Bravado

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Piece number 2 in the AU series Pure Heroism.

The lyrics are from songs of Lorde's album Pure Heroine. I don't own them, or the characters.

English is not my native language, so constructive criticism would be appreciated.

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Summary

"So tell me if I got this right - you're the buff guy, she's the genius, and he's just an asshole." Scott huffs and Lydia quirks an eyebrow, but Stiles just snorts. \\ In which Kira plays the peace-maker, but leaves the babysitting to the trio. Liam is not impressed.

The lyrics to this oneshot are from Lorde's song Bravado.

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I'm faking glory

Lick my lips, toss my hair

And turn the smile on

And the story's brand new

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Liam should have known it'll happen.

Really, after the crazy night he's been through, he should've known he wouldn't be left alone. Not even to eat his damn breakfast.

He just stumbled downstairs, still dizzy and blurred-eyed even after the shower he'd hurried to take the moment he woke up, his hair dripping and stomach completely empty. He doesn't think he's ever been this hungry.

But then he stops, mid-step and everything, because here is Kira, sitting next to the kitchen table, eating cookies and chatting with his mom. Kira, who told the two kidnappers from the preserve about him.

She stops talking the moment she sees him, smile faltering. "Hey, Liam…"

He narrows his eyes at her. She looks fresh and awakened, probably the opposite of what he feels like. After he ran away from the house the two unknowns took him this morning - through the second-floor freakin' window - he just made his wobbly way home, used the reserve key from under the mat, and fell face-first into his bed. He can barely remember it at all, he was literally dead on his feet. His head still feels like someone drove his truck over it. More than once.

He decides he still wants his breakfast, so he breaks the stare at the half-Japanese girl and continues his way to the fridge. His mom asks him how he feels, oblivious to the tensed exchange between the two, too busy with Penny in her hands.

"Fine," he mumbles. Penny doesn't look at him either, too busy with the little toy in her hands. He grabs milk and cereal.

"Well I would be surprised if you weren't," his mom laughs. "You slept so many hours you should be as strong as a tiger. I wanted to wake you up earlier, but you looked so wrecked I left you alone."

Liam looks up at the clock, squinting with surprise. It's three p.m. He had no idea he slept this much - doesn't feel like that either. He mostly just feels sore.

His mom stands up the moment he sits down. "Well, I'm out with Penny. We're going to have a fun day at the park today, right honey?" she smiles at the baby in her hands, who babbles happily. "Have a nice day you two!"

She walks out, leaving the two in an awkward silence as Liam eats without looking up from his bowl and Kira follows him with her eyes. It doesn't really make him uncomfortable; too many nice memories with her bright smile from their old neighborhood preventing him from being truly wary. But he's still suspicious.

He finishes his cereal and leans back, pushing the bowl forward. "So what now?" he asks, meeting her eyes with his narrowed ones. "Are you going to kidnap me too? Because my head hurts enough without it."

"Liam," she says, as if to stop him, but doesn't continue. She fidgets, but doesn't lower her gaze. She sighs and leans back as well. "I'm just trying to help. So did they," she says softly.

"I'm pretty sure hitting me in the head is not the way," he mumbles sarcastically, but it's more to himself than to her. They're quiet for a moment.

Kira leans forward suddenly, her mouth set in a determined line. "Come with me, Liam," she asks quietly. "Give us a chance."

He looks down and considers refusing. He doesn't know if he can trust her right now, and he has this feeling in the pit of his stomach, that tells him only bad will come out of this in the end. And he is still getting used to his body, after running amok last night and the injuries in his head and leg, which are making their faster-than-ever way to heal. He won't be able to fight in this state, if needed - not against two at once.

But now Kira looks at him with hopeful eyes, apprehensive - afraid he'll say no. He knows she's not pretending - he saw her before trying to pretend, and he knows how terrible she is at it. She has to be genuinely worried.

He sighs defeatedly. "Fine, let's go."

A smile lits up her face, and she takes his hand and leads him outside, to her car, without a word.

He feels something, tingling uncomfortably inside him. He hopes it's nothing. He hopes it's not a warning.

Liam knows where they're going, of course, but he can't help but flinch at the sight of the house on the lake. "Kira…"

She exhales, shoulders slumping from the tensed position she held them in. "Just relax. It's not a trap - no one's going to hurt you. They're just trying to help."

He doesn't answer. She is looking straight ahead, not turning to him once. He noticed during the drive how her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter until her knuckles turned white, how her mouth became a tight line. Something is making her anxious, something in that house. It makes him jittery, nervous. He keeps his thoughts to himself though, and turns to look out the window again.

They park in front of the house. Kira gets out of the car without waiting, her movements jumpy, and Liam hurries to open the car door and follow.

The moment he's out he has to hold back a shiver. His nose is assaulted by smells - vaguely familiar scents, of food and fire and sweat, and the scent from the preserve - the one that drove him crazy, that made his blood rush in his veins and his hands itch to fight. He has to clench his fists and shut his eyes to prevent himself from turning around and running away.

Threat, his instincts tell him. Danger. Run. FIGHT.

Shut UP, he thinks, teeth grinding against each other.

"Liam?" Kira asks from the door, sounding concerned.

He relaxes his hands, opening his eyes slowly. "'M'fine," he mumbles, looking up. She doesn't say anything.

He makes his way to her. She turns to the door and opens it, without knocking, without a warning. It's not locked.

The house inside is large and open and empty. Everything is perfectly cleaned, not a speck of dust in the air, and laid in his place with intimidating precision. The place was clearly built by someone wealthy; the furniture, the walls, the air - they all have this smell, like they're new or well kept, like they had cost a fortune. Liam sneezes.

It would've made the place look like a museum, but there are also misfit objects scattered all around. An empty beer bottle, dirty glasses, dirty clothes - on the floor, the window-ledge, the chairs. It makes the place look more like a residence and less like a grave. It smells fresh and like chaos - like living.

The smells are even stronger here. The red-eyed one must be living here, because his stench sticks to everything, making Liam itchy. But there are also two other scents - one familiar, one not.

He turns around. There's a girl standing there, leaning against the kitchen counter. Her back is as straight as a ruler, her head tilted to the side, her pale face expressionless, her eyes trained on him. She looks more arranged than this house - every hair in its place.

He blinks. She's older than him, but he's not sure in how much. Maybe she's on the same age as Kira. Her hair is lighter than redhead, and her eyes are paler than green. Her lips are full and pink and unsmiling.

"Lydia," Kira says in greeting, her lips turning upwards for the first time since they left his house. "It's good to see you."

Lydia's pinning gaze leaves Liam - thank god - and she looks at Kira, her lips forming a small, closed-lipped smile. She approaches Kira and they hug. She's taller than the half-Japanese, probably because of the monstrous heels she's wearing.

Lydia takes a step back and inspects Kira from head to toe, expression still strangely detached. "Invite me to your house this weekend," she commands, and it sounds demanding, like an order, but Kira simply smiles and nods.

Lydia looks at him again, and they stare at each other silently for a moment.

"It's nice to meet you, Liam," she says finally, and turns around before he can react. "Come, they're in the back."

She takes them to the back of the kitchen, where there's a cream-colored door, easily missed with the cream-colored wall as a background. A moment later, they're outside again.

They're in a large clearing, surrounded by tall trees. The lake is on their left, its blue water reflecting the sun's bright light. The ground is sandy but hard. The air is hot and wet with moisture. Liam suddenly feels like he is in a completely different world.

The place is mostly just an open, empty field, but there's a barbecue near the door, smelling like ash and dead fire, and there are a few benches around it and a dead campfire. No, not benches - logs. And there are two people sitting on them.

Liam knows, in that instant, it's them. The two who attacked him last night, who took him to that house when he was unconscious. The one with the flashing red eyes and the one with the orange-yellowish eyes. The whole place is flooded with their smells.

He feels on edge.

One of them is sitting on the log, his expression calm and collected, his position comfortable. His body is well-shaped, muscles evident through his t-shirt, and his crooked jaw has no trace of stubbles. The other one is next to him on the ground, leaning against the log and hunched forward, his dark hair wild and covering his downturned face. The first one stands up.

His face breaks into a wide smile. "Kira," he says as he looks at her with dark brown eyes, and unlike Lydia, the adoration in his voice is warm and welcoming.

Kira smiles sweetly in return, looking almost shy as she says, "hi Scott." Her eyes drift to the hunched boy on the ground, and her smile fades. "Stiles," she says quietly. The other guy peeks up, exposing pale face and whiskey-brown eyes with dark bags underneath them.

"Hi, Kira," he inclines his head in her direction, a quivering half-smile on his tight lips.

The standing guy - Scott - looks at him and rubs the back of his neck. Kira steps back.

"Well, everyone, meet Liam. Liam, these are Scott, Stiles and Lydia, and if you'll listen to them I'm sure everything would be explained. Don't do anything stupid."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Liam bursts.

She casts a look at Stiles. "I told you yesterday - I can't be here. I have to go now. Call me if you need a ride back home."

Liam wants to protest, but she's already back inside the house, on her way to her car. Lydia closes the door behind her and moves to the log, to sit down on it next to Stiles, completely ignoring Liam. He turns to the three strangers.

They all stare at him. Stiles fumbles with something in his hands, looking uninterested and dismissive. Lydia's face is just as blank as before, devoid of any emotion. Scott is still standing, inspecting him with these not-red eyes of his, that edge-putting smell coming off of him in waves. Out of everyone, his expression is the friendliest.

"So, Liam," he says, somewhat awkwardly. "How do you feel?"

And apparently that's all it takes to make Liam lose it. Anger fills him in seconds, any previous concern immediately forgotten. He clenches his fists tightly, letting out a huff of hot breath.

"How do I feel?" he asks. "Really? I feel like shit. I was just hit in the head and kidnapped by two strangers last night, and this is just my second day in Beacon Hills."

Stiles raises an eyebrow at him. "Jeez, man. Chill. You healed, didn't you?"

Liam's fists shake. "I -"

Scott steps forward. "Okay, let's just calm down for a second." He sends a glare in Stiles' direction, who in return shrugs and stretches his arms, looking much more awake and full of life all of a sudden.

Scott looks back at Liam. "I'm sorry we hurt you. I promise you, we were just trying to help."

"That's what Kira said," Liam says, frustrated. "But I don't get it, and no one explains anything, and I'm - I -" he closes his eyes desperately for a moment. "I don't know what to do anymore!"

Scott looks at him with softening eyes. He nods, like he understands, and sits down on one of the empty logs. "Sit down, Liam. I want to tell you something."

Liam hesitates. Lydia follows him with her eyes, looking mildly interested, which is probably progress. Stiles has a smirk on his face, eyebrows raised in challenge. Scott looks at him expectantly, a shadow of a smile on his face.

Liam braces himself, inhales, and steps forward. He sits down gingerly on an empty log across from Scott, ready to stand up and get away if the need arises.

Scott looks at him intently. "I'm about to do something. It might make you… uncomfortable, but I need you to try and stay calm, okay? I won't hurt you."

Liam tenses at the words. It doesn't calm him in the slightest, but he nods anyway, because even with the irritating scent, he still makes Liam feel... settled. More than the other two do, at least.

Scott breathes in slowly, closing his eyes.

His smell suddenly becomes stronger - ten times stronger. Liam jumps to his legs (making Stiles jump as well), his widening eyes glued to Scott's shifting face.

His brow becomes firmer, more solid. Sideburns erupt on the sides of his face. His mouth opens as his teeth become too long to be contained in the small space, sharper than a knife. His fingers spread as his nails grow longer, sharper, deadlier. He arches his back and Liam hears it, the small click click clicks as bones crack against each other, rearranging themselves, making him stronger. Making him more animal and less human.

Liam staggers back. Scott's back straightens again, the shift finished. He opens his eyes.

Liam's breath catches in his throat. Flashing red eyes stare down at him, right from his foggy memories of the last night.

His eyes sting in response.

A trembling shiver makes its slow, burning way down his spine. His nails and teeth become longer, stronger, his body becomes fitter to stand against the threat. The strong smell is making him lose his mind.

It's making him ache for a fight. For a kill.

He roars.

The Threat looks at him with narrowed eyes. "Resist it, Liam," he says, voice thick and hoarse, fitting for the animal that he is now. "You can control it."

Liam's only reaction is to charge forward.

The Threat throws him back with a roar of his own. It's deafening, and Liam wants to whimper, but he also wants this territory, and after a moment of indecision he surges towards him again.

Claws slash against flesh. The other - Threat, KILL - hisses with pain and slashes too, tearing through Liam's abdomen, making him growl.

"Control it!" the Threat howls in his face.

Liam howls too. His claw goes for the chest this time - for the heart.

But then something latches onto his arm, and he pulls, but he can't move it - he tries again, turns to roar at the hindrance -

His eyes meet two glowing orbs, flashing this yellowish-orange color at him angrily. Liam falters, not knowing what this thing is and what does he want, and that's all the time the stranger needs to smack him down on the ground, hard.

Liam gets up the moment his vision clears again, and wastes no time. He runs to his new target, ready to strike, ready to kill.

But just a moment before he takes him down, the original Threat roars again.

But this time it's not just a roar. It's a Roar, filled with Power and Control, and Liam crumbles. He falls to his knees, defeated.

He bows his head to the Threat - the Owner - he knows now that this place belongs to him - and whines lowly, shoulders sagging as he shifts back to human form.

Everything is silent, except for the three boys' labored breathing.

"Is everyone okay?" Lydia asks, and she sounds louder than she's supposed to, and shaky, and afraid - gone is the ice-queen of five minutes ago.

A hand touches his shoulder. Liam looks up slowly, from the ground to Scott's shoes, to his jeans, to his t-shirt… and to his face. He manages to see the pair of warm brown eyes, looking at him softly, before he casts his eyes down again.

"It's okay," Scott murmurs. "You're okay. Everyone's fine."

Liam swallows and nods, trying hard not to go into a panic. "Can you - can you just tell me, what's going on?" he asks shakily.

Scott sighs. He gets up, offering Liam his hand. Liam stares at it for a moment. He doesn't take it.

"You're a werewolf," Stiles says, making Liam's eyes shot towards his sweat-covered pale face. Lydia is crouching next to him, her hand on his shoulder and a tender look on her face.

Silence stretches over the clearing. Stiles takes Lydia's other hand and stands up, turning to look at him, breathing slowly in and out.

"That's the big secret," he continues, sounding - sounding annoyed. "Kira said you were bitten. It wasn't a big dog. It was a werewolf, like Scott is and you are too now."

Liam looks at him, the clipped words echoing in his mind. "Were- werewolf?" he stutters, standing up on swaying legs.

Scott sighs and takes a step towards him. He retreats back when Liam flinches.

"Yeah, a werewolf," he says tiredly. "Like I am."

Liam shakes his head. He feels tired too - completely drained after the quick match between the three of them. The itch to fight from earlier has unexpectedly disappeared, but he still wants to get away - because of normal reasons now, like mistrust.

"But that's -" he starts. They're all looking at him. Lydia's eyes are softer now, and Scott has gone to stand by them. Stiles quirks an eyebrow, challenging him to say 'impossible' after what just happened.

"We're not," he says instead, shaking his head. "We're not the same thing. Your eyes are red - mine are Golden. Kira said so."

"You're not exactly the same," Lydia says in a soft voice, speaking to him for the first time since they got out of the house. His eyes jump to her. "There is a clear scale in the lycanthropic hierarchy. Scott is an alpha - the highest of the three statuses. The next one is beta, like you. The third and lowest status is omega - a werewolf without a pack."

"But I'm not," he says, confusion and wariness fighting over him. "I don't have a pack - I'm too far away from that werewolf who bit me, right? He's supposed to be hundreds of miles away… I'm an omega, right?"

They exchange looks. A cold feeling sweeps him from head to toe.

"What?" he asks, trying to sound demanding. "What's going on?"

"You do have a pack, Liam," Scott says. He sounds gentle, but Liam is already half-freaked-out. "You have us."

"I don't know you," he answers, voice raising. "I don't want you!"

Stiles has this unimpressed look on his face. "Yeah, feeling's mutual there," he says sarcastically.

"You hit me on the head!" Liam cries. "And kidnapped me!"

Stiles rolls his eyes at him. "Look, no one asked for this, okay?"

Scott cuts in. "Calm down. We didn't mean for this to happen - I didn't think my changing will trigger yours, or that my roar would make you submit, but they did. Your wolf just surrendered to me, as a beta to his alpha. You're part of the pack, if you want it or not."

Liam's heart is racing now, and he knows they - or at least Scott - can probably hear but can't focus on it right now. "So that's it? I'm - stuck with you?"

Stiles rolls his eyes again, but doesn't say anything.

Scott looks at him with soothing eyes. "It doesn't really have to mean anything. You don't have to hang out with us, or pretend to know us, or whatever. It just means you're not alone anymore, which is safer."

"It also means you're our responsibility now," Lydia says quietly.

"What does that mean?" he asks harshly, body on full alert.

"It means I'm going to teach you control, so you won't hurt anyone," Scott answers. "So you will have to come here for a few times, but once you get it you're free to go."

"Yeah, and try to be fast about it. The faster you're gone, the better," Stiles mumbles.

Liam stares at him, a bitter taste in his mouth. Stiles looks back, an uninterested look on his face. Lydia has her face averted, not even looking at him. Scott has a smile on his face, but even Liam can tell it's forced.

"No," he says abruptly.

Stiles raises his eyebrow and Lydia turns to look at him, looking surprised.

"No?" Scott asks, sounding cautious.

"No. I'm not doing it," Liam says, voice hard. Stiles' lips curl up in amusement, and he feels his blood boiling in his veins.

"I want a cure," he demands, teeth gritting. "I want to be normal."

"There is no cure," Lydia says softly. "I found none."

"Maybe one day we'll find it," Scott says, looking at the redhead. "Lydia is the smartest person I know. She'll find it someday."

Liam's fingers and mouth sting, his vision becoming tinged with red. "I don't want to be a monster!"

Scott is in front of him in second, hissing at him with red eyes, holding his arms with his muscled ones. Liam bows his head immediately, baring his neck, an unexpected dread filling him.

Scott lets go of his arms and retreats back to the other two, and Liam raises his head again, his heart pounding. "We need to start the training soon," Scott says quietly, eyes dark-brown again.

"But I don't," Liam grits out, fists trembling. "I don't want that, I don't -"

"Stop saying it like it's the worst thing ever," Stiles bites out, looking irked. "Things could have been so much worse for you right now."

Scott sighs. "Look, just come over tomorrow by this hour. We'll get things going. I'll help you train, Lydia will continue looking for a cure, and with no time you'll be out of here, okay?"

"And I'll watch," Stiles adds with a smirk.

Liam laughs bitterly, not turning his eyes from Scott. "Oh, so tell me if I got this right - you're the buff guy, she's the genius, and he's just an asshole."

Scott huffs in response, and Lydia quirks an eyebrow, but Stiles just snorts. His amused expression makes Liam tremble with fury, so he turns around without another word and opens the door.

"Don't forget to come by tomorrow! The popcorn's on me!" Stiles calls behind him, and Liam clenches his fists again.

He slams the door to the sound of Stiles' laugh.

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But I can take it from here

I'll find my own bravado

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Stay tuned, here will be more.

Hope you enjoyed :)