Loners || Ziam AU

Prologue

Dedication: ZiamJMayne for the first vote on the 'before you read.' XD

That's how Liam looks, he's sixteen though.

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The thing was, Liam was a loner.

He was the boy who sat in the back of the classroom, invisible to many. He was the last person to ever get picked for teams, the one who had to get assigned a partner for a group project. He was the one who sat alone at lunch, pretending to be too interested in his phone to talk to anyone around him. When the truth was, he'd love to spark a conversation with any of them, but it was a two-way street.

Ever since Liam had moved to Bradford, he'd tried his best to make friends. Complimenting people, handing them their fallen pencils, letting the students who obviously didn't study cheat off of his tests. Hell, he even tried joining every club in the school, yet he made no progress. Everyone seemed to be too caught up in their own lives to pay attention to him. Well, besides Xander and his little posse.

He honestly had no idea why they always loved to target him. Or how he'd even managed to grasp their attention in the crowd of all of these teenagers, but unfortunately, it wasn't the type of attention he seeked. Yes, they were your average, high school bullies. They'd managed to make everyday of Liam's life a living hell, as if the stress and pressure that school already had, wasn't enough.

But as the months went on, Liam stopped caring. He began pretending that it didn't bother him that he had no one to talk to, no one to spend all night texting. No one to sneak off to parties with, or have movie marathons with. He was fine being on his own, because at least he had one friend, even if they'd hardly kept contact anymore, and lived in a completely different part of England.

Louis Tomilson was probably the only human, besides his family, to ever become his friend. They'd known each other for ages, being neighbors since they were young children. But that was back in Doncaster, and this was a completely different city.

Ever since Liam's father's job had forced them to move away from their hometown, the two best friends tried to keep in contact. But time and distance can affect a friendship, no matter what people say. Days passed and the texts and phone calls began decreasing, until they completely stopped. And Liam pretended that it didn't hurt him as much as it actually did.

So when Liam's mother informs him of a party that they're having for him, he felt his whole world freeze in front of his eyes. Because parties involved friends; something Liam doesn't have many of.

"What?" He asked, hoping that he misheard the words that came out of her mouth. The spoon filled with dripping milk was left forgotten, as it hanged loosely between Liam's fingers, above of the bowl of cereal he was previously enjoying. His backpack laid on the tiled floor besides the chair, his foot nudging it constantly. And his mouth was left gaping in an oval shape, and his raised eyebrows felt so high, he could bet that they were only a few centimeters from touching his hair.

"You heard me, your dad and I decided to let you have a birthday party. Hunny, you're turning seventeen, and that's a big deal in this family, you're growing up. Plus, both of your sisters had their parties, so it's only fair for you to have yours too. Now close your mouth Liam, unless you want to swallow flies." She spoke sternly, before turning back towards the stove, hands busying themselves in flipping pancakes.

He automatically closed his mouth as told, and dropped the spoon back in the bowl, splashes of milk splattering across the table. His brow furrowed, as he stared at his mother's back in confusion.

"But mum, my birthday isn't until August, so why have the party now?"

Karen turned back around, the pancakes now sitting stacked upon a plate besides the oven. "Well, I know that you still aren't as comfortable in Bradford as in our old house and you left all of your friends there too, so I called up Johannah yesterday and managed to ask her to swing by. They're coming this Sunday, so why not have your birthday now too? Who knows if they'll be able to attend in August."