CHAPTER TWENTY ONE » MYKONOS
"Are you two gonna make out now, or what?"

☽

"How close is Nolan?" Liam asked as he began to duck his head through the window of Mason's car – well, technically, Lydia's car.

"He's down the road," Mason replied, causing me to instinctively start to glance in that direction. I listened carefully, focusing my senses on the rumbling of a car engine. "Don't look."

I turned my head quickly, watching instead as Theo headed to the trunk of Lydia's car, pushing down on the button and lifting it open before leaning in to reach for the supplies Mason had brought with him. I stood behind him, the door easily in arms length...it would be a great shame if it fell on him.

"Think fast," I snapped my head up, holding my hands in defence as a few pillows suddenly came hurtling towards me.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, struggling to grab them all at once, especially due to the force that Theo had threw them with. It was as if his whole intention was to make me suffer – on second thoughts, it probably was. "Asshole."

"Should I stay with you guys?" Mason wondered as I began to head past, placing the pillows in the back of our car.

"His friends shoot to kill," Theo responded as he joined me, eyeing Mason as if he was plain stupid for even asking such a question. "Go."

"Okay," Mason bit his lip, seeming a little irritated as he shifted his gaze away for a moment. "Yeah, Lydia would kill me if anything happened to her car anyways so."

I nodded slowly, recalling a time Lydia actually let me use her car when I first learned to drive. There were some close calls that day, and I haven't been in her car since. "That's true. Wise decision, buddy. She's scary when she's angry."

"Don't worry about it," Liam added on, offering him an assuring smile. "Nolan's gonna do the rest."

"The plan's gonna work, right?" Mason  asked, as I accidentally caught his eye, attempting to give him my most convincing smile. "Bex," he continued, obviously noticing the look on my face, prompting me further.

"I mean, all of Scott's plans usually reside on sheer dumb luck but–" I cut off upon feeling a hard, disapproving stare boring into me from Liam. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

Mason nodded slowly, glancing between the two of us unsurely, not seeming entirely convinced. "I really hope you're right."

~

"Where are they?"

"Inside the zoo. They're all here." Nolan replied, his voice wavering with nerves. "It's not, just, the two of you, is it?"

"What do you mean 'just'?"

"It's not just a pack, okay? Th-there's an alpha. And a banshee. They're all here."

"I don't see all of them."

"I don't see anyone."

"I-I saw Theo, Rebecca and Liam bringing a car full of food and supplies right here. There were at least eight sleeping bags, okay? They're here," Nolan's voice cracked. I could hear his heart pounding fearfully. "They're all here."

"It's just Nolan and two other guys," Liam stated, ever the obvious. "This isn't gonna work."

Theo's eyebrow drew together in confusion at Liam's words, whilst I shifted slightly, leaning further around the corner to try and get a better look. "Where's the backup?"

Liam and I both glanced back at Theo in exasperation at his question. "As if we're supposed to know that," I muttered, rolling my eyes before turning my attention back to Nolan and the two other men.

"But, shouldn't there be like twenty of them?" Theo pressed again.

"I mean, they only saw us," Liam pointed out, his eyes still fixed on the scene in front of us. "And they're not gonna believe Nolan."

"Okay," Theo trailed off thoughtfully after a brief moment of silence. Liam seemed oblivious, but I glanced back at Theo, sensing that there was a plan brewing. "Then they have to believe us?"

"Got an idea?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows as he met my gaze. "Wanna discu–"

"Isn't that right?!"

I jolted back, watching Theo with wide eyes as he shouted out, the loudness of his voice projecting the words far through the air. "Dude–"

Liam also whipped around in confusion, glancing between the two of us before his eyes fell on Theo. "Why are you yelling?"

A sly smirk tugged at the corner of Theo's mouth as he raised his head, continuing his little show. "You got a problem? Oh, that's right, you always have a problem!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Liam hissed back, urgency to his tone. I shifted my eyes to Theo, knowing exactly what he was doing. Not an entirely solid plan, could end badly, but, then again, that seemed to be the outcome of every single plan we came up with. It was worth a shot.

"Give it a rest, Theo!" I shouted out, much to his amusement, as Liam's eyes practically bulged in disbelief.

"Bex!"

"Shut up!" Theo snapped right in his face, causing a startled Liam to move back, looking between the two of us incredulously. Before he could even say a word, Theo swung his fist forward, connecting it with Liam's jaw.

He stumbled to the ground, letting out a grunt of pain as he rubbed the side of his face. I shook my head, turning back to Theo. "That was just unnecessary."

He ignored my words, beginning to stand up properly, along with Liam, whose hand began to curl angrily into a fist. "Hey, you see that Scott?!" Theo called out again. I couldn't help but let out a sigh, knowing exactly how this was going to end. "Your little beta can't even take a punch! What do you think Malia? What, you think you can take me?!"

"Okay, I get it," Liam whispered harshly, still clutching his jaw in pain. "But did you actually have to punch me?"

"Oh, Theo, don't–" I cautioned, watching as he lurched forwards again, sending another hard hit to Liam, who fell to the ground with a thump again.

"What you gonna do about it, Bex?!" He yelled out, as I spared a mildly concerned glance back at Liam, who was wincing as he began to pull himself up from the ground. "You gonna hit me back?!"

"Okay," I started quietly, tilting my head to the side as I found my hand instinctively clenching. "But you asked for it."

I swung at Theo, my knuckles landing hard against his cheekbones. Theo stumbled back, tripping into the wall leaving me feeling slightly content.

He reached a hand, his fingers tentatively grazing over the area, as he watched me with an almost impressed glint in his eyes. "You've been waiting to do that."

A smile curled on my lips. "You know me so well."

Before Theo could respond, Liam had stormed past me, sending his own forceful hit flying, causing the both of them to crash to the ground together from the impact of it.

I winced as I stepped back, watching as the two of them began to engage in a fight, both attempting to scramble up before the other knocked them down again. Eventually, Liam grabbed Theo by his shirt, roughly pinning him back against the wall, preparing to launch into him with another strong hit, until Theo ducked, stumbling away from him. They both paused, carefully watching each other through narrowed eyes, their breathing sounding heavy in the otherwise quiet area.

"Okay, are guys done now?" I hissed, glancing between both of them as they continued to catch their breath, eyes focused intently on one another. I took note of the expressions twisted on both of their faces. They so weren't done.

"See what I mean Scott?!" Theo started again, running a hand through his newly messed up hair. "He's only good in a fight when he's angry! So let's see just how angry he gets!" Liam let out a fierce growl in reply, which was promptly cut off by another solid punch to the face.

"You know what? You two just sort this out. I'm gonna go sit over there," I mumbled, more to myself, knowing full well that they probably didn't even care to listen to me as they resumed their fighting. I found a nearby rock, sitting down and pulling out my phone, pleased to see a text from Vee to say that her and Corey had made it to their part of the plan safely.

"Are you done?" I heard Liam eventually snap at Theo, catching my attention. I lifted my head to look at him, noticing the dried blood beginning to coat his face. "Or should we keep going?"

I raised my eyebrows, my eyes directing down to a large tear in Liam's shirt, fresh pooling around it. Man, they really were serious about this.

"We gotta call for backup!"

"I think they're sold," Theo responded after the hunter's words, glancing back at Liam, who was grimacing down at the claw mark in his shirt.

"You ripped my tshirt," he stated, the comment causing Theo to glance up in the air in exasperation.

"Yeah, you broke my nose," he retorted. "Twice." I bit down on my bottom lip, stifling a laugh. "It healed. You broke it again. Two times!"

Liam shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, practically throwing himself forward as he hit Theo, hard, on his nose again, the forceful impact knocking him back against a small stone wall. "Three times!"

I glanced back down at my phone, shaking my head with a sigh. "Boys."

~

"There's still three of them and it's been half an hour," Liam stated as he met Theo at the top of the practically crumbling stairway. I moved away from my spot at the window, making my way up to the both of them.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who picked the abandoned zoo," Theo replied judgementally. "What he hell are we doing in the place anyway?"

"Because it's like Mykonos," Liam responded in exasperation.

Theo's eyebrows drew together, as he eyed Liam in confusion. "Like what?"

When Liam didn't respond, he shifted his gaze to me, as if I had the answer. I shrugged in reply, not quite understanding Liam's point either, but recalling the place from history class. "The Greek Island."

Theo shook his head, still puzzled.

"In the city they built long, narrow, winding streets that all met up with each other," Liam began to explain, his words jogging my memory slightly. I didn't exactly pay much attention in history – admittedly it wasn't one of my favourite subjects. "Invaders would get lost in them like they were in a maze, trying to figure out which way to go." Theo eyed Liam strangely once he'd explained, as a long period of awkward silence fell between us. "What? I like history."

Surprisingly,  Theo's lips began to tug into a small smirk. "I'm impressed. It's a good idea."

"Yeah, only if the invaders actually show up," Liam mumbled, glancing up with an almost sad look in his eyes. The two of them sharing a lasting look.

"It'll work," Theo assured, his eyes not once moving away. Liam glanced down, a weak smile ghosting over his lips.

I let out a heavy breath to remind them of my presence, shifting to a less uncomfortable  position as I leaned my shoulder against the wall. "So, like, are you two gonna make out now or what?"

Theo seemed to open his mouth to retort something back, only to be cut off by the sound of tires screeching outside.

The noise sent a pang straight through my heart, as a flash of light burst into my vision again. Car tires squeaked against the road. A loud thud sounded as Brett and Lori fell to the ground helplessly, mine and Liam's screams blurring into one as we watched them fall.

I jolted back slightly, almost losing my footing on the stairs. My heart soared in a sudden panic as I flung my hand out, gripping onto a dusty stone from the wall as I tried to regain my breath again. My lungs felt starved for air. It had felt so real, as if I was back there in that moment again.

"I think they just showed up," Theo stated, as him and Liam began to move closer to the window.

I remained where I was, closing my eyes shut as I tried to calm myself down, feeling a whirlwind of emotions building within me. My ears picked up the sounds from outside; car doors shutting, guns cocking, Gerard Argent's voice as he began to give orders. Orders I supposed just like the ones instructed on the night Brett and Lori were murdered.

I gritted my teeth together, inhaling sharply at the sound of his voice. I could feel something growing within me. It was similar to the way I felt in the Sheriff's station when they tried to lure us out with a bloodied piece of Brett's lacrosse uniform. I was ready to snap again.

"Hey." The sound of Theo's voice so close to me almost made me jump, and I opened my eyes, ignoring the look on his face as he seemed to study my expression. "Let's go." I swallowed thickly before beginning to follow him, the distraction of the next task ahead managing to pull me away from my thoughts a little. Liam, however, didn't move away from the window. "We're supposed to be decoys, not target practice. You still working on that anger?"

"Fine," Liam ground out, his breathing seeming to become heavier the longer he watched the hunters outside.

"Well you can be angry at Nolan and stay alive, come on," Theo reached out, grabbing his shoulder to prompt him, but Liam shook him away. "Fine, get caught."

He nodded his head over at me, beginning to move out of the doorway, leaving Liam still watching, an angry fire burning inside him. I could feel it. I could feel the rage pulsing from him.

"I know," I started, moving down a step, allowing me a better view outside the window. I could see the black cars parked, but couldn't bare to look anywhere else in fear of seeing Gerard's menacing face. "I know how you're feeling." Liam shook his head slowly, his body tensing beside me. "We'll find a way to make him pay, to make them all pay. I promise."

❥

A/N

this is admittedly not my finest work, but it's kinda there to set up the next chapter (which I promise is gonna be much more lit)

confirmed - Bex is a thiam shipper

And as I probably won't update again before the day, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! x