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Liam drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair. He’d been hoping working as a lifeguard at the city pool would be a bit more exciting than this, but so far all he’d done was caution small children from running on the deck. He hadn’t even actually been able to get into the pool while the sun was out in the two weeks he’d been working.
He reached into the bag hanging off the back of his chair to pull out his sunblock, applying it to his shoulders that were starting to get warm. He applied a little more to his nose, although he’d gotten sunburned there on the first day of work. He was just putting the bottle back in his bag when he heard a commotion.
Turning towards the noise, groaning inwardly when he spotted the current thorn in his side. Brown fringe sprayed water everywhere as seven-year-old Louis Tomlinson raced into the pool area, gate clanging shut behind him. “No running!” Liam shouted, cursing quietly when the little boy flipped him off.
Liam heard the gate clang again. Looking up, Liam’s breath caught as a very handsome, very angry, boy about his age came storming into the pool area. “Louis William Tomlinson, give me my bloody phone back, right this instant!” The boy was dressed in long blue swimshorts and a loose white vest. Tattoos coated his arms. Liam wiped a hand over his face, surprised that his chin wasn’t coated with drool. The boy was clearly pissed, but his steps came to a stop when he got a foot into the inclosure. Liam looked at his face and sensed a great deal of unease there. “Give me my phone!”
“Come over here and make me!” Louis shouted back, waving a phone over his head, laughing.
Liam began to climb down from his chair, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the boy edging closer to Louis, who just kept backing closer to the pool. He took a few steps towards Louis just as the other boy lunged at him. Louis was quick, moving to the side, and the boy went head first into the deep end of the pool. “Shit!” Louis yelled racing towards Liam. “Zee can’t swim!” he shouted, grabbing at Liam’s arm.
Liam didn’t even think, he just ran for the edge of the pool and dove in. He opened his eyes against the sting of the chlorine and spotted the boy, Zayn, freaking out at the bottom of the pool. His eyes were wide, bubbles nearly obscuring his face. Liam reached him quickly, wrapping an arm around his chest and pulled him upwards towards the surface. Zayn was struggling, making things difficult.
Once Liam’s head broke the surface, he pulled Zayn up as far as he could, and started talking carefully, but sternly. “You’re safe. Stop thrashing.” Zayn’s limbs slowed, but he was choking on the water he’d inhaled. Liam moved quickly to the side of the pool, glad when he saw a couple of the parents there to help him pull Zayn out of the pool.
Liam pulled himself out of the water, and kneeled next to Zayn. He sat him up, leaning the boy against his chest as his body was wracked with coughs. Louis ran over and knelt next to Zayn, tears streaming down his face. “Zee! I’m sorry!” he cried, his hands patting Zayn everywhere he could reach.
“Let him try to catch his breath, Louis,” Liam said, softly. Louis looked unsure, but scooted back a couple of inches, resting his hands in his lap. “You alright?” Liam asked Zayn when his coughing slowed down.
“Embarrassed,” Zayn coughed out.
“No need,” Liam said, smiling. He rose, helping Zayn to his feet and over to one of the lounges. Once he was settled, he grabbed his own towel from his chair and brought it over to Zayn who was holding an openly sobbing Louis in his lap. Liam’s heart warmed at how good he was with the boy.
“Thanks,” Zayn said, taking the towel with one hand while rubbing Louis’ back with the other.
“No worries, mate. Just a towel,” Liam said, suddenly feeling a bit shy under Zayn’s bright smile.
“And my life, but sure, just a towel,” Zayn joked before whispering something to Louis.
Louis turned to Liam, his eyes downcast and cheeks red and wet. “Thank you for saving Zee. I’m sorry that I was bad.”
Liam ruffled the boy’s hair, smiling when Louis growled lowly at him. “Won’t do it again, yeah?” Louis shook his head, eyes wide. “That’s all that matters.” Liam looked over his shoulder, glad to see that the crowd that had gathered had dispersed a bit. He spotted a couple of other boys standing near the edge of the pool, looking over at them and whispering. “I think Niall and Harry are waiting for you to go swimming with them.”
Louis glanced at Zayn who smiled and nodded. Louis gave him a hug before kicking off his shoes before running towards his friends. “No running!” Zayn and Liam shouted at the same time. They looked at each other, laughing.
“You doing alright now?” Liam asked, his eyes going over Zayn’s face and body, flushing when he looked up to find Zayn watching him. Zayn shook his head, sending Liam’s protective instincts into gear. “What’s wrong? Maybe I should call for the medics.” He held his fingers to Zayn’s throat, concerned at the rate of his heart, it shouldn’t be beating that fast.
Zayn grasped Liam’s wrist, pulling his hand away from his neck. “I’ll only be better if you let me take you out as a thank you for saving my life.” Liam gaped at Zayn for a full minute. “Shit, guess that was the wrong thing to say.” Zayn stood quickly, gathering his stuff. He turned towards the pool, opening his mouth, but Liam covered it gently with his hand.
“Just surprised me. I’d love to go out with you, but not because you want to thank me. I was just doing my job.” Liam smiled as he felt Zayn’s lips twitch behind his hand. He dropped his hand and held it out. “My name is Liam, and I’d like to take you out.”
Zayn smiled, taking Liam’s hand in his, squeezing gently. “I think I’d like that,” he responded, leaning in to press a kiss to Liam’s cheek.
At that moment, Louis came running back up to the two of them, smiling widely. He glanced between them, smiling widely. “I told Harry I’d find Zee a boyfriend,” Louis said with a smile. “I’m a genius!” Liam and Zayn exchanged a look before both reached out to tickle the cheeky boy standing between them.