In The Nick Of Time

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 15

Summary:

"... Let me."

Morning came and it seemed the Irish ones were more than happy to prance around in their rain boots and stirring pancake batter in a bowl and making cinnamon pancakes, and maybe Liam wasn't one to rain on the parade so he reluctantly helped. There may or may not have been a lingering smell of weed still sticking to him, but they didn't say anything of it. As long as he was okay, they didn't bother him much as they pranced around and got to stacking their plates with pancakes. Looking out of the kitchen window above the sink, he stared to the drying trees.

No rain shook from them anymore, and the ground was dry in patches. Exhaling slowly, a chime of chorus voices sounds off key.

"Z." The Irish folk both said surprised.

Liam turned, meeting eye with a half dressed Zayn.

Niall scoffed. "You're up early?"

Zayn's eyes met Liam's, and for a moment their expressions mingled. Wrangling the shirt in his hands, Zayn looked to the hall shoving his arms through the sleeves. "It's noon." He stated, sitting down in a chair and being handed a plate of pancakes.

"Exactly." Lin smiled, "You're never up at noon. Always after." She laughed, running her hands through his hair to fix his slight bed head.

Niall nudged Liam passing him, and giving him a playful smile. Liam nudged back and turned his look back to the last of the pancakes.

"So..." Niall trailed off.

"There's no point in taking the car out of the mud if it's not going any where yet." Zayn said, already knowing his mind. "We'll clear the road for today."

"For today?" Niall frowned. "We're not going to do both?"

"Niall," Liam warned, putting down the last pancake. "What ever Zayn has in mind, I'm sure he's just trying to take it slow to reassure that we don't tire ourselves out in just one day." He insisted, leaning on the island top. "Besides, do you have everything packed and ready to go?"

Niall stared, his mouth open to say something.

"Ah. Mm." Liam mumbled every time Niall went to say something.

He sat back in defeat.

Liam laughed, and handed the syrup over to Lin who waited patiently. He glanced up to Zayn, and his smile grew when he caught him staring. His expression anything but stone, no smile, but still light.

Passing the syrup along, they ate in silence for a while before Liam was wiping his mouth and putting down his fork momentarily.

"So, what're we actually doing out there? We know about the puddle, probably still hardening. And a log in the middle of the road, before the rock. We know nothing past it." Liam mumbled.

"I bet we could pick the log out of the road, wrap a rope around it, sling the rope over another tree and pull until it's out. Push it out of the way." Niall suggested.

"I'll do it." Lin chewed.

Niall stared, a laughed bouncing through him. "You? I think you'd better let the men do it."

"Excuse me?" Lin barked.

Liam dragged his eyes down, he could sense a fight coming through. He glanced to Zayn, and Zayn glanced back. A small twitch of his lip signaling a sly smirk.

"I said," Niall cleared his throat, "You're better off standing to the side and letting the bigger muscle do the work. We've got this better than you can." Niall was really getting himself in a knot.