𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 » 𝘻𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺

🌻58🌻

a few days fly by before anyone knows it. majority of that time had been spent preparing for the family reunion, making sure there would be enough food, rearranging stuff around the house, setting up entertainment, etc. the day of the reunion has now arrived and liam was in full blown host mode. the man always got a bit crazy and over-obsessive whenever they were having guests over, and always wanted everything to be perfect. of course that also mean that the other four had to suffer from all of liam's badgering.

there was under about a hour and a half left before everyone is set to start arriving, and liam is pacing all over the house, mumbling under his breath, rechecking everything and finishing up the food. the boys had decided to migrate out to the backyard to avoid facing more of their papa's wrath. niall had invited his girlfriend serena over, and harry had mitch over as well. the five (four, since harry is actually sitting out to conserve his energy and taking score) of them are currently entertaining themselves with a soccer ball, split into teams of two, louis and mitch vs niall and serena, who are currently in the lead.

around the backyard is the usual soccer goal that's always set up year round, but a bounce house was added for the smaller kids that would be here, as well as a water slide and splash pad that spritz out water like a fountain of rain that was for anyone who was interested. zayn is chilling on the patio, indulging in his harry potter game while some food he was in charge of getting cooked is searing on the grill. he checked on a the food every now and again, making sure nothing got burned. occasionally glancing towards the boys playing with a blank expression.

he's not too happy with them bringing their significant others to a family function, but he supposed that he could allow it since it was summer and once school started again, their social lives would be shortened tremendously. he initially wasn't going to give them permission, but of course liam being the more laid back parent, contradicted him as usual. is it so wrong for zayn not to wanna see his kids—especially harry, be all gross and loved up with their so-called girlfriends and boyfriends? no, he didn't think so.

grumbling to himself, he looks back down at his phone to distract himself. their family should be here very soon, and zayn's never really liked large gatherings, but hopefully his social battery is fully charged today so he can make it through the day without feeling ready to bang his head against something. he's especially worried about his family coming around. as much as he loves them—with the exception of his mother, they tend to be a bit judgemental at times when it comes to he and liam's relationship, as well as how they choose to raise their kids. which can sometimes put a wedge between them. but, zayn wanted today to be drama free and nothing but fun and bonding.

liam walks out of the sliding door, glaring directly at zayn who's eyes are glued to the screen and bare feet kicked up on the glass table, the chair teetering on only two legs as zayn pushed it off the ground with the support of his feet. liam marches over to him and pushes his feet off the table, which causes zayn's chair to fall forward and harshly drop back down on the ground on all fours. he lowers his phone, looking up at liam.

"babe, what the hell?"

"that's the same exact thing i was thinking when i came out here to see you sitting in that chair like that. and with your feet on the table!" liam exclaimed at the end. zayn sucks his teeth, putting the phone down on the table. "are you even paying attention to the food? or are you more interested in whatever's on the screen of that phone?" liam asks, crossing his arms.

"the food is fine, i've been watching it." zayn tells him nonchalantly. liam gives him a grumpy look.

"doesn't look like it to me." he replies. zayn stands up, run folding the man's arms and grabbing his hands.