Loners || Ziam AU

Chapter Nine

Dedication: -tattooedziam for voting and the cool username!

They're so cute, I love it.

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"Get out of the way, loser!" A male voice hollered, and after hearing the petty insult almost everyday, Liam didn't even try to distinguish who it belonged to. Instead, he allowed himself to be pushed onto the seat, which was littered with cuts and chewed gum. He grimaced and moved a bit to the side, waiting for the crowd of teenagers to diminish, before he would push himself up. Because why get up, when someone else was just going to push you back down?

However, a pair of shoes suddenly paused besides him, with a pale arm extending towards him. Liam furrowed his brow and glanced up, smiling once seeing a boy with shaggy blonde hair staring at him with pity. He dismissed the look and simply wrapped his fingers around the other boy's, allowing himself to be pulled up. He planted his feet next to Niall's, the other grabbing onto his shoulder to ensure that he wouldn't fall again.

"Thanks," Liam told him, while leaning down to grab his backpack. He swung it over his shoulder, while he walked down the small steps, with a shrugging boy next to him. "You alright?" He asked his friend, who seemed a bit too quiet than usual. By now, he'd probably be yakking about how beautiful Selena was or some movie he watched yesterday.

Once again, Niall simply shrugged, his eyes casting down towards the gravel they were walking on. That made Liam frown, as he questioned what could possibly make a bubbly boy like Niall sad. Still, he wouldn't take silence as an answer, and continued poking his shoulder, until the boy finally looked up with an agitated look. "What?" He asked harshly, voice laced with annoyance, which caught Liam off guard for a moment.

"Um, what's wrong?" He muttered out, still a bit uneasy from this new persona. Liam's hands clutched tighter onto the strap of his backpack, eyes never leaving Niall's. The blue in them seemed to be mixed with a sudden grayness, which seemed to sum up how the boy looked and was acting suddenly. His pink lips seemed to be pulled down in a permanent frown, which was quite a different look from their previous position on the bus.

Niall didn't come on everyday, only whenever his parents couldn't drop him off to school. Usually they'd sit together, but Liam was just too sleepy to realize that the boy was sitting only a few seats across from him, when he jumped into the vehicle. Yet, by the time he did notice that, they were already close to the school, and there was no point in climbing over legs and bodies, in order to perch next to each other. So, they simply shared small smiles, Niall's larger than Liam's. Which totally screamed out something related to their situation right now, that Liam for some reason, could not understand.

"Niall," Liam screeched out the name, which caused the other boy to grunt.

"What Liam?!" He shouted, grabbing the attention of the students nearby. Liam simply smiled sheepishly at them, which they rolled their eyes at and returned to their conversations. Liam scoffed; how rude. But then he returned back to his sulky friend, holding up the door for them to enter into the school. Niall walked in first, mumbling out a thanks, which caused a smile to brush across Liam's lips. Because no matter how angry or annoyed Niall was, he still didn't forget his manners.

"Can you tell me what happened, mate? C'mon, I always share my problems with you." Liam inquired, testing his luck. He truly was walking on a tightrope right now. Because either Niall was going to blow up and punch him, or he'd finally confess the truth. Once Niall let out a loud sigh, lips flapping from the action and his hand raising to rub down his face, Liam guessed he picked the latter option. Mostly because Liam would probably be gripping his jaw right now with a wince, if something else were to happen.