Cherry Red - Ziam

Chapter 4

A few days later, Zayn runs into Liam again. Or rather – he sees him from afar, follows him around a bit, waiting for the opportune time to make a move and talk to him, and then acts completely surprised when he bumps into Liam when he rounds a seemingly random corner.

Yes, he's aware that he's quite pathetic – but he can't help it. He's spent two full days thinking about the other boy, is absolutely terrible at spontaneous small talk and just wants an excuse to hear Liam's voice again.

"Zayn, hey!" Liam says, his face lighting up when he recognises him. "You all right?"

Zayn smiles back. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Sorry – didn't see you there."

Ha.

"No problem; nothing happened," Liam says, shifting his books to his other arm and giving Zayn another sweet smile. "So, what've you been up to?"

Zayn shrugs. "The usual. Classes and stuff, you know?"

Liam nods. "Yeah, same here."

They look at each other for a moment and Zayn feels a flush work its way into his cheeks. He really should've thought about what to actually say to Liam before the actual meeting, instead of stalking him like some creep and ogling his arse. Which he may have done. A little.

"Actually, I'm afraid I've got a lecture to attend now, so I can't stay to chat," Liam admits, glancing at his watch. "I'm already late, so… I'll see you soon, yeah? Have a good day, Zayn."

He gives Zayn a smile, then takes off, and Zayn sighs heavily. He isn't sure what he's expected, but he did hope to get Liam's number, at least. But Liam didn't ask for his number either. And while he's ended their conversation with 'see you', he's added a vague word like 'soon' to it – which means… what?

When is soon? Tonight? Later this week? Never?

****

As it turns out, 'soon' is that same evening.

Zayn has taken his books and laptop to a coffee shop off campus because Niall has invited some friends over to the dorm and while Zayn obviously doesn't mind – Niall can invite whoever he wants, of course – it is kind of hard to focus on schoolwork when three guys are yelling loudly at the Playstation and each other. So he's made himself comfortable in the corner of said coffee shop and is sipping some tea while working on his presentation.

Completely focused on his work, Zayn doesn't see Liam when he comes in; in fact, he's completely lost in his research until he feels someone's eyes on him. When he looks up, his heart skips a beat and a smile tugs on the corners of his mouth when he realises that it's Liam who's staring at him from a table on the other side of the room.

He hesitates for a moment before he lifts his hand in a slow, awkward wave, flushing when Liam does the same, but much more enthusiastically. Zayn tugs on the collar of his t-shirt and runs a hand through his hair, telling himself to stay cool when Liam gets up and comes over a few seconds later, and hopes he looks at least semi-presentable.

"Hey there," Liam says, looking down at Zayn with those warm brown eyes of his. "Busy?"

Zayn glances at the books spread out on the table and hesitates. Then he makes himself look up at Liam again, and with a little smile, he asks, "Depends. If I say no, will you join me?"

Liam's brows shoot up in surprise and he lets out a chuckle, tilting his head as he looks at him. "I might. You'll have to try, I suppose."

Zayn swallows hard and bites his lip, deciding to risk it. "In that case, I'm not busy."