strangest places

Chapter 1

Never trust the Irish.

I was standing at the side of the lonely highway, shivering slightly. It was dark and cold, and a certain fake blonde Irish man was supposed to have picked me up half an hour ago.

I had come to Ireland on a whim, after a few friends (Niall, mostly.) had persuaded me to get a change of scenery after life back home turned sour. It was supposed to be great fun, with new experiences, new currency and a new start.

That was my idea anyway, until my plane landed and Niall hadn't turned up, and with his phone switched off, there was no way of contacting him. I was lost in the middle of bloody Ireland with only a few Euros and a bag full of luggage.

Before I go on any further, I should probably explain a little about myself. My name is Liam Payne, I'm 19 and not too long ago I wanted to be in a band. But then reality happened and I was left with a shitty job and an experience I'd rather not go into much detail about. But that's life, and none of it is of importance any more, now was my chance to try again, if only Niall would pick up his goddamn phone.

Sighing loudly, I punched in his number again and held the phone to my ear. I waited for him to pick up, watching my breath fog in the dark. I was expecting it to go to the automatic voicemail like so many times before, when suddenly...

“Hello?”

I didn't bother noting that the voice was far too gruff for Niall, or that it was far too sexy and English to be him, instead I hurled abuse at the poor man on the other side of the phone.

“Do you know how long I have been standing here, you little shit?” I growled.

“What?”

“Half an hour. I'm going to kill you.”

“No seriously, what?”

“I said...wait...you're not Niall.” Then it dawned on me. Niall had mentioned he changed his phone number. I facepalmed, feeling like an idiot. All this time I had wasted, and I had been calling the wrong number.

“Who's Niall? What's happening?!” The voice sounded confused and sleepy, and oddly familiar.

“Is this a fan? How did you get my number?” He continued, and from the rustling sounds I figured he was getting out of bed.

“Ah- no I am so sorry! I thought you were my friend, he was supposed to pick me up half an hour ago and- shit did I wake you up? I'm really sorry!” I rushed, feeling embarrassed and guilty.

"For real?"

"Yeah!"

There was a moment of silence which was followed by what I thought was a small chuckle.

“In which case, no worries, man. But you sounded scary though. I feel sorry for this Niall bloke.” He spoke easily and I blushed at his comment.

“But seriously, are you ok?” He added. His voice was sexy and goddamn I was kind of glad I dialled the wrong number, even if it did mean I was staying out in the cold for the entire night.

“Y-yeah, I'm fine. He, Niall that is, was supposed to pick me up from the airport, but he didn't and I'm, uh, stranded.” I don't know why I was bothering to tell him all this. Surely telling him everything was fine would've been easier...

“Oh that sucks! Where abouts are you?” The guy asked, with a hint on concern in his voice.

“Um, just down by the highway near the airport in Dublin?” I replied, not knowing exactly where I was myself.

“I think there's a motel nearby, you could stay there. Just get out the cold, yeah?” His voice was warm, and listening to it made me feel safe and happy.

“Oh, good idea! Thanks, uh...?” I trailed off, not knowing his name.

“Zayn. My name is Zayn.” He replied, and I could feel the smile in his voice.

“Oh, Zayn. Nice to meet you Zayn.” I liked the way his name sounded on my tongue, and I don't know if it was the cold getting to my head but I could've sworn I heard his breath hitch when I said it.

“You too, mister.....?”

“Oh! I'm Liam!”

“Nice to meet you Liam, have you found your motel yet?” He asked. Not gonna lie, my name sounded much nicer coming from his lips.

“Oh, uh..” I walked down the highway, my legs stiff from the cold and my breath fogging out in front of me as if I was a dragon. I squinted through the trees into the distance, and sure enough, a dim neon motel sign was glowing through the dark.

“Well?” Zayn prompted.

“Yes, thanks!” I said, relieved at the idea of a good nights sleep and warmth. I started making my way towards it, nearly tripping up over my own feet several times. The building drew closer and closer until it was directly in front of me. I chatted with Zayn for a while longer, until I had bought a cheap, crappy motel room and hauled my luggage upstairs.

“Well, I should probably say goodnight now.” I said finally.

“Good morning, you mean. It's 3 AM.” He corrected. I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see them.

“Whatever. Goodnight, Zayn! And thanks for, y'know, chatting to me and stuff. Getting me to find the motel, too.”

“No problem! I'm glad you're ok. I wasn't going to hang up and leave you to get murdered or something, was I?” He laughed and I laughed with him, it felt nice. I dumped my luggage down and sat on the edge of the saggy bed I had been given. 

"Well, I'm hanging up now." I stated. 

"Good! I'm going to sleep now." Zayn responded, chuckling slightly. I took the phone away from my ear, my thumb hovering over the hang up button.

“And Liam?” He piped up suddenly. I brought the phone back up towards me.

“Yes Zayn?" 

“Sweet dreams.”

// Chapter 1 is finished!! Thanks to all the usual people who listened to my ideas and proof read my work (So thats Niamh, Francesca and Jemma. Ily guys.) 

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