The Footballer's Son// Ziam AU

Chapter 4

Monday it was, when Liam was waken up from by a quake of 10 on the Richter scale. In other words, David was violently shaking him to wake him up. Liam pulled his covers further up to his face, hoping to hide in the warmth of his blanket forever. "Dad, it's my week off." mumbled the son, opening only half of his mouth to avoid smelling his own morning breath, which was inevitable underneath the blanket. Liam prayed to himself that his dad spared him, as he groaned and turned to the side, not wanting to leave the comfort of bed.

"Liam Payne Beckham, wake up this instance!" said the father, unaffected by Liam's whimpers in protest. Liam let out another whimper, this the loudest. Then he got up against his will, only because he didn't want to cross his father. He rubbed his right eye with the end of his palm, muttering a "Why?" instead of a 'good morning'.

"Well.........." David made a dramatic pause, spreading his arms to rest it on his hips. "Coach called." He muttered, expressionlessly. "Oh God, no, look that about that spray paint in the locker room...." Liam began, thinking this was about one of his many mischievous acts that he got away with in the locker rooms, like spray painting a dick on one of the guys' lockers. "What spray paint?" David asked, confuzzled. "Oh nothing, nothing." Liam sighed in relief.

David tossed him an old Manchester United jersey that had Beckham written on it.

"I believe this will be yours from now on. Well not the jersey, but the name and the number. I mean, you'll get another jersey but..." David paused, realizing he was bullshitting. "Congrats for making to the Premier League, my boy." He finally said with a grin.

Liam's eyes widened to the point where he thought his eyeballs would fall off any moment. Premier League. The big league. For big boys. He made it?

"I...I made it? I made it!" Liam leaped up, scurrying towards his father who was standing only a few steps away. So, instead of jumping on him, Liam stumbled over his dad. For a football player, he was actually a real klutz. David chuckled, holding the younger boy as he did from the point when Liam was only a few seconds old. "I am so proud of you, buddy!"  he cooed, patting Liam's back. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe it!" Liam squeaked the last part. David pulled back, looking straight at his son, his eyes beaming with pride.

"Shall we go celebrate tonight?" he offered.

"Of course!" 

David finally took a few steps back, sighing. Liam didn't notice the heaviness in that sigh for David didn't make it obvious. He suddenly remembered what he thought the previous night. "Hey dad, where's Tommo?" Liam asked, suddenly remembering the lad came home with him the night before. He also wanted to share the excitement with this lad, who was undoubtedly the best friend he had other than Niall, and the only one who could relate to what he was feeling at the moment.

"He went home right after he got the news. Niall's still here, though" David replied, somewhat bluntly. He didn't want his son to know how freaked out Louis was. David knew his son would probably feel the similar way, once it dawns on him that the Premier League was a whole different picture than the U20s League. Louis realized it as soon as the news dropped: That he now had to fit in with The Profile; The profile that was created by the general public, that every premier league player was an inspiration of masculinity to young boys, a matter of debate for the older boys and a sex icon for females of all ages. And God forbid if the player was anything other than a heterosexual stud!

Liam was unaware of these, and David let it be for the time being. Louis, on the other hand, knew and as much as David drenched in sweat for the boy, he was also worried that Louis might spill it for his son before he can. "Oh, alright. I'll call up the lads later then." said Liam while making his way into the bathroom to get on with his business.

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"Can't believe I raised two Manchester United players under this roof." Victoria Beckham made a toast, saying this. The celebration was held on the first day of the last month, three days after news of the Becks-Tommo duo making it to the big leagues dropped in the world of football. "Two because I am on my way to the big leagues too, right mum?" Brooklyn, who finally made it to the U20 team after his brother's departure, smirked as the guests drew attention towards him. The dinner was indeed to celebrate the two Beckham boys' success. The crowd, which consisted a hall full of ex-ManU players, some bigshot football execs, current ManU players of the main and the U20 team, Liam and Brooklyn's friends along with a lot of their relatives, all erupted in cheers as David Beckham raised his glass towards the boys. Brooklyn smiled at them while Liam raised his glass too.

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"So, we made it." said Louis, taking a long drag at his cigarette. The boys were out smoking at the hall's parking lot, talking to each other, while Louis and his boyfriend Harry broke off into heated make-out sessions every now and then. The bass could be heard from the distance indicating the party was still alive inside. "You know, you gotta stop with this." said Zayn, taking the cigarette from Liam and holding it up before popping it inside his mouth. Zayn had insisted on coming to this party with Niall. According to Niall, Zayn had a massive crush on Liam, and not the man-crush-Monday type either. Liam hoped it wasn't the case honestly, since he wasn't sure if he could reciprocate. "I mean, the debut match is on boxing day and my new year's resolution is to quit smoking so, it's probably my last." Liam shrugged, as a matter-of-factly. Zayn squeezed Liam's shoulder with one of his hands, passing the cigarette to Louis, who instead of taking it, dropped it on the ground and pressed his lips on Harry's. Another make out session.

Zayn, Niall and Liam walked a bit away, giving the lovebirds space. "So, Zayn, how's that song you're working on with Niall coming along?" asked Liam, trying to make small talks. For some odd reasons, Liam had grown fond of hearing Zayn speak ever since they met at that party. He had spoken to him twice ever since, both on the phone. Both the times, Liam would ask a simple question that required a long answer from Zayn and he would quietly listen as he spoke. "Since when are you interested in what I do?" Niall interrupted as Zayn was preparing to speak. "'m not. I wanna hear it from Zayn." Liam is surprised that the words came out of his mouth, but he didn't regret it, since Zayn certainly found it amusing. "How about you come over to the studio sometimes and see for yourself, yeah?" he said, wrapping his arm around Liam's, skeptically.

Oddly, Liam blushed. Thank God they couldn't see that in the dark, but he blushed. He liked Zayn's arms around him, and he liked the warmth radiating from Zayn and how he smelled like cologne and smoke. He also liked Zayn's smug smile that was currently on his face. "I knew I should've invited Vanessa." said Niall, annoyed at the sudden awkward silence. Liam now realized that Zayn and him were staring at each other. Liam quickly looked away. He turned his face to Niall and asked, "Well, why didn't you?"

And of course, he didn't hear what Niall replied. Instead, his mind wandered elsewhere, where he got lost in his own thoughts. A new chapter of his life just started.

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So there's that. Liam's confused about his feelings towards Zayn, Louis is scared and they have made it to the big leagues. Massive changes coming to their lives in the next few chapters so you can understand what Louis and David were scared of.

Vote and comment if you like this chapter (or if you want a dedication). Seriously, I really want to know what my readers have to say about me so please don't be a ghostie!