Chapter Text
Niall opened the door and walked in like he owned the place, which he definitely didn’t. Humming Walking on Sunshine as he did a little spin, Niall completed his performance by swinging his hips forward and then pushing the door closed with them on his way back, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
Before he even made it to the end of the short hallway, two voices rang out in almost perfect unison from the living room:
“Niall! No!”
Quickly removing his AirPods, he hurried down the short hallway and turned left into the living room, following his neighbors’ voices.
“What?” he asked, tilting his head.
Zayn and Liam were standing in the middle of their living room, both frowning at him like a puppy who refused to listen to well-rehearsed commands.
Zayn pointed over Niall’s shoulder at the door, his expression stern. “Stop entering without knocking! You. Do. Not. Live. Here.”
“How hard is that? We’ve been over this!” Liam stepped forward beside Zayn, his arms crossed over his chest.
Niall blinked at them, gesturing vaguely toward the door. “Now, lads, why would you give me the key to your flat if you didn’t want me to use it?”
Liam’s jaw dropped as he turned to Zayn, throwing him an exasperated look that practically screamed, Are you fucking listening to this kid?
“We didn’t give you a key!” Zayn exclaimed, his voice rising. “You took it! From our secret spot inside the wind chime tubes!”
“In my defense,” Niall replied, dropping his backpack and rubbing his shoulder, “if you didn’t want me to use it, you would have hidden it better.”
Liam groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Why do we even bother?”
Niall picked up his backpack again with a loud oof, then shuffled over to the cooler on the floor next to the kitchen counter, where he dropped the bag with a thud.
Tongue poking out in concentration, he knelt to unzip it and began unloading eighteen cans of cheap beer, one after the other, stacking them carefully inside the cooler.
He straightened up and reached into the farthest corner of his backpack, then turned around with his arms raised high above his head, holding up a single can of Guinness, like it was Simba.
Next, he opened his jacket and with a flourish pulled a tulip glass from the inside pocket.
“You brought a glass?” Liam asked, mouthing a not so silent What the fuck as his eyes darted between Niall and the tulip glass.
Niall didn’t respond. He cracked open the Guinness and poured it slowly, his piercing blue eyes fixed on the liquid the whole time, until the foam settled neatly at the top.
“Of course I brought a glass,” he said, setting it down on the counter. “Guinness deserves proper glassware.”
Zayn silently walked over to the cabinet, and looked directly at Niall, opened it slowly, then stepped aside to reveal a pristine set of six tulip glasses lined up neatly inside, each one with the gold harp emblem on the front.
Niall stared at them. Then at Zayn. Then shrugged.
“Do you guys want to pregame?” he asked casually, already heading back to the couch. “There’s beer in the cooler and probably some wine in your fridge.”
He plopped down on the couch like he lived there, one leg crossed over the other, arms stretched along the backrest, tulip glass in hand, sighing contentedly.
Liam plopped down on the other couch and turned to Zayn. “Babe, what’s the strongest thing we’ve got?”
Zayn tilted his head, considering. “Rum or mezcal, probably.”
“Great,” Liam said. “Pour me two.”
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Niall took a long sip of his Guinness and licked away his little foam mustache before clearing his throat.
“Lads, I’m absolutely buzzing for tonight. And I am also absolutely bricking it.”
Then, raising his glass with sudden seriousness, he said, “I’d like to propose a toast: to the best friends one could ever dream of… and to possibly finding my soulmate tonight.”
“To soulmates,” Liam said.
“To Niall finally giving someone a proper chance,” Zayn added, smiling.
They clinked their glasses together. Niall smiled, then took another long sip of his beer.
Zayn set his glass down and leaned against the counter. “Alright, so. You know we’ve both invited someone for you to meet.”
Niall perked up grinning. “Right. Tell me everything about ‘The Candidates’.” He made air quotes as he said it, then took another sip.
Zayn leaned back against the counter. “Mine’s Louis. He’s in the MFA program with me, he’s pursuing creative writing. Northern lad, from Doncaster, I believe. He’s incredibly smart and genuinely funny. Maybe a bit too confident for his own good. You’ll either get on great… or disappear in a puff of chaos.”
Niall chuckled, looking at his beer instead of drinking it, quietly meditating on what he’d just heard. Then, raising his chin:
“Alright, but is he hot?”
Zayn thought for a second, then shrugged. “He’s… distracting.”
Liam nodded. “He’s got some serious presence.”
Zayn smirked. “First day of class, Louis walked in, and this guy Sebastian literally dropped his coffee over his laptop while staring at him. Mouth open, no thoughts, just Louis.”
Niall blinked. “But is he an arse about it?”
Zayn shook his head. “Quite the opposite, actually. He’s a sweetheart. Has this deeply generous soul. Doesn’t even seem to realize the effect he has on people.”
Niall went quiet again, processing the information. He took a final sip of his beer, even though it was mostly foam that remained.
Then it was Liam’s turn to clear his throat. “Well. My pick’s Harry.”
Liam hugged a slightly lumpy decorative pillow that Zayn had made last winter while feeling crafty. “He’s British, from Cheshire.”
Niall threw his head back against the couch with a groan, dragging his free hand over his face. “I can’t believe how much I’m letting my country down, moving all the way to fecking Arizona, and making all English friends.”
Zayn chuckled but didn’t look up from his glass. “Yes. What are the odds that the gods will put us all in one spot?”
Liam ignored them both and continued. “He’s in the astronomy department, a proper genius. I think he’s here for a PhD. We met through running. He’s quiet, a bit awkward at first, but really kind and thoughtful. Like… he listens. And he always remembers things you’ve said, even if you only mentioned it once.”
Zayn nodded. “He’s a good one.”
Niall narrowed his eyes. “Hot?”
Liam smirked. “Oh, definitely. He’s scorching.”
Zayn cut in, grinning. “But not smug about it. Almost like he doesn’t know.”
Niall raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Okay but, final question… why are these two unicorns single?”
Zayn: “They’re single because men are exhausting and grad school’s a nightmare. Simple stuff.”
Liam: “Yeah, and Mercury’s been aggressively retrograding for ages.”
Niall huffed. “Does the astronomer believe in astrology?”
Zayn, rolled his eyes and answered, through giggles: “No, Niall. None of us do.”
Niall sighed. “That’s such a Capricorn thing to say.”
He paused for dramatic effect, then clapped his hands once and stood up. “Right. Let’s finish getting the place ready before our guests and my soon-to-be boyfriend show up.”
Zayn and Liam exchanged knowing glances as Niall made his way back into the kitchen.
“Lads? Lads?” he called over his shoulder. “Are we bringing out the good snacks tonight? Pretty please?”
Zayn and Liam answered in perfect unison: “Niall! No!”
Niall shrugged, already opening the pantry. “Worth a shot.”
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