Infinity

One

Liam Payne was a lot of things, but he most certainly was not lonely. He had Louis, who would play football with him in the mornings and joke about how "ol Payney is losing his touch". There was Zayn as well, always accompanying Liam on his trips to the coffee shop and making him veggie burgers on the outdoor grill when the New York weather permitted it. He couldn't forget about Andy, and of course Maz, who came around to kick up a party. Then there was Danielle, who's hand he didn't mind holding when the word "lonely" actually started to apply to him. Liam Payne was not lonely.

But maybe that was the problem. It was like Liam couldn't be alone no matter how hard he tried. He understood the situation, he understood it better than all of them of course. So it wasn't odd for Liam to skip out on dinner with his roommates, or a party with Andy, or a movie with Danielle, and go for evening runs. But of course, he couldn't even be alone in the streets of New York. The sounds of people waving through his ears was comforting however, it reassured him that he wasn't the only one. No matter how much he wanted to be alone, it was good to have a familiar silence broken by the chatter of happy people living their lives. It made him feel like one of those people.

So it wasn't strange when Liam left the apartment in a pair of shorts, sneakers, and a sweatshirt one evening when he should have been eating dinner with Louis and Zayn. He trotted down the long spiral staircase and waved at the elderly woman at the front desk (Betsy? Betty? He was horrible with names). The automatic doors parted for him and then he was free; free into a world filled with love and hate and problems and carelessness mixed together in a pot of people.

The chilly November air immediately attacked his legs and clung to his calves, making the hairs stand up. With his first step, an earphone fell from his ear, and he was quick to put it back in, though it wasn't playing any music ("because what if a bus was about to hit me and i couldn't hear people yelling for me to get out of the way" as he had once explained to Zayn).

Liam just liked to listen as he ran; listen to the people of course. The teenagers laughing and the children giggling a tad more high pitched, the adults discussing business or jokes or whatever the adult life allowed, it was all music to Liam's ears. He was one of those many people in a cluster that trotted a tiny spot in the tiny city in the tiny state in the tiny country (in which he moved to only a few short years ago) on the tiny planet in the enormous universe.

Liam took a sharp left and passed by a flower shop, releasing and adorably quiet sneeze as he trotted along. The flowers were pretty, and it was amazing how the reds stood out against the orange sunset in the distance. The shop owner, a middle-aged man, smiled weakly at Liam as he passed by, Liam returning the smile and the wave, not missing the fact that the man's eyes lingered a bit when he continued to run by.

Liam ran some more, passing a playground where he could hear a small child cry "mummy I don't want to leave!" followed by some quiet hushing and then "mummy, what's wrong with-" which was cut off by even more hushing. He smiled to himself and kept running, funny how many British people he had run into in the city.

And when the sun had fallen from the top of the skyline to beneath the buildings, and the moon had began to peak above the rooftops, Liam had decided he had done enough running for a night. He slowed down by Central Park, his eyes trailing to the dark night sky that shined bright with stars. It was then that he thought it a good idea to lay down. He found a place in the grass away from the spinning children and the couples and let his head hit the ground softly with the rest of his body.

He took the headphones out of his ears and checked the time on his phone - 7:24 - he had time. The grass tickled his ears, though it did not block out the sound of a nearby soccer game, the honking of cars, and a pleasingly loud laugh (which sounded like it came from the soccer field). Liam tried to remember the last time he had come to Central Park; tried to remember the last time he had taken the time to look at the stars. It was getting harder to remember now. 

Liam didn't get to think for long, because soon the laugh was cutting through the air again, richer and louder than the last time. Liam smiled to himself, remembering that laughing makes you live longer. It was a few seconds before Liam realized that the laugh was actually coming from a lad who had decided to lay down beside him.

Blond hair swept over blue eyes, eyes which met Liam's accompanied with a shining smile and slurred "watcha doin' layin' 'ere alone?"

Liam gave a friendly smile to the boy next to him, who he thought was sitting a bit closer than a stranger should be, before replying, "Went for a run, now I'm just looking at the stars."

"Sweet," The blonde's smile grew bigger if possible. "I'm Niall".

Niall's Irish accent was so thick that Liam could almost taste it.

"Hi Niall, I'm Liam," Liam watched as Niall stuck out his hand and then he shook it, letting his hand rest on his own stomach when he was done. "Unusual finding an Irish lad here in New York City."

"Funny finding a British lad here in New York City."

"Actually, not as unusual as you think." Liam's lips curved into a smile when he heard that laugh cut through the air again, Niall obviously finding humor in a comment Liam thought to be quite plain. The laugh died down and then the two boys sat silent for a while. Niall's hand shot up in the air as he pointed to the sky.

"Do you see the big dipper right there?" Niall asked, perky and excited. Liam's lips curved to a slight frown.

"Where?"

"Right..." Niall reached over without hesitation and grabbed Liam's hand, bringing it to the sky to point at the stars. "...there. Do you see it now?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I do!" Liam smiled as Niall beamed. Niall held Liam's hand in the air for a few moments before his smile dropped slightly and his hand released it, Liam's arm curving back around his own chest again. Another silence, once again broken by Niall.

"Do you come here often?"

Liam laughed, his eyes squinting and his hand curving over his chest. Niall's eyes were filled with confusion but his mouth curved and he laughed as well.

"Is that some sort of a pick-up line?"

"What? No! Really!" Niall was quick to answer and then he laughed again.

"Well, I'm here every week-day morning. I usually don't come at night."

"Oh, I'm usually here at night. Every friday night to be exact. Me and my buddies play a bit of football and then I'll lay down, in this exact spot usually," (Liam learned quickly that Niall was a talker) "and I just look at the stars for a bit. Layed here for three hours once. I saw six constelations that night - my own record." 

"Wow," Liam smiled shyly. "You must really like the stars."

"Yeah."

Liam looked at the time on his phone again - 8:09 - he should really get going.

"Me too."