A loud knock echoed through the quiet house.
Liam barely had ti to take a breath before the second knock ca—this ti, harder, faster, more urgent.
He already knew who it was before even reaching the door.
With a sigh, he grabbed the handle and pulled it open.
Amanda stood there, eyes burning with emotion. And the second the door swung wide enough, she stepped inside without hesitation—as if afraid he would shut it in her face if she didn’t move fast enough.
The mont Liam closed the door behind her, she turned to face him, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and then—
She exploded.
"It’s because of , isn’t it?!" Her voice ca out fast and frantic, words tumbling over each other. "You got yourself hurt because of , didn’t you?! You should have stayed out of this, Liam! Why do you always have to throw yourself into situations like this?!"
Liam barely held back a groan.
Instead, he raised a hand, stopping her mid-rant.
"Hey, hey, hey—" he said, his tone exasperated but firm. "I didn’t call you here so you could lecture on what I should or shouldn’t do. I don’t need a babysitter."
Amanda’s mouth snapped shut, though her glare stayed sharp.
Liam took the brief silence as his chance to get to the point.
"Listen," he continued, crossing his arms. "I called you here because I need you to quietly spread the word that I’ve been found. Let people know I’m fine. That ans telling everyone searching for to back off."
Amanda frowned, shifting on her feet.
"Why?"
"Because I don’t want any unnecessary attention." Liam’s voice dropped slightly, his tone serious. "I just need ti to myself, that’s all."
For a mont, Amanda just stared at him.
Then, after a brief hesitation, she nodded.
But then—
"I already called the police on my way here, though."
Liam froze.
Amanda gave him a slightly sheepish look.
"They’ve already dispatched an officer to your house," she admitted. "Yesterday’s incident was huge. You have no idea how much of a ss it caused. Every available officer is working overti on this—like, all hands on deck. So they could only dispatch one."
Liam closed his eyes for a second, exhaling slowly as he scratched the back of his head.
Getting rid of the officer wouldn’t be hard.
But still—this was exactly what he had been trying to avoid.
He didn’t want to deal with cops.
He didn’t want to deal with anyone.
Liam sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. I’ll handle it."
Amanda studied him for a second, then her expression softened—just slightly.
"Liam... what are you planning?"
He didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he shifted his weight, looking off to the side before finally speaking again.
"I need you to do sothing else for ."
Amanda’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What?"
"Tell Ann to stay away from for now." His voice was steady but heavy with aning. "I’m about to do sothing dangerous. I don’t want anyone close to getting involved."
At that, Amanda’s entire expression changed.
Her brows furrowed, eyes darkening with concern.
"Dangerous?" she repeated slowly. "Liam, your ’normal’ is already dangerous for most people. What the hell are you planning now?"
Liam didn’t answer right away.
Instead, his lips curled into a slight smirk.
"Sothing that needs to be done."
Amanda knew there was no reason to press him, if he didn’t wanna talk then he has his reason.
"By the way—were you the one they called a ’mystery hero’ in the news?"
Liam blinked.
Her reaction was instant. "Wait—you saw the news?" She expected him to be confused when she asked the question.
Liam chuckled, nodding.
"Yeah. Just upstairs. Turns out I’m so kind of masked vigilante now." His tone was light, almost amused. "Who knew?"
Amanda stared at him for a long second before her shoulders slumped.
"So it really was you."
Liam only smiled. "Sothing like that."
Amanda inhaled sharply, clearly about to start another round of questions.
But Liam wasn’t in the mood for that.
"Anyway," he said, "you shouldn’t stay here any longer. It’s ti
for you to head ho."
Amanda imdiately frowned. "Wait—what? That’s it? You’re just gonna kick out without answering anything?"
Liam didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked over to the door, opened it, and—
Gently but firmly pushed her outside.
Amanda stumbled backward.
"Liam!" she snapped, spinning back to face him. "You are such an ass!"
Liam ignored her.
Instead, as she stood there glaring at him, he simply turned his gaze toward the car parked outside.
Mr. Rogers.
He was still inside, staring at his phone.
Or—pretending to.
Liam didn’t care.
Whatever Amanda was doing with him wasn’t his business.
Not right now.
Right now, there were bigger things to focus on.
Bigger enemies to fight.
And if he wanted to win—he knew just who to call
---
Dickson sat alone in his dimly lit bedroom, the soft glow of his computer screen casting a faint light on his face. His eyes flickered across the display, scanning the open tabs, the videos queued up, and the endless scrolling thumbnails that promised nothing but premium entertainnt.
His desk was a disaster.
Scattered across the wooden surface were various bottles of creams, oils, and a pile of tissues, carelessly tossed around like the remnants of a battlefield.
Today was supposed to be his day.
A sacred day.
A day he had planned ticulously—one that involved zero school, zero stress, and absolute, uninterrupted, hand-on-mouse, full-screen devotion.
That was exactly why he had called in sick.
He had even faked a cough over the phone, dragging out his words to sound as miserable as possible, groaning that he had "food poisoning" and that he needed at least a full day to "recover."
The second his excuse had been approved, he had practically leaped onto his chair, locked the door, and prepared for absolute bliss.
And just as he was about to start—
His phone rang.
Dickson’s finger hovered over his keyboard, veins popping in annoyance.
He stared at the glowing screen of his phone, his mind in turmoil.
Play the video or pick up the call?
He was so close—so damn close—but then the phone kept ringing.
Dickson clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply through his nose.
Who the hell is ruining my perfect mont?
Finally, with a frustrated grunt, he grabbed his phone and answered it.
"What?" he snapped, not even bothering to check who was calling.
But the second he heard the voice on the other end—
His entire body went still.
His eyes darted to the screen, his brows furrowing deeply as he pulled the phone away from his ear to confirm if he was seeing things correctly.
The na flashing across the screen was one he hadn’t expected at all.
Liam.
Dickson’s heartbeat skipped.
Wait.
Liam?
Wasn’t the entire school searching for him?
Wasn’t the news already buzzing about his disappearance?
The police were involved. Everyone was talking about it.
So why the hell was Liam casually calling him like nothing happened?
He quickly put the phone back to his ear.
"You asshole," he barked. "I thought they said you went missing again! Shit, how co you’re back so quickly?! I was happy—I thought you were never coming back!"
Liam shook his head from the other side of the call, completely unfazed.
It was painfully obvious Dickson had no idea what was really going on.
With a sigh, Liam finally spoke.
"Where are you right now?"
Dickson rolled his eyes. "Where do you think? I’m at school, obviously."
Liam frowned slightly.
Sothing didn’t add up.
"Liar," Liam said flatly. "If you were at school, I would’ve heard the usual nonsense in the background. It’s dead quiet where you are. You’re at ho, aren’t you?"
Dickson froze.
Damn it.
This was the problem with having a best friend who knew him too well.
With a reluctant sigh, he admitted, "Yeah, fine, I’m at ho. So what?"
Liam’s frown deepened.
"You dickhead," he muttered. "You called in sick, didn’t you? What the fuck is your excuse this ti?"
Dickson imdiately bristled.
"Don’t curse at , you bloody idiot," he shot back.
Liam ignored the insult. Instead, his tone turned mockingly curious.
"Let guess," Liam drawled. "Your favorite pornstar just released a new album."
Silence.
Dickson’s grip on the phone tightened.
He didn’t say a word.
Not even a breath.
And that was all Liam needed to confirm his suspicions.
"Oh, shit," Liam suddenly buzzed in his ear, "I’m right. You bloody ass wanker!"
Dickson groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face.
"Go fuck yourself, Liam."
Liam laughed. "You already know I don’t need to."
Dickson cleared his throat, trying to change the subject. "Why are you even calling ?"
Liam’s tone shifted instantly, becoming calm but firm.
"I need you to co over to my house."
Dickson blinked. "Hah? What for?"
Liam didn’t answer.
Instead, he simply ended the call.
Dickson stared at his phone in disbelief.
What the hell was that?
He furrowed his brows, tossing the phone onto his desk.
Liam always had this annoying habit of saying cryptic shit and then disappearing like so mysterious action hero.
"Dumbass," Dickson muttered under his breath.
He reached for his keyboard, fully prepared to return to his previous activities—
But the second his fingers touched the keys—
His phone rang again.
His head snapped toward it, eyes narrowing.
It was Liam. Again.
Dickson picked up, ready to tell him off, but before he could say anything—
Liam’s voice ca through the speaker, oozing with authority and lewdness.
"Oh, and send those videos over for inspection after you’re done watching them dickhead."
Dickson’s entire body stiffened.
"Inspection my ass!" he snapped.
And with that, he slamd the call shut and imdiately switched his phone to airplane mode.
Liam could go to hell.
Today was his day.
And no one—**not even his annoying best friend—**was going to ruin it.
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