Little Sips: A Book of One Shots

Just a Cup of Tea [Liam]

Based off of the rumors of Liam's new girlfriend. c:

Maybe this is how they met again?

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A boy with shaggy brown hair walked down the streets of London with his hand slipped firmly into his pockets. He didn’t quite know where he was going, or why he was walking, but all he knew is that he needed to get some fresh air. He needed to get away.  Someplace far away from where he had been previously. With Danielle. The usual overcast matched his scenario perfectly. Grey. A strike of thunder echoed throughout the town, and a light sprinkle of water began to hit the top of Liam Payne’s head. 

Great, he though, just what I needed along with the rest of my life. The boy rolled his eyes and dug his hands down farther into the depths of his coat. The hood of the garment blocked his side views, but he just knew in the back of his mind that people were staring at him.

I should’ve worn sunglasses. 

He huffed out a puff of air, continuing to hastily walk down the sidewalk, a colorful streetlight that made a beautiful illuminance in the moist air catching his attention once in a while. Liam pulled his hands out of his pockets and tugged at the sides of his hood  as the rain began to our down harder. He needed to get inside. He turned his head from side to side, spotting a small café that was nearby. He walked a bit faster up to a cross walk leading to the small shop as waited for the rushing cars to come to a stop when the bright light shone a ruby red. A cross guard wearing a neon vest blew a whistle and gave a gesture of his hands, signaling it was safe to walk. Liam stepped quickly across the white-dashed street, watching the slick ground get beat by the harsh drops of rain. It almost made it look like the ground was rippling. 

“Come on!” a voice yelled to Liam, and his pace quickened again as he looked up at the irritated face of the cross guard.

“Sorry sir,” he apologized quickly as he passed the man. The cars began to drive again, their tires making a whooshing sound as they ripped across the soaking wet asphalt. Liam sort of like the sound. It was a pretty neat sound to him. He liked the smell of the rain, too. It was refreshing. He liked how is masked the smell of smoggy London. He took a deep breath of it as he approached the doors to the café he had spotted. The sound of happily chatting voices filled his ears and his stomach growled at the smell of fresh bread and coffee beans. He breathed in deeply, and exhaled, stepping up to the bar and sitting down. 

A young man wiping the area next to him looked up and his eyes widened in recognition. 

“Oh hello, sir. Welcome to The Table Cafe, how can I help you?” the barista greeted. Liam gave a hummed in thought.

“What are your teas here?” He finally asked.

“Oh are menu is right–”

“No, no, it’s alright, I won’t be needing a menu,” Liam interrupted. “I’m sure you have earl grey, right?”

“Yes, we do, sir.”

“I’ll take a cup of that, thank you,” Liam ordered, showing him a warm smile.

“A small one?”

Liam nodded, and the man walked off to a machine to fix it. Liam hunched over in his seat, setting his elbows up onto the bar. 

“Liam Payne?” called out a quite familiar, soft and feminine voice. Liam’s head snapped to the sound of the voice coming from the chair next to him, and his eyebrows lifted.

“Sophia?” he asked cautiously. The brunette smiled.

“It’s been a while,” she said, crossing her legs towards him. 

Liam nodded, clicking his tongue. 

“It has,” he agreed, flashing back to that twenty second time he had approached the pretty girl, and she rejected him for that twenty second time. They hadn’t spoken since.

“So how is it?” Sophia asked suddenly, her brown eyes focused on him.

Liam blinked. 

“How is w-what?” She laughed.

“You know, being world famous and all,” Sophia replied giddily, still smiling at him, as if she had absolutely no problem with him, unlike in the past. Liam was dumbfounded. Never had Sophia approached him before. It had always been Liam.

“Um, well, it’s pretty stressful, but good nonetheless,” he stated.

“Well that’s good to hear. I know about the stressful part. After becoming a full-time model, I usually never have any free days. It was such a coincidence to run into you the only day that I’m off this month.”

“It really was…because I barely have any free time either. And I usually have strict rules to not go outside that much incase of getting mobbed,” Liam replied, actually becoming quite into the conversation. It was funny how their schedules were so alike, even though they had two completely different jobs.

“Wow,” Sophia breathed. “Getting mobbed, huh?”

“Yeah, especially my one bandmate, Harry. It’s sad how he gets mobbed the most. The fans get a little out of control at times.”

A cup was placed onto the bar in front of Liam, causing him to jump a bit.

“Your tea, sir,” the man that took his order said, and Liam thanked him, handing him the money.

“Oh and by the way, I hope it wouldn’t bother you asking for an autograph. My little sister is a massive fan,” the barista said, and Liam smiled.

“Of course,” Liam agreed and the young man ripped off a page from his order book whilst handing him a pen. Liam scribbled the autograph onto the yellowish paper and handed it back to the barista.

“Thank you so much!” He beamed, folding the paper and slipping it into his pocket.

“No problem.” Liam turned back to Sophia, who had a smirk on her face.

“Wow, you really are Mr. Popular now.” Liam chuckled.

“Yeah I guess…” he murmured. “Have you ordered anything? I could buy you something if you like.”

Sophia gave a wave of her hands.

“I already had a cup of coffee, I’m fine. I was just about to leave, actually, then I managed to catch the side of your face, and came to say hi.” Liam smiled.

“Ah, I see. Well maybe you could come say hi another time, eh?” 

A sly smile crept up onto Sophia’s face and she raised an eyebrow. Liam knew what she was thinking.

“Well I would hate to say no for the twenty-third time. So yes, Liam Payne. I would love to come say hi another time,” she laughed, showing off her bright white teeth as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Finally,” Liam quipped, poking her arm. Sophia giggled, fumbling through her back to pull out a torn piece of paper. She grabbed the pen that Liam used to sign his autograph and Liam watched as she wrote swiftly onto the paper and handed it to him, standing up.

“Call me whenever you’re free,” she said, bending down to give Liam a quick peck on the cheek. Liam could feel his face heating up, and his heart beat just a little bit faster.

“See you around, Sophia,” he called out to her as she exited the shop. She turned around, her light curls bouncing, and she gave Liam the prettiest smile he had ever seen, waving her hand.

Liam sighed contently, a great feeling of success washing over him as he sipped on his tea, a small smile lingering on his lips. 

-londynn grey