that's not why × ziam au (short story)

part vi × guilty

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"A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies."

— Alfred Tennyson

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"May Liam Payne please report himself to the guidance counselor's office, Liam Payne." The secretary deadpanned through the speakers.

All the teens in class turned around at the same time, to look at Liam who was beginning to get up from his seat, wondering why he was called to Mr. Martin's office with a slight frown on his face.

"Payne, make sure to borrow someone's notes after you come back." The teacher said, her eyes fixed on the white board as she wrote something down, paying no actual attention to Liam.

He muttered an 'okay' before exiting the classroom, making his way to the second floor, glad that the hallways were empty because he was in no mood for greeting people on the way.

Ever since the incident with Harry, he's been in a bad mood. Everyone is bad and malicious in his eyes now, since he's received the letters from Zayn, he's learned to trust no one. Even if they were his teammates or friends, their intentions were evil and that was unacceptable.

He knocked on the door, a quick 'it's open!' said through the other side. He twisted the knob and walked in, closing it behind him.

"You needed me Mr. Mar—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he laid eyes on the two figures sitting in front of Mr. Martin's desk.

Harry and Tom.

Harry gave him a good view of his back with his arms crossed against his chest, being able to recognize him due to his wild curls. Tom's upper body was twisted so he can turn to look at Liam, who frowned at all of them.

"What are these assholes doing here?" — "What is this asshole doing here?"

Tom and Liam spoke at the same time, shooting daggers at each other as Harry remained quiet looking down at his lap.

The counselor shook his head. "Boys please, I will not let this type of language in my office. We are here to solve a problem in a calm and collective manner." He pointed at another seat in front of his desk, next to Harry. "So please Mr. Payne, take a seat."

Liam huffed and roughly pulled out the chair and sat down on it, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Okay, good." He nodded, looking at the three students in front of him. His eyes remained on Harry's slouching figure, who refused to look up. "Okay, Harry, would you like to tell your classmates why you addressed this problem to me?"

"Wait, you told him?" Liam said in disbelief, chuckling bitterly at the fact that Harry can't take care of a problem himself.

"Liam, it's Harry's turn to speak. You may give your opinion after he is done." Mr. Martin said calmly, then he looked back at Harry. "You may speak, Harry."

The young boy squirmed in his seat, huffing and shrugging. "Liam just… locked in me in the science room and hit me." He said quietly, sniffing.

"If this has to do with Payne and Harry, why am I even here?" Tom questioned in an annoyed tone.