Chapter Twenty-one

As Liam sat down at the table, he felt his face getting redder. His stomach twisted nervously. He gave a glance at Owen, who smiled warmly. Liam exhaled quietly. Alright, time to actually do this.

Bryce was looking down at the table, tapping his fingers on the wood. He looks up as he hears the chair's legs scrape against the tile floor. Liam and Owen sat in their chairs.

After a few moments of silence, Liam finally spoke up.

"...Bryce?"

"Yes?"

"...Are we still... on good terms?" Liam looked down at the floor, and Bryce did the same. He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped.

Bryce thought back to the lightning strike. He thought about how he carried Liam to his apartment, in the pouring rain. The tears that ran down his face as he looked down at Liam. The call that he had with Owen. Him sobbing at the table, drinking himself to unconsciousness. And, of course, he thought about being teleported back to the plane. The dread that washed over him as he realized where he was. And even being comforted by Scenty.

Then he came back to earth. And then the Liam situation happened.

None of that would've happened if he wasn't such a coward.

Liam waited patiently for a response to his question, looking up at every sound, usually to look back down at the floor disappointedly. Bryce hadn't responded yet.

The silence seemed to have lasted for hours, but, eventually, it had to end.

"...I'd like to be..." Bryce half-mumbled.

Liam's stomach dropped at those words. He stayed silent.

Bryce looked at the floor. He felt like he was about to cry. Liam wasn't saying anything. Did I do something wrong? Is Liam still mad at me? Did Liam not want to be friends? What if Liam hates me? What if Liam thinks I'm being ingenuine? What if we-

Bryce's thoughts were interrupted by a subtle movement from Owen. He gave Liam a worried look, prompting him to talk to Bryce.

"Um..." Liam was obviously trying to force words out. "I-I... uh..." He might have been close to crying too, and Bryce knew that. He wasn't sure whether to smile or to look at Liam (he probably couldn't anyway, eye contact wasn't either of their strengths), whether to stay quiet or to say something, and even whether he should even be there or not.

His best bet was probably to keep is mouth shut.

After a few seconds of silence, Owen sighed. "Liam, I swear to god, just-" He was swiftly interrupted by the very backpack he was talking to.

"I saw that water bottle in the ocean." He said. Bryce raised an eyebrow. The majority of this time, Liam was staring at the picture of Stella and Bryce, and he hadn't even noticed.

"What?" Bryce said, turning back to the photo on the wall.

"That water bottle. They were there in the ocean before I woke up." Liam repeated his explanation. "The ocean?" Bryce asked. "That's the place I was when I was in the coma. Instead of the sunset place, I was in a big ocean. It was... lukewarm." That last bit was an odd part for Liam to put in, but he felt as if it was vital to say. He wasn't sure why.

"You're sure it was that specific water bottle?" Bryce asked. Liam simply nodded in response. Bryce studied Liam's face. He was evidently trying to be stern and closed off, his arms rested on the table, and his tired eyes looking straight at Bryce. Liam definitely wasn't the stern type, so this was odd.

But also kind of cute.

Wait, what?

"Bryce? You good?" Owen asked, giving Bryce the same worried look he gave Liam just a few minutes ago. Bryce immediately jumped, evidently a bit flustered. "Uh- Yeah- Sorry, I just- Um-" He stumbled on his words, getting even more flustered. Liam smiled amusingly in response to this, causing Bryce to smile a bit as well.

After they both noticed they were staring at each other, Liam and Bryce looked down at the ground nervously.

"omfg can yall stop being gay for five fucking minutes"

Bryce shut Texty's computer, the slam being succeeded by a few moments of silence, with Bryce staring at the shut laptop.

"Anywho..." Owen tried to get the conversation back on topic. Whatever that topic was.

Nobody said anything. Owen gave a half-jokingly disappointed look to Liam.

"...Do you guys wanna go get some lunch?" Bryce asked, standing up out of his seat. Liam smiled and nodded. Owen got out of his seat. "Sure." Bryce grabbed his jacket then picked up Texty, and they all walked out the door, Liam shutting it behind them.