Oliver paused. He was confused. What did Liam took him for? An ordinary friend? Best friend? Something else entirely? He didn't want to be Liam's 'charity project ', but he also didn't know how to define whatever this was becoming.
Oliver stared at him, unsure if he could trust the sudden earnestness in Liam's eyes. The silence stretched between them, the distance feeling smaller than it had in weeks.
Liam wasn't been subtle anymore, he was just there, a constant shadow. Oliver stopped walking. Liam stopped too, standing awkwardly under a flickering streetlight.
"I know you can," Liam said, his voice low. "I just ...can't let go. I can't just pretend nothing happened. You're not just some ordinary friend to me."
"What are we then?" Oliver asked, his voice shaking. "Because Lorette was right, Liam, you lived in a mansion, you ride a superbike, and I.. I ..I clean tables for a living. We're from different worlds. I can't keep crossing into yours."
"Worlds don't matter when you find the right person," Liam said, stepping even closer. The streetlight above them buzzed. "Maybe I'm the one who needs a friend like you, Oliver. Not the other way round."
When Oliver reached home, he collapsed onto his bed without even changing or turning on the lights. He stared at the ceiling, the shadows of the tree outside dancing across the plater. Liam's words echoed in his mind.
"Maybe I'm the one who needs a friend like you..."
Oliver clutched his pillow, his heart thumping erratically. He wanted to believe it , but the fear of being a 'charity' still lingered. Yet, the memory of Liam's gaze under that flickering streetlight felt more longing than pity..
Across town, the atmosphere in Liam's bedroom was heavy and silent. Liam lay on his back, his arm draped over his eyes. He had everything - money, looks, status - yet, he felt completely derailed by a quiet boy who loved physics. As he finally drifted off, his subconscious took over, weaving a dream more intense than any reality he had ever known.
In the dream, they were back on the balcony at his grandmother's house. The air was thick with the scent of rain and night.
Oliver wasn't pulling away this time. In the dream, he reached out, his fingers tracing the line of Liam's jaw. The touch felt electric, searing through Liam's skin. Liam pulled him closer, his hands sliding under Oliver's shirt, feeling the warmth of his skin and the steady beat of his heart.
The dream was a blur of heated breaths and whispered names, the friction between them building until it was an unbearable, pulsing tension. It wasn't just about the physical act, it was a desperate, overwhelming need to be close to Oliver, to possess and be possessed by him...
Liam bolted upright in the middle of the night, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. His heart was hammering against his ribs. He sat there in the dark, the cool air hitting his sweat dampened skin, realization dawning on him.
He looked down at his ruined sheets, his face burning with a mixture of shock and profound confusion. He had dated girls all his life - Lorette and others - but he had never experienced anything this visceral, this consuming.
"What is wrong with me?" He whispered into the empty room, his voice shaking.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to process the dream. It wasn't just a friend he had seen in the dream. It was Oliver.
The confusion that had plagued him for weeks suddenly sharpened into a terrifying, undeniable truth. He wasn't just protective of Oliver, he was deeply, dangerously attracted to him.
Liam didn't sleep for the rest of the night. He sat by his window, watching the horizon.
During the mid of the term, a new student named Julian transferred into the elite physics program. He was like a calm lake- intellectual, soft spoken, and immediately drawn to Oliver's brilliant mind.
During a lab session, Julian sat next to Oliver, ignoring the usual social divide.
"I saw your notes on thermodynamics, Oliver. Your approach is more elegant than the textbooks. Would you mind showing me how you solved the equation after school"
Oliver, starving for genuine academic respect, felt his face brighten. "Sure, I'd love to"
From the back of the room, Liam felt a cold sharp blade of jealousy twist in his gut. He had spent weeks trying to bridge the gap with Oliver, and here was this gigolo sliding in effortlessly. He watched as Julian leaned closer to Oliver, their shoulders nearly touching as they looked over a graph.
Liam's knuckles turned white as he gripped his pen until it snapped.
"Oliver has work," Liam said, stepping between them. His voice was dangerously low, vibrating with an intensity that made Julian blink in surprise.
The look on Liam's face was that of shock as he watched them walk away, the realization hitting him like a physical blow: Oliver didn't need his protection anymore, he needed someone who treated him as an equal.
At the library, Liam kept his distance, observing their interactions. When Julian went to find a book, Liam approached Oliver.
"You seem to be getting along well with Julian," He said, trying to keep his voice neutral, but a hint of something unreadable colored his tone.
Oliver looked up, surprised. "Yeah, he's really smart. It felt good talking physics with him"
Liam hesitated , the words he wanted to say feeling clumsy and inadequate. He wanted to express his frustration, his jealousy, but that would make him look abnormal.
Few days later, on a sunny afternoon, after the day was over. Liam intercepted Oliver and Julian in the hallway. He didn't look like the ice king anymore, he looked like a predator marking his territory.
"Let's go . So you won't get to work late " he said , playing with the keys in his hand.
"Actually, Mrs Snider gave me the night off," Oliver said, his voice firming up. "Julian and I are going to the lab."
When Oliver turned to leave with Julian, the sight of them walking away side-by-side snapped the last threads of Liam's self control. Before they could take another step, Liam reached out and grabbed Oliver's wrist, his grip firm, desperate, and painful...