Liam knew it wasn't Theo's fault that he'd ended up stuck with the kids while Theo laughed around the fire drinking a soda and smiling but, well, it was so much more fun to blame Theo than it was to admit that he'd got himself trapped babysitting by trying to break up an eight-year-olds fight while Theo walked on without even a glance backwards and then agreeing to help a girl finish off a bracelet he was making. After that he'd been trapped and Theo had done nothing to save him. Just looked over occasionally with a smirk.

He really couldn't believe that that asshole was his anchor. Theo being his anchor was a farce, because Theo was a douche bag and who had he been kidding, they weren't friends. He was just..his standards had lowered over the past few months. He'd been forced to spend too much time with Theo and had just tricked himself into believing he was bearable for his own sanity. It was like in class when people started looking attractive throughout the period. Only then the bell will ring and you return to the general population and realise that they weren't hot in any way you just had limited choice.

Or maybe he was just a little bit bitter that he'd woken up alone and damp from morning dew and hadn't been able to find Theo for near an hour and had been halfway to worrying himself grey with questions like:

What if the pack had just been luring them into a false sense of security and had hurt Theo while Liam was asleep?

What if Monroe had somehow been following them the entire road trip and had killed him and was going to burst in and kill everyone else?

What if he'd went for a walk and had gotten lost and was going to freeze to death?

What if he'd went for a walk and been attacked by a bear?

What if he wasn't hurt? What if he actually hated the road trip and Liam and had finally found the perfect place to abandon him? What if he was already speeding across the country dumb finger tapping at the steering wheel as he laughed about managing to make Liam trust him before leaving him literally in the dirt?

Maybe the hoodie he'd left tossed over Liam's sleeping body had really been a parting gift, a wordless 'you will never see me again but here, enjoy my scent you little freak'.

Only for Theo to roll back into camp with Guns and Sara and mutter a simple. "Relax Pumpkin." When Liam had snapped at him to at least leave a note next time.

So for the asshole to be sitting chatting amicably to Sara and the others while he was stuck with the rugrats felt unfair. He'd been the one who spent most of the morning freaking out, he was the one who should get to sit and have a damn drink and not be stuck with a bossy child braiding his hair with sticky fingers.

"Stop moving!" Penny hissed, tugging at a strand of Liam's hair. Liam let out a small hiss of pain. Theo's attention shifted at the noise, eyes catching Liam's before his gaze flickered to Penny, standing behind him, he watched the small girl yank his hair into messy braids, smile turning into a full-blown grin. Liam put his middle finger up and turned away. Penny gave another harsh tug on his hair. "I told you to stop moving! You're going to ruin them."

"Sorry."

"Excuse me?" Liam was careful only to move his eyes at the small voice calling for his attention. A young boy stood, feet scuffing across the grass, a beaded bracelet clutched in his hands. "Could you tie this for me please?" he asked. "I can't tie it to my own wrist and-"

"Yeah of course." Liam said softly. "You gotta come a bit closer though otherwise, this one might actually rip my hair out." He jutted a thumb at Penny, he heard the telltale sound of a raspberry being blown at him but ignored it. The kid shuffled forwards a gappy smile lighting his face up as he handed over the bracelet. "Alright buddy, which wrist do you want it on?" Liam asked. The kid stuck out his left wrist and Liam got to work tying the bracelet. "This is really awesome. I like the colours." He lied, nodding to the garish yellow beads.

"I made it myself." The kid said, Like Liam hadn't realised that, he'd been tying terrible homemade bracelets to kids wrists for the better part of two hours, along with cutting thread and sometimes even helping choose colours before Penny had gotten bored and decided to use him as a doll.

"Really?" Liam asked, feigning shock. The kid nodded proudly. "Well you did a great job, wish I had one. There you go, all done." the kid inspected his newly attached bracelet.

"Thank you."

"No problem buddy." Liam watched as he scrambled away, back all of four feet away to where a group were still happily picking through buckets of beads to make their bracelets. Across from them were others with water guns, screaming and zooming around one another.

"Hey! You need to spin!" Dorian snapped. Liam blinked over at the few playing twister all glaring impatiently.

"Yeah yeah." Liam sighed, spinning the dial in front of him which only earned another tug of hair from Penny.

"Right-hand green." Liam said. He had to hand it to the parents, they'd done a damn good job of distracting the kids while they packed up their things. He'd just wished he hadn't ended up getting caught up in the distraction. He wondered if this was how Dodo felt when he'd wake up covered in leaves.

Liam sighed, watching as Dorian successfully put his right hand on the green and span again. Dorian won, something he wasn't surprised about because the kid was a little cheat jutting out his elbows into peoples sides as they tried to move their limbs. Liam had tried to call him on it but had just been called a poohead.

"I made you one." Liam looked and saw the kid from earlier back. Head held high, another bracelet clutched in his hand.

"What?" Liam asked tiredly.

"You said it was cool. So I made you one. I thought you'd like it."

"That's really nice of you." Liam said, a smile overcoming his face. Maybe kids weren't so bad.

"What wrist?" Liam held up his right wrist. The child smiled, stumpy fingers tying the bracelet on. "I even put your name on it." He said, making Liam feel guilty he knew a total of three kids names and that was generally because they'd insulted him so far so he held minor grudges.

"Really? That's awe-" Liam's words stuttered to a stop as the kid twirled the bracelet on his wrist to have it facing outwards. "...thank you, I love it." Liam lied. Glaring down at the little-lettered beads.

Pumpkin.

He'd accepted a damn bracelet with the name pumpkin on it. A child thought he was called pumpkin.

"So how'd you know my name?"

"Your friend said it earlier when you were freaking out." He said innocently.

Liam hated Theo.

*

Liam stalked towards the fire braids bouncing with each step, cheeks flushing as the gaggle of teens laughed at him. He plopped down next to Theo with a glower, fingers digging at the ends of a braid as he tried to undo it. Penny's mother had dragged her away five minutes ago to start the walk back to their car so it wasn't like he was about to hurt her feelings by ruining her 'work'.

"I'm loving the new style." Moe hummed.

"Your head looks like an octopus." Guns said.

"You can all go fuck yourselves," Liam said, yanking harder which only seemed to make the end of the braid tangle.

"Liam...Liam, Liam come on look at me. Liam-"

"What?" Liam snapped turning back to Theo. He groaned at the shutter sound as the Chimera took a photo.

"You're an asshole."

"Aw come on Pumpkin, don't be like that. I think they're beautiful." Theo said, smirk twisting at his lips as he batted one of the dangling atrocities like a cat with yarn. Liam slapped his hand away with a glower and continued to tug at the mess of hair on his head trying to unravel it. Liam resisted the urge to complain about the nickname. He'd rather Theo didn't notice the pumpkin bracelet still on his wrist.

"Shut up Theo." Liam sighed. "I can't believe you ditched me with children for hours."

"I mean, considering the last time I was trusted near a kid that age I ended up murdering her I thought you wouldn't want me near them." Theo said. Guns barked out a loud laugh.

"And you say I'm not funny?"

"Guns thought it was funny."

"She's called Guns, how smart can she be-" Liam muttered

"Hey!" Guns growled while Moe and Eric cackled.

"You know the full moon was last night right? Your free pass at being a bitch has officially expired." Theo hummed.

"Really? Then what's your excuse?"

"Being stuck with you would put anyone in a bad mood." Theo said simply.

"You're such a-"

"Kids!" Sammy called. "don't just sit around doing nothing. People need help carrying stuff back to-"

"Mooooom." Eric groaned.

"Now, Eric." Eric let out another exaggerated groan before he stood up, stomping towards the departing families. "That meant you three as well you know." Sammy said, Moe and Guns followed Eric's lead of dramatic groans before they left. Sara, however, stayed in place, Sammy raised an eyebrow.

"What? Technically you said kids, I'm twenty five, I can't even be mistaken for a-"

"Technically your brothers an adult too."

"Technically but he has the maturity of a six year old so-"

"Then please go hold your brother's hand. I'm not letting a six year old wander through the forest alone. If you didn't want to help you should have hidden at casa del cool like you did yesterday."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'd never hide to get out of helping people."

"Then go prove it." Sammy said with a note of finality. Sara nodded slinking away shoulders drooped. "You two want something to eat?"

"Liam can help the others if you-" Theo started.

"You're guests. You don't have to deal with clean up duty. Love the hair, Liam. Very...medusa." Sammy said, before taking off with a little wave leaving Theo laughing in her wake.

"If you help me get these out I won't tell Scott you abandoned me with a pack of blue-eyed werewolves for over an hour while asleep and defenseless."

"Please, you're snoring would break their eardrums before they got close enough to hurt you." Theo huffed even as he started to help Liam uncurl the braids.

*

"Alright so here's my proposition." Eric said sitting down across from Liam, sat on the floor nestled between Theo's legs as the older grumbled and swore over the tangled mess still in Liam's hair. "Tell my Mom you need my help with this idiots hair so I can't help everyone else and I'll let you guys share my tent tonight."

"What?"

"When all that lot-" Eric nodded towards the people still making their way from the clearing, bags sagging heavily as they begun their treks back to civilisation. "are gone we have a party. Now usually new people don't get invited for like...at least a few months, but you guys are cool. So help me out and you guys are cordially invited to join me and the others in stealing the oldie's alcohol and getting drunk in casa del cool. And, like I said, I'll let you guys crash in my tent afterwards."

"I don't give a shit about the party, just do this before I chop all his hair off." Theo said stiffly.

"Don't you da-"

"It's like she used glue to-"

"It's just elastic bands." Eric snorted, fingers poking into Liam's hair. Liam let him sift through it slowly. "You can't just yank them like normal hair bands or they just end up tangled..which is obviously what you've been doing."

"How do you know?" Liam asked. Feeling oddly like a monkey being groomed as Theo and Eric picked through his hair.

"I used to be like rapunzel, hair down to here-" he waved to his waist with a grin.

"Why'd you cut it?"

"Was standing too close to Dodo when he lit the fire one time." He mimed an explosion. "Was not pretty."

"Eric! What did I say about helping-" Sammy huffed.

"Sorry Sammy, we kinda need his help." Theo said. "Is that okay?"

"It doesn't take three people to undo braids. So, Theo, either Eric goes back to help people carry their things or you do."

"I thought I was a guest and didn't have to do anything?"

"Be honoured, I'm welcoming you to the family." Sammy said dryly. Theo sighed, standing up, ruffling Liam's hair as he went.

"If you end up having to chop it off film it for me." Theo said.

"Course man. You reckon he'd cry?" Eric asked.

"No one is chopping off my hair." Liam said.

*

In the end Sammy's scissors weren't needed and Liam was pretty sure he knew every pack members life story and ancestry from where Eric had spoken in a near constant rumble as he picked the never-ending bands from Liam's hair.

"Your hair has been liberated." Eric said, finally dropping the last band onto the discarded pile. "You want a beer while we wait for the others to get back?"

"um-"

"Dodo'll let us have one but then we'd have to wait to actually drink drink till after the 'rents go to bed."

"Why would you bother drinking? We can't get drunk-" Eric's eyes widened, a manic grin stretching across his face.

"You haven't tried spiked beer?"

"Um-"

"Dude we have a beer, come on." Eric manhandled Liam until they were walking over to a sleeping Dodo. "Old man." Eric shouted. Dodo blinked an eye open lazily.

"What." It sounded more like a threat than a question.

"Liam has never had spiked beer-"

"Course he hasn't. I make it special for the pack-" Dodo snorted, as if Eric was an idiot.

"So I was thinking-"

"How old are you?"

"Me?"

"No, I forgot my grandsons age." Dodo said dryly. Liam paused, unsure if it was a joke or not. He looked to Eric for help.

"Dodo I'm twen-"

"I know how old you are." Dodo huffed. "Come on Choir boy, age."

"Uhh. Sixteen."

"Good enough. Go get three beers, choir boy, take a seat." Dodo didn't wait for Liam just grabbed the sleeve to Theo's hoodie and yanked him down to sit on the floor next to him, within a minute an opened bottle was being thrust into his hand.

"You know." Liam said slowly as Eric and Dodo took matching gulps of their drinks. "My dad always said if it's already open or doesn't have a label don't drink it."

"That's because it could be drugged." Dodo said calmly. "I'll save you the trouble of guessing, these drinks are definitely drugged. Only way they can get a wolf drunk."

"Is that meant to reassure me?" Liam asked, Dodo just shrugged, taking another long pull of his drink. Liam eyed the brown bottle skeptically for a moment before he followed the older mans lead.

*

The first half of the night was a lot like the night before. Theo had gotten back only to be swept off on a wolfy run while Liam helped build a bonfire, this time there was no argument about gasoline usage. Although Dodo still did light it by breathing fire onto it. Something Liam really wasn't sure if he thought was cool or ridiculously stupid. He thought maybe it could be both. After that they had dinner, the remaining occupants of camp all spread around the bonfire. The only difference was that the adults were drinking which seemed to do little more than make them louder. Dodo took the lead, telling stories about wolves from the pack before it had become his daughters.

The few remaining children told scary stories to one another and the teens sneakily stole as much alcohol as they could.

"If someone gets out a guitar and starts singing country songs you have full permission to kill me." Liam murmured. Theo's lips twitched in a smile.

"Well I've been through the desert on a horse with no name it felt good to be out of the rain." Eric sung, voice gravely and loud. Eyes locked on them, a smirk twisting his lips.

"I think he heard you." Theo said.

"Hon that's not country." Sammy said.

"IN THE DESERT!" Eric bellowed, ignoring her. "You can't remember your name coz-"

"Please stop." Liam sighed.

"There ain't no one to give you no pain-" Guns and Moe joined in painfully off-key making almost everyone wince. Apart from Dodo who was nodding along happily, foot tapping to the off-kilter beat.

"Alright! Enough." Sammy laughed. "Go do your secret party that we all pretend we don't know about."

"I have no idea what you mean mother." Eric said innocently. "I would never dream of partying. However, a communal urination sounds like a fantastic idea."

"Moe, Guns. Newbies, let us use the bathroom together!" Eric cheered.

"That's a terrible excuse." Sammy sighed. Sara ducked in, pressing a swift kiss to her mother's cheek.

"Don't worry I'll keep an eye on the idiots." She said.

"Best take a mirror then." Eric said, already running for the south of camp.

*

The 'party' turned out to be an assortment of werewolf ready booze and an old school boom-box at Casa Del Cool. It was probably the quietest party Liam had ever been too even with music the backstreet boys blaring, the waterfall whistling and the group shouting over one another.

Guns was proudly showing off her snake tattoo, totally unbothered about having to be in her underwear to do so as she span around to give them a view of the snake the curled from wrist to ankle.

"Where'd you get it done?" Liam asked "I heard you have to like..burn tattoo's in for werewolves, I can't imagine many tattoo artists go for flambéing their clients."

"I did it." Sara said, Guns pulled her jeans back on happy in the knowledge everyone had appreciated her tattoo enough. "I'm planning to open my own parlor next year, been working at one in the city for almost three years now. I've done a bunch of tattoos for the pack. Mom, Guns, Moe-" Moe lifted his top to show a small smiley face with fangs over his pointy ribs. "I did like three tattoo's today while you were playing dress up with Penny. I'd try to be modest but I'm too good for that."

"Damn right you are" Guns said high fiving her.

"You gonna get your Theodork tattoo?" Theo asked, smirking around the rim of his beer bottle.

"I'm nowhere near drunk enough for that."

"Best drink up then." Theo hummed. Eric was there in an instant holding out another bottle.

"You know I would." Liam lied. "But I'm not sure that getting a tattoo in the woods is very sanitary."

"We're werewolves. We can't get diseases."

"It's still a bit gross."

"Is he this judgemental about everything?" Sara asked.

"Pretty much." Theo said.

"I'm just saying. There are something's you're told not to do. Like having a drunk person give you a tattoo with a needle that can't be properly clean."

"That's true." Theo said. "but your Mom did also say no drinking and you're breaking that rule." He clinked his bottle against Liam's as if to prove his point. "And you agreed to eat vegetables, and stay under the speed limit, and to stay away from Vegas. You're not exactly heeding your mother's warnings so far."

"I'm still not getting a tattoo."

"Suit yourself."

"Okay, let's play a drinking game." Guns decided. "Every time I say drink. You drink."

"That sounds like a terrible drinking-" Theo started.

"Drink!" Guns ordered.

*

"Are you serious right now?" Liam asked with a laugh. He could barely see Theo from where he was hovering on the edge of the cliff through the dark night, just the glow of skin.

"You said you wanted to swim!" Theo called.

"Is this one of those 'drunk guy thinks he's superman' moments?"

"I'm a chimera, I basically am superman." Theo said. Liam really wished he weren't already in the water so he could have got that moment on film.