The First Time
It was 11:58 AM on a Sunday, and no one else was there yet. Liam paced Niall’s flat nervously, clenching and unclenching his fists, checking and rechecking his watch. “Relax Li, they’ll be here,” chuckled Niall from his place on the couch. Liam wanted to relax, he really did, but it would hard enough for him to do that even if the only problem was that their interview started in just over an hour and he and Niall were the only ones there so far, but if you also considered how completely irresistibly cute Niall looked with one leg thrown up over the back of the couch and his head almost falling off the side, holding his phone out upside down in front of his face so he could read it - well, Liam was staying thoroughly un-relaxed.
“See, Zayn just texted me, they’ll be here in 5 minutes, said Niall, holding out his black iPhone so Liam could see the screen, which said it was from “Zaynie-poo,” above a green speech bubble that read, “We’ll be there in 5, just finishing my hair.”
Liam was about to nod to show he had read it, when a second and third text popped up in quick succession. They said, “put ur pants back on” and “i dont want to walk in on ur niam time ;)” Liam turned bright red and turned away, walking quickly to the kitchen, ignoring Niall’s calls of confusion, just knowing he had to get out of that room right then.
He leaned over the counter, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself. There was no way he could face Niall like that, all flustered, just because of some stupid text. If Niall started to suspect something, it could be potentially disatrous for the whole band, not to mention their friendship. Really, it was just some stupid crush, thought Liam, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t completely head over heels for his band-mate and best friend. It wasn’t working.
“Mate, are you okay?” asked Niall, placing one arm around him in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture but just put Liam even more on edge.
“Not really,” he sighed, looking down at his hands.
“What’s up?” asked Niall, pulling him closer, and placing a hand on his chin, pulling his face up so they were looking into each others eyes, their faces only a few inches apart. “You can tell me anything you know.”
“Niall, I-” Liam cut himself off. This was just a stupid crush, he told himself again, trying desperately to believe it. “Just a stupid crush.”
He didn’t realize he’d actually muttered that last bit to himself until Niall cocked an eyebrow at him. “What was that?”
Liam tried to pull back, to get out of this position that was just making him even more confused, the front of Niall’s right hip pushed against the side of his left one, but his lips seemed to have a mind of their own. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward slightly, so his nose was almost touching Niall’s. “Niall,” he tried again, looking at his friend’s plump pink lips. Niall made no move to back up, which Liam took as a good sign. “I think I-” he was cut off again this time by the sound of the door flying open and three loud voices talking.
“Liam, we’re here!” shouted Zayn from the living room and Niall and Liam jumped away from each other in shock. “You can untwist your panties now!”
Liam cleared his throat, looking at Niall, who was blushing scarlet and determinedly looking at anything but Liam. Of course. Niall must have thought it was a mistake, and was glad nothing had really happened. Liam sighed and turned around, walking into the living room, Niall following close behind.
“My panties are thoroughly untwisted, Zayn!” he called, trying to push the almost kiss from his mind.
“Oh, so you’re wearing panties huh?” asked Zayn, actually winking at Liam. “I bet Niall loves that.”
