

Theo blushed at the question. The girl then took notice of Liam and put some distance between Theo and herself as she began blushing as well. Liam found himself reacting the same way as he thought of the implications of them together alone in the woods. Liam recognized the girl as Maya, another senior.

“H-Hey” said Liam nervously trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

“Hey” said Theo back, equally embarrassed.

Maya looked between the two boys before she spoke “come get me when you guys are done” she said as she quickly placed a kiss to Theo cheek before retreating deeper into the forest.

Theo nervously stuttered “this isn’t what it looks like.”

Liam couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow incredulously “really?”

Theo’s blush intensified “we’re just hanging out.”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, I’m sorry for interrupting.”

“That’s what I’m saying, you’re not interrupting anything” stated Theo as he tried to explain his situation.

Liam couldn’t help the small chuckled that escaped him. He had never seen Theo so embarrassed before and the image was hilarious. He couldn’t help but think how ridiculous he was thinking for even a second that Theo Raeken could be some kind of all-powerful demon with the ability to manipulate life and death at his whim.

“Sorry for interrupting” said Liam as he stopped laughing.

Theo smirked “yeah, you look real sorry buster.”

Liam smirked back “hey I don’t know what to tell you, find a more secluded place next time.”

“I’ll probably have to take your advice” stated the older boy “so I heard Stiles gave you a hard time for talking to me, everything ok?”

“Yeah, just Stiles being Stiles, he doesn’t like you at all, not even a tiny bit.”

“Oh, I know, he has made it explicitly clear, no doubt whatsoever about his dislike towards my person” said Theo with a smile.

Ok, Theo was funny, regardless of what Stiles may think, and Liam couldn’t help but enjoy being in his presence. It also didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. He wasn’t 100% sure but he thought he might be detecting some flirting coming from Theo.

“Theo are you coming!” came Maya’s voice from somewhere in the woods.

Theo blushed once more “I’m being called, I’m sorry about that.”

Liam couldn’t help but blush at the apology for some reason “no, is fine I get it, you’re… popular.”

Theo nodded before he started walking away from Liam “I’ll see you around sometime?”

Liam couldn’t help but nod at the question “definitely” he responded enthusiastically. Theo walked away from Liam in a backward manner. Refusing to break eye contact with him until absolutely necessary. Liam couldn’t help releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Stiles was going to rip him a new one when he found out about today.

Theo was attractive. No matter what anyone said, Theo would always be attractive. Liam has always known he wasn’t exactly straight. Especially with 8 pack Brett being in his previous Lacrosse team. However, at this very moment he had to recognize he was attracted to Theo Raeken. Which just complicated everything because, one, his friends don’t really care for him and second, he was still weirded out by that dream. Which means Liam is probably somewhat crazy, which is a very real possibility.

Liam found himself thinking about Theo the rest of the day. He had thoughts about how Theo seem like a fun person, even though a bit of player, and he wonder what if Theo did end up being a demon, what then? Liam knew he was being ridiculous because there was no possible way demons existed. Which by default meant Theo wasn’t one and Liam hadn’t killed Scott. Liam felt like dying every time he thought about that part of the dream. Ever since the dream he has truly begun to fear his anger. Because what if one day he did kill someone because he couldn’t control it. Maybe that was the real issue he had with the dream, not so much the possibility of demon Theo, but the possibility that he would one day kill someone because he lashed out. Still, Liam could not shake any of these thoughts. He thought about it during his classes, during practice, during his shower, and as he got home.

He reheated the mac & cheese he found in the refrigerator. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until the smell hit him. He promptly devoured his food. Afterwards, he would clean his dishes, and take a nap before getting started on his homework.

Liam woke up approximately two hours later. He felt rested for a change. When he checked the time, he realized his nap was longer than he had intended it to be. He groaned when he realize he was going to be doing homework late tonight. He found this annoying to say the least.

He sluggishly took his math notes and books out and put them on his desk. Liam hated math. Which is why instead of getting to work immediately he opted to check his phone. Procrastination at its finest.

He decided to head back to the kitchen to get something to drink as he began checking his notifications in his phone, he received a text from Mason.

Mason: are you busy?

Liam spared a small glance at his not finished homework before responding and closing the door to his room.

Liam: I’m not doing anything, what’s up?

Mason: just want to check in with you, you’ve been kind of off the last two days and I haven’t been able to speak with you… so how are you doing?

Liam: Sorry, it’s been a though two days.

Mason: No problem, just talk to me, you know I’m always here for you… right?

That made Liam feel guilty.

Liam: I know bro, I just need some time to myself, you know? I’ll tell you all about it when I feel better.

Mason: Ok, just know that I love you, you’re my best friend and I’m here for you, whatever you need.

Liam couldn’t help the smile that graced his features as he read Mason’s text. They had been best friends since they were little, and Liam wouldn’t trade it for the world.

When Liam returned to his room, he was shocked to find someone in his bed. In his shock he dropped his phone and his drink as he let out an undignified squeak.

The intruder was lying down in Liam’s bed as he read through a book he found in Liam’s room. When he heard the door open, he purposely folded the top part of the page to identify where he left of as he closed the book and gave all of his focus to Liam “hey Liam.”

Liam recognized the intruder as soon as he saw his face “Theo, what are you doing here?” Liam asked with surprise and fear.

Theo gave him a confused look “I said I’ll see you around, you said definitely, so here I am, seeing you around.”

“I meant like at school, I didn’t invite you to break into my home!!” Liam was having difficulty processing what was happening. Theo broke into his room. He didn’t know whether to feel scared or angry.

Theo’s face fell apart at Liam’s words “oh my god… I’m so sorry… I do this… I misread situations and do things people find weird or terrifying” said the older boy with regret “you must think I’m some kind of freak” he finished as he hid his face in his hands.

Liam couldn’t believe he was actually feeling bad for some guy that actually broke into his room. It was creepy, yet he couldn’t help feeling guilty at his desperate tone and his words. Maybe Theo was an awkward guy, which would explain why he wasn’t more popular despite his very appealing physical appearance. Liam gave a loud sigh as he resigned himself to be nice regarding this whole ordeal “look, you made a mistake…is not that big a deal, is going to be fine as long as you don’t do something like this again.”

Liam was planning on explaining to Theo why what he did was bad and how people feel when they walked in their room and suddenly find someone inside. However, he never got a chance to voice any of that because he stopped talking once Theo burst into laughter. Liam found himself once again unsure on how to respond. Part of him was angry, yet some part of him was scared at the odd response from the older boy.

“I’m sorry, I tried to hold it in” said Theo as he wiped some tears from his eyes due to laughing so much. Liam was still unsure on how to respond “I couldn’t continue this whole exchange between us with a straight face, anyhow, Q&A time Liam, why do you think I’m here? really think on the answer, don’t disappoint me Liam” gleefully stated the older boy with a smile on his face.

Liam remained uncharacteristically quiet as he tried to decipher why Theo was here. As Liam continued to remain silent Theo looked more and more disappointed. Then without saying anything Theo’s eyes began slowly shifting completely black. Liam’s breath hitched at the sight. Theo’s eyes then slowly turned back to normal. Liam open his mouth to say something, however, he was too shocked to properly voice anything.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours to Liam, Theo broke the silence “come now Liam, stop being dramatic, you know why I’m here, don’t you?”

Liam felt tears falling down his cheeks and he immediately tried to put a stop to them. “Don’t cry” said Theo as he stood from the bed an made his way over to the younger boy. He swipe the tears from Liam’s face just like he did the day before. This only made Liam cry more.  “Jeez, your making me feel like a bully here… lets go for a ride, we’ll get ice cream, we’ll talk, it’ll make you feel better.” Liam didn’t really respond, still he managed to automatically get dressed and leave with Theo.

They ended up parked in Beacon Hill’s forest. Theo had stopped at a convenience store and gotten two small ice cream bowls. Theo got Liam rocky mint chocolate and he got chocolate chip for himself.

“I’ve never care for mint chocolate myself but to each their own.”

Liam was eating his ice cream slowly. He was trying to process what was going on. There were a bunch of emotions he was experiencing. Fear, sadness, guilt, regret, trepidation, despair, anxiety, and many others. There were also many thoughts going through his head ‘demons were real, he killed Scott, he was going to hell, he sold his soul to resurrect Scott and was going to hell as a result’.

Theo couldn’t help the pout that appeared on his face. This was the reason he didn’t like extended demon contracts. Humans always dealt with the situation on different ways. Silence and withdrawals were the most boring and annoying of them all if you asked the demon. “Liam say something… I bought ice cream and you haven’t even said thank you, do you have no manners?”

That comment triggered Liam. All his fear, resentments, and self-hate, just turned into pure rage, which was a classic for him “Shut the fuck up you asshole!!!” yelled the smaller boy in fury “you manipulated me, forced me to make a deal when I was at my lowest and then you dare act like you were doing me favor!!!”

Liam’s rage was clearly transmitted as he yelled at the demon. The demon remained silent as he continued to listen to the other boy before letting out a small chuckle. That only caused the young human’s anger to increase exponentially. “What is so fucking funny?!” demanded the blond boy.

“Just your pity party” said the demon with a smirk.

If looks could kill Theo would be one dead demon based on the enraged glare the teenager was sending him. “You manipulated me” calmly stated Liam despite his rage.

Theo smirk only grew at the accusation “did I?”

“Yes” was the simple response.

“Well that just won’t do, my conscience will not permit me to allow this contract to continue if I manipulated you in such kind, what can be done about it?” Theo tilted his head up as he pretended to think of an option before responding “I know, how about we just unmake the deal?”

Liam stared at him with wide eyes “what?”

Theo repeated himself “we just unmake the deal, is that not what you want?”

Liam was thrown, he briefly wondered if it could really be that easy before asking “what’s the cash?”

Theo looked at him with surprise not expecting the question “I don’t know… how about 5 dollars?” Liam just glared at the demon as he waited for a proper response. Theo had huge grin as he chuckled at his own joke “jeez kid relax no cash, is free, we just cancel the contract.”

“Just like that, I keep my soul and Scott gets to live?”

Theo gave Liam a pitying look at that “sweetie, we are canceling the contract, the logical assumption to make is both of us lose what we were supposed to gain, I lose your soul and you lose Scott.”

Liam didn’t even notice it. The small spark of hope that had found his way into his heart when Theo first mentioned undoing the deal.

Just like that, that small glimmer of hope was crushed. His story was not going to have a happy ending. One way or another pain would be involved.

“This was actually part of the contract you signed yesterday, you just weren’t too interested in hearing it and thus I didn’t went into detail.”

Liam glared at the demon once more as he tried to find some way out of this “then the contract would be invalid.”

“Sweetie is your job to read over the fine print, you didn’t ask, as I recall you acted annoyed when I was trying to explain things to you, and you agreed to our deal without asking any further questions” explained Theo calmly. Liam didn’t know how to respond, so Theo continued “I told you, your soul, won’t really be worth anything to me, what I’m interested in is your choices, whether you made this deal or not, whether you’ll keep this deal or not, so, as part of your contract I put the contract could be cancel at any time prior to the culmination of the one year you have, so you can cancel it right now, or you can cancel it minutes before your deadline, your choice.”

Liam understood, his plight was just amusing to this demon. He didn’t care if the deal was kept or not, if he was happy or miserable, he was just having fun at Liam’s expense. He didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He wasn’t ready to give up “you broke the contract” accused the human. Theo raised an eyebrow in inquiry “you were supposed to watch over me to make sure nothing happened to me, but you weren’t in class with me.”

“Oh my god, did you die!?” asked Theo in mocked worry “wait… no you didn’t… thus… I kept my deal… which was to ensure your survival throughout the rest of this year.”

“Then what was the point of me forsaking my privacy to you?”

“Isn’t it obvious? if you had died in class because of my negligence then you would have kept your soul, at this moment I have ownership of your privacy, should I choose to respect it or not and face the consequences of my decision is up to me… that was the point, if your life is my responsibility then whether I want to be a slacker or not should be on my whims instead of yours and that is why if you want to have some privacy rights for yourself, you can request it, and I will not lose ownership of your soul during that time.”

There was no way out, no matter what Liam mentioned, the demon had a perfect comeback without any oversight.

“This doesn’t have to be a sad ordeal.” Theo spend a moment thinking about what he had just said and then rectified “at least not sadder than absolutely necessary… you have one year to live per our contract so how about deciding how you want to spend it rather than just whining about it ending” said the demon with a smile.

Liam scuffed “don’t act like you care, you just want to entertain yourself at my expense.”

“It is because I want to entertain myself at your expense that I care if you mope for a whole year or not” Theo ponder this for a moment “although I suppose I have nothing to worry about, after all, you've proven pretty amusing during our few interactions.”

“What do you mean?”

Theo chuckled “come now, in the time we’ve interacted you have lashed out in anger, killed a close friend, made a contract trading your soul in order to resurrect said friend, and yelled and bitched at a very old and powerful demon due to your dissatisfaction with the established contract… I think I can expect one amusing year from you regardless of what road you choose to take.”

Liam felt like crying again.

Theo let out a soft whine at the sight “jeez if you're going to cry about it…” stated the demon exasperated “you can do whatever you want with this one year, you can make amends, go crazy, or try to find a way out of this deal.”

Liam perked up a that “there is a way out?”

“No idea.”

Liam glared.

Theo rolled his eyes “I’m serious… realistically speaking there is only one way out of this contract in which you get to keep your soul and Scott’s life and that is to create a new contract which completely circumvents the already created one, of course in order to do this at the very least you would need to offer two soul, one for Scott’s life which you already paid with your own, and one soul to trade for your own… either that or something with equal or higher power to two souls, which you don’t possess.”

“So, there is no way out” stated Liam in clear frustration.

“Again, no idea” stated the demon “I’m explaining to you the ways the contract you established with me works… there is a clear price that needs to be paid… you can either pay it any way you want to… or you can find other magics in the world which can allow you to escape this contract.”

There was a small hint of hope that began rising in Liam which prompted the demon to continue “as a demon, I’m a being, whose power come from the afterlife, however, this is not the only type of power or magic which exist, if you spend this one year properly researching and find a way out… then good for you… if you can’t find a way out… then good for me.”

“You would just let me try to find a way out?” asked the teen incredulously.

Theo smiled “I would… of course if you don’t believe me you could always invoke your right to privacy when you are conducting your research.”

“What would happen if I do find a way out?” Liam wanted to make sure nothing would happen.

Theo pretended to think of the answer once more. He enjoyed his dramatics. “I suppose that would be up to me wouldn’t it… as a powerful ancient being if I decide to be petty about it I suppose I could just choose to actively kill you and Scott… or I could choose to just go out to brunch instead… I suppose is one of those things in which you have to cross the bridge and find out what happens.”

Liam was skeptical, the demon had really made no promises he would let him, or Scott go “can we add it as part of the contract that you can’t kill us.”

Theo smiled once more “I knew you were smarter than you have been letting up… totally you can… again, for a price… as all things need.”

“What would be the price?” asked Liam knowing better than to get his hopes up.

“Something small…like your ability to interact with others… that would fall upon me to govern over” stated the demon calmly.

“That’s not small.”

“As the exchange for you finding a way out of paying the price for Scott’s life with your own without me being able to take any form of repercussion upon you… is minuscule… almost insignificant even.”

Liam thought about it “what about if you knew I was doing such research?”

Theo gave a cocky smile “I would still be unable to take repercussion for you searching for a way out… like I said, your struggle is the amusing part… I don’t really need or want your small, weak, and insignificant soul.”

“Then deal” said Liam as he bit his thumb once more “I’m allowed to look for a way out of this deal and you can’t take any form of repercussion for it” stated the teenager as he extended his bleeding thumb for the demon to take.

“Yes, and as a price I can decide which individuals you can and cannot interact with” the demon bit his own thumb and pressed it against the other teen’s bleeding thumb and just like last time Theo’s eyes shifted from normal, to black, to orange. The blood between their thumbs began floating and made contact with both Liam and Theo. Liam felt like he was about to pass out like last time. However, he managed to retain consciousness. Which made him aware that he couldn’t really move and was leaning on the demon as he supported his weight. “It’ll be ok” shushed the demon as he held the younger teenager. “This time, don’t forget” was the demon’s final warning. Just like that a new chapter in Liam’s life would begin.

Chapter Text

It’s been three weeks since Liam first made the contract with the demon Theo. His entire life has changed as a result. He is no longer a mere sophomore. He is now someone desperately looking for a way to survive while ensuring his friend, Scott McCall also survives. Needless to say, these last few weeks had not been the best. He has been stressed and desperately reading on different mythologies to see if he can find any form of real magic. His quest for real magic has been fruitless thus far which only served to make him more and more stressed.

In order to focus on his search for magic he hasn’t been going to school, he hasn’t talked with any of his friends or his parents, and the only interaction he’s had has been with a snarky demon that never stops talking. The only positive thing is that Theo was using magic to enable all of this which means everyone else thinks he is doing fine and dandy while in reality he was falling apart with stress and worry.

“Liam, I feel, like you’re not handling this deal as well as you could be” said Theo as he ate a bag of chips on Liam’s bed. He was looking at Liam with clear judgement while he continued to eat chip after chip.

“I’m sorry I’m not fucking entertaining enough for you” replied the human who was sitting at his desk. He was currently on different search engines in his computer looking for actual magic. He had currently found a forum discussing Wicca magic in real life. It was the most promising thing he had found so far.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m having lots of fun watching you slowly fall apart” commented the demon gleefully. “I just imagined a more bucket list kind of situation you know.”

“I’m not dying at the end of this year. I’m finding a way out” keeping this mentality was the only thing fueling Liam with any form of hope. Regardless of how bleak things looked.

“At the rate you’re going you're definitely going to die, for god’s sake you’re asking about magic on a forum on the internet” stated the demon as he crushed his empty bag of chips in a small ball and threw it towards Liam’s small trash can as if it was a basketball. He missed and made no moves to getting up and fixing his mistake. Liam frowned at the trash in his floor before he reluctantly got up and tossed it in the trash before returning to his research.

‘Asshole’ thought the human “I don’t know anything about real magic, I have no idea where to begin searching!!” Liam was frustrated and he felt like breaking something or someone. He wanted to punch Theo if he was being honest.

“I know about real magic, and I can tell you those forums you’ve been in are bullshit, why don’t you start by asking someone?” Liam glared because he doesn’t know anyone with magic except Theo “this is Beacon Hills, there are a lot of people you could ask.”

That surprised Liam “what do you mean?”

“Dude! Beacon Hills is a hot spot for magic due to the nemeton, so there are a lot of supernatural creatures here and people that practice different forms of magic, if you want, I can introduce you to one” stated Theo calmly.

Liam wasn’t even going to ask what a nemeton was. He was also suspicious of the sudden generosity “in exchange for what?”

Theo thought about it for a second before responding “I can’t really think of anything so… freebie I suppose.”

Liam was still suspicious “how do I know your just not taking me to meet someone that is going to tell me bullshit regarding magic.”

“You don’t I guess, jeez if you’re going to be this way, I won’t introduce you to anyone” said Theo as he rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help but think just how difficult dealing with humans was.

“Wait! I want to meet them” Liam has made 0 progress in his research. He really didn’t have the luxury of being picky “let’s go right now.”

“Not right now, is Saturday, and we have a party to start getting ready for” grinned the demon.

Liam wanted to kill him “I’m not going to a fucking party right now!”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not!!”

“Then I won’t introduce you to the guy” deadpanned the demon.

“Are you seriously blackmailing me right now?” Liam hated Theo.

“When you say it like that you make it sound like a bad thing” teased Theo.

“I am not going to that party!” spoke Liam angrily.

“Ok” responded the demon with a charming smile.

Lydia Martin opened the door to her house “hey Liam, welcome to the party.” She looked as beautiful as always. Liam could definitely understand why Stiles was infatuated with the redhead.

“Hey Lydia, am I too late?” asked the other boy awkwardly.

“No silly, is pretty early, people are still arriving” she then got this thoughtful look before smirking “actually, Theo just got here a few minutes ago” she stated suggestively.

“That’s cool” responded Liam confusedly.

“I know you guys are in the down-low, but you guys look really cute together” she stated supportively.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he felt his face turn red at the comment.

She gave him a condescending smile as she replied, “nothing sweetie.”

Liam needed to find Theo because what did he do?

He spotted Theo in a heated conversation with Stiles. ‘Well that’s not good’ thought Liam.

“Hey guys” stated Liam, surprised at himself at how joyous he managed to make his voice.

“Hey” responded Stiles clearly upset about something. Liam had a pretty good guess about what “we’ll talk later, this isn’t over” said Stiles to Theo before looking back at Liam “have fun” stated Stiles as he walked away angrily.

“I think Stiles thinks he’s you parent or something… he is very protective of you” commented the demon sounding simultaneously amused and annoyed.

Liam grabbed Theo by the arm forcefully and dragged him outside to a secluded spot “what did you do?” Liam was mad.

“What?” asked the demon in honest confusion.

“What, did, you, DO?!”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you think I did and we can avoid this back and forth thing, this is a party we’re supposed to be having fun” Theo was curious to see how Liam behaved in this kind of setting so he didn’t care for this derailment. First was Stiles with his weird ass interrogation on his intentions towards Liam and now Liam with whatever this was.

“I haven’t gone to school lately so how come Lydia seems to think that we are involved in some kind of relationship?” asked the human in frustration. “You said you would make it, so school wasn’t a problem.”

“Look I cast a small doppelganger spell of you and me so we can miss school and face no consequences. I use it all the time, is very simple.”

“Fine… what did you have the doppelgangers do?”

“What? Nothing, I put the spell on a time and space loop. If it doesn’t detect our presence on school grounds during school hours the spell activates and they just behave like we normally do, while obviously adjusting to new situations” Theo thought about his comment for a moment before another though pop into his head “oh… I think I know what happened. Let’s find a room with a private TV, I think it would be easier to show you.”

They sneaked upstairs and found a guest room with a TV. Instead of turning it on Theo just touched it and an image began running through the TV.

“This is what our doppelgangers have been doing when we haven’t been to school…I’ll skip the boring parts, which are most of them” clarified the demon.

Liam couldn’t help the blush that came onto his face. Doppelgangers Liam and Theo were flirting heavily. In a very public manner where everyone could clearly see them. “Why are they flirting?”

“Is because I added another doppelganger to the spell” explained the demon “last time you and I interacted we were flirting in the woods by the school, which is from where they’re getting how to act around each other… my bad” apologized Theo unapologetically.

“I wasn’t flirting with you in the woods” stated Liam.

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t”

“Dude! You were totally entice by me, don’t lie” commented Theo amusedly.

“Even if I was, which I wasn’t, it wasn’t that much” stated the human pointing at the TV sounding frustrated and mortified.

“That’s how flirting goes, it becomes more intense over time, I’m guessing our doppelgangers will probably be dating soon given how much more… tactile they’ve become at this point” said the demon as he watched the doppelgangers exchange small touches during lunch, between classes, and after school.

“If I learn how to kill a demon, your done for” stated Liam, half-angry and half-embarrassed.

“Calm down drama queen, this isn’t even that big of a deal, we just need to do some damage control” said the demon as he thought about it “I know, this is a party, let’s just flirt and make out with someone else and that should squash whatever the rumor going around is.”

“I’m not making out with anyone” stated Liam exasperated.

“Not with that attitude. Be more positive, after all, you're pretty cute” said the demon. Theo then looked at Liam with a smoldering gaze as he looked between Liam’s eyes and lips “besides, your eyes and lips are simply exquisite” declared the demon.

Liam knew the demon was playing him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help the shiver that went through him. “I hate you.”

The demon smirked as he responded, “you don’t.”

They separated after that. Liam new he should be doing what Theo suggested. Well, not all of it, just the flirting part. Instead he was in a corner alone drinking a beer. At one point he saw Theo being led out of the house by a girl and a guy. Each holding one of his hands. Liam was choosing to ignore the weird feeling he experienced when he first saw them, although it felt a lot like disappointment. Seriously, why was this demon so hot. It made it hard to hate him.

It was probably about two hours later, and Liam had not moved from his spot except to get refills and use the bathroom. He watched as Isaac came into the party with Allison in hand. They were an attractive couple. He was surprised to not see Scott, since Isaac lived with him. He watched as Isaac whispered something to Allison and then separated from her as he made his way over to Liam.

“Hey, how’s it going?” asked the taller blond.

“Good” responded Liam, a little tipsy.

“I figured you would be here with Theo” was Isaac small comment. The comment wasn’t mean but there was definitely some suspiciousness in the tone that Liam could easily pick upon.

“Why?” inquired the younger teen.

Isaac stared at the younger teen seriously before responding “you guys have been… flirting lately… a lot.”

Liam let out a loud groan at that “we’ve just become close friends, no flirting whatsoever, we’re definitely not a couple” clarified Liam.

For some reason that made Isaac’s features turn more upset than before. Liam didn’t really understand what was going on. He had never seen Isaac like this before. Isaac gave a loud sigh before speaking, “Liam, we need to talk, how many beers have you had?”

Liam was not expecting this behavior from Isaac. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t really ever seen Isaac act seriously. Liam was closer to Scott and Stiles, since Isaac was dating Allison and spent a lot of his time with her. If anything, they were more acquaintance than anything else.

“Around five” he replied unsure of what to make of the taller boy at the moment.

Isaac sighed again as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Liam had to admit Isaac looked kind of cute right now despite his mood. He could see why Scott had a crush on him. He briefly wander if he should flirt with Isaac to do Theo’s plan before remembering Isaac was dating Allison. Maybe he was a little more than tipsy. “Let’s speak on Monday, during lunch, this is a conversation better to have while sober ok?”

Liam though about it for a second “…ok” he wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, whatever it ends up being about. Isaac just gave a small nod before walking away. Surely going to look for Allison.

For some reason Isaac unnerved Liam right now. This was a first. Liam usually had fun when he interacted with Isaac. Despite not being close, Isaac was one of the few people he felt comfortable interacting with because he understood how difficult it was to have a mental health diagnosis. Isaac struggled with PTSD. Liam hadn’t ever seen Isaac suffering from it; however, he had heard the tales of how he used to be and there were plenty of times were Scott got to school and informed him that Isaac was having a bad day and would be absent. However, after this last conversation, Liam was not looking forward towards any new conversations with the older boy.

“I thought you said you weren’t coming.”

Liam was so lost in his thoughts he was startled when he was spoken to. It took him a moment to identify the other person. But when he did, he couldn’t help the smile that came to his face “Mason!” called Liam excitedly. He was definitely way more than tipsy.

Mason returned the smile glad Liam made it to the party “Glad you came Li” he then began looking around the room as he wandered where the person Liam has been spending most of his time with was “where is Theo?”

The question annoyed Liam and he frowned as he responded, “I saw him with some guy and some girl heading to the backyard.”

Mason mirrored Liam’s frown at that “I told you he was a player and not good enough for you.”

That brought a smile to Liam “you were right, he’s an asshole.”

“Such an asshole… you can do so much better than Theo Raeken” commented Mason. Mason then looked pass Liam before speaking again “actually, someone in the lacrosse team has been asking about you lately.”

“Who?” inquired Liam.

Mason turned Liam around before responding “Garrett.”

Liam was surprised at the smile Garrett gave him when he noticed Liam was looking at him. Liam raised his hand in greeting. The action caused Garrett’s smile to become wider before he made his way over to Liam. Mason whispered in Liam’s ear a small encouragement “good luck champ” before walking away.

“Hey Liam” said Garrett as he reached Liam.

“He-Hey” was Liam’s response. Theo’s plan made sense. However, there was one small flaw. Liam had no idea how to flirt at all. He sucked at it rather. This was not good.

“So, I’m just going to go ahead and ask because I don’t want to step on any toes, but are you and Theo dating?”

“No!!” was Liam’s immediate response.

This brought a smile to Garrett’s face “good, I was worried I missed my chance.”

That comment made Liam blush at the implication. Then another thought ran through his head “what about you? Aren’t you dating Violet?”

“No, we broke up about a week ago.”

Liam smiled as he replied, “that’s so sad.”

“Your smiling” commented Garrett with his own smile.

“Am I? I’m sorry about that, I think I’ve had a few to many beers.”

“Is fine… so your single and I’m single… that’s interesting, wouldn’t you say?”

“I-It’s very in-interesting” stuttered Liam. Liam couldn’t believe this was happening. He has always thought that Garrett was attractive. He had thought for sure he would never have a chance with the other boy. Granted he was dating someone at the time, but Liam just figured he wouldn’t be interested in Liam if he was single. He was glad he was being proven wrong.

Garrett’s smile grew at the way the other boy responded, “you’re really cute.” He spared a glance towards the people dancing before he returned his focus to Liam “do you want to dance with me?”

Liam felt his blush intensify. He felt like he was in some kind of rom-com “I would love to” replied Liam immediately before he really thought it through. Once he thought about it, he realized a very important detail and added, “I don’t know how to dance.”

“I’ll show you” confidently stated the older blond as he led Liam to the dance floor. Liam put his beer on a table as he let himself be guided by Garret.

Once they reached the dance floor, Garrett placed Liam’s arms around his neck before placing his hands on Liam’s hips. Liam felt warm all over his body as they began dancing to the music. A slow song was playing. Then Garrett pressed himself fully against Liam. Liam couldn’t help but blush even more as he felt all of Garret pressed against him and they continue to dance to the music. Garrett pressed his forehead against Liam’s. Liam was feeling himself getting more and more flustered as he realized he was way out of his depth. “Are you ok?” asked the older boy.

Liam nodded against the other. Not trusting himself to speak.

“Are you having fun?”

Liam nodded once more.

“Can I kiss you?” asked Garrett tenderly as they continued swaying together.

Liam couldn’t believe this was happening “y-yes” responded Liam timidly and hesitant.

Garrett pressed his lips against Liam’s for a chaste kiss. After a few seconds he pulled away “how was that?” inquired the older boy.

“That was really, really good” replied Liam a little dazed.

“Can I kiss you again?” inquired the older boy.

“Yes” responded Liam as he smiled feeling more embolden.

Garrett kissed Liam again. Just as soft, but longer and with more intensity. Liam couldn’t help but give a soft groan. Garrett took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss and slipped his tongue inside Liam’s mouth. Liam didn’t offer any resistance and found himself moaning into the kiss.

This wasn’t Liam’s first kiss. However, the kiss left Liam feeling like a newbie trying to play catch up. It was far better than Liam expected it to be. Then all of a sudden, the kiss ended, as he was abruptly pulled away from the other boy. Liam was somewhat disoriented. When he managed to get his bearings again, he noticed he was pressed against Theo with a strong protective arm wrapped round him. Theo was glaring at Garrett with clear anger.

“What’s your problem?!” inquired the older blond, just as angry as Theo was.

“Liam’s clearly too drunk to be kissing anyone right now” growled the demon “so I’m taking him home.”

Garrett glared “he’s fine, he knows what he wants and clearly he wants me and not you, so fuck off with your jealous bullshit, I’ll take him home if he wants to.”

Theo looked Liam in the eyes and then asked him “who do you want to take you home Liam, me or him?”

Liam remained silent not knowing what was going on. Then Theo tighten his grip on Liam’s shoulder indicating for him to hurry up and respond “T-Theo.”

“There you have it, Liam wants to go with me, not you” spoke Theo before leaving, dragging Liam with him before the other boy could give a proper response. Liam was embarrassed at this whole thing. People were staring and he had just ruined his chances at getting together with Garrett. Still he was assuming there was an important reason for what Theo did. This was the only reason he was going along with it. Despite this belief, Liam could clearly feel his anger rising.

Theo finally let go of Liam when they made it to his truck, at which point Liam also broke character.

“What the hell was that?!” yelled Liam, clearly angry at the whole ordeal.

“Can we talk about it after I take you home?” asked Theo not wanting to deal with this in a public setting.

“Fuck no!!! I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain what happened!!! I was doing your fucking plan!!!” yelled Liam. He became angrier at the whole ordeal once he thought about how rumors would clearly get worse after what happened back there. Could it even be call a rumor at this point?

“I’m invoking my right to choose who you interact with. You can’t interact with Garrett… or Violet for that matter” stated Theo calmly.

“What does Violet have to do with any of this, she wasn’t even at the party and they’re no longer dating?!” inquired the younger human in clear frustration.

“They’re hunters Liam” was the simple response.

Liam’s heart skip a beat at that “what?” he asked as his angered died.

Theo sighed “hunters, I honestly don’t know much about them in particular, but I do know they are hunters and very much together, which raises the question, why did he approach you?”

“I’m not a supernatural creature, why would he be interested in me?” inquired the human.

“You’ve made a contract with a demon. Depending on which type of hunter they are they might kill you.”

Liam felt himself grow cold with fear “what?”

“Look, right now it doesn’t matter that much. Just stay away from them. I’ll look into it when I have some free time.”

Liam consider this for a second. Theo was supposedly a powerful old demon looking after him so he should be safe. Still he wanted to know more about the different types of hunters and the risk they represent towards him “how many types of hunter are there?”

Theo left an annoyed sigh. He was kind of hoping not getting into this conversation “too many to go into detail.”

“Why are you always so difficult?” questioned Liam as he glared at the demon, who was clearly trying to dodge the question.

“Seriously there are too many categories to get into right now” sighed the demon in annoyance “…basically you have your extremist and your normal hunter” clarified the demon. Liam nodded for him to continue “your normal hunters are willing to coexist with the supernatural world as long as they behave, while the extremist pretty much kill everything, and anyone associated with it. In some cases, they kill humans that are just friends with the supernatural creatures. Needless to say, they would totally kill a human that willfully made a demon contract” explained the demon.

Liam swallowed fearfully at the explanation “are they extremist?”

“I don’t know Liam, I’ve never been worried for my own safety due to them, still aren’t, I’m currently worried about your safety.”

“Ok, I’ll stay away from them, thank you for getting me out of that” stated Liam not knowing what else to say as he processed everything.

‘A thankful human. That’s weird’ thought the demon, not used to it “your welcome I guess, can I take you home?” he inquired as he opened the passenger door to his truck for Liam. Liam got in without any fuss.

“Have they been hunters the whole time they’ve been at our school?” inquired the younger boy.

“Yes” was the short reply as he circled around and got inside.

Liam couldn’t help but swallow nervously at that “what is going to happen if they try to attack me?” asked Liam as he looked at the demon.

Theo slowly turned his gaze towards Liam before starting his truck “don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to” was the demon’s vague response.

“What is that supposed to mean?” queried the human in confusion.

“Is pretty self-explanatory” responded the demon with annoyance as he drove out of their parking spot.

Liam fixed his eyes on Theo as he drove staring down the road “is not at all explanatory.”

Theo remained silent a few minutes before finally responding without sparing a glance “If I deem them to be dangerous then I will remove the danger factor.”

“What does that mean?” inquired the teenager still confused at the vagueness and refusing to drop the issue.

“It means I will kill them” neutrally answered the demon as he continued driving, already imagining the human’s response.

Liam didn’t know what he was expecting but it wasn’t that “what?” he felt himself grow cold at the image of Garrett and Violet laying on the floor dead somewhere.

Theo sighed “Liam they are hunters, if they attack what would you have me do? Take them out on a double date?”

“I don’t know, but not kill them” was the quick response.

“This is all hypothetical, right now we don’t know why Garrett approached you, I don’t like starting unnecessary fights, but if he is dangerous, I’ll ensure your safety first.”

All of this made Liam fearful. Theo’s words made sense from a logical perspective, but it still made him uncomfortable. He was learning a lot of things about Beacon Hills which he necessarily didn’t want to know. “Isaac was acting weird tonight. He said he wanted to speak with me.”

Theo sighed once more. “I should have seen that one coming. Relax though, Isaac isn’t a hunter. He is actually a supernatural creature, I’ll let him tell you what he is when you guys talk.”

That surprised Liam. “Is Isaac who you wanted me to speak with?”

“Nah, Isaac is pretty much a baby in the supernatural world, I doubt he’ll be helpful” explained the demon as he made a left turn. “However, be careful regarding what happened to Scott. Isaac may not react well if he learned Scott died at one point” Theo was clearly aware of how much Isaac cares about Scott after he saved him from his abusive home.

“Right” Liam already knew this, given how close he was with Scott. “How many people at our school know about the supernatural world?”

“Quite a few actually.”

“Like whom?”

“Is not really my place to expose them all” said Theo as he stopped the truck in front of Liam’s home. Liam waited for Theo to get out of the truck which he didn’t do. Rather, the other boy just gestured with his hand for Liam to leave the truck.

“You’re not going to come in with me?” inquired the teen in confusion. Theo had been sleeping in Liam’s guestroom the last few weeks in order to keep an eye on him at all times. He would always be invisible when his parents went in. Theo had explained he was doing simple illusion spells.

“Nah, take this as my apology for pretty much locking us into a fake dating trope, so I’ll leave you alone tonight, 100% my responsibility” explained the brunet. “Anyway, don’t die. We’ve just started the contract I would be very disappointed if it ended so quickly” stated the demon teasingly as he tried to lighten the situation.

Liam snorted at that “aren’t you charming?” demon humor was weird to say the least “don’t worry I have no intention of dying, I’m going to find a way out of this” said Liam with a smile.

Theo returned the smile “good luck with that.”

“Is it a good idea thought?” inquired the younger teen and then clarified “given Garrett approached me tonight.”

“Don’t worry I’ll be keeping an eye on them instead of you, so you’ll be safe.”

Liam took a moment to enjoy the peaceful silence inside Theo’s truck. For a moment he forgot about demons, hunters, or going to hell. He just looked out his window as he looked towards the dark sky and let himself find his strength again because he still had a lot of work to do if he wanted to find a way out.

“Has Beacon Hills always been like this?” inquired the younger boy as he let all of the new information sink in. He took a deep breath and slowly exhale as he tried to let go of all the tension he was feeling “with hunters and supernatural creatures running around.”

Theo grinned at the question “pretty much, unless you were in the blissful dark.”

“I miss my life among the ignorant” whined the younger boy as he closed his eyes.

“Look you’re going to be fine. I promised you one year, and I plan to hold on to the end of my bargain” said the demon sounding empathetic.

“But at the end of the year you’ll kill me” stated Liam, not sad, just stating a fact.

Theo responded in the same manner “I’m not going to kill you Liam, you’ll just die, the magic of the contract is something that has already been settled, not even I have the power to oppose it.” Theo turned his face as he look over the younger teen tired features “you, me, and Scott, we’re bound by it, and we need to follow its rules.”

“Then how can I find a way out?”

“I don’t know Liam. I told you, there might be magics out there in the world that will have your answer, and there might not be anything else.”

“How long does it takes a newbie with no training to become proficient in magic?” inquired Liam, losing hope.

“A long, long time. Usually a lot longer than one year” responded Theo with some pity in his tone. Liam didn’t know if it was honest or not.

“So, when do I get to meet your magic guy?” inquired Liam.

Theo smiled at that “Monday. Get to school one hour before it starts, and I’ll introduce you guys.”

Liam thought about it for a moment. He wanted to believe Theo but couldn’t. Theo who made fun of Liam. Theo who didn’t care about the outcome of this deal. This same Theo was being helpful and kind all of a sudden. He couldn’t get behind it “do demons lie Theo?”

“All the goddamn time.”

“Do you lie Theo?”

“All the goddamn time” slowly repeated the demon as he gave Liam a rueful grin.

“How can I be sure that anything of what your telling me is true?” inquired Liam as he let out a lengthy sigh.

“You can’t be sure.”

“You resurrected Scott, so I know you don’t lie all the time. I’m guessing things relating to our contract need to be factual, correct?”

“Yes” deadpanned the demon.

“I want to add another clause to our contract, one where you can’t lie to me” mentioned the tired teen.

Theo shrugged “sure, but there will be a price.”

“I know. What is it?” the shorter boy was used to how things worked with the demon at this point.

“Hmmm, at this time I don’t even know what to take…. Oh! How about this, you can’t lie to me either.”

“Fine” was Liam’s short response as he bit his thumb again. He grimaced at the pain, not used to it despite being his third time.

“Jeez kid, how many clauses are you planning to add to this contract?” inquired the demon as he bit his own thumb.

“As many as necessary.”

Theo held his thumb up for Liam to press his own. However, he retreated it as Liam attempted to connect them “a warning... each clause you add to the contract only makes it stronger, and harder to break.”

Liam thought about it for a moment. This made him reconsider if he wanted to add this to the contract. He locked eyes with Theo’s as he consider his options. Theo’s eyes remained perfectly neutral. Not betraying any thought or feeling.

Which was what it all boiled down to. Liam couldn’t read Theo and by default he couldn’t trust him. He was always wondering if Theo was lying or telling the truth. He needed some way to at least trust his word and this was the only way he had of making this happen. “Hopefully, this will be the last clause” said Liam as he pressed their bleeding thumbs together determined to press forward.

He felt the magic flow through his body once more. It was less intense than the other times but still intense in its own way. When it was done Liam felt too tired to move. Theo left the truck and opened the door for Liam to get out.

When it was apparent that Liam couldn’t get out of the car by himself, Theo bent over the other boy as he placed his arms under the younger boy’s knees and back as he picked him up out of the truck. He closed his truck’s door with his left foot before turning and beginning walking towards the house. “I figured you would be used to the deal’s effect by now.”

“Sorry” was the soft response as he rested his head against the other’s chest, too tired to feel self-conscious. Liam debated voicing this before finally deciding upon it “I’ve actually been wondering why you’ve been so nice about the whole hunter situation.”

Theo remained silent. Liam thought he wasn’t going to respond when the demon spoke, “I tend to dislike hunters. Most hunters tend to hate the supernatural world because they fear and don’t understand it” explained the demon calmly “that’s the most repulsive kind of hate.”

That was surprising to Liam. He never imagined demons would have any form of morals “isn’t hate an aspect of chaos” asked the other boy despite the drowsiness.

Theo scuffed “everything is part of chaos; even order. Besides, just because I like chaos doesn’t mean I enjoyed all of its aspects 100%” stated the demon as he began walking up the stairs to Liam’s room. Liam didn’t realize they made it into the house and briefly wondered how Theo opened the front door without letting him go. He was going to voice his question when he realized Theo probably used magic.

They finally reached Liam’s bedroom when Theo stopped before the closed door. Liam found himself looking up towards Theo’s face just as he saw an orange light pass through his eyes. He clearly heard the door opening afterwards.

“Anyway, I meant to say thank you. For getting me away from Garrett. I appreciate it” said Liam as his mind played the very different tragic endings, he could have met had Garrett managed to get him to a more secluded place.

That made the demon smile “you already thanked me sleepy head. Anyway, it was my pleasure. Sweet dreams Liam” stated the demon softly as he carefully deposited Liam on his bed “sorry about tonight, I guess we shouldn’t have gone to this party after all.”

“Is fine. Goodnight Theo and be careful” replied Liam sleepily as he dozed off in the comfort of his bed.

Theo gave a small smile at the reply “I will.”

Chapter Text

Liam tried and failed to stifle a yawn, maybe he shouldn’t have arrived so early for his meeting with whomever Theo was trying to get him to meet with. There were still 30 minutes left before their appointment. Liam was nervous to say the least. He was currently sitting on the back table at the school cafeteria. Liam thinks this is the earliest he has ever been at school.

He had briefly spoken with Mason when the other called last night to offer him a ride to school in the morning. Liam told him he was getting a ride from Theo. Mason was empathetic with Liam and told him he would love him no matter who he choose in the end. Liam felt bad for lying to his best friend. But is not like he could come out and tell him how Theo was a demon he made a deal with. While Garrett was a hunter who may or may not want to kill him. Liam still couldn’t believe this is what his life has become.

Cory Bryant enjoyed early mornings. He liked getting up early to enjoy the cold morning as he walked to the school and then read a book in an empty classroom. He wasn’t the most outgoing person and he was never really part of large crowds. Due to this, most of the other students often times tended to overlook his presence. Corey didn’t really mind though. He was used to the calming silence. He found it pleasant and relaxing.

“Hello” greeted Theo in the other’s ear as he sneaked up on the unsuspecting boy.

The squawk that Corey let out was loud and undignified. Thankfully, he was alone in the classroom.

“Theo, why are you here so early?” Theo was never at school this early.

“I came to see my best friend in the whole world” stated the demon. Corey couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that.

“Ok?”

“Yeah… so how have you’ve been… I feel like we haven’t really talked lately, are you still stalking Mason?” inquired the demon with feigned interest.

“Again, I’m not stalking him, I’m guarding him.”

“Whatever, how has his relationship with Liam been lately?”

Corey hesitated briefly before responding, “It’s been good, Liam has been somewhat distant, however, I’m sure that is purely temporary…” Corey paused for moment and wondered why Theo was asking about Liam and Mason. Corey knew Theo and Liam had been spending some time together, however he didn’t think too much of it. Theo gets interested in people all the time. His interest in them usually wanes after a few weeks.

However, Theo never asked Corey about them. Something was going on “why are you asking? what did you do?” inquired Corey suspiciously. Corey had been busy these last few weeks, so he was not really aware of any important developments.

“Oh wow, your suspicious at that part” commented Theo with a low chuckle “I did something, something which you won’t approve of.”

“What did you do?” inquired Corey once more as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“I made a contract with Liam” stated the demon bluntly.

The silence stretched for a few minutes before Corey further inquired, “what kind of contract?”

“I resurrected Scott and then I get to keep Liam’s soul at the end of the year” there is no way of sugarcoating this, so the demon figured is easier to just rip the bandage.

Corey closed his eyes to contain his rage and the other emotions going through him “you did what?”

Theo looked at Corey skeptically before responding “I’m assuming that was a rhetorical question so I’m just going to wait until you processed all of this before responding.”

“Undo this deal, I know you, you always leave a clause where either party can undo the deal at any time” commented Corey.

“Yeah, I have, however, I’m having fun right now, I don’t want to undo the deal unless Liam wants to” Theo was expecting Corey to react this way.

“Oh my god Theo how do you think Mason is going to react when Liam dies at the end of the year… he is going to be distraught; how could you do this” Theo couldn’t help but sigh. Of course, Corey would care about Mason’s well-being over everyone else.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting it either, the opportunity just happened, and it was too good to pass up. Liam gratefully accepted the contract by the way” explained Theo before abruptly shifting gears “by the way, I promised to introduce Liam to someone that knows about magic, so… I’m introducing him to you.”

“You need to undo this deal Theo… I can’t have Mason losing his best friend” begged Corey desperately.

Theo rolled his eyes “jeez… either ask him out or leave him alone… your infatuation with him is weird at this point.”

“Shut up, it doesn’t have anything to do with love and infatuation… I’m guarding him to ensure he has a happy life, something which you are currently preventing” it always bother Corey when Theo made fun of him for looking after Mason.

“I don’t really care Corey; can you meet with Liam in 10 minutes?”

It was things like this which made him wonder why he was best friends with Theo. The guy could be an asshole. Nevertheless, he needed to convince Liam to undo this deal “Fine… I’ll meet with him, just so you know I’m going to recommend he renegades on this deal” clarified Corey.

“I’m good with that” responded the demon.

“Fine!” stated Corey angrily.

“Fine” was Theo’s calm response.

“Ok, where is he?”

“I don’t know, what am I his keeper? I told him to get here one hour before class started. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere, go find him” demanded the demon.

“Fine” was Corey’s annoyed response because he knew Theo knew where Liam was. He was just being a dick for the sake of it. After all they were bound together by the contract. Corey disappeared before Theo’s sight as he went to search for Liam.

“Yeah, he’s pissed” Theo wasn’t surprised, it was why he had been avoiding telling Corey of the whole ordeal. Theo should probably stop trying to piss him off. However, he loves pushing other’s buttons.

Liam had been waiting for Theo’s contact for a while now and they were late. Liam felt more and more anxious as more time passed. Liam was thinking about calling Theo when he noticed someone walking up to him in slow steps. Liam looked at the other boy coming his way. “Hey” greeted the other boy as he reached him.

“Corey?” he asked in surprise “can I help you?” Corey was a classmate that Liam knew very little of. They only shared one class together, however, Liam had never had any interaction with him. He was surprised he was talking to him all of a sudden.

“Theo sent me” was the small response from the other boy as he took a sit in front of Liam.

Just like that, Liam figured Corey was the person Theo wanted him to meet and that he wasn’t human “what are you?” he asked as he assessed him and tried to decipher just what kind of supernatural creature he could be.

Corey sighed “that doesn’t matter, what matters is that this deal you made with Theo is a mistake, and you need to unmake it.”

Liam glared “do you even know what our deal is?”

“Theo told me.”

“Ok, what is it?” inquired Liam skeptically.

“You sold your soul and Theo resurrected Scott” stated Corey simply.

“… yes” was Liam’s response. He didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish. It was obvious Theo would tell him about the contract. Liam knew he was just feeling petty because the other was asking him to drop this entire deal.

Something which Liam had thought about over and over again. He felt guilty every time he did because it meant sentencing Scott to a second death. Something which he didn’t deserve.

“Listen Liam, I get why you made this deal, I get it, however, Scott, for better or worse, was supposed to die at that moment, is not your responsibility or duty to resurrect him” explained the taller boy.

Liam shook his head “I can’t kill him again.”

“I’m not asking you to kill him again… I’m asking you to keep the natural order of life and death and not alter it, regardless of how sad that may be” was Corey’s callous response “there are always consequences for the disruption of the natural order of things… especially at the level of resurrection.”

Liam glared once more as he felt the anger build up inside him. He understood what Corey was saying. It made sense; however, he didn’t want to listen to this. He didn’t want to recognize that it was always fated for him to kill Scott. He wouldn’t accept this outcome. So instead of continuing this conversation Liam decided to focus on something else “shut up, what do you know? what even are you for that matter?” inquired Liam “I know Theo is a demon but what are you?”

Corey Bryant sighed at the question “Liam, it doesn’t matter what I am.” ‘Humans are always so emotional’ thought Corey in annoyance.

“I disagree, I think is very important and is weird that you don’t want to tell me…what are you?” inquired the younger boy once more, determined to get to the bottom of this. Solving this was easier than solving whether or not Scott was supposed to remain dead.

“I’m an angel alright” was Corey’s response.

Liam’s eyes widened at the statement “what?” was Liam’s shocked inquiry.

“He’s an angel” whispered Theo against Liam’s ear. Liam fell to the ground in shock as he pulled away from Theo.

Once he calmed down, he asked again “Corey is an angel? for real?”

Theo and Corey both nodded in acknowledgement.

“Seriously… he’s a literal angel from heaven?” asked Liam as he got up from the ground and sat in the chair once more. Corey nodded while Theo shook his head.

“Corey is a fallen angel… no longer associated with heaven in any way” clarified the demon.

“Yes, but I was associated with heaven prior to my fall” defended the angel.

“Several millennia’s ago, right?” inquired the demon with a raised eyebrow at the other’s defensiveness.

“… yes” was the angel’s reluctant response. “Anyway, can I speak with Liam privately Theo.”

“I have ownership over Liam’s privacy unless he specifically requests it from me… so no” stated the demon smugly.

Cory rolled his eyes in annoyance at the demon’s antics “Liam can you ask him to leave us alone?” requested the angel.

“Theo leave me alone for half an hour until I finish speaking with Corey” stated the human.

Ultimately, they agreed for Liam to request his privacy by mentioning Theo’s name and then stating how long his privacy would last.

“As you wish milord ” said Theo as he bowed before disappearing.

Corey scoffed “jeez, what a drama queen” said the angel at Theo’s theatrics. Liam let out a chuckle at that. Not used to someone mocking Theo for a change.

Cory gave a small smile at Liam’s laugh before returning to their conversation “seriously… you need to renegade on this deal Liam.”

“Scott would die if I went back on it” stated Liam sadly.

“He was supposed to die in the first place. It is the way natural order was supposed to partake.”

“You’re a fallen angel, don’t act so high and mighty” Liam was getting mad again. He already made his decision and there was nothing anyone could say that would make him back down.

“Look, this deal, it won’t bring happiness, it never will, it’ll only bring despair one way or another. Maybe not to Scott and his family, but to yours and Mason’s” this only caused Liam to glare more intensely at the angel. “At this point, if you renegade on the deal you would not even be able to be tracked down since the assault happened weeks ago so you would go free, 100%” explained the fallen angel as he desperately tried to convince the teenager to back down.

“Is not about going free… is about ensuring Scott survives” stated Liam.

Corey gave a loud sigh. He could understand were Liam was coming from, however, he still could not accept this. After all, once the one year was done Liam would die and Mason would be broken at the death of his best friend.

“Why do you even care so much whether I keep this deal or not? And don’t tell me to restore the natural order, that’s bullshit, and you know it.”

Corey sighed as he rubbed his temple “fine… I’m actually Mason’s guardian angel. I’m concerned how your death is actually going to affect him, I know is selfish but for Mason’s sake I would choose your life over Scott’s.”

Liam swallowed at that. He had tried so hard to avoid thinking about how him dying could affect those close to him. “How can you be a guardian angel if you’re a fallen one?” He’d rather focus on something else instead of thinking about how his love ones will react if he dies.

“Most guardian angels are fallen ones. Heaven rarely finds any humans worthy enough to protect” Corey sighed once more clearly frustrated. “I know you probably think I’m evil cause I’m a fallen.”

“If you’re going to give me the whole speech about how good and evil doesn’t work the same way as we think, save it, I’ve already heard it from Theo.”

“I’m sure, and then Theo has been behaving like an asshole and probably freaking you out at every turn, correct?”

Liam managed to give a small smile at the question “pretty much.”

Corey groaned “he gets like that… I’ll give you a tip… don’t react to his provocations and ignore him… it’ll drive him crazy; he is pretty much an attention whore.”

“I’m not sure is safe for my health to drive a demon crazy” it was tempting, although slightly suicidal.

“He won’t do anything to you. Despite everything, Theo is pretty loyal to those he makes a contract with, he won’t ever hurt you.”

Liam wanted to believe that. But he couldn’t “how did you fall?”

Corey looked away from Liam at that “that… is a taboo question for my kind.” Liam got that from the tone.

“Look I can’t have Scott dead, but the reason Theo set up this meeting is because I’m searching for a way to get out of this deal with both me and Scott alive… so if you really want to help Mason, help me with this.”

Corey exhaled in frustration as he turned his gaze towards Liam again “I’m more knowledgeable than Theo regarding alternative forms of magic, however, not only is a soul contract one of the most powerful magics in existence, but the condition that you set for it is also of the highest order” explained Corey looking at Liam with pity. “We’re not talking about life or death magic; we’re talking about resurrection which means directly stepping into both realms simultaneously… there aren’t many magics that could help you find a way out of this... and if there are… it would be at an immense cost.”

Liam felt his hope off escaping this begin to slip “but there are magics that dabble on this… like necromancy.”

Corey shook his head “necromancy is death magic… it dabbles with undead creatures and spirits; they absolutely cannot resurrect anyone.”

“What about something like holy magic?” asked Liam as he felt himself breathing faster in anxiety at the prospect of not being able to find a way out.

“Holy magic or white magic is life magic they can heal things, but they can only do things for those that dwell in the realm of the living, not the realm of the death.”

“Both Scott and I are alive right now.”

“But both of your lives are bound to this contract” Cory considered the options regarding using this type of magic and he supposed Liam was right. At the moment they were both alive. However unlikely, perhaps there was some ray of hope in further researching this type of magic “I don’t think this magic will help, but at this point this may be your best option in finding something.”

Not the most hopeful, but it was something “do you have anything I could read or someone that can help.”

Corey looked at him in silence for a moment as he consider this. He could give Liam access to the books he possessed but it wouldn’t help. First, Liam had no knowledge on magic, he wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails on any of his books. Second, there was the clear language barrier. Lastly, they needed extreme and powerful magic in order to find a way out of this contract. The kind which probably only the most powerful magic users possessed and understood.

Corey knew that Liam had no chance of getting out of this by himself. It was an ordeal, but Corey could already imagine Mason grieving his best friend. Corey needed to help Liam out of this. “Fine, I’ll help you… I’ll go over my books and get back to you, just give me a few days, this will probably take a while.”

“I can help with the reading” said Liam enthusiastically and happy at getting some real help.

“Most magic tomes aren’t written in English, at the very least not any that I possess.”

“Oh, I know a little bit of Spanish and French.”

“Do you know ancient Sumerian, Greek, or Latin?” Liam shook his head disappointedly “then you can’t help with the reading… just relax for the next few days, go to the movies” Corey then smirked maliciously “take Theo to a movie about drama, he cries in those.”

Liam couldn’t help but feel exited at that tidbit of information “really?”

“Yup” replied the angel with a nod “if you manage to get him invested in the movie, you’ll see a crying demon.”

Liam was going to try this at one point. But for now, he need to do something to get out of this mess he found himself in “ok, you handle the reading, in the meantime is there someone you can introduce me to that could help.”

“Just ask Theo to introduce you to someone else, we pretty much know the same people, although, honestly, I don’t think any of them will be that helpful.”

“I’m not sure he will want to introduce me to someone else” he could already imagine Theo laughing at his request.

“He will” stated the angel with assurance.

“Can I ask you some other questions before you leave?” inquired Liam. Liam didn’t know much about fallen angels, but Corey seemed to be far more helpful than Theo. He also answered the questions directly instead of a roundabout way like Theo would.

“Sure.”

“Garret and Violet are hunters, right?”

“Yes, stay away from them, they could be dangerous.”

“Theo said the same thing… Garrett hit on me at Saturday’s party, what do you think that means?”

It was a hard question to answer. Potentially this could be very dangerous. Although, at the same time it could mean nothing. “Not sure at this point, but to be safe make sure you’re with Theo most of your time.”

“Ok” not the most informative but it would do for now. There was something else he wanted to know more about “another thing, you said you were Mason’s guardian angel, what does that entail?”

“Oh, I make sure to protect him and help him when he needs it in order to ensure his happiness in life.”

Liam nodded in understanding while still being confused “why?”

Corey looked at him in confusion “because I’m his guardian angel.”

“No, I mean, why are you his guardian angel?” clarified the younger teen.

Corey smile at that “because he is one of the best individuals in the whole world.”

‘Ok’ though Liam. He also felt like Mason was the best “how long have you been his guardian angel for?”

Corey though for a moment before replying “ever since you got expelled from your old school, I watched as you lost all of you friends except Mason, he helped you, comforted you, and stood by you. People like that are really hard to find so when I saw Mason was one of them, an honest and compassionate human being… well, don’t you think that he deserves to get all of his dreams to come true.”

Liam reminisced with a smile at the memory. Because yes, Liam had lost all of his friends except Mason. Liam remembered trying to push Mason away. Telling him he should get a better friend; that he deserved better. But he never left.

“Is weird, do all fallen angels and demons just watch people living their lives?”

“Valid question” said Corey with a sad smile “one of the downsides of living forever is running out of passion for things, eventually, you don’t want anything, you don’t care for anything, so rather than focus on our hollow eternal lives we focus on the lives of your kind, brimming with dreams, hopes, and joy.”

“It doesn’t seem like being immortal is all that great” stated Liam empathetically.

“It can be amazing at times… but really tragic as well… when you have a demon and an angel attending high school is because their searching for some direction.”

Liam couldn’t help but let part of him feel sorry for both Corey and Theo. He decided to change the topic instead of dealing with these emotions.

“Have you been a guardian angel to others?”

“Yes, I’m currently a guardian angel to a young man in Spain and a girl in Brazil.”

“Your pretty cool” said Liam. Liam thought that just maybe fallen angels weren’t evil. “How about I introduce you to Mason during lunch?”

Corey’s eyes widen in shock “No!” the outburst took Liam by surprise. “You never, ever, ever meet the humans you are guarding, that is guardian angel 101.”

“Sorry” said Liam not understanding the big deal “why?”

“Is bad luck to meet your guardian angel” Corey briefly wondered if Liam was insane or humans were just that uneducated.

“Seriously, this is all due to superstitious nonsense” Liam was starting to think there was something wrong with Corey. Apart from being a fallen angel.

“Is not nonsense.”

“Then why is it considered bad luck?”

“It doesn’t matter, is a rule and you’re not supposed to break rules” stated Corey getting frustrated at the human’s resistance.

Liam was beginning to doubt how helpful Corey could be “you’re a fallen angel, I’m assuming you’ve broken a very important rule.”

“Yes, and as result I fell; besides the rule I broke was stupid and unnecessary, unlike this one, which is important.”

“I can’t really judge that because you haven’t told me how you fell” replied Liam as he rolled his eyes.

“I told you is taboo!!” Corey couldn’t understand why Liam didn’t get the issue.

“Hey Liam, who’s your friend, I’m Mason by the way” greeted the main subject of this discussion.

Corey sat frozen as he freaked out internally at meeting the human he was guarding. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

‘Oh my god, this isn’t happening’ thought the angel over and over. This was all Theo’s fault to begin with. He was going to smite his ass. He knew going to the same high school as Mason was a risk. But Theo convinced him to stay, after Mason started going to their high school. Then the jerk makes a contract with Mason’s best friend and asks Corey to meet with him.

“Is he ok?” asked Mason as he looked back and forth between Corey and Liam.

“Corey?” inquired Liam. It seems they broke an angel. He has been staring at Mason without blinking for over a minute. Liam never realized how long a minute could be. “Corey? Are you ok?”

Mason had no idea of what to make of this. But it was too early on the day to deal with whatever was going on. Liam has been all over the place lately. Mason has been worried, but he was still trying to give him his space. “Liam, I think I’m going to let you and your…friend alone to… whatever… and bring me up to speed later today because I have questions about this” with that he walked away.

“Sorry! I’ll totally explain” said Liam to his retreating friend with no idea how to explain this.

“Did-did he saw me?” questioned the angelic being once Mason was out of hearing range.

‘Are you shitting me?’ Liam couldn’t believe this was really happening. Then he saw the honest and hopeful face before realizing it wasn’t a rhetorical question. He was waiting for an answer “yes” was Liam’s exasperated response.

Corey fainted after that. Liam was not expecting that. Other students rushed over. “Is he ok?” asked one of the students. Liam didn’t know how to respond. He was regretting getting out of bed today.

Corey had a pulse and he was breathing. They ended up taking him to the school infirmary. Liam was waiting for the Principal whom the other students went to get. The doctor hadn’t arrived yet to the school.

Liam stood up when the door opened. Having no idea how he was going to explain what happened to the Principal. He slumped back on his chair when he saw who it was.

“Hey Li” greeted the demon gleefully.

“Your angel broke” said Liam seriously and tiredly.

Theo laughed at that “he’s fine, he is just being dramatic, but fine nonetheless, just came from speaking with him.”

“I’ve been with him the entire time” said Liam looking between Corey and Theo in confusion ‘what is going on?’ wondered the human.

“What? Oh no, no, no, no, Corey ditched his vessel, his freaking out back home in his true form. That is just an empty vessel” said Theo as he pointed to the Corey lying on the bed.

That hadn’t occur to Liam. He hadn’t even imagined that Theo and Corey would have another form. Which made a lot of sense since they’re not really human. Which brought a very important question “You guys are possessing people?” Liam had been getting annoyed at Theo left and right and he hadn’t even considered that he hasn’t been speaking with Theo, just the demon possessing him.

“No, possession doesn’t work like that” replied the demon calmly.

“How does it work?” inquired Liam. He knew Theo was being honest because of the deal but this was still very weird.

“You can’t possess living things; you can possess corpses though.”

Liam swallowed uncomfortably at that. That meant the real Corey and Theo died. The only question was did demon Theo and angel Corey killed their vessels in order to possess them.

“By the way, we didn’t kill anyone for these vessels, I can see your dark train of thought in your face… just look at Corey’s vessel, is still breathing, his heart is still pounding even after the possessor left.”

“Ok, so how can you guys possess Theo and Corey?” this was getting confusing and Liam knew that Theo was getting a kick out of Liam’s reaction which was why he was being so slow with his explanation.

“We made these vessels” stated Theo factually.

“What?”

“We, made, these, vessels.”

“You made a human being.”

Theo alternately bobbed and shook his head as he answered, “yes and no… their technically not human, just really, really, really, human-like… but neither has an actual soul.” The magic behind this was an extremely more advance version of a golem spell.

Liam was done. He was done with the supernatural world for the rest of this day. He was ready to go home and just sleep until Theo collected his soul. Then as if in mockery of what his life had become the bell rang. Signaling the start of his first class. He hated high school.

Theo ended up taking Corey’s vessel home and erased the witnesses’ memory of what happened. Which explains why no school officials asked about Corey. Liam had so many questions. However, only one question was eating at him right now as he looked at his latest text message. It was from Isaac, a reminder that they were going to speak today during lunch.

Liam was not looking forward to that discussion. Isaac was some form of supernatural creature and Theo hadn’t really told him much, other than to have the conversation and that Isaac knew that Theo was a demon. He might want to get together with Liam to warn him. But Liam wasn’t sure.

What he was sure was that if Isaac learned that Scott had died at one point and that it was Liam’s fault, he would never forgive Liam. Liam couldn’t help but wonder if Isaac would hurt him since he was a supernatural creature. Liam wanted to bail on this meeting. When the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch, Liam decided to do just that, he was going to renegade on the meeting with Isaac, he was just going to go home and hide out. Liam quickly gathered his belongings before dashing out the door.

“Liam!” greeted the older teen with a forced smile “let’s have a chat.” Apparently, Isaac had been waiting for Liam’s class to end for some time. Based on his features Liam could tell the older blond was not happy. He was worried on how things would play out from here on out.

Liam didn’t respond but went with Isaac regardless. Liam was really nervous since he had no idea what was going to happen. This was the one time he actually wanted Theo around and the asshole was nowhere in sight.

“I’m not going to hurt you Liam so relax a little” stated Isaac. Isaac’s comment startled Liam. They’ve been walking in silence the whole time and Liam was not expecting it.

Eventually, Isaac and Liam found a secluded place outside. Liam tighten his grip on his schoolbag’s straps nervously. “What do you want to talk about?” Liam wandered what kind of supernatural creature Isaac was. Was he a werewolf craving for his flesh, a vampire about to drink his blood, or a zombie going for his brain?

“Good god, you’re going to give me a headache with all the emotions pouring off you?”

“You can tell how I’m feeling?” that wasn’t exactly a scary ability.

“My kind are a bit of empaths among other things, it can get really annoying at times. I’m new at this so is hard shutting it off, so can you please find a way to calm down” explained the teenager as he rubbed his head.

Liam took a few deep breaths and got himself to relax “so… what are you?”

3 weeks earlier, the day Liam made his contract with Theo.

“What’s going on?” asked Scott to no one in particular. Last thing he remembered was struggling to breathe and then he was fine.

“Scott?!” Scott turned around at the mention of his name. He came face to face with Liam. He had a terrified look on his face and then all of a sudden, he dashed towards Scott.

Liam’s odd reaction terrified the senior and he took some quick steps forwards in order to meet with Liam. “Liam, are you ok?” It appeared like Liam was about to ram into him. Scott braced himself for the impact, however, Liam did not crash into him. Instead he passed straight through Scott without stopping.

Scott was shocked ‘what just happened?’ he wondered.

“Scott, Scott, oh my god!!!” were Liam’s desperate cries.

Scott slowly turned around and fell backward at the scene that greeted him. There was Liam in the floor crying and shaking an unconscious Scott McCall. Which didn’t make any sense because Scott was looking at them. Liam kept muttering things, but Scott was too shocked to make the words out.

The next words he was actually able to register did not belong to Liam. They belong to a once good friend of Scott, Theo Raeken “Liam?” questioned the other boy. “I heard a scream… is Scott ok?”

“He isn’t breathing?”

Liam explained to Theo what occurred, and Scott was starting to understand what it meant. Nevertheless, Theo clarified it for him and Liam “he can’t wake up, he’s dead Liam.”

‘I’m dead’ Scott began hyperventilating. He felt like he was having another asthma attack even though it was impossible because he no longer had a body. Scott listened to Theo comforting Liam.

Scott was angry at Liam for hitting him and leaving him alone, he felt angry at Theo for cutting him and Stiles out of his life even if it didn’t have anything to do with this, but most of all he was angry at himself for being so stupid to be without his inhaler. He should have known better.

He wonder how his mother and Stiles would take the news of his death. He then thought of Isaac who has already lost an entire family and now he would have to lose someone else. Isaac who Scott was in love with and never told him. He wished he had told him once, even if Isaac turned him down. Scott was surprised to find himself crying, he didn’t think souls could cry.

He had been too distracted on his own thoughts and feelings to really pay attention to what was going on between the other boys. However, Theo’s words grasped his attention once more “all your troubles would be solved if I simply… resurrect Scott.”

Scott watched Liam react angrily and trying to shove the older boy unsuccessfully. Scott himself did not know how to react and then Theo looked pass Liam and made eye contact with Scott as he smiled.

“You can see me?” asked Scott.

Theo gave a brief, almost nonexistent nod in his direction before he sighed and sidestepped Liam who fell to the ground.

Scott watched as things unfolded. Theo’s eyes shifted black and then offered to resurrect the dead teen once more and Scott felt hope. He then heard Theo ask for Liam’s soul and felt his hope die. He watched as Liam confronted Theo about being a demon, about heaven and hell, about dying at the end of the day, and then as the demon gave him one year.

“Liam don’t take this deal” Scott wanted to live right now more than anything. But not if it meant anyone’s death. “I’ll be fine Liam, I had an asthma attack, this was my fault, not yours.”

But no matter what Scott said Liam didn’t respond. Instead Theo did “he can’t hear you; he's only an ordinary human being.”

Scott was surprise at hearing the demon’s voice since his mouth did not move and his attention never left the younger boy. Despite this he pressed on “don’t make this contract Theo I want to stay dead.”

Scott listened to Theo chuckle at that “no you don’t, is just you, being you once more, and putting someone else’s need before your own… you never change.”

Scott still couldn’t understand how Theo was communicating with him while still addressing Liam, so he ignore it and focused on the pressing issue, “please, don’t do this deal with Liam.”

“The ball is in Liam’s court at this moment and he seems pretty determine to go through with this.”

“You could just choose to not make the deal” Scott had a lot of question but right now the only thing that matter was protecting Liam.

Theo chuckled amusedly “I swear you’re like the knight in shining armor of a fairy tale, selfless, loyal, and kind” Theo said in mockery “but you're dead and you no longer get a chance to protect anyone or anything… you just get to watch powerless from the sidelines as the story unfolds.”

Scott glared at the demon “if you do this, I’ll find a way to stop you.”

“So scary” said the demon playfully. “If I’m being honest you’ve been the most amusing human I have observed in a long time, you’ve completely exceeded all my expectations in life and in dead.” At the same time Theo continued to explain things to Liam and they were reaching the end of their conversation which would lead to the contract’s creation.

“Theo stop!” said Scott desperately as he realized time was running out.

“Scott there is nothing you could say, nothing you could do, which could stop this… so just embrace it and enjoy your new life.”

“Why are you doing this in the first place?”

“Because I can, and I want to… do I need another reason?”

Scott watched helplessly as the contract was established.

“What are you doing?” asked Theo as he stopped Liam from pressing their lips together.

“Sealing the deal.”

“With a kiss?”

“Is-is that not how it’s done?”

“No… is sealed by blood… we both cut ourselves and then make contact between the injuries.”

“You couldn’t have said that before?”

“Sorry, didn’t think you would mouth attack me.”

Scott noticed as the blood began flying out of their wounds and onto his corpse. Scott then felt this odd sensation running through him and he blacked out. When he came to, he was on the floor. His eyes landed immediately upon Theo who was lowering Liam to the ground.

“Liam!” yelled Scott as he got up and rushed to his friend’s side. His legs wobbled a little during this.

“He’s fine. The contract can have an overwhelming effect on human beings. He’ll probably sleep the rest of the day” calmly explained the demon.

Scott glared at him “how could you do this?”

“Your welcome by the way” replied Theo as he rolled his eyes at the accusing tone.

“I didn’t want this.”

“Liam did.”

“Cancel it!” demanded the brunet with evident anger.

Theo groaned in annoyance “I’m not here to talk about the contract with you Scott, I’m here to ensure you don’t die.”

“What?” inquired the human in confusion.

“I already explain how souls could be altered by going to the afterlife.”

Scott remembered that conversation “I haven’t been to heaven, hell, or purgatory.”

“I know, I kind of downplayed things for Liam a little in order to not scare him” explained the demon as he sat in the grass by the other teenagers “how are you able to remember what happened recently?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were dead, your brain wasn’t processing new information, so how come you remember?”

Scott thought about it for a moment before responding “because my soul experienced it.”

Theo nodded at the response “correct, however your body has not and there lies a very important dilemma, which is call realignment. It entails the realignment between a soul that has experience things and a body that has not.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means your soul will be providing your body with information it has not experienced in order for the soul and the body to realign… the longer a soul is out of the body the more strenuous the process is on the body” explained the demon “especially to someone that has a weak body… and at times it can end up failing completely.”

“Are you saying I’m going to die either way.”

“Kind of.”

“That would be breaking the contract.”

“Not really, I resurrected you, whether it takes or not long term, at this moment I brought you back to life which was what I offered Liam.”

Scott glared at the demon who was taking advantage of Liam “your unbelievable.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment” said the demon with a smile “either way I wasn’t finished explaining. Failure to realign successfully means one of two things could occur, one is the complete separation between body and soul, which is death, and the second is the complete destruction of the soul as all life leaves and brings forth an undead being… one of the many ways undead creatures are made” usually death was unlikely unless we’re talking about the resurrected individual choosing to kill themselves in order to avoid turning into an undead.

Scott swallowed at that as he imagined turning into some form of monster.

Theo rolled his eyes “relax, you were dead what, 15-20 minutes, I didn’t really keep track of time, but realignment should be easily achievable for you despite your weak body, I’m just waiting to see if I need to help you during the process” it was mainly a problem when the time of resurrection and the time of death was too different. After all, there is only so much information a physical body can process regarding things which can only be experienced as a soul.

“Help me how?” as Scott asked this, he felt an immense pain shoot through his chest, and he fell to the ground.

“Yep, it looks like you need some help after all” said the demon as he got up and made his way over to Scott.

“What are you going to do?” asked the senior as he tried to back away.

“Memories from the soul can never be truly erased or destroyed and when a soul has experience something the body has not it will always do its best to make sure the body experiences it as well” explained the demon as he knelt before the other boy “this process cannot be stopped… but it can be slowed down… slowing it down will diminish the strain of the realignment process on your body.”

Scott though about what Theo was saying before realizing where he was going with this “I’ll forget about everything that happened today?”

Theo nodded “for some time yes… it’ll probably take from 6 months to a full year to fully get those memories back.” Theo couldn’t help but think about how weird memories were. If the soul experiences something which the body has not it will give the body such memories. However, if both the soul and the bodies experience the same thing it was possible to remove it from just the body and let the soul remember, which would mean the person would only remember once they died. The rules which govern all magic were weird to say the least.

“By which point Liam would most likely be dead which goes with your plan” Scott scowled at Theo.

Theo sighed “don’t say it like is my plan and I’m the bad guy. After all, if your body weren’t so weak, I wouldn’t have to do this, I just told you, I was seeing if I would have to interfere at all.”

“I don’t believe you” said Scott through the pain.

“Oh my, however will I sleep tonight?” mocked the demon as his eyes shifted color and he cast the spell upon Scott.

Scott woke up startled. He has not been feeling great the last few days. He missed the party on Saturday and today he missed school. He keeps having some kind of nightmare which he keeps forgetting what is about. He knows is something regarding Liam, Theo, and himself. However, he has not been able to grab any of the details. He is about to try to fall asleep again, still feeling tired when his doorbell rings.

Scott gives a muffled groan in frustration against his pillow before he gets up. He remembers to put on some sweatpants and a shirt before heading downstairs. When he hears the doorbell ring again, he lets out an “I’m coming!” as he descends from the stairs.

When Scott opened the door, he was surprised to see Theo standing there. “Hey Scott, how are you doing?” asked Theo politely.

“I’m good, what are you doing here?” asked Scott confused. School was still in session so the other boy should definitely not be here.

Theo gave Scott a once-over before responding “just wanted to make sure you were ok… you weren’t in school today and I didn’t see you on Saturday.”

Scott gave a light frown, because Theo and him, haven’t really been close in a lot of years “I’ve felt better, but is nothing to concern yourself with.”

Theo gave a slight nod in acknowledgement “well if everything’s good I’ll leave you to rest.” Theo just needed to see Scott to determine his condition. For a bit he had been wondering if maybe he should have slowed the flow of memories with a stronger spell. But one look at him and there were no signs of rejection, just the expected strain. He’ll continue to monitor the human boy all the same but is very likely nothing to worry about.

“Hey Theo…” began Scott when Theo turned to leave.

Theo turned back to Scott “yes?”

“Liam… what are you doing with Liam?” inquired Scott. Scott trusted Liam, but he still couldn’t help but worry about his younger teammate.

Theo smirked at that “is it mama hen #2’s turn to protect the baby chick?” he asked mockingly.

Scott’s face remained serious despite the clear sarcasm “seriously Theo.”

“I don’t really see how that’s any of your business McCall” replied Theo.

Scott sighed at that “maybe is not, but I just don’t want Liam to get hurt.”

Theo found the whole situation ironic. Scott didn’t want Liam to get hurt and Liam didn’t want Scott to get hurt. It was a sad thing, but this was the real world and the second Liam agreed to the contract someone was guaranteed to get hurt “you need to let the little kid fall so he can get back up.”

“I’m not worried about him falling, I’m worried about you pushing him to the floor” said the teenager frustrated at the other boy’s clear lack of interest in the conversation.

“Well, who knows, I’ll start by pushing him down on the bed… we’ll see how kinky we get” commented the demon suggestively as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Could you just answer the question seriously and we can move on… what are you doing with Liam?”

Theo thought about it as he debated what he wanted to answer, “I just think he’s interesting right now.”

Scott frowned at that “you tend to lose interest pretty quickly.”

“True… haven’t yet… can’t promise I won’t” was the demon’s response.

“Does Liam know that’s all this is?” inquired the teenager worryingly.

“I would hope at his point he be aware of how fickle I can be. I’ve mentioned it to him a lot” answered the other boy.

Scott sighed “fine, if he knows, then that’s fine, I’m sure there must be something about you that Liam’s seeing that draws him to you… take care of him” finished Scott with a smile.

This confused the demon “take care of him? You clearly didn’t approve a second ago and now your giving me your blessings.”

Scott gave a small sighed at that. “Look I know me, and Stile have not always treated you the best but… whatever happened between us was a long time ago and I guess I don’t know who you are right now… but if you’re important to Liam you’re important to me.”

Theo tried to contain the frown that reached his features. ‘Again’ he thought. Once again Scott McCall broke through his expectations. Once again Scott McCall proved to be the kind person he had always been. And that was the most frustrating thing of all.

Even if Scott didn’t really remember what happened his intuition should be telling him to be wary of Theo. Hell it should be telling him to be wary of Liam. Yet here he was willing to give Theo a second chance because he was supposedly important to Liam. “How can you be so kind all the time?” asked the demon.

This has always been the one aspect of Scott he has never been able to decipher. How can one human being continue to be so kind after everything he’s witnessed and experienced. Surely, he had a breaking point. After all, everyone did.

Scott gave a small shrug as he smiled “because I can, and I want to… do I need another reason?” Theo turned away from Scott at that and walked away. It was pointless to talk about it with him.

Theo waved Scott goodbye as he left “careful Scotty, kind people tend to be devoured and left for dead in this world” it already led to his death once. Theo wondered if it would lead to his second one.

Theo was driving away from Scott’s house frustrated with the conversation. He supposed he always felt that way after long conversations with the other boy. He couldn’t understand why Scott’s kindness unsettled him so much. It was chaotic after all. It had gotten him in plenty of trouble. Hell, it even led to his death, but rather than appease Theo it just unsettled him.

Scott had been Theo’s main source of entertainment for the last 3 years. As much as he enjoyed watching his life it also left him feeling uneasy at times. It was a weird dichotomy to say the least. He has not had any luck deciphering the why of it all.

“Hey Theo” the demon swerved at the unexpected appearance of his angelic friend.

“Dammit Corey” he said not expecting his friend’s appearance.

“Sucks doesn’t it?” asked Corey amusedly.

“Shouldn’t you be locked in your library looking for a way out for Liam?” asked the demon annoyed, although he was glad his friend had gotten over his freak out from earlier.

“Before we get to that conversation, I witnessed your little chat with your pal Scott” said Corey.

Theo groaned loudly at that as he drove, heading back to the high school “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You never do but I think is time we did given you resurrected the guy” replied Corey with worry in his tone.

Theo sighed in defeat. He could tell when Corey would and wouldn’t let things go and he wasn’t letting this one go anytime soon “fine… I’m upset at Scott’s kindness… is stupid and I don’t get why it upsets me so much.”

Corey sighed again “ok my old friend I’m going to serve you some knowledge.”

Theo briefly considered jumping out of his truck but ultimately decided against it since at this point, he had become far too attached to it to see it destroyed “dear lord.”

“Don’t get all religious on me” said the angel flippantly “Theo… despite being a powerful demon your actually still pretty young when compared to others… so there are a lot of things you have yet to experience.”

“What would you know of demon experiences? you’re an angel.”

“Yes, but the way we grow an evolve is surprisingly similar between angels, demons, and reapers” said Corey “question, how are demons, angels, and reapers born?”

“Corey I already know all of this” the demon couldn’t help but think this was a pointless endeavor.

“Trust me I’m going somewhere with this so answer the question” encouraged the taller boy.

“The souls that go to their realm eventually become them” stated the demon. A human in hell will eventually become a demon and so on.

“Right and what happens to these souls?”

“They kind of get a reset. They forget all of the experiences of a human being and start over as a demon, angel, or reaper” this was all common knowledge in the afterlife.

Corey smiled at that “and there is your conundrum.”

“What?” Theo was confused.

“The dichotomy between the two facts of a soul will never forget a memory and the fact that apparently their memories are erased when they become an angel, demon, or reaper” explained the older of the two.

That surprise Theo because it was something he had never thought about before “ok… what does that mean?”

“There are several theories in place, the most respected one is that although we may not have access to the memories we had when were once human, they are actually still there, and they influence our behavior” clarified the angel.

Theo frowned at that “that’s never happened to me before though.”

“Like a said, despite your power and age, in the grand scheme of things your considered young, this tends to be something that happens more to older beings” explained the angel melancholily “you can usually identify your human memories influencing your actions when you find yourself doing things and being drawn to things you can’t really explain.”

Theo thought about it and it made sense “like with Scott” Scott was interesting to observed but he could never understand some of the negative feelings he brought forth at times and why despite this he stuck around observing him.

Corey nodded “do you see where I’m going with this?”

Theo briefly looked at Corey before returning his sight towards the road and groaned in annoyance “… you think there’s a reason for me making this contract other than I was having fun.”

The angel nodded “when was the last time you made a contract?” Theo didn’t respond but the last time had been roughly 100 years ago. “When was the last time you offered a contract instead of being summoned to form one?” ‘about 500 years,’ answered the demon in his head.

“I get it Corey; I have some issues to work out so I should cancel the deal, right?” the demon could guess the angel still was mainly worried about Mason.

Corey gave a loud sigh “as much as I would like that… no, you need to see this through till the end. In my personal experience when you run away from whatever your past life is pushing you towards… is far more painful than facing it” Corey had ran away several times and all it did was intensify his hollowness. If this contract would bring Theo some form of closure, he would help him with it.

“Is frustrating though” said Theo as he found himself helpless to manage the situation. He hasn’t felt helpless in a long time “will I remember my past life at the end of all this?”

Corey gave a sad smile at the question “I’ve never heard of anyone actually getting access to their human memories again… the current theory is that even though they’re there we’ll never have access to them because we are no longer human ourselves.”

Theo couldn’t help but think that was a sad resolution for the struggle of it all. After all, he would be unable to truly determine if this had anything to do with his previous life as a human being.

“That’s depressing” said the demon softly. Corey just nodded in understanding.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as Theo continued to drive them to the school. He figured by now Liam should be done with his meeting with Isaac.

“So, Liam… have you found a way to help him?” inquired Theo with every intent of changing the subject.

Corey looked at the demon unimpressed, already used to his antics “before we get into that, I have to ask, why did you give Liam a full year to live?”

Theo thought again of the purpose of that question and could easily tell he was not going to like where Corey will take this conversation “he was amusing” stated Theo through grated teeth. Unable to keep the annoyance from his response.

“When was the last time you gave a full year for a contract?”

Theo didn’t respond.

“Never, if I’m not mistaken” responded the angel. He held his chin in though as he continued “I believe your exact explanation for it was something along the lines of humans are interesting but being bound to one for so long is a nuisance.”

Prior to Liam the longest contract he had ever kept was six months. Demons usually liked given longer contract in order to gain more power, however, Theo gained tremendous power early on so that was never an issue for him. Thus, he had never had to put up with long contracts and he has never been interested in them. Liam had just been an impulse thing. Nothing more, nothing less, or at least Theo wanted to believe that. However, if Corey was right about past memories influencing decisions, perhaps there was more to it than he initially believed.

“Fine… tell me your theory” demanded the demon. Because it was better to know things than be ignorant. Regardless of how frustrating the answer would be.

“I think its related to why you resurrected Scott… it probably revolves around kindness” explained the angel.

“How does kindness relate to Liam” he understood how kindness related to Scott, but Liam was an angry teenager if there ever was one.

“I think Liam is another contradiction, his anger has made him do an awful thing, however, he is willing to die to correct his mistake… and I think that’s something that calls to you as well… he was both cruel and kind” clarified the angel.

Theo had been surprised by Liam’s willingness to die rather than renegade on the deal. However, he was convinced that if the youth didn’t find a way out, he would renegade on the deal rather than die. Theo couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he wanted to find out if Liam would actually go through with this when push comes to shove. After all, one year was a long time to reminisce of all the thing he would lose. Instead of dying in the moment in which he could just ignore all the things he would lose until there was no way back.

Theo thought about it the rest of the drive towards the school. Thankfully, Corey didn’t press the issue further.

As Theo parked in the school, he noticed a very important detail. He couldn’t feel Liam in the school “he’s not there.”

“What?” inquired Corey in confusion.

“Liam… I can’t feel him in the school” he clarified. He should be able to feel him due to the contract. However, as he tried to focus on his location, he noticed he was somewhere towards the west of the school, rather far west actually. Corey couldn’t find him in the school either when he tried to actively search for the contractor.

Both briefly wondered what it meant. “Isaac wanted to speak with Liam… I assumed about me being a demon, but I figured they would be done by now”

Corey thought about it. Isaac was relatively new to the supernatural world, so there shouldn’t be any concerns. Then he thought about how Isaac lived with Scott and couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was a small chance of Isaac realizing what happened to Scott “you don’t think Isaac knows about Liam and Scott do you?”

Theo scuffed at that “no way.” Then Theo considered that possibility a second time, and he supposed it wasn’t impossible Isaac somehow found out the details of the contract. Theo and Corey shared a look as they both thought about just how much Isaac cared about Scott and the different ways in which he could react if he did actually found out the full details of the contract.

He might actually be thankful to Liam for making the deal since it meant Scott got to live. On the other hand, he could blame him for Scott dying in the first place and want to kill him. Granted, Isaac has never killed anyone, but you never know how someone will react when acting out due to their emotions.

“Maybe we should find Liam as soon as possible” stated the angel with concern.

“Yeah” agreed the demon as he pulled out of the school’s parking lot.

“So… what are you?” inquired Liam not knowing what to expect. It was clear Isaac new about Theo. Liam just wanted to get some insight on just what he was speaking with.

“Before that, why don’t you tell me about your relationship with Theo” said the blond with a smile. It was clearly forced and transmitted his frustration.

Liam didn’t respond at first, unsure of what to make of the other’s mood “we’re just friends.”

Isaac sighed irritated at the response “Liam I know that Theo is a demon and it seems you know he is as well, correct?”

Liam gave a reluctant nod in admittance.

“Then please enlighten me, how did you went about learning such information?”

Liam hesitated once more. He wondered how to answer said question. If he told Isaac he made a contract with Theo to resurrect Scott who knew how he would react.

The longer Liam took in responding the more frustrated the taller teenager became as his patience continued to dwindle “did you make a contract with him?”

Liam swallowed before giving a reluctant nod. He noticed how Isaac’s hand curled in a fist.

“What kind of contract?” it sounded calm, but the other’s features were anything but.

Liam didn’t like the direction in which the conversation was going “it has nothing to do with you” Liam opted to dodge the question altogether.

Isaac glared “fine” he said through gritted teeth “then explain to me what it has do with Scott.”

That shocked Liam. Despite Isaac’s clear anger he didn’t think he would suspect Scott was involve in anyway. After all, Theo didn’t suspect Isaac knew the details of the contract. He had explicitly told him to avoid telling Isaac regarding Scott’s involvement.

“Every time I touch him, I feel you and Theo” pressed Isaac as he took a step towards Liam, which caused Liam to take a step back “at first I didn’t notice… but as more days passed it became harder to ignore” Liam wanted to leave but couldn’t.

Especially at Isaac's tone. Liam could hear it clearly. What lies behind the anger was fear. Something Liam was all too familiar with. Isaac was trying to make sense of something he didn’t understand and given his expression it was clear he had been struggling with the possible meaning of it for some time.

“I’m sorry” stated Liam.

“Why are you sorry?” asked the taller blond in a broken voice.

“It happened about three week ago” began Liam reluctantly “after I stormed out during lunch and Scott followed… remember?” Isaac nodded and the younger teen took it as a sign to continue “Scott found me and I attacked him… he was laying on the floor when I left… when I came back... apparently he had an asthma attack and... he died” Liam finished with a small voice looking away from Isaac.

When Isaac didn’t respond or uttered a word Liam choose to continue “Theo appeared then and offered to resurrect Scott if I gave him my soul after a year” Liam reminisced sadly on that day and how awful it had been “I took it… I’m sorry for what I did” ended Liam without shifting his gaze from the ground ashamed at the whole ordeal.

The silence seemed to stretch for hours. It was agonizing and Liam didn’t know how much more of it he could take.

Then, it broke with a simple “no” Liam looked up at his companion at the unexpected response. Isaac looked rattled to his very core. “No!” he repeated as he took a step back as he began hyperventilating “NO!” he repeated in a raspy voice.

Isaac then tripped over his own feet, falling, and then quickly getting up “Isaac” called Liam worriedly as he took a step forward to make sure he was ok.

“Stay back” said Isaac out of breath as he quickly took a step away from Liam.

Liam continued to watch as Isaac struggled to breath. “Isaac, I think… I think you’re having a panic attack” he stated recalling when he had one right before making the deal with Theo.

Liam heard footsteps behind him “Isaac are you ok!?”

Liam turned around at the voice “Mason! What are you doing here?”

“I followed you” Mason saw Liam leaving with Isaac and followed him, he stayed back waiting for them to be done talking so he could speak with Liam when he witnessed Isaac fall to the ground and hyperventilate. At which point Mason rushed over to them to make sure he was all right.

After witnessing Isaac struggling to get in one decent breath of air both Liam and Mason attempted to go over to his aid. The movement was noticed by the older boy who took a few step backs in fear as he felt like he was about to be corralled “STOP!”

Both boys stopped in their track. However, this was not done of their own free will.

‘I can’t move’ thought Liam as he attempted to move forward and then tried to take step back.

“What’s going on?” asked Mason terrified. Apparently whatever Isaac did was not affecting their ability to speak.

“Everything is going to be ok Mason, so calm down” Liam tried to sound reassuringly but he wasn’t sure how well he did considering he couldn’t keep the panic out his words.

Isaac was still having a panic attack and he dropped on the floor.

“Are you ok?” asked Liam despite his fear when he saw him fall. After some time without any response he repeated his question “Isaac, are you ok?”

“Shut up!” yelled Isaac from the ground and Liam could no longer speak. From the lack of sound from his best friend Liam figured neither could Mason. Liam and Mason could only remain still and quiet as they watched and listened to the older boy gasp for breath. It was the only sound that could be heard, and it was deafening to the two younger boys. Watching the tall blond fight for each breath of air was a painful sight to behold.

It didn’t help that their bodies felt tired from maintaining the same position, however, they were unable to stop. Liam continued to focus on Isaac who was clearly having a serious panic attack and couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. He then took noticed on how Isaac amidst it all managed to pull his cellphone from his pocket and do something with it before it slipped through his fingers and fell to the ground.

Liam couldn’t really tell how much time passed since he couldn’t check the time, but it certainly felt like an eternity. He felt like his legs wanted to give in, however, they weren’t allowed to. He was definitely worried about this whole ordeal; he could only imagine how much worst this was for Mason who had no idea of the supernatural world. Liam didn’t want Mason to be involved in any of this.

“Isaac!” Liam couldn’t recognized the voice, although easily enough identified it as female. He did recognized the figured that went past him and knelt in the ground by the blond. It was Isaac’s girlfriend Allison Argent. She briefly spared a glance towards Liam and Mason. Confusion clearly marring her beautiful features before returning her focus to her boyfriend.

“You’re ok, you’re ok” she sounded oddly calm yet worried. Soothing and afraid. “Just focus on my breathing and heartbeat” she said as she pressed his ear again her heart. She made a big gesture of deep breathing and slowly but surely Isaac followed her lead. Liam could easily determine this wasn’t the first time she had help him through a panic attack.

It took several minutes, but Isaac visibly calmed down. “Isaac, sweetie… can you cancel whatever you ordered Liam and Mason to do” requested Allison after a few more minutes passed.

It took a moment and then a light flash passed through Isaac eyes. It wasn’t like when Theo did magic. The flash only appeared over Isaac’s irises and it was the color of the stars and just as bright.

Liam and Mason both fell to the ground in exhaustion. “I’m sorry” they heard Isaac say before he hid his face in Allison’s neck. They all stayed like that for few minutes before Isaac removed himself from Allison’s embrace and turned away from them. Clearly still upset.

Allison on the other hand got up and turned to face the younger teens. Her gaze shifted from Liam to Mason as she assessed them. Liam was also assessing her because it was obvious, she was aware of the supernatural world given how she asked Isaac to release them. “Ok… there is a lot going on right now… Mason given by your reaction I’m guessing this is your first contact with the supernatural.”

Mason’s feature became more frightened “the what?”

Allison continued speaking as if Mason had never spoken as she turned to Liam “Liam, given by yours, this isn’t your first time with the supernatural world.”

“Yeah, I know about the supernatural world” said Liam. Mason looked at Liam in shock but remained silent not knowing what to do with this information right now.

“What are you?” asked the brunette.

Liam was feeling defensive since he still didn’t know what exactly Isaac was and now there was Allison who most likely was something as well “you already know about Mason I think is only fair you disclose about you or Isaac first.”

Allison looked back at Isaac who was still looking away from everyone as he sat on the ground hugging his knees. He continued to try to get himself under control still feeling overwhelmed with what happened. He was feeling a lot better but still did not felt like himself.

“Fair enough” stated Allison as she turned her attention to the younger boys once more “Isaac is a pixie.”

Liam’s face contorted in confusion “a what?”

“Isn’t that like a fairy or something” asked Mason.

“Kind of… fae is the overall term for all fairy like beings” explained Allison “Within this cluster you have three types of beings pixies, sprites, and fairies. The difference between them is mainly a difference in power and status with pixies being the weakest and fairies being the mightiest.”

Liam was not expecting to get involve with any type of fairy. This was a lot less scary than a werewolf, zombie, or a vampire “so basically he is a baby fairy.”

Allison shrugged her shoulders “if you want to call it that… sure.”

“He can control people with his mind?” asked Mason as he was trying to wrap his head regarding what happened.

“Pixies have a lot of different abilities, compulsion, empath, enhanced strength and speed, flight, alternating their size, among many others… the most amazing ability which is share among all fae beings is true immortality” clarified the older girl.

Liam got most of it although he was a little confused at the particular wording at the end “what do you mean with true immortality?”

“Basically, what it sounds like, a fae cannot die no matter what, they’re the only beings in existence that can do that.”

“Do demons die?” asked Liam because he figured demons couldn’t die.

“Demons can live forever as long as they are not killed by something stronger than them” clarified the brunette. A single question pass through her head at Liam’s inquiry ‘why was he asking about demons specifically?’ As far as Allison was aware there was only one demon at this school “Liam… what are you?” she asked once more, this time worried about the answer.

Liam hesitated briefly not wanting Mason to hear this, but he knew his best friend wouldn’t leave, no matter what “I’m a contractee… I made a contract with a demon.”

“What?” asked Mason in a rasped voice that contained surprise, fear, and pain.

Allison closed her eyes as she left out a long sigh “I’m guessing the demon in question is Theo Raeken.”

“…Yes” was the reluctant response.

Allison looked at Isaac once more as he clearly tensed at the subject and she wondered what kind of deal Liam made and why did Isaac have such a strong reaction. Allison knew Isaac and Liam were on friendly terms, but they really weren’t that close “what kind of contract did you make?”

Liam remembered the deal he made with Theo. He then remembered the part which stated Theo wouldn’t lose his soul as a result of Liam dying if he divulged the contents of the contract. He had already told Isaac. At this point, whether he told Allison and Mason or not, the secret was out and there was no going back.

Then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch and letting them know they need to go to class in the next few minutes. Allison let out an annoyed sigh at that “maybe we should move this conversation someplace else.”

“You want to skip school?” inquired Mason, who had never skipped a day in his life. Liam didn’t care, he had questions for both Isaac and Allison.

Allison knelt by Isaac’s side “hey are you feeling up to this?”

Isaac let out a long breath before nodding as he stood up with Allison who followed his lead “yeah… I feel better, sorry about before” the last part directed to the younger boys.

Liam and Mason just nodded in acknowledgement not knowing how to address the older boy as they remember how he had compelled them to stay still and quiet.

“How about we meet in the parking lot in about 20 minutes?” inquired Allison with an awkward smile as she tried to diffuse the tension.

“Will they just let us leave like that?” inquired Mason. It was a valid question.

“Don’t worry I got you covered” stated Isaac.

“What do you mean?” questioned Liam.

Isaac’s response was a simple raised eyebrow which seemed to ask really? Liam then remember Isaac’s ability in manipulating others and then understood just how stupid his question was.

Liam and Mason were inside of Mason’s car waiting for Isaac to come out of the school so they could all leave together. They could easily spot Allison’s car. She was already in the driver’s seat waiting for Isaac as well.

Liam could tell Mason had questions he wanted to ask. He knew the other boy was just deciding which one he wanted to ask first.

“Why did you make a demon contract with Theo?” eventually asked Mason without looking at his friend.

Liam sighed because of course this would be the first question. It was impossible for it to be anything else “I don’t really want to explain this multiple times, so can you just wait until the meeting with Isaac and Allison… I’m pretty sure we’ll be talking about it then.”

They returned to silence after that for a few more minutes before Mason spoke again. “You know you can tell me anything right?”

Liam wanted to say yes. But he remained quiet because how could he tell Mason he accidentally killed someone and then expect him to continue to be his friends. Mason had stood by Liam through a lot, but this, this was something else. Liam didn’t want Mason to know the details of what transpired but at this point he couldn’t ask him to leave. Liam wouldn’t be that selfish.

It wasn’t long when they spotted Isaac leaving the school building and getting into the passenger sit of Allison’s car.

After Isaac talked to the school officials and convinced them to not contact any of their parents or guardians and allowed them to leave the premises of the school, they found themselves at a dinner.

Liam was somewhat concerned regarding having this conversation in a public manner. However, Isaac assured them he would be able to limit the distance the sound of their voice would travel.

Everyone was seated and they all got something to drink. Liam had a lemonade and he was slowly drinking it through the straw as he tried to delay talking about the contract he made. Everyone was looking at him expectantly and Liam knew there was no point in trying to delay this “I accidentally got Scott killed three weeks ago and then I sold my soul to Theo in order to resurrect him.”

Liam figured it was better to keep things simple rather than get into a complicated situation. No one spoke after that for some time. Next thing Liam knew he was being pulled into a hug by his best friend “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you” stated Mason with sadness in his voice.

Liam didn’t know how to react and was surprised at himself when he hugged his friend back and began weeping in his friend’s embrace. He hadn’t realized just how lonely it had been to deal with everything by himself. Liam realized he didn’t deserve a friend like Mason. He was happy to have him all the same.

He let himself be comforted by the other boy. He didn’t know how long he cried in his friend’s shoulder. He knows it was long enough for the waitress to return, for Allison order wings and fries for the table, and then for the waitress to deliver the order a while later.

“I’m so sorry for not telling you about it, I wanted to tell you so much” stated Liam as he felt himself run out of tears.

“It’s ok” said Mason as he ran his fingers through his friend’s hair comfortingly.

“Liam, I know this is tough, but can you walk us through everything in detail?” inquired Allison in a soothing voice.

Liam nodded before recounting everything that happened. He described how Scott had followed Liam and how Liam reacted, he recounted about finding Scott in the floor and trying to get him to wake up, he described Theo and his offer, he described the clauses he added to the contract, the situation with Garrett, and how Liam was trying to find a way out of the contract without losing Scott. Liam decided to leave out Corey out of the conversation after sparing a glance at Mason. He wasn’t sure how to explain a fallen/guardian angel just yet.

Allison remained calm and attentive at Liam’s explanations “dealing with demons is always tricky… after all their interest and desires can be pretty much everything.”

Liam’s experience with Theo had proven to be confusing to say the least. He had no idea what to make of the demon. Sometimes he seemed harmless and at other times he appeared lethal.

“Demons aren’t necessarily evil… but they are chaotic beings and thus is hard to predict ultimately were their loyalties lies” stated Allison. Most of the information humans had regarding beings which drew power from the afterlife actually came from demons.

Nevertheless, as helpful as demons could be at times it didn’t change the fact there were a lot of dangerous demons. Theo hadn’t really hurt anyone in his time at Beacon Hills. Still Allison couldn’t help but wonder regarding the purpose of this deal. She figured she will have to speak with Theo privately in order to gain more information.

Liam was surprised at that “demons aren’t evil?” He hadn’t dare ask that question again to Theo because he was scared of the answer. Hearing someone else make that statement though was surprising. Some part of him was relieved to find out that maybe Theo wasn’t truly evil.

“Not really” she stated as she shook her head “most demons are very passionate and they tend to act regarding what they feel and their impulses, sometimes that leads them to do things which you and me would consider evil and at other times do things we would define as good… in the end they are just chaotic, both the bad and the good parts” explained Allison. Liam nodded in understanding. There was something about the way she spoke which just led Liam to believe her.

“Ok… so we have a year to help you find a way out” interrupted Isaac as he changed the flow of the conversation.

Liam was surprise at the wording “you’re going to help me?”

“Of course,” was Isaac’s determined response “I know what is like to lose control of yourself… and to regret it afterwards” Isaac thought back to the time he was locked in a closet with Allison and he freaked out. It was the day Allison found out he was a fae. If Scott hadn’t gotten them out of that closet when he did, who knows what would have happened. Luckily back then Scott just saw Isaac having a panic attack and didn’t notice anything else was wrong. “Thank you for saving Scott.”

“You don’t have to thank me… it was my fault after all” he stated regretfully.

“How about we stop pointing fingers and just think of finding solutions” stated Allison as she was determined to save both Liam and Scott from this contract.

“Before we get into that” interrupted Mason “we never really got to learned what you are Allison.”

Allison let out a sigh as she knew how Liam would react “I’m… a hunter… my whole family is.”

Liam’s breath hitched at the revelation. Because, last thing he heard about hunters was that they kill humans like Liam.

Isaac took notice of Liam’s response “Allison isn’t one of those extreme psycho hunters… she is dating me and I’m definitely no longer human” explained the fae.

Liam then recall how Theo said some hunters were willing to live with the supernatural world and let out a deep breath in relief.

“Oh my god, you guys are like Romeo and Juliet” stated Mason enthusiastically.

Allison laughed at that “hopefully not… they died in that story.”

“I literally cannot die so don’t worry.”

“Well good for you, however, I literally can.”

Liam couldn’t help but laugh at the couple exchanging banter with each other. It was clear to see how comfortable they were with each other and just how much they care for the other. Liam hopes to find something like that someday. “Thank you” he had felt so alone this past three weeks. This was the first time he truly felt like one way or another, things would work out.

They remained in silence for some time after that before Mason broke it. “Question, how did you became a pixie?” Mason was full of question regarding the supernatural. Currently, Isaac was the only actual supernatural creature in the vicinity, and he was dying to find out more about him.

“A fairy turned me about two years ago… it happened when I was still living with my father” Isaac responded melancholily.

Everyone knew Isaac’s story. It had been all over the news when his father was arrested. He had abused Isaac for years and had locked him in a freezer in the basement. Liam couldn’t even imagined what experiencing that kind of trauma could do to someone.

Then Isaac got an idea “actually she checks up on me at times, maybe I could ask her if she knows something.”

Liam appreciated the sentiment. However, he doubted a fairy would be all that helpful “I’m not sure a fairy would know a way out of this.”

Allison raised an eyebrow at that “Liam, I’m guessing when you think of a fairy you think of those cute little things in children’s stories” Liam just gave a shrug as if to say ‘so what’ “fairies are generally considered one of the most powerful beings in existence… their power is said to easily rival those of top angels, demons, and reapers… asking a fairy for help is a smart thing to do.”

That surprised Liam “are they really that strong.”

“There is an old saying among all supernatural creatures, don’t ever piss off a fairy because they can never die, they will never forget, and they will never forgive” stated Allison as she took a sip from her drink before continuing “some fairies are said to have the power to alter reality itself at their whims, so yes they are really that strong.”

Liam turned to Isaac as he responded “ok, how soon can you ask your fairy sire thing?”

Isaac gave a small chuckle at Liam’s description “she drops by whenever she wants, last time was 6 months ago” stated the pixie as he thought about how he actually didn’t have a way to contact her “hopefully, she’ll drop by again soon.”

Liam couldn’t help but let out a frustrated sighed a that. It was something, however, the fact that he couldn’t tell when the fairy would contact Isaac again was frustrating since he was working with limited time here.

“Sorry, I know is not ideal, but I’ll let you know as soon as she shows up” said the taller boy apologetically.

Liam nodded as he let go of his disappointment. After all, today was turning up to be far better than yesterday. He had a fallen angel researching spells and he possibly would be able to get information from an all-powerful fairy. He briefly wondered why Theo thought Isaac would not be helpful. He supposed the demon could have been lying back then, since he stated that prior to the clause which did not allow lying.

“Ok, can we like talk about something else… a lighter topic” Liam was tired of all of this. He just wanted to relax the rest of the day.

Allison and Isaac nodded as they responded with “sure” ready as well to be done with all the tension.

Mason however was not ready to move one “hold on I still have questions” Liam groaned at that which earned him a glare from his best friend “is about Theo, is that his real name?” he inquired before clarifying “it just doesn’t sound very demon like.”

Liam couldn’t help but think that, that was a really good question. He suddenly pondered why he didn’t ever asked that himself. He had another form it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Theo to be a fake name.

“Oh my god that’s it!” stated Isaac excitedly as he locked eyes with Allison.

“What?” inquired Liam in confusion. The couple ignored Liam as they seemed to engage in a silent conversation before Allison’s expression mirrored Isaac’s in enthusiasm.

“That’s right his name!” she stated as she turned towards Liam.

“What?” he repeated in confusion.

“Right… you guys are newbies” stated Allison in realization “demons have a lot of rules in order to be able to interact in the living world. One of them is that only a small portion of themselves and their power is actually able to roam in the physical world while the rest stays in hell” explained Allison. She continued when Liam and Mason both acknowledged understanding what she had just communicated “the only way for them to actually completely cross over to our world is for them to actually be called here with their true name which they can never willfully reveal to another being.”

“…right” this was all new information Liam didn’t know, however, he missed why this was so important.

“Liam… Theo told you that you needed to pay with something of equal or higher power to two souls… if you summon all of Theo’s power into this world with his true name, this should more than pay the price for you and Scott’s lives” explained the brunette girl.

Liam eyes widened in shock at the realization of how he could go free “w-would that work.”

“I think so, you just need to ask Theo to confirm, after all, he can’t lie to you” commented Allison.

“Ask me what?”

The question took the whole table by surprise as Theo Raeken walked over towards them. None of them had noticed his presence before he spoke. Corey was trying to hide behind Theo in order to avoid Mason. It was a weird sight given Corey was taller than Theo.

“Theo!” called Liam surprised. He was not expecting the demon to suddenly appear here “what are you doing here?”

“Well you weren’t at school so I just...” he stopped commenting as he looked at everyone on the table.

Liam caught up to the fact the demon wasn’t sure who knew what here “I told everyone about our contract.”

Theo sighed annoyed ‘great’ he thought as he sat next to Liam in the booth. Corey squeaked at the fact he no longer had Theo to hide behind and took a seat next to Isaac at the opposite side of Theo, Liam, and Mason. Corey was looking away from Mason and refused to make eye contact.

‘What a freak’ thought Liam at Corey’s odd behavior. He wondered if all fallen angels were this awkward.

“Corey was it?” asked Mason towards the other. Corey just nodded without looking at him “are you a supernatural creature like Isaac and Theo?” Corey reluctantly nodded once more, clearly uncomfortable. “What are you?” Mason couldn’t help the enthusiasm at the prospect of finding out more about the supernatural world.

“He’s an angel” stated Isaac.

This surprised Liam since he figured Isaac didn’t know.

Mason couldn’t help the excitement that passed through his features “for real, you're an angel?”

“He is a fallen one though, so don’t get too excited” commented Theo annoyed that he now had to explain things to a new person.

“I’m still a real angel though” said Corey while pouting at Theo’s clarification.

“Sure, you are sweetie” spoke Theo condescendingly as he rolled his eyes “anyhow you guys seemed to have a question for me.”

“If-if I summoned you with your real name… would this be an adequate price for resurrecting Scott and me keeping my soul?” Liam was nervous at the inquiry because at the moment this was his best chance at getting out of the deal.

When Liam dared to looked at Theo’s features, he was surprised to find a look of shock at Liam’s question. He had never seen this reaction on Theo. It lasted a few minutes before Theo smiled “if you are able summon me with my real name you would be able to commit a massacre and resurrect them as an equal trade… it would more than cover yours and Scott’s lives.”

Liam couldn’t help the smile that graced his own features as he finally saw an actual way out.

“Finding out my real name though is another ordeal altogether though… I’m honestly doubtful you will be able to decipher it before this contract concludes” commented the demon. He would love nothing more than for Liam to summon him at full power. However, it was very unlikely he would be successfully.

“There are ways to reveal a demon’s name” interrupted Allison.

“True, but all of them are difficult” stated the demon as he stole a few fries from the table before continuing “besides the research part can be tricky since the summoner needs to actually be the person that found the name” this was one of the most confusing part in summoning.

If someone did the full research, found the demon’s true name and provided them towards someone else, the actual summoner would be considered the person that did the research. Which sucked for Liam because Corey knew Theo’s real name already. However, if he told Liam, the actual summoner would be considered Corey instead of Liam and this trade would only be possible if Liam was the actual summoner. Theo explained this to the others at the table.

“Nevertheless, there are ways to find out” stated Corey still looking away from everyone. He pulled a mirror from his pocket and gave it to Liam “this is a revealing mirror… as you find out things about Theo, the mirror will slowly but surely reveal the letters of his real name” clarified Corey hating that Mason was giving him so much attention. He could tell even if he was looking away “it’s not as easy as it sound, learning enough things from a demon as powerful as Theo for the mirror to reveal his full name can take a really, really, really long time, however, at the moment is the best option I can give you without giving you his name which would forever rob you of going free.”

Liam took the mirror, he wondered if he already knew enough about the demon that one letter would be revealed. However, upon inspecting the mirror there was nothing there. Liam let a long groan in frustration. “I supposed nothing is ever easy.” Just for once Liam would like for things to easily work themselves out.

“Where would the fun be if it was” was Theo’s reply.

Liam couldn’t help but send a glare towards the demon “you told me Isaac wouldn’t be able to help with the contract, but he’s been more than helpful.”

Theo spared a look towards Isaac in surprise “really?”

Liam nodded “it was his idea to find out your name.”

Theo scoffed at that. They were really underestimating how difficult it is to find out the name of a demon and summoning it. Liam could pretty much circumvent the summoning part since Theo was already on Earth. All Liam had to do was call Theo’s true name with 100% certainty. Guessing wouldn’t work since nothing would happen. It wouldn’t work if Liam called his true name with even the slightest uncertainty “10 bucks you don’t figure it out.”

Liam choose to ignore that “he also told me to ask a fairy since they are very knowledgeable.”

Theo straight up laughed at that. Liam also noticed Corey actually had an amused face at Liam’s suggestion “that may be, but good luck actually finding one.” Finding a fairy was nigh impossible. They only appeared when they wanted to.

Liam felt a sense of smugness wash over him at actually having something over Theo “we’re just going to wait until the fairy that turned Isaac returns.”

“Dude, that fairy is long gone” was the demon’s amused response as he stole a few more fries.

It seemed like Theo had the idea Isaac wasn’t in contact with his fairy. “Actually, she visits me every so often” clarified the taller boy.

That took Theo by surprise “seriously?” When Isaac nodded, he shared a look with Corey. Corey who had been trying his best to look away to the side of that table to avoid Mason returned the look. “… good luck with that” this time Theo’s tone was anything but jovial.

“What was that look you two shared?” inquired Allison worried at the reaction.

“Nothing” was Corey’s response.

Theo attempted to say the same thing but couldn’t because Liam was right there, and Theo could not lie. He ended up looking weird to the others as he just opened his mouth however, no words were ushered.

Liam had a realization at Theo’s behavior “you were about to lie, weren’t you?” he asked annoyed.

At this point Theo figured it was easier to tell the true “fine… fairies don’t really… you know stick around and check on the pixies they just turned… not without a motive, they are not exactly the model of selflessness.”

Isaac frowned at that “you think it want’s something from me?”

Theo shrugged unsure “I mean… most likely, is a fairy for crying out loud.”

Corey supported Theo’s opinion “when they turn someone into a pixie, they do it because they find the human interesting or worthy, but they don’t really look after them” everyone focused on Corey as he spoke and clarified Theo’s vague response “if this one is looking out for you I would be concerned about why is doing it… especially if it’s a really old fairy… they can be dangerous to deal with.”

Isaac swallowed nervously. He didn’t really know a lot about the fairy that turned him, however, he had always been thankful for being turned. She appeared to him one night while he was locked in the freezer. A small ball of light in the dark that offered him power so he wouldn’t have to take anyone’s abuse. He accepted and even though it took him some time he started to lose the fear he felt towards his father.

He probably wouldn’t have had the courage to tell the police what happened if she hadn’t appeared before him and turned him. This was the first time he was wondering if maybe accepting to become a pixie had been a mistake.

Liam saw Isaac’s worry and tried to help “if the fairy wants something, does it necessarily mean is going to be a bad thing?”

Theo and Corey shared another look before Theo responded, “I mean not necessarily… ultimately it would depend on what it wants… which could be pretty much anything.” Fairies were difficult to deal with. Theo was willing to bet anything, whatever this fairy wanted from Isaac; the teen was not going to find it pleasant. But ultimately this wasn’t his problem “you should ask her why she is so interested in you” this would be his final warning regarding the fairy the demon would make.

Isaac was still somewhat concerned but he was good with the fact it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the fairy to show interest in him “ok, so I think this is enough supernatural talk for one day.”

“Yes” said Liam in agreement. Allison nodded while Corey and Theo shrugged.

Mason, however, still have plenty of questions “come on, I’m new at this, I have questions.”

Everyone else groaned at the exited human. Nevertheless, they tried to answer Mason’s questions. Mason asked how Corey fell and Corey left the table and went to the restroom for about ten minutes.

Mason asked about hell, heaven, and purgatory, if Avalon existed, he asked what other supernatural creatures were in Beacon Hills, and he requested more detail regarding hunters. Allison and Isaac answered most of his questions. Corey would get flustered when Mason addressed him. While Theo would give vague answers to his questions. He hated playing teacher to newbies.

Liam couldn’t help but smile at the whole ordeal. It was weird but it was the nice kind of weird. After being on edge for the last few weeks it was nice to have a moment to slow down. Liam and Isaac’s phone then made a noise as they received notifications.

Both boys checked their phones. Isaac groaned as he read over the text. Liam’s let out a sigh in frustration. It was from Stiles asking where the hell they both were since apparently; they were late for lacrosse practice. They could try to make it but at this point it was clear they would not be getting there on time.

Theo read the message on Liam’s phone. It was amusing how angry Stiles was since he was pretty much by himself. “Theo” called Corey. Theo made eye contact with Corey, who had his serious face. Theo felt it then “at this point you guys shouldn’t even try to go to practice, just take today as an off day and go to practice tomorrow.”

Liam had asked Theo to remove the doppelganger spell. Theo had reassured him he would be able to rectify the spell, so the doppelgangers acted appropriately (not flirt with each other) but Liam was not willing to take that chance a second time. Thus, he would return to attending classes for the time being.

“I agree, take it easy you guys” said Corey as he supported Theo’s suggestion.

Allison looked between the two suspiciously before ultimately agreeing with them “you’re already late and is one time.”

Isaac and Liam looked at each other before they agreed to just miss practice today and texted Stile as much.

“Good for you, I on the other hand need to get back to my research for Liam” said Corey as he stood.

“What research?” questioned Mason.

Liam sighed as he realized he needed to explain more things to Mason. Still Liam found the angel’s departure as weird “we probably won’t stay all that much longer it probably won’t make a difference if you stay.”

Theo shook his head “Corey doesn’t like hanging with crowds, he probably reached his daily quota a long time ago” explained Theo. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the reason why Corey was leaving. Theo was generally good at toeing the line between truths and lies.

With that Corey said his goodbyes and left. The rest of them stayed and got to know each other better. Liam and Mason were trying to become better acquainted with Isaac and Allison and vice versa. Theo remained uncharacteristically silent.

His thoughts were full of confusion as he tried to understand his own rationale based on his past life. He could easily discern he resurrected Scott because he still had not found what he needed from the other boy.

However, extending the contract for Liam still eluded him. There were two hypothesis he had landed on. The first one was he actually wanted Liam to find a way out of this deal unscathed for some reason. The second hypothesis centered around the possibility he extended it as a form of punishment for what happened to Scott, for Liam to suffer this last year and ruminate of all the things he’ll lose.

If it was the latter, then Theo would be regretting establishing the clause on the second day since it stopped Theo from taking any form of repercussion should Liam actually find a way out. He really should have talk with Corey about this deal sooner. At this point he didn’t have much choice other than to wait and see.

“Are you ok?” asked Liam softly as Mason was engaged in a story about a goblin that Allison was recounting. Theo had seemed so far away it was weird to have the demon right next to him and for him to be so quiet.

Theo couldn’t help but smirk at the question “missed my beautiful voice didn’t you” quietly stated the demon. Not wanting to call attention from the rest of the group.

Liam gave a small pout as he playfully shoved the brunet. Theo raised an eyebrow in question, not unlike the time Liam tried to kiss him to seal the contract. Liam seemed so comfortable with the demon at the moment which was odd. The last time he had seemed comfortable with Theo had been when the demon had helped Liam to bed and he was drunk from the party and overwhelmed from adding a new clause to the contract.

Liam blushed, shrugged, and turned away from the demon. Theo couldn’t help the smile that came to his face. He was sure Corey was right about how Theo’s past life was influencing this deal. But who Theo was now didn’t regret making this contract. After all, Liam was amusing.

Whatever his past life wanted out of this, was secondary to what Theo currently wanted and that was to observe how Liam managed this. After all, the best way to truly know someone is when they're caught in life and death situations. Their true nature came out then. Theo couldn’t wait to see Liam’s true nature.

The group tried to leave at several intervals. However, Theo would then insist on staying longer. Allison would support Theo every time. It wasn’t until about two hours had passed since Corey left did the demon discussed leaving the dinner.

The group would say goodbye to each other in the parking lot. Liam and Mason hugged as they promised to check in everyday and be totally honest from now on. Isaac apologized to the younger boys once more for using his compulsion on them when he had his panic attack. Allison briefly spoke with Theo about wanting to get together just the two of them to discuss something. She told him she would call him. Theo had a pretty good idea of what this would entail.

Eventually they all left until only Theo and Liam remained in the parking lot. Theo unlocked his truck and Liam got in easily enough. It was funny, Liam had been worried about how today would end up playing out, but it ended up being a good day.

Theo kept saying all his options were difficult but at least he had options now. Just yesterday he had nothing but now he had two possible ways out. Meanwhile, Corey was researching to determine if there was some kind of spell or something.

He also wasn’t dealing with this by himself anymore. He had Mason, Isaac, and Allison. He was reluctant to count Corey as on his side since apparently, he and Theo were close friends. Although honestly, Theo wasn’t getting in his way, if anything the fact that Liam was searching for a way out was because Theo suggested it.

Of course, the demon stated he didn’t care either way what happened. Nevertheless, he has been helpful. Liam wasn’t sure what to make of Theo. Every time he thought he knew what Theo’s stance on this whole deal was, something new came and changed that. He couldn’t help but remember how he treated Liam so gently when he took him home after Lydia’s party. Liam couldn’t get that moment out of his head.

“Penny for your thoughts” said the demon as he broke Liam out of his thoughts. The demon was currently leaning against the steering wheel as he had all his focus on Liam.

Liam smiled “I’m just thinking about you.”

“Oh” said Theo amusedly “dare I ask?”

“Just… a lot of things” replied the young blond.

“Who’s being vague now?”

Liam let a low chuckle “fair enough… Allison said demons aren’t evil.”

“Ok” was Theo’s only response as he waited to see where Liam was going with this.

Liam looked away shyly “is just… I didn’t really believe you when you first said that… or when Corey alluded to the same” began explaining Liam nervously “when Allison, another human said it, it was like I couldn’t really denied it any longer” ended Liam feeling guilty.

Theo was confused to say the least. He wondered if he was missing something.

“I guess I wanted to apologize for not believing you for that, I’ve been discriminating against you just because you are a demon, without knowing anything about you or your kind… just what the stories say” clarified the younger boy.

Ever since Allison had first said demons were not evil, he had felt guilty. After all, hating on a demon for being a demon was no different from hating on someone for having a different race or a different sexual orientation. As someone who had experience his fair share of discrimination for being bisexual Liam couldn’t help but feel bad at doing the same thing to Theo.

Theo’s eyes widened in shock because no one had ever apologized to him for judging him for being a demon. It came with the territory. Demons were considered dangerous by all beings, both humans and supernatural alike. They were considered omens of darkness if not outright pure evil.

Theo couldn’t help but be self-conscious at that apology. It was a sour topic for him. Even though he would never admit it, the fact that Liam apologize for that meant a lot to the demon. “it’s fine, I’m used to others thinking I’m evil for being a demon.”

Liam looked Theo in the eyes as he replied, “is not ok… you shouldn’t be judged on what you are, but who you are.”

Theo swallowed at the conviction which accompanied Liam’s statements. He didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to. This was a vulnerable topic for him. The fact that Liam was pressing all the right buttons without knowing it just made Theo all the more uncomfortable.

He didn’t know what he ultimately wanted from Liam. However, Liam being kind to him was a curve ball he hadn’t been expecting. Theo couldn’t remember the last time a contract of his had made him experience so much vulnerability. This contract was proving to be truly amusing, however, at the same time it was bringing forth so many feelings, that Theo couldn’t help but wonder if it was worth it. Regardless, it was too late to turn back. Whether this ended in one huge tragedy or happily he would see it through regardless.

“Thank you for that Liam” stated Theo as he tried to reign in all his emotions.

Liam gave him a big smile “no problem, I want to get to know you better.”

Liam’s response was so honest that Theo didn’t know how to respond. He just started his truck and drove out of the parking lot. He didn’t need to understand anything that happened right now. He had the rest of the year to determine what it meant.

Chapter Text

It’s been two weeks since Liam met a fallen angel, learned Isaac was a fae, Allison a hunter, and accidentally dragged Mason into the supernatural world.

Today was a rare day. This was one of those days were the demon, who goes by the name Theo Raeken in the human world, tries to actually live life as a normal human.

He had not used magic at all this morning. He was proud of himself. He woke up at his house, made the bed, brushed his teeth, and took a shower without the assistance of magic to cut the time. He was exhausted already. He had to give it to humans, they had it hard. He sometimes had trouble believing humans managed to do all these things without magic on a daily basis. Maybe they were the true supernatural creatures.

He even had breakfast with his so call parents. Theo already forgot what his fake parents had said. He then took his truck. This part the demon always enjoyed. Driving is his favorite human activity. The demon always thought it was one of the most awesome inventions. It could help humans to cross great distances in a short amount of time and help with everyday tasks. However, one small mistake could lead to a catastrophe. Pretty much chaos.

He found a parking spot pretty fast as he arrived at the school. He grabbed his backpack and actually walked into the school. He briefly wandered when was the last time he bothered to do that. It had been a while. He even remember the locker he was assigned. As he reached his locker and tried to unlock it and failed, he realized he never actually bothered to learn his locker combination in the first place. He would always unlock it with magic.

The demon tried a few different combinations and was beginning to feel frustrated at the lack of progress. He had wanted to try to go the whole school day without using magic. He was reluctant to admit defeat because of a stupid locker. He could figure this out. He tried many combinations but still the stupid lock would not unlock. He imagined how pleasurable it would be to burn the whole school down when someone cleared their throat besides the demon.

Theo turned and came face to face with Garrett. Theo figured he could say goodbye to playing a human teenager for today and willed his lock to unlock. All the while making sure to keep his fingers working to keep up appearances before the hunter.

“Garrett, to what to do I owe the pleasure of seeing you first thing in the morning?”

Garrett let out a nervous laughter as he scratched the back of his head “yeah, this is awkward, I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the party, I should have done that sooner… I want you to know I didn’t know the two of you were together, if I had I wouldn’t have kissed him, or asked him to dance” His voice was full of regret and his movements where those of someone worried regarding if they will actually be forgiven.

If Theo were a human being he would have believed that the other boy was sincere with his apology. But he could smell the deceit even before the words left his mouths. If he weren’t a hunter Theo would probably be fascinated by Garrett. Human liars of this caliber were always entertaining.

“Well, that took a weight of my shoulders, you have no idea how stressed I’ve been about that night” said Theo perfectly mimicking an individual that have just been given some good news. He worked extra hard to keep his amusement from his voice.

Garrett smiled at Theo’s words “so, water under the bridge?” asked the blonde as he extended a hand in friendship.

‘What was that human saying, wolf in sheep clothing?’ thought the demon as he sized up the human. He sounded so sincere. He refrained from laughing out loud at how hard the human was trying to fake apologize.

Instead Theo gave the biggest smile he could muster “you know Garrett, I see a lot of me in you.”

“Really?” asked the younger boy, hand still extended.

“Yeah, I also smile when I’m giving some fake ass apology I don’t mean” stated the demon voice full of mirth, completing contradicting his spoken words.

Garrett lowered his hand at that “I’m seriously apologizing” he said as he narrowed his eyes, appearing offended at the words spoken to him.

Theo rolled his eyes “sure you are” he grabbed his biology book from his locker and closed it “anyway, stay away from Liam” he said in a serious tone before walking away with a smile “I’ll see you around blondie.”

Theo spared a glance to the younger boy and his smile grew when he took in the other’s annoyed face.

Theo headed to his classroom. After monitoring the hunter pair and thinking a lot about their interest in the angry boy. He determined the chances of Garrett approaching Liam because he suspected he made a contract was low. The fact he decided to approach Liam in the first place was suspicious enough. It definitely wasn’t something he did without an ulterior motive. The next step is deciphering what this motive was.

There was always the possibility that he really approached Liam because him and Violet had a falling out, although it would be naïve to take this theory at face value, especially when they had gotten back together about a week after the party.

After exchanging ideas with Corey, they landed on three hypotheses. Each one of them with a similar premise. The first one was they found out Theo was a demon and where trying to get close to Liam in order to get close to Theo.

The second was that they figured Isaac was a fae and were getting close to Liam in order to get close to Isaac. Although Isaac and Liam were mostly acquaintances, to others their relationship most likely appeared a lot closer. Liam spent a lot of his time with Scott and Stiles, who in turn spent a lot of their time with Isaac.

The last hypothesis was that they figured Corey was a fallen angel and were getting close to Liam in order to get to Corey. This was the most unlikely of the hypothesis. After all, in order for this one to work they would have to know Corey was a fallen angel and chosen to give his divine protection to Mason. Then, they would have to decide to approach Liam who was close to Mason instead of directly making contact with Mason.

This was the proper way to hunt for a guardian angel. Guardian angels are extremely perceptive of potential threats when they directly interact with those under their protection. Is common for hunters to make contact with someone close to the person being guarded. However, hunters with proper knowledge on how to hunt for angels, even fallen ones, were rare, almost non-existent. It was more likely they knew either Theo or Isaac weren’t human.

Theo had taken the necessary steps to force the hunter’s hand. There are many ways hunters had to identify creatures. Physical contact while wearing some kind of charm which could easily be used to differentiate between humans and non-humans was a common one. Which was the main reason Theo acted as a jealous boyfriend. After all, it was a perfect reason to ignore the extended hand. If Garrett left things as they were that would mean he never suspected Theo.

However, if he did suspect Theo and Theo just brushed his attempt at confirmation then the hunters would try more extreme methods in order to appease their doubts. If they did this then Theo’s course of action would be easily decided. Once someone has been identified as an enemy, it is always better to eliminate them as soon as possible, especially with hunters, their arsenal could be surprising at times. Theo would do just that. Anyway, there was no need to rush things. At this point it was still safe if he let things run their course. Time reveals all things. When the time was appropriate Theo would act, and if necessary spill blood.

“Theo!” the demon stopped on his track and turned around when he heard his name. When he turned he saw Liam dashing towards him. Liam came to a stop in front of the older boy. He took a moment to catch his breath.

“Hey Li, you ok there?”

“You-you weren’t home this morning” he said between breaths “and you left your phone there” Liam handed the demon his phone as he said this.

“Thank you, I was in the mood to try being an actual human” he whispered the last part “it didn’t last.”

Liam was confused. But it was nothing knew when pertaining the demon “ok, what happened?”

“Garrett came and talked to me” said Theo as he began walking towards his classroom with Liam walking along with him.

Liam swallowed at the mention of the hunter “what did he want?”

“He apologized.”

Liam stayed silent for a bit, as he waited for the demon to give more information “you believe him?” he asked after it became apparent the demon would not elaborate.

“Nah, he is definitely hunting something, the question is what.” Theo reached the classroom for his first class “anyway we’ll speak more about this later, don’t worry about it too much, is very unlikely he or his girlfriend mean any harm to you.”

Liam thought about Theo’s words and could only conclude one other reason they would approach him if it had nothing to do with him directly, and that was they were interested in someone he knew “but they do mean harm to someone I know, don’t they?”

“They sure do!” said Theo with an easy smile “but like I said, we’ll talk about it later” Theo entered his classroom and took a sit in the back. Class would be starting in about 10 minutes. Liam stood in the doorway for a minute as he centered himself and then went to his own classroom.

Lunch time arrives slow for Liam, mainly because he has been wanting to speak with Theo for the whole time and has been focusing on the clock too much. When the bell finally rings he can’t leave the classroom fast enough.

He locates Theo in the cafeteria sitting at a table. He already got his tray full of food. Liam walked to his table with long strides. He takes the sit across from him “is later, talk!”

Theo clicked his tongue “so uncute.”

Liam glared at the comment. Theo rolled his eyes before informing Liam of his theories regarding Garret and Violet.

“So, chances are their target is either you or Isaac?” asked the human after processing everything Theo said.

“Yup.”

Then Liam thought back to when Theo made it clear he would kill them if they proved to be a threat “why haven’t you… taken care of them?”

Theo shrugged “if their target is Isaac, I would see no reason to get involve, if I confirm I’m their target then I’ll take care of them, permanently” Liam shudder at the words. Theo spoke like killing Garrett and Violet was a simple errand. Like he would be able to do it and then move on to the next itinerary in his day. It terrified the ordinary human. This was another reminder how he didn’t belong in this supernatural world he had recently discovered.

Liam intended to ask follow-up questions, however, before he could, Isaac took a sit beside him. “How is my favorite couple doing?”

Theo smiled “madly in love, where’s Allison?”

Isaac sniggered at the response “she’s out for the week, hunter training.”

“Ah” said the demon in understanding

It was common for Allison to have consecutive missed days every so often. Liam was just learning it was mainly due to receiving training as someone that comes from a long line of hunters.

Theo then got up from his chair and went over to Liam’s side. He bent over and gave Liam a quick peck on the cheek “see ya later babe.” The demon left right after that. Leaving a shocked Liam in the cafeteria with a whole bunch of questions.

“Really, in front of my food?” inquired Stiles already in a foul mood as he reached their table. Liam blushed when he realized Stiles had witnessed the kiss.

“We talked about this, be nice” said Scott as he approached behind Stiles.

“That WAS me being nice” finished Stiles as he took a seat where Theo had been sitting in. Scott sat next to his best friend with a sigh.

Things have been somewhat awkward the past two weeks. To say Stiles has not been onboard with Liam dating Theo, even though they weren’t really dating, would be an understatement. Scott had spoken with Liam and assured him they were friends and that Stiles just needed time to get used to it.

Scott kicked Stiles’ foot with his own. Stiles grinded his teeth. Stiles rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. He then met Liam with a determined look “I’m sorry.”

The apology took Liam by surprise “ok… for what?”

“For not being ok with you and Theo” Liam could see how saying that was painful for Stiles. No surprise, Stiles hated Theo, still, Liam could appreciate the effort he was trying for his sake.

Scott took over the conversation for Stiles “we know we’re not Theo’s biggest fan, but we love you and we still want to be friends with you.”

“What he said” added Stiles clear tension on his shoulders.

Liam couldn’t help the smile that took over “thanks guys.” Both Scott and Stiles relaxed at that. Liam was thankful to have friends like them even if sometimes Scott and Stiles acted like the parents Liam wanted to leave at home, they always cared for Liam, and he would always appreciate that. He wanted things to go back to how they were before Liam found out about the supernatural world. Before he hurt Scott. He could go back to that, he just needed to find a way out of his contract. Liam found himself setting his mind to do just that once more. No matter what it took he would find a way out.

“Ok, just one more thing, you could do so much better than Theo” said Stiles quickly.

“Stiles!” exclaimed Scott.

“Last dig at Theo, I promise.”

Scott just shook his head “anyway I can’t stay, I have a meeting with Boyd, we have a project due in two days and we still have a ways to go” Scott grabbed the banana from his tray and pushed the tray between Stiles and Isaac, knowing they will pillage whatever he left behind like the savages they were.

As Scott made his way to leave he remembered something “oh, Isaac, mom texted and was asking if we could do family dinner and a movie tonight, if you’re not busy, and don’t have plans with Allison, or have a lot of school work, if you feel up to it.”

Isaac laughed at Scott’s rambling “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Scott smiled at Isaac’s response. The taller boy returned the soft smile. Meanwhile Stiles made a gagging noise which caused Scott to blush and leave. Isaac on the other hand glared.

Stiles shrugged “I was chocking.”

“Tch, I wish you would choke to death.”

“Wow, sociopathic tendencies much, I can’t say I’m surprise.”

Isaac threw the piece of bread he just took from Scott’s tray at the other boy.

“That’s mature” said Stiles as he threw it back at the blond.

Liam ended up taking possession of the piece of bread before Isaac could grab it to toss it again. It still came as a shock to Liam when he had to act as the mature one between Stiles and Isaac. “You’re seniors!” Liam hated how disappointed he sounded. It reminded him of his mom when she was really upset with him.

Both Stiles and Isaac crossed their arms as they leaned back on their chair with a pout. Something he also did when he was being scolded.

Liam was used to Stiles and Isaac behaving like little kids around each other. However, he could usually identify the reason for the childish behavior. Right now, it seemed to come out of nowhere.

Then, Liam’s mind seemed to pick up the small little tidbits of information that have been showed in front of him. Three pieces to be exact, Stiles gagging, Scott blushing, and Isaac getting mad at Stiles. That’s when it hit Liam, Scott’s secret crush wasn’t so secret, Stiles knew it. Then he thought back to when Isaac explained how faes were empaths and sometimes he couldn’t help but read other’s emotions and reached the conclusion Isaac knew as well how Scott felt about him.

Liam should have kept his mouth shut but as its often the case it seemed to move on its own “you know Scott’s in love with you.”

Both boys shifted their gaze towards Liam at his words. Stiles recovered first “and people say you’re oblivious to things, but yeah Scotty got it bad for scarf boy over here.”

Isaac blushed again “would you guys keep it down.”

“Why haven’t you said anything?” Liam wouldn’t know what he would say if he found himself in this situation, but he knew he would have to say something, especially if he didn’t like the person back ‘oh’ realization hit Liam “you like him back.”

“Yes!” said Stiles as he fist bumped into the air. He was happy to finally have someone to talk about this with.

“Stiles!!” yelled the tall blond as he glared at the other boy.

Stiles stock his tongue out at the blond before addressing his younger friend “yes Liam, finally someone else that sees it.”

“Stiles!!”

“You have no idea how long I’ve suffered in silen-”

“Dreamweaver” said Isaac with a small smile gracing his features.

“What?” asked Stiles as he swallowed.

“Dreamweaver bitch” repeated the blond.

Liam looked between the two of them feeling like he was missing important information. Eventually Stiles pushed away from the table and got up “you win this round Lahey, I’ll remember this” he then turned to Liam “take care and don’t get corrupted by this loser.”

Liam sighed “why are you guys like this?”

“This is our friendship, the more of an asshole we are to each other the deeper our bonds become… trust me we are about to reach a new level in bro-vana”

“Whatever” Liam would never understand them “what was the whole Dreamweaver thing?”

“Just his latest Achilles heel” Isaac scoffed at the memory “it’s really funny but I can’t tell you.”

Liam was curious, but he also recognized Isaac’s attempt at changing the conversation and Liam wasn’t having it “are you in love with Scott?”

“…yes” the older teen looked away as he replied.

“Why haven’t you told him?” Liam felt angry on Scott’s behalf. He had been under the assumption Isaac didn’t feel the same way about Scott as Scott felt about Isaac. Now, he didn’t get the purpose of the deception.

Isaac exhaled not wanting to have this conversation “I’m dating someone else in case you’ve forgotten.”

That just brought other concerns for Liam. Prior to this whole ordeal Liam didn’t really know Allison, but now he felt for her when he thought that Isaac was just using her. He found himself clenching his teeth as anger stirred in him at the older boy for doing just that with her. Allison had proven to be such an amazing individual and he couldn’t fathom someone exploiting her in this way.

Isaac could easily interpret Liam’s glare. Liam was an easy individual to read even without his abilities. “I may be in love with Scott but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m in love with Allison as well.”

That surprised the angry boy. Liam didn’t know what to say to that. He had never been in love with two individuals at the same time.

“It doesn’t even matter Liam, whatever I may feel for Scott and Allison should be irrelevant to you right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let's talk about your feelings towards Theo.”

“I don’t have any feelings towards Theo.”

Isaac sighed “yes you do, but not the right ones.”

Liam narrowed his eyes “what do you mean?”

Isaac gave Liam a pointed look “do you trust Theo?”

Liam hesitated before responding “he hasn’t given me any reason not to trust him.”

The taller boy groaned at the response “Liam… demons may not be evil, but that doesn’t make them good.”

Liam knew this already. Theo had told him as much when he first made the deal. Despite this, he couldn’t help but be surprised at Isaac’s declaration.

“In the end demons want what they want and do as they please, if you let your guard down, he will take advantaged of you” warned the senior.

“He can’t lie to me” defended Liam.

Isaac shook his head “that doesn’t mean he has to tell you the truth.”

“Is exactly what it means.”

The fae shook his head “he can still choose not to tell you things or only give snippets of the truth which could change how you interpret things.”

Liam hadn’t really thought about that, still, did that mean the demon would do that?

“Liam, your new at this, I get it, but Theo didn’t agreed to the clauses he made with you because he was trying to be nice, he agreed to them because he felt they would be in his best interest, don’t doubt that for a second.”

Isaac and Allison had been exchanging ideas regarding Liam’s contract and it was easy to see how it was probably established in order to give the benefit to Theo and give Liam a false sense of security. There were plenty of ways to take advantage by simply selecting what information to give and which to withheld while telling the truth. Furthermore, if Theo were convinced Liam would not be able to find a way out then adding the clause where he would be unable to take repercussion would be easy for him to agree upon. Lastly, keeping an eye on Liam to protect him from harm should be an easy achievement for Theo even if he is not at full power on the physical world.

Isaac and Allison had reached the conclusion that Theo agreed to these things because they would not alter the ultimate outcome. At the same time, they gave Liam the false sense of security he had a way out and that the demon was on his side. In the end demons did not bet against themselves without a reason. So far, neither the fae nor the hunter could identify a reason regarding why Theo would actually side with Liam on this deal.

Liam reflected on Isaac’s warnings and realized that he was right. Part of him believes Theo is on his side. His not sure when this believe first begun. Maybe around the time Theo carried him to his bedroom “what do I do?”

“You question him, he can’t lie, you just have to ask good questions, if he doesn’t respond is because he is hiding something, and if he responds always ask follow up questions for him to elaborate on” demons were good at deception, one small misstep and Liam would be damned. Theo may not be evil, but that didn’t mean he cared about Liam. The only thing binding them right now was a contract. To Theo, Liam was nothing but a business transaction. Not a friend in need of help.

They remained in silence for the following minutes, eating their lunch, not talking about the many things available to discuss.

In the end it was Liam who broke the silence “so you’re in love with them both?”

“Yes.”

“Does Allison know?”

“Yes.”

“How does being in love with two people work?”

“Like it sound.”

Liam thought Isaac would leave his response there and not elaborate. He was surprise when the blond began speaking again “I fell for Scott when we spent prom night together, back then I was human and living with an abusive father, nothing was ever going to come out of it, so I didn’t pursue it.”

Liam remained quiet as he listened to the other boy “when I moved in with him and his mother I still liked him, and I knew he liked me, is just…”

“Just what?” encouraged the younger boy.

Isaac exhale “is just that I had a family again, and I didn’t, I don’t want to jeopardize that with a relationship with Scott.”

Isaac’s father was in jail. His mom and brother were dead. He didn’t have any other extended family member. The younger boy could understand Isaac wanting to just keep the semblance of a normal family, even if it were a lie, even if years later he would watch them die as he lived on for eternity.

Liam swallowed, not knowing what to say to Isaac, so instead he asked, “and Allison?”

That was a bittersweet memory. He took a sip of his water as he answered “we’ve both gotten in trouble and were assigned to organize this messed up supply closet, when we were done Allison tried to open the door and it was locked… I got nervous after listening to the sound of the locked door. I tried to open it next and I couldn’t, it triggered me, and I couldn’t even realize at that time I was strong enough to break the door down, Allison saw my eyes shifting colors, I felt her fear, I thought she was going to hurt me for some reason and then, before I could do anything, Scott open the door and Melissa picked me up from the school not long after.”

Isaac remained silent after that and Liam patiently waited for the older boy to be ready to continue “I was terrified, I knew she saw my eyes, I knew they had glowed, and I had no idea what would come next.”

The older boy then chuckled as he relieved the memory “she ask to speak with me the next time I was at school and she asked me what I was, just as calmly as she asked you… we ended up becoming friends after that, back then we thought we were the only two that knew about the supernatural at the school… we bonded… and then feelings eventually emerged, I suppose that’s the abridge version” it was like that, just a lot more.

Back then they thought they could only talk to each other about the supernatural world. No judgement, no hatred, no secrets between them. They understood each other, and back then they had needed each other more than anything. Eventually that feeling evolved into something far stronger. They were both swept by it, and before they knew it or wanted to, they had fallen for each other.

“You’ll have to say goodbye to her too one day” realized the human as he thought how Isaac would remain young forever while Allison wouldn’t.

Isaac shrugged “we’re actually breaking up during the summer.”

That confuse the younger teen “you guys plan to break up?” Isaac had just said he was as in love with Allison as he was with Scott, yet they planned to break up, it didn’t make sense.

“Ultimately I’m a fae, and Allison is set to become the head of the Argent clan, her real training for that role begins when she graduates, she can’t be dating someone that’s not human” they’ve had this conversation extensively. “Allison plans to remake the hunter organization into something that apart from monitoring and killing dangerous supernatural creatures can also protect innocent supernatural creature, to do that she needs to be their leader and none of them will follow her if she’s with me” it had been a bitter pill to swallow, but one Isaac had made his peace with for a while.

Liam couldn’t help but feel pity for his older friend. He tried to think of something to say, some words of encouragement. Ultimately, he found nothing which could make this ok in any way. Allison's goal is impressive, and Liam would love to say something like love will conquer all. However, he was aware just how deadly human fears could be and they were right. No hunter, which treated the supernatural world as a potential enemy would follow a leader in love with someone from the supernatural world. The only thing Liam could do was pressed his shoulder against Isaac and utter a simple “that sucks.”

Isaac couldn’t help but chuckle. He pressed back against Liam “I know” he replied. Liam’s gesture to try to show he got it had been small but the fae still appreciated it. There was no changing what was to come, but it was always good to have someone in your corner and right now he could feel that radiating from Liam.

Isaac then ruffled Liam’s hair “jeez, stop worrying about other people when your life is on the line.”

Liam pulled away from the other boy laughing “right.”

Theo would have loved to stay and see Stile’s reaction to Theo kissing Liam. However, after a threat like that how could he do anything but respond.

“You finally show yourself” said Corey, tone indicating he was not happy.

Theo gave a low groan ‘moody angels were the worst’ “the text you sent said you would blow up my truck if I didn’t get here in five so… here I am.”

“Good, I’ve only asked you to come here every day for the last week, you jerk.” They were currently at the angel's home.

“Wow, your resorting to name calling, you must be really upset.”

Corey took a deep breath as he tried to keep himself from rising to the demon’s provocation.

“Theo, I asked you to deal with this, and you haven’t yet.”

Theo shrugged “in my defense you really asked me to find out what was going on, and I did, I just haven’t told you anything.”

The angel narrowed his eyes as he replied, “it was implied I wanted it stopped.”

“That won’t hold in a court of law.”

“We’re not human you idiot!”

“Whatever.”

“That’s mature.”

“Are we done?”

“Theo, this has been the 57 ghoul I’ve killed in two weeks” said Corey as he pointed to a body in the floor.

“Wow, you’ve been busy.”

“No kidding.”

They both remained quiet after this, they were at an impasse. “Are you going to stop it?”

“I don’t think I will” said the demon as he pulled his phone and started scrolling through it.

Corey took a deep breath knowing Theo was just being Theo “you made a contract with Mason’s best friend; you owe me one.”

Theo groaned “you want to play that card for this? Who cares if some dickwad is making a few ghouls that may or may not want to eat people? Is not our job to look after this town.”

“First of all, they are ghouls, they definitely want to eat people, second, I happen to like this town and do not want it crawling with corpses or hunters for that matter.”

“Fine! I will ask that loser to stop, poor guy is going to be devastated to have to stop after putting so much effort.”

The angel scoffed at the comment “he’s been making ghouls, no one makes ghouls” as far as undead being were concerned ghouls were always mistakes. Magic users trying to create something, or if too much magic was used in powerful spells ghouls were born as a result of the overflowing magic sifting into the environment. But no one actually made ghouls willingly, they were uncontrollable, insatiable, fragile, and would die within 24 hours of not eating flesh “this is all actually your fault.”

Theo smirked “if we’re going to be blaming someone we should really blame Liam” he said as he shrugged.

“You offered him the contract in the first place” said the angel, unimpressed at his friend’s dismissal.

The contract that Theo gave Liam was one that breached the boundaries between life and death. This kind of contract left a powerful magical energy residue, which would dissipate sooner than later, however, for magic users, both new and ancient it was a valuable source of power that could assist them in their endeavors.

“Yeah, yeah, like you’ll ever let me forget that. I already said I’ll take care of it.”

After 10 minutes of Theo being on his phone and making no move to go anywhere Corey turned glaring at the demon.

Theo rolled his eyes “I’ll take care of it jeez, does it have to be right now?”

The angel’s glare intensified “take care of this by the end of the day.”

“Why does it have to be today?! Stop being so bossy, I’m busy!” complained the demon.

“Yeah you look really busy.”

“I am, I’ll take care of this soon.”

Corey narrowed his eyes as he responded, “I want this taken care of this by the end of this weekend at the absolute latest” Corey was willing to compromise if it meant it resolved the overall issue.

Theo rolled his eyes unnecessarily slow “fine.”

Corey sighed. He was glad this annoyance would finally be dealt with. They first became aware of the ghouls when several of them had been surrounding the dinner they had been at two weeks ago. Corey had left to deal with them while Theo stayed with the rest to ensure their safety in case the ghouls had been nothing but a distraction. However, nothing else occurred.

Despite this, ghouls have kept popping on throughout Beacon Hills and they definitely would have killed someone had the fallen angel not been meticulously dealing with them. Nonetheless, he was tired of dealing with the ghouls, while at the same time trying to help Liam.

This brought the angel to the second reason he had wanted to meet with his friend. Liam’s contract. He had researched every single dome he had. Nothing positive had been brought forth. Recently, he had been testing the interaction with purposely fusing life and death magic. Results had not been good so far, however, there was still more to do. “Can you help me with these incantations?”

The demon looked up from his phone and sighed. He wasn’t surprised there was more to this little meeting. He didn’t necessarily feel like helping Corey in his research for Liam, but Corey was right, Theo did owe him for this whole mess. It didn’t matter, after all, Garrett had already ruined his pretend to be human day. “Fine, what do you need?”

The fallen angel instructed his friend in what he needed. The demon obliged knowing this would be the fastest way to deal with all of this.

They spent the next few hours trying different combinations. However, all of them proved fruitless.

“Look, this seems completely pointless, is there a reason, why you’re continuing to research in this area?”

The angel remained silent. They both knew Liam’s chances of going free were small. Trusting a fairy would be naïve. Finding Theo’s real name may be a possibility, but the time frame was too small for deciphering a demon’s name of Theo’s caliber. At the moment Liam’s survival pretty much rested on Corey finding some other way out. The angel was taking his task seriously.

He had currently identified one way for Liam to be free of this deal while keeping Scott alive. The condition would not be easy to meet. “I think I have a way out for Liam” declared the angel.

Theo was surprised to say the least “well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

“A resurrection spell.”

“Yeah… I feel pretty confident in saying Scotty boy will not survive another resurrection” his first one had manifested physiological difficulties. He wouldn’t survive a second one, at least not as a human.

“I don’t mean to resurrect Scott” clarified the taller boy.

“What?” it took Theo a moment to understand what his friend meant. “When Liam dies he’ll go straight to hell, there is no way his soul and body can reconcile from that” this was an obvious outcome. The most positive outcome that could be achieve is Liam becoming an undead being assuming he survived long enough to turn into one, which wasn’t likely.

“That only happens if he commits suicide or gets kill as a consequence of him divulging the contents of the contract.”

“Oh” replied Theo as he understood Corey’s plan. “What makes you think, I’ll actually kill him myself?” The agreement had been that Theo would protect Liam from everything. Meaning unless he kills Liam himself or Liam dies due to Theo’s negligence there is no way out for the sophomore.

Corey hesitated before responding “I actually was thinking that I would kill him.” Theo had told Corey about the contract, not Liam. Which meant if Corey killed him Theo would be breaking his agreement. As a result, Liam would not go to hell and Corey could use a resurrection spell on the teenager.

“That’s nice… you think I’ll just let you kill him.”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to stop me as you are now.”

Theo chuckled at the response “I’m pretty sure I can easily find ways to stop you if I want to.”

The angel glared at the challenge “bring it.”

The demon shook his head at the response “before we wage war with each other over a human brat, can we talk about a very important component, do you even have a resurrection spell to utilize?” this whole discussion was moot without a resurrection spell.

Resurrection spell were rare, even amidst magical being, resurrection spells were often times considered myth, outside of the scope of soul contracts of course “not at the moment.”

Theo looked away as he rolled his eyes at the response “great plan.”

“I’ll find one before the year is up.”

“Sure, you plan to get one at Walmart, at the bring that bitch back aisle, right?”

The angel should have expected such a sarcastic remark from his best friend, yet he still sighed as he was put off by the sarcasm “I’m consulting with other magical experts.”

“Well, how many resurrection spells have they offered you?” After waiting a few minutes for the angel to respond, who remained in silence with a clear pout, the demon continued “let me guess none.”

Resurrection magic was rare, to say the least. There were probably three generally recognized resurrection spells in existence and even then, whether they actually existed was highly debated. “It may be a long shot, but I’ve actually found a group of sorcerers that have been trying to create a resurrection spell for hundreds of years, their research sounds promising, my hope is that with my help, the spell will be completed and I can convince them to test it out on Liam.”

The demon raised an eyebrow at that “you plan to have Liam be the guinea pig?”

It wasn’t ideal, however, Corey himself could not cast a resurrection spell. Resurrection magic could only be cast by someone that was alive, unless you use soul contract magic which can only be used by those that are dead. Corey was under no illusions that ancient sorcerers that have studied magic for centuries would selflessly cast a spell that would certainly take a lot of power to just be cast once on some random boy, not unless there was a gain for them. Testing it out before they tried it on a love one was a good indicator “unless you have a better idea that’s the plan.”

The demon shook his head “I’m not trying to find a way out for him.” Theo was still on the fence regarding Liam. He had concluded one important thing. If past life Theo wanted Liam to actually found a way out of this deal, the dominoes had all been properly stacked, regardless of how unlikely his chance were. However, if what his past wanted was to punish the angry boy, then this would be a bit of a problem. After all he had not actively done anything towards this. Establishing the contract itself was neutral ground. The clauses so far had all aided Liam, should he be lucky enough. It was unlikely, however, there was no denying they offer him certain benefit should he utilize them correctly. At the time Theo had felt pretty confident in Liam's inability to make the most of the clauses added, but now he was no longer completely sure of that. After all, there was the ever pressing question what if Theo added them because part of him was trying to assist Liam. This was the main issue. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to aid or punish the human boy. The demon needed to answer this question before proceeding with anything else. Right now the only clear thing was that he had done somethings that could potentially turn out beneficial for the younger boy and he needed to even the scales.

Theo had been thinking lately in how to rectify this and although it took a little bit of mental gymnastics he believes he has a way. Punishing someone while telling the truth, and while not actively getting in their way was hard to say the least, but nothing the demon has not done in the past. There was this human saying the demon never really understood, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Every time he heard this the demon always replied with two words trojan horse. You should always look at a gift horse in the mouth. Nothing in this world was free, anyone that does not understand this universal truth which transcends life and death was an idiot and deserved the consequences of their naiveté.

Corey sighed at the demon’s response “you could choose to help him.”

“I could, how about when hell freezes over?”

“… aren’t there periods of time under which most, if not all, of hell is frozen?” Corey remembered the demon telling him as much once.

“There is… shut up, I was using a human saying to make it clear I’m not helping him” defended the demon.

Corey shook his head in disbelief “why would you use a human saying? they’re often so unclear” often time the angel being was left baffled at the reason they created such saying in the first place.

“Oh my god! Who cares? don’t be so literal.” Sometime the angel drove Theo crazy. No surprise there, after all demons were creatures of chaos, while angels, even fallen angels, were creatures of order. There were some things they would always clash over.

“Be clearer” countered the angel.

Before Theo could respond his phone vibrated as he just received a text. Theo looked it over and then burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just Liam, being Liam, I swear, I have no idea how he survived before he met me” answered the demon with a smile. As true as that statement may be, if Liam plans to count on Theo as his knight in shining armor riding a white stallion he would be severely disappointed.

Corey tried to decipher what the message could possibly be about, however, he was unable to reach any conclusion. There was only one important thing that he wanted his friend to try “you can help him.”

Theo scoffed “I know” he just didn’t want to. Humans were interesting to observe, yet they were hardly worthy of any aid. He doesn’t know what his past self sees in Liam if it wants to aid him. However, he plans to prove how unworthy Liam is of any aid. It wouldn’t be to difficult he will just show his past self Liam’s true nature. The true nature of all humans.

“Ok first of all, Isaac is right, you cannot trust Theo, especially when he wants your soul.”

“Does he thought? He has stated several times he doesn’t care and he can’t lie in front of me.”

“Would you rather lose or win a meaningless game” the thing about winning is that it feels a lot better than losing regardless of the stakes. Even if the demon though Liam’s soul was worthless it did not mean he would be ok with passively losing when he could try a little and win. Mason had not doubt Theo was not Liam’s ally.

“Point” conceded Liam “does that mean he is my enemy?”

Mason sighed “maybe not, however, I would think is more prudent to be warry of him instead of trusting him.”

The thing was that Liam didn’t trust him. Not really. However, oddly enough the demon made him feel at ease for some reason. Still he could tell that blindly trusting the demon would be a mistake. Still, he felt like Theo was trustworthy. He wasn’t sure if that made any sense.

“I know I can’t trust him” Liam knew Mason needed to hear that. He wasn’t sure how much of it was true though.

“Good” was Mason’s response.

They were currently at Liam’s home. Liam had a math test in a few days, and he was in high need of tutoring. Especially after his three week absence from school. Mason was here to help with that. However, now that he was in the know, their conversations always seemed to find a way into the supernatural territory. Today was no different in that regard.

Mason noticed Liam’s discomfort, so he opted to change the conversation “so Isaac is in love with both Allison and Scott, huh?”

Liam easily caught up with his friend’s intentions. Still he took the bait, wanting a change “I was surprised too.”

“I mean it’s sad” said Mason as he thought about the senior’s circumstances “he’ll end up losing them both in the end, regardless of what he does.”

“Yeah” said Liam as he thought about it again “I can’t help thinking that he doesn’t have to thought.”

Mason spared Liam a glance as he thought about what he just said, “doesn’t he?”

“He could choose to fight for one of them… or both of them” stated Liam event though he wasn't sure how being in a relationship with two people would be. He just knew that it happened

“Still, he’ll have to watch them die someday.”

“So… what if whatever time he got with Scott or Allison or both of them is the greatest time of his life, wouldn’t that make any future pain worth it?”

Mason considered this for a moment before replying “doesn’t that mean his grief will be all that much stronger when their gone?” Mason couldn’t decide what would be worse “I think is one of those things where there isn’t a right answer.”

Liam could concede that he didn’t know if never delving into a potential epic love would be worse than falling hard and then losing them.

“Going back to you and Theo, you need to take advantage of the fact that he can’t lie to you.”

Liam sighed “I know… but every time I ask him a question he dodges it.” Liam needed Theo to answer his questions. After all, how was he supposed to learn enough about the demon in order to learn his name if the demon didn’t reveal anything. This was proof the demon wasn’t by his side.

Before Mason could give any kind of response both boys heard the clear sound of the front door being unlocked.

Liam’s mother walked through the door a moment later carrying groceries “Liam, you didn’t tell me Mason would be over” said Jenna as she assessed the two boys in her living room.

“Your home early” stated Liam.

“Sorry, I guess you can make your own dinner, you can stay for dinner Mason.”

“Thank you Ms. Dunbar” said Mason as he turned to Liam and gave him a smile.

Liam rolled his eyes at the antics “jeez, don’t be so dramatic mom, I was just surprised.”

“YOU were surprised today? That’s hilarious because I was surprised today as well.”

Liam heard the inflation in her voice. The kind of tone which signaled he was busted about something. Which was surprising because he had not gotten into any trouble lately, which begged the question, what was he in trouble for? “Ok?”

“So, the funniest thing happened when I went to get your stepfather for lunch today” began Liam’s mom as she made her way to the kitchen. “I ran into this nice nurse who has a son who also goes to Beacon Hills.”

‘Oh no’ though Liam as he put two and two together.

“Apparently her son knows you, Scott McCall, that boy I’ve told you to invite over for dinner.”

Liam swallowed nervously as he for sought the ending of this conversation.

“He told her that apparently you’re dating some boy, named, Theo Raeken.”

Jenna continue her path to the kitchen and started to put the different groceries she had bought in their respective place in the kitchen.

Mason very wisely chose to remain quiet. He’s goal was to be neither seen nor heard and stay away from the passive-aggressive inquiry.

“I’ve…been meaning to tell you about that” said Liam.

Mason raised an eyebrow, as he tried to let him know how weak his explanation had been. Liam grasped the unspoken message, but just shrugged. He had no idea what justification to give his mother.

“Oh, you were? That’s good” based on the tone Liam could tell she did not believe him “when exactly did you plan on telling me?”

“Today?”

“Are you telling me or asking me sweetie?” it always surprised Liam how threatening his mother could make the word sweetie sound.

“Telling you?”

Jenna sighed at the response “sweetie, I know you’re not the most talkative person, but I do not enjoy being told about your boyfriend from other people… I don’t even know this Theo person.”

‘Well, first of all, he is not a person’ thought Liam “I know mom, I’m sorry, I meant to tell you earlier, but I just kept putting it off” Liam didn’t want to lie to his mother, but he didn’t want her to get dragged into this supernatural world he found himself in.

Jenna remained quiet for a minute “I want to meet him.”

“Mom” whined the teenager.

“I want to meet the boy you’re dating!” reiterated his mother “soon…check if he can come to diner this weekend, if he can’t check the next, and if he can’t the next, and so on.”

Liam locked eyes with his mother as he tried to plead with her. Her mother’s gaze clearly transmitted she was not backing down. Rather it seemed to request for Liam to text Theo right that moment.

Liam wordlessly did as such. He hoped Theo would take a while to respond, however, the reply came a minute later, with a simple ‘I can do this weekend’ Liam groaned at the response before letting his mother know as much. She visibly relaxed after that. He then berated himself for not lying to his mother about him not being available this weekend. It would have at least bought him some time.

“We’re going to continue studying in my room” informed Liam as he began gathering their things.

“Ok, I’ll let you guys know when dinner is ready” said Ms. Dunbar with a smile.

“Got it” replied her son.

“Thank you Ms. Dunbar” said Mason.

Once both boys finished gathering their books and notes they made their way upstairs to Liam’s room.

“Oh my god!” stated Liam as soon as he closed the door to his room.

“Calm down, it wasn’t that bad.”

“It wasn’t that bad?” demanded the teenager as his eyes threatened to bug out “where you there? She wants to meet Theo, do you know he’s a demon?”

“Ok, yes, the situation is not ideal” acknowledged Mason “… but.”

Liam stared at this friend as he waited for him to elaborate “but?”

Mason tried. Like really tried to find a silver lining, but he couldn’t come up with one “ok, yeah things sucks.”

Liam sighed as he took a sit in his bed. He had really been hoping Mason would make him aware of some form of silver lining. He needed to find a way out this dinner with his mom. After all, it was bound to cause more problems than solutions.

Dinner with his mother had been weird. Mainly because Liam was too high-strung to act normal. Thankfully, Mason was there and serve as a buffer. Liam was currently trying to finish an essay for English. He had not been very productive. He keeps thinking about Theo meeting his parents this weekend. He has also been wondering where Theo had been and why he isn’t here yet. He has been waiting for the demon for hours. Liam checked his cellphone again to see if Theo had sent a message. He sighed when there was none “where are you Theo?” questioned the human out loud to no one in particular.

“Speak of the devil” Liam turned around as soon as he heard a voice behind him “and he shall appear” he was greeted with the demon he had been waiting for.

He glared at the demon “have you just been lurking around waiting for a chance to do a dramatic entrance?”

Theo raised an eyebrow at the accusation “whatever gave you that idea?”

‘Don’t get suck into his pace’ Liam should be used to Theo’s antics by now. If he kept letting them bother him he would never get anywhere “whatever, we need to get our stories straights for the weekend.”

Liam was not expecting the shit eating grin that took over Theo’s features “whatever could you mean?”

Liam narrowed his eyes. He knew there was a reason for Theo’s reaction, he was just not seeing it “… I mean my mom wanting to meet my so call boyfriend… aka you.”

“I remember the appointment, I meant what do you mean with getting our stories straights?”

Liam rolled his eyes. He was so done with Theo being an asshole just for the sake of it “so we can come up with some romantic bullshit for my parents to buy as to how we started dating” Liam was pretty sure his parents would not like it if they found out Theo was a demon that is due to collect his soul in a year. He would like to keep that small tidbit of information under wraps.

Theo outright laughed because Liam still did not understand “oh Liam… sweet, innocent, dumb Liam.”

Liam feels his shoulders tense at the condescending tone and words “am I missing something?”

Theo tilted his head sideways in amusement “please remind me, what is the third clause you added to the contract?”

It took Liam a moment, but he got it, and this changed things “we can’t lie to each other.”

“Bingo!” this meant they could not tell a lie as long as the other was around.

“Oh my god, what do we do?” Liam may be panicking a bit.

“Well, first of all, let’s not take the name of our lord and savior in vain.” Liam scowled at the useless comment. “Second, is not a big deal, all we have to do is not lie, easy peasy.”

“So, we should just tell them about my contract and you being a demon?” questioned the teenager exasperated.

Theo shrugged “I wouldn’t recommend that but if you want to, you do you, no judgement.”

“Theo!” warned the human.

Theo chuckled lightly at the human's attempt to be threatening “I personally recommend using selective truths.”

Theo’s indifference was frustrating to say the least “great idea, how would you answer if they asked how we met?”

Without missing a beat, the demon answered, “at school.”

That was on Liam for making the question so easy. But his parents wouldn’t be satisfied with such a response. They would probe for more information “fine, when did we began dating.”

“Well, that is a little tricky, I flirted with you at school, but it wasn’t until a party a few weeks ago when things changed.”

Liam had to give it to the demon as far as vague response that lead you to make very specific assumptions, that was pretty good. “So, you can really bullshit your way through dinner with my parents?”

“Like I said, easy peasy.”

That was one problem down, however, it really confirmed what Isaac had warned Liam about. “Making that third clause was pointless wasn’t it?”

The demon smirked “I wouldn’t say that, after all I can’t lie to you.”

“But you don’t have to be honest.”

The demon gave slow nod “I don’t have to be honest.”

“Shit” said Liam as he rubbed his temple. He needed to fix this “I want to add another clause, one that states that you have to be completely honest with me, no deliberate leading answers, no trying to keep something hidden.”

Theo smirked once more “yeah, I’m not adding that clause.”

“WHAT?!”

“I’m not adding that, were you under the impression I would add anything you ask me to? No darling, both parties need to agree on any new clauses that are added, and this is one I do not.”

“So, Isaac was right?”

Theo tilted his head in confusion “I have no idea what Isaac said to you.”

“That you added those clauses because it wouldn’t change the ultimate outcome, that you don’t care, that you’re not on my side.”

The newbie fae just kept impressing the demon more and more “huh, who knew he was so perceptive” that had been the demon's initial intention. Although, apparently there was part of him that did care about all of this. He was just unsure in what way.

This situation was messed up. Liam had no one but himself to blame since he trusted the demon. Let’s be honest he began trusting Theo way before Allison stated that demons weren’t evil.

“I really thought you weren’t evil.”

“I’m not. I told you when we first met there is nothing necessarily good or evil about me, I’m not your friend but I’m not you foe either… think of me more of a credit card company, that will collect what you owe when the time is due, nothing personal, just business.”

“Got it, you don’t care.”

“I do care Liam. I even like you. However, ultimately I want to see how your story unfolds, if I interfere too much, the outcome will be boring and predictable, worthless.” That still held true regardless of his past self interest.

“Got it, me going free will be worthless to you.”

“That’s not the only option. You losing your soul because I actively try to sabotage you will be worthless as well.”

Liam wasn’t sure if this was good or bad “be honest, do you think I can find a way out of this deal while keeping both Scott and me alive?”

Theo shook his head “I already told you, all of your options are very unlikely to succeed.”

“What about your name, wouldn’t you want to have your name be found and be on Earth at full power?”

“I would love that, and for one instant you gave me hope when you brought it up, but I could spend this whole year talking about myself to you and at most you would have three letters, and mind you, I’m being overly optimistic in the outcome of this scenario.”

Theo took notice of Liam’s disappointment as he processed everything. He let a loud sigh “jeez, stop pouting, how about we make a game out of this?”

“What?” the human was confused at the comment.

“Dinner with your parent, I’m sure I won’t drop the ball in our charade, however, I’m not so confident about you.”

“So, we’ve established that I’m not a great actor, I still don’t see how that’s a game.”

Theo smiled at the impatience from the other boy “well, I was thinking that, if you pull your weight, and we convince your parents of our epic love story, as a reward, I will tell you how to go free.”

Liam felt like time stopped for a moment at those words. He swallowed as he processed what he just heard. This was what he was searching for. A way to go free of this contract. The offer was tempting to say the least. The thing was that it sounded too good to be true “I thought you didn’t know if I could find a way out.”

“I don’t” Theo tilted his head in confusion “you would be finding shit. I would be bailing you out… was that not clear?”

Liam rolled his eyes ‘asshole.’ “Fine oh wise one, how? Are you going to cancel the contract?”

“We already had this conversation, canceling the contract means me losing your soul and Scott dying, I take it you’re still oppose to this outcome.”

“Yes.”

“Then obviously is not canceling the contract.”

“Fine!” Liam was so done with the demon “what is it then?”

“If I tell you it wouldn’t be much of surprise.”

“I thought it was supposed to be a reward.”

“Which you haven’t earn yet.”

Liam shook his head. He wasn’t falling for this “and you conveniently forgot about this until now.”

“We just talked about this and yet you already forgot” said Theo. Tone light and amused. Liam frowned at him. “I’m not your ally, why should have I told you about this before?”

“Why tell me now?”

‘Good question’ granted the demon. “Why not now? When would it have been better?”

“You dodged my question” stated Liam. He would not underestimate the demon anymore.

“Is fun, watching you trying to decipher my reason for all of this, I’ll keep my reason to myself for now.”

“That just makes me want to take your offer as soon as possible.”

Theo shrugged at the sarcasm “then don’t.” Liam’s option so far sucked. Theo stood by that assessment. Liam knew this as well. Even if he was suspicious of Theo. Even if he would rather do anything else but go along with Theo’s suggestion. He couldn’t risk losing this option. Theo was sure Liam would concede to this offer because what was the alternative? The alternative was waiting. Waiting for a mirror to reveal Theo’s name. Waiting for an elusive fairy to appear. Or waiting for an angel to create a new resurrection spell.

This was the best option available and it would be stupid to not take it. Liam knew this. Which was why he found himself agreeing to it “fine” it didn’t mean he liked it.

Theo couldn’t blame Liam. If the demon found himself in Liam’s situation he would take the chance as well. Still that didn’t mean the demon would go easy on the human. After all this was much more important than a simple contract. Theo’s past self was drawn to something regarding Liam. The demon figured the best way to solve this riddle was to find out what kind of person Liam was. This little gift would give Theo insight into who Liam was. Whether it break or make the human was something the demon was not particularly concerned with. The fact the human could not see the true nature of their game simply meant the demon would get a front row seat to Liam’s true nature. Was it fair to the human, no. Still, that made it all the more interesting.

“I look forward to dinner with your parents.” Liam swallowed at that. For some reason, the statement made him feel like a sheep about to be devoured by the big bad wolf. It wasn’t a wrong assessment. Theo may not be lying about the reward, but he still wasn’t being honest regarding its true nature.