Liam(2)

Noah stared at the boy holding his crumpled drawing, still processing the situation. The boy had a wide grin on his face, his curly hair messy like he'd just rolled out of bed—or a bush, which was oddly accurate. He looked tall, well over six feet, and carried himself with an air of effortless confidence that Noah could never imagine having.

"Dude," the boy repeated, admiring the sketch. "You've got some serious art skills. I mean, holy shit, this is next-level. Not jealous at all. Nope, not even a little bit."

Noah blinked. "Uh... thanks, I guess?"

The boy dropped down onto the grass beside him like they'd been friends forever, completely uninvited but somehow making it seem natural. He handed the drawing back to Noah, who carefully smoothed it out.

"No problem, man," the boy said casually. "Oh, by the way, name's Liam. Liam Hayes. And you are?"

"Noah," he replied, hesitant. "Noah Anderson."

The name seemed to click something in Liam's brain. He leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows, and raised an eyebrow. "Anderson, huh? Weird. I know a guy with that last name—Henry Anderson. Goes to Eldridge Academy. Kind of a dickhead. Not so charismatic, has a face that's just asking to be punched. Ring any bells?"

Noah's stomach tightened. He froze for a moment, then muttered, "You mean my brother."

Liam sat up, his expression shifting to one of pure disbelief. "No shit! Henry's your brother?" He laughed loudly, almost maniacally. "Bruh, I'm sorry for what I said, but also, I take none of it back. That guy's an asshole."

Noah didn't say anything, just shrugged.

"You know," Liam continued, "I never even knew Henry had a brother. He doesn't really give off the 'family guy' vibes."

"That's because he hates me," Noah said flatly. "He doesn't talk about me—or our youngest brother, Michael. It's like we don't exist."

Liam let out a low whistle. "Damn. Henry hating someone? That's rare. Considering he's, like, the golden boy at Eldridge. Prefect. Star student. Everyone rides his dick like he's the second coming of Christ or something. Ugh, it's exhausting."

"It's the same at home," Noah muttered, fiddling with his pencil. "But… hey, what were you even doing in the bush?"

Liam smirked and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, there was a rustling sound behind him. A girl stumbled out of the bush, looking disheveled. Her face was covered in kiss marks and faint bites, her hair a tangled mess. She adjusted her top awkwardly and hurried off without a word.

Noah stared, his jaw dropping slightly as he pieced everything together. Liam just grinned and shrugged, completely unbothered.

"Right," Noah said slowly. "Got it."

Liam clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice to meet ya, Noah. I'd love to stick around and chat, but I've got… uh… other priorities right now."

Before Noah could reply, Liam was already jogging after the girl, calling out, "Hey, wait up! I still need your number!"

Noah sat there in stunned silence, watching Liam disappear into the distance. He couldn't believe what had just happened. This random boy had crashed into his life, insulted his brother, and casually walked off like it was all perfectly normal.

"What the hell…" Noah muttered to himself.

---

It was getting late, and the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink. Noah decided it was time to head home. He packed up his sketchbook and pencils, slung his bag over his shoulder, and started the long walk back.

---

By the time he reached home, it was already 6:30 p.m. The house was as quiet as ever. No one greeted him, asked where he'd been, or even seemed to notice he was gone. He sighed and headed upstairs to his room, deciding to finally clean up the mess he'd made.

As he picked up torn pieces of paper and broken pencils, he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. His body tensed instinctively, thinking it was Henry. His fists clenched, and he prepared himself for a fight.

The door creaked open, and Noah ran full speed, tackling the figure in the doorway.

"Ow! What the fuck, Noah?"

Noah froze. It wasn't Henry—it was Michael, their youngest brother.

"Michael?" Noah said, quickly stepping back.

Michael groaned, rubbing his arm where Noah had slammed into him. "Jesus, is this how you treat your younger brother? Mom's gonna kill you if I tell her."

"Shut up and go away, Michael," Noah said, returning to his cleaning.

Michael crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I saw it."

Noah paused. "Saw what?"

Michael smirked. "I saw Henry beating the shit out of you yesterday."

Noah turned to glare at him. "Are you trying to blackmail me or something?"

Michael grinned mischievously. "You're smarter than you look, considering you barely scrape by with a B+ in math. Not bad."

"Whatever you want, I'm not doing it. Now go away."

Michael's grin widened. "What if I tell everyone Henry beat the crap out of you?"

Noah rolled his eyes, feigning indifference. "I don't care." He even added a sassy tone for effect.

Michael's tone turned sing-song. "What if I tell that Maiya girl?"

Noah froze again, his eyes narrowing. "What did you just say? How much did you hear?"

Michael shrugged. "Uh, everything, to be exact. I saw Henry storm into your room, so I followed him. I heard you two arguing about some 'Maiya.' What is it, huh? Love triangle drama?"

"Geez, you watch too much of Mom's soap operas," Noah snapped. "It's not a love triangle. For the record, I don't have feelings for anyone."

Michael smirked. "Okay, fine. You forever virgin."

That did it. Noah lunged at him. "I'm gonna kill you, you little—"

Michael darted out of the room, laughing hysterically. "See ya, loser!"

Noah sighed, slumping back onto the floor. "Why do I even bother?"