Take it off

2

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Liam looked down at his hands "I ran"

Harry slapped his forehead and sighed "You had a job opportunity"

Liam bit down on his bottom lip "He's Zayn Malik"

Harry's eyes widened "Oh my-" Harry blinked multiple times

"Harry" Liam mumbled and poked Harry's cheek "Did you malfunction?"

Harry stood up "I'll go make you some food"

Liam blinked watching Harry walk away "Haz, did-HARRY DID YOU MALFUNCTION?!"

~~~~~

Harry recommended to Liam that he doesn't tell Niall about the job interview

Which Liam realized was probably for the best

Niall, studying business, talks about looking up to Zayn every once in a while

Liam could imagine Niall either going insane at Liam for agreeing to a job or even not agreeing to it

It's crazy that no matter what, an angry Niall might seem adorable to people

But Liam has seen Niall when he's insane and...

It was terrifying.

~~~~~

Liam noticed that his absence rate was going high though he was always going to class

He asked his professors and they told him to take it up with his advisor

He walked towards her office and knocked on the door

He walked inside when he heard a quiet 'come in'

She smiled when she saw him "Hi dear, how can I help you?"

Liam smiled "I just had an issue with my attendance"

She nodded and motioned for Liam to sit down, he did, and she asked him for his full name and his college ID

He gave it to her and she read a bit then frowned and turned towards him

"It says here that your fee isn't paid, and if it isn't paid we can't mark you as present"

Liam blinked "Pardon?"

"Yes dear"

Liam let out a short forced laugh "But... I did pay my fees"

"Not the full amount dear, until it fully paid-"

"But it was deducted from my account" Liam rushed out

He pulled his phone out and his breath hitched, he muttered a quick thank you and rushed out

~~~~~

He knocked on the door to the building manager's office

He walked inside and scrunched his nose at the smell of smoke

He cleared his throat and walked deeper into the room

"There had been some sort of mistake"

He sighed and continued to smoke "No. The fees were increased"

Liam tenses "But I wasn't informed"

He shrugged "An email was sent-"

Liam shook his head "I didn't get it, and I didn't get any physical note of it either"

"-To the guardians"

Liam cringed "Shouldn't we get told?"

The manager frowned "Didn't your guardian tell you?"

Liam sighed "No...."

~~~~~

Liam paced around his room, waiting for his sister to answer her phone

She answered with a sigh "Yes Liam?"

"Did you get an email? From my dorm? About a fee increase"

She cursed under her breath "Shit. I knew I forgot to tell you something"

"Forgot-you can forget someone's name. You don't make a mistake to a point where I could get kicked out of uni" Liam said quickly

"I am sorry, I just got busy with all the surgeries, and Dad-"

Liam's back stiffened "What did he do?"

"Nothing." She whispered "He's proud actually"

Liam stayed quiet and then slowly nodded "I gotta go"

"Take care Li."

He sighed "I will."

~~~~~

"We thought you knew," Niall said hugging Liam who shook his head "We thought it was one of the few reasons why you wanted a new job"

Liam took a deep breath, it's been a week and he finally opened up to Niall and Harry

But they forced it out of him rather than him saying it willingly

Harry noticed Liam had been looking more tired, he was barely hauling himself up

Because he's been living with 1 noodle Cup a day.

Harry immediately rushed to get some food for Liam while Niall held him

Liam blinked before he pulled away from Niall "I need to make a call"

Liam walked into the bathroom and called Missy

"Hi Missy, how are you?"

~~~~~

Liam muttered a quiet thank you before he stepped out of the taxi

He walked into the club and looked around, and there he spotted him

Zayn Malik stood behind a bar with a clipboard

Liam took a deep breath and walked towards the bar

"Hi"

Zayn looked at Liam, smiled then looked down at the clipboard

"I apologize, the bar doesn't open this early during the day"

"Yes, I'm sure it doesn't but-" Liam stopped then frowned "Why are you at the bar?"

Zayn looked at Liam and waved the clipboard "Making a wishlist for Santa"

Liam snorted and Zayn shook his head with a smile and looked down at the clipboard

"I'm here for a job" Liam mumbled

Zayn frowned and met Liam's eyes again "I'm sorry... But I think all the job posts are full"

Liam furrowed his brows "But I called Missy's office. She said the uhh-" He cleared his throat "The dancer post is free"

Zayn gave Liam a small smile "Sorry... It got filled last night"

Liam blinked, multiple times and dropped his hands, Zayn raised an eyebrow

"EXCUSE ME- WHAT?!"