Act of Love- Ziam Mayne

Chapter 6:

It's been two months of rehearsals and building and bonding, and now there are only a few days before opening night.

Liam is kind of freaking out. He's actually starring in a play. He's going to perform in front of people, a few hundred people. Eyes are going to be on him, expecting him to deliver a sensational performance. His nerves are building; he thinks his lunch is trying to make a comeback.

"Alright that's it for today." Madame calls. Everyone scatters about, gathering their belongings and heading out. Liam is still frazzled as he and Zayn are walking out and of course Zayn notices.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just overwhelmed. Two days Zayn. That's how long before opening night." Liam stops walking, his nerves getting the best of him. "I don't think I can perform for all those people. Something's going to go wrong -I- I'll mess up... I-I can't do this." Liam is hyperventilating now, so Zayn grabs his hand and pulls him to his car. He pushes Liam into the passenger seat, and then takes his place on the driver's side.

"Liam breathe, it'll be fine." Zayn puts a soothing hand on his thigh trying to calm him down as they drive away. Liam just inhales harder, not used to Zayn's touch there. The drive consists of Liam's heavy breathing and Zayn's calming words. Liam also placed his head between his knees to try and steady his breathing. When they pull up into the driveway, Liam feels more relaxed, until he looks up and is met with what is most definitely not his house.

"Where are we?" He asks, studying the house before him. It's similar to his with a white exterior and thriving garden. The door is a sold contrast what with it being blue and bright. He also happens to catch a glimpse of the mailbox which has the word 'Malik' written on it. He has an idea of where he might be now.

"We're at my house. I couldn't leave you alone when you're practically having a panic attack." Zayn steps out of the car, going to Liam's side. He opens the door and gestures outside. "Now come on I have ice cream and movies." When Liam doesn't immediately move, Zayn pulls him out. Liam goes willingly, following Zayn as the walk up the front steps.

Zayn unlocks the door and then guides Liam inside, sitting him on the couch. Liam looks around the room, noticing the simplistic style. The room is very clean and neat, very few pictures hanging on the walls. It's all black and white and he has to admit that whoever decorated it has nice taste. He stares at the pictures some more as he waits for Zayn.

Zayn returns a few minutes later, bowls of ice cream in hand.

"What do you want to watch?" Liam chooses Toy Story (his favorite movie of all time... even if he won't admit it.) As they watch the movie, Liam feels himself relaxing even more. His mind is no longer preoccupied with the troubles of the upcoming play, but rather the fun antics of the toys in the movie. He lets the movie take him away, finally feeling tranquil.

Once the ice cream is finished and the movie has ended, Zayn turns to Liam. There's a soft smile on his face and Liam feels extremely fond.

"Are you feeling better?" Zayn asks. Liam nods because he definitely feels a lot better now.

"Yeah... Great actually."

"That's nice to hear." It's silent for a moment before Zayn speaks up again. "Why did you freak out?" Liam takes a second to figure out how he wants to word it.

"I don't really now. It's just who I am... Sometimes I get really nervous, like I'm fine one minute and then I realize that I'm doing something major and I just kinda freak out. Like when I have to do a school presentation. I'll be fine, until I think about the people looking at me or saying something wrong, then I just go into panic mode. I guess you could say I'm worried I'll disappoint people..." Zayn nods, because at one point he's felt like that too.

"I get it. When I was first starting out in theater, I used to get super nervous. It was almost like I had stage fright. The minutes counting down before my que, I would sit with my head between my legs trying to steady my breathing." Zayn let's out a small chuckle before continuing. "I was just so scared you know? Scared that I'd mess up royally and the school would laugh. But when I actually got out there... I was far from scared. There was just this feeling of excitement and adrenaline because I was a part of something so big that it just felt nice knowing even if I did mess up, I could catch it and fix the mishap and we'd keep going like nothing happened. That's really what it's about, knowing that even if you did wrong, you have the chance to fix it..." He stops talking eyes lost in the distance.

Liam smiles at Zayn's words. It's been two months and Zayn still manages to amaze him. When he finally looks back at Liam, he has that soft smile on his face again. "I'm glad you joined theater, it's nice to have a friend like you." Friend. Liam is only his friend. He didn't want to sound defeated, but it was difficult. He enjoys being friends with Zayn, but he still has feelings for him. Very strong feelings that if Liam doesn't admit to, he might just end up exploding. It's in that moment Liam decides that he's finally going to tell Zayn, maybe not necessarily today, but soon. Very, very soon.