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Liam was kind of a quiet boy. He was a little bit shy but not so much. You can’t be shy when your best friend is Louis Tomlinson. You know, THE Louis Tomlinson who takes part of each and every show or musical through their high school years? So yeah, Liam was a bit shy but a good kind of shy. He was lucky to have Zayn, his roommate, who was a kind of quiet like he is. It was good to Liam having someone like him to live with. The bad thing was (or the good thing, he didn’t figure it out yet) that Louis and Zayn get on very well and they had too much fun trying to corrupt Liam by dragging him to every party on the campus. Because you know, Zayn was quiet but in the kind of mysteriousI’mhavingtattoosandi’mdrikingandsmoking kind of way. Liam follow them most of the time just to make sure they go home safely without drowning on their own vomit on the side of the street. Liam doesn’t like to drink much, so he took care of his friends every now and then. Liam love listening to some music late at night when he couldn’t sleep. He like lying in the dark and concentrate on the notes and words of all his favorite songs. He like going out for a run early in the morning when everyone else was asleep. He like spending his days at the library, doing his researches and his essays and sometimes he sits there alone, just to read a good book. That afternoon, he leaved Louis and Zayn behind playing some games of FIFA at he and Zayn’s flat and he was heading to the library, planning on spending the rest of the day working on his last essay. He was standing in front on the library counter, waiting to return his books with a warm cup of coffee in his hand and his messenger bag on his right shoulder. There always have some students hired to help at the library and Liam had seen a lot of them but no one like that beautiful boy walking towards him. He had light blond hair, a little darker at the roots. He must be dying them Liam thinks to himself. His eyes were a bright and beautiful blue and he had a dark trace of eye liner underneath them, making them flash a little bit more. On the side of his lower lip, he had a nice silver ring and the icing on the cake was his colorful tattoo sleeve on his right arm. The contrast of the ink on his pale skin was more than beautiful Liam thinks. He was waking up of his daydream by a genuine and clear laugh and he raised his head, being blinded by that bright white smile the boy was giving him. He was maybe lost in his thoughts a little bit more than he liked to admit.
You wanna return ‘em? The blond boy asked him.
Yeah. Sorry I was…erm… I liked your tattoos a lot Liam managed to speak.
You do? He add with his smile even wider. He spend the next few minutes talking to Liam about the meaning of each of the drawings and Liam surprised himself being truly interested by it. Usually, he doesn’t really like tattoos, even if Zayn had a lot of it. But with that boy, it was different. On his arm Liam could see a guitar, a shamrock, music notes and a few stars, all of it in bright and beautiful colors. After giving his books to the other boy, Liam went in the rows to pick another ones and when he came back with a lot of it under his arm, he can help himself but to sit at a table near of the library counter. He had a lot of difficulty doing his researches that afternoon, he found himself quickly mesmerize by that mysterious boy who dressed himself all in black even if his eyes were the brightest thing Liam have ever seen.
For the next week, Liam spends all his free periods at the library. He talked with the blond boy a lot. They shared about school, about their music tastes, their favorite books and by the third day, Liam found the strength to ask him his name: Niall. Niall who was always wearing a big pair of headphones around his neck. Niall who was dancing and even doing a little bit of air guitar in the aisles when he was stowing some books on the shelves. Niall who was reading when there is no one else in the library and sometimes pulls a big note book of his bag in which he was copying words, sentences and sometimes paragraphs of the books he was reading. At the end of that week, when Liam went back to his flat he asked Zayn if maybe he known a certain Niall who was working at the library. Louis passed his head out of the bathroom door asking to him
Is he blond? With a sleeve and a lip ring?
Exactly! Liam said with maybe a bit too much of enthusiasm.
Louis add that he knew him, he was a friend of Harry.
Harry? Asked Zayn. The curly one from the campus radio station?
Yup Louis said.
BUT WHO THE HELL IS HARRY? Liam asked losing his patience.
He learned that Louis and Zayn met him a few weeks before when they went to a party where Liam didn’t go, having an exam to study for. On Monday though, Liam sadly put a face on who Harry was. He was heading to the library, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t going for Niall when he spotted the boy, leaning outside against the wall of the building with a tall brown haired boy with messy curls. He had some black gauges in his ears and seems to had tattoos up and down his arms. On the left of his nose, he also had a tiny silver rings. The boys were sharing headphones of the same Ipod and the brown one, Harry, Liam think to himself, was chewing on the hood of Niall grey sweater and when he put his lips on the skin behind Niall’s ear and on his neck, Niall did nothing to shove off the other boy. Liam feels a hurt in his chest and he turned around, fighting the urge of running away. He heard a voice calling his name : HEY LIAM! And he knew that it was Niall who probably recognized him, but he continues without looking behind.
He was lying on his bed for a few hours when Zayn finally comes home. He went to see if Liam was okay and without even thinking, he told what happened, his feelings he thinks he had for that blond boy from the library and what he just saw earlier that day. With a sigh, Zayn tried his best to comfort him a little.
You know Li… I met Harry just once but… He is really…you know? Touchy-Feely? He is like, flirting literally with everyone boys, girls, whatever… I think what you saw was a bit innocent so, don’t bother with that too soon okay? Not yet? Wait to see with Niall what is going on? Ask him out you’ll see.
Liam was freaking out just with the idea of asking Niall out so he avoid going to the library all week, saying to his friends that he need to find some courage that’s all. When Friday comes, Louis and Zayn was a bit tired of seeing Liam so sad and they knew that he was just really afraid of seeing Niall again so they decided to drag him to that party they were invited (because of course they were invited at every party). They just forgot to mention to Liam that the party was at Harry’s and Niall will probably be there. When Liam realized where he was that night, he was already too late and a drunken Niall spotted him the moment he passes the door. He almost jump on him, shouting his name and saying that he missed him this week at the library, Where have you been mate? he asked a little bit to close from his ear, sending shivers down Liam spine. He dragged him in the kitchen putting a red cup full of beer in his hands, ignoring Liam protestations. By his third cup, Liam was a little bit tipsy and he lean forward Niall, asking him if he was with Harry. With a small grin, Niall take a step closer his body almost touching Liam when he asked Is that why you didn’t came back to the library after seeing us outside the building? You thought we were together? Liam focused his attention on the cup in his hands, avoiding Niall intense blue eyes on him. He finally nodded a little shyly and he feel Niall’s laugh vibrating through his chest. The blond one take the cup out of his hand and put in on the counter, Liam finally looked into the eyes of the other boys and bit his lower lips. God he wanted to kiss him so bad right now. Like he understood what he wanted, Niall leaned in and put his lips on Liam’s softly at the start but when Liam tugged on his shirt and pulled him close, Niall hold on the back of his neck and smiled against his mouth. When they took a break, breathing heavily, Niall put his forehead against Liam’s and he whispered to him with a smile I hope that answered your question mister Payne. Liam didn’t say a word but he kissed him again, a little bit harder than before enjoying the taste of Niall’s lip ring on his mouth. With Niall body pressed against his in the small kitchen of Harry’s flat, Liam couldn’t help himself but silently thanking Zayn and Louis for bringing him here.