Zalien Invazion

4

    "Here we are," Liam says as he opens the main door to his small flat. "It's not much but it's- it's pretty good," he explains humbly. Zayn peeks out around Liam and sticks his head through the door and glances right then left, waiting a few seconds as if he was listening for something. After some brief examination, he nods in satisfaction and steps into the front room.
     Liam watches in confusion as Zayn disappears into his apartment without saying a word.
  "Yeah.... Just... Make yourself at home.... I guess..." He states in surprise as he closes the door behind himself. He walks into the kitchen and sets his car keys and grocery bags on the table. He searches through his limited food supply, searching for something to make for dinner to satisfy his growling monster of a  stomach.
    Suddenly, Liam hears the sound of barking and a loud scream coming from another room. He groans frustratedly and closes the cabinet door and walks into the small living room where he sees his huge dog had Zayn pinned to the couch, excitedly licking his face and barking while Zayn helplessly covers himself with his arms protectively.
"Hey!! Hey!! Get down!!" Liam commands as he storms over to the couch. The large, gray dog obediently climbs off Zayn and sits at his master's feet, staring up at him wide eyes and tail wagging, excited to see him again. Zayn sits up and wipes the slobber off his face with his shirt sleeve in distaste.
"Is that any way to treat our guest?" Liam asks in a disappointed tone as he rests his hands on his hips. "Now that just won't do," he chides, staring down, shaking his head. The dog whines sadly, understanding his fault.
Liam can't help but smile down at him and stroke his head reassuringly.
      "Zayn, this is Watson. Watson, this is Zayn. He's going to be staying with us a little bit," Liam introduces formally. The dog looks back at Zayn as he reaches out to pet his head softly.
"Hello Watson," Zayn greets quietly with a slight smile. Watson turns around and barks at Zayn again.
    "Hey!! No barking!" Liam tells him as Watson rests his head on Zayn's  leg.
"There, now you to are best friends," Liam smiles. "Don't worry. He won't bother you, just demand your constant attention. That's all," Liam assures Zayn who chuckles quietly.
"He's nice," Zayn comments, playing with his floppy ears.
"You like dogs?" Liam asks hopefully. Zayn nods in response, watching Watson.
"See, I knew there was something about you I liked," Liam replies jokingly. Zayn glances up at him and forces an awkward smile.
"I'm going to fix supper. You want anything?" Liam offers.
"If it's not a problem..." Zayn replies thoughtfully.
"Not at all!" Liam assures him. "I love cooking! And I usually don't get to cook for other people so this will be wonderful!" Liam tells him excitedly. "What do you like?" He wonders. Zayn shrugs.
  "Anything really," he replies simply.
   "Oh. Okay," Liam trails off. "How about pizza? Maybe some pasta too or something," Liam suggests.
   "Erm..... Yeah that zounds good," Zayn nods.
    "Great," Liam replies with a smile. Zayn watches as he leaves for the kitchen and decides to follow him to watch him cook.
    As Liam prepares the ingredients for the meal, Zayn sits at the table, quietly observing while Watson sits by his feet, napping.
    "You're soaking wet," Liam comments thoughtfully, noticing Zayn's damp clothes. Zayn looks down at shrugs.
   "It's not a problem," he assures him.
   "Yes it is. You could become ill," Liam tells him worriedly. "Here. I'll get some clothes for you to change into. You stay here and watch the stove as it warms up, okay?" Liam instructs as he sets the cheese down and leaves Zayn alone in the kitchen for a minute or two and comes back soon.
"They'll probably be a little big on you, but it'll do for now," Liam explains apologetically. Hesitantly, Zayn takes the pile from Liam and looks through them: gray joggers and a soft red flannel.
"Thank you," Zayn replies, glancing up at Liam, who stands just slightly taller than himself.
"Don't mention it," Liam nods. "You can get changed in the bathroom if you want. It's just down that hallway," Liam directs. Zayn nods and slowly leaves the kitchen and gets changed in the bathroom and comes back 10 minutes later.
"I was starting to get nervous," Liam tells him with a humorous smile.
"Why?" Zayn asks.
"You were gone so long. I thought you got lost or left or something," Liam explains.
"No...." Zayn trails off.
"It's alright," Liam assures him. "You know, I was thinking," Liam pauses. "If you're going to be in my flat the next few days, we should get to know each other better," he adds as he checks on the pizza in the oven.
"Uh, okay?" Zayn shrugs. Liam thinks for a few seconds then asks:
"Where are you from?" He thought that was a good, simple place to start. Zayn fidgets distractedly with the sleeve of the flannel he was wearing.
"I-uh.... I'm not around here. From around here... I'm not- erm..... Yeah," he stutters. Liam glances at him with an amused grin.
"Where are you from?" He repeats, even more curious to know now.
"It's really far away. Like..... Really far...... You've probably never heard of it, actually. Most people haven't heard of it 'cos It's pretty far from here," Zayn tells him as he scratches at the back of his neck nervously.
"Really? Try me," Liam challenges. Zayn pauses for a short time, desperately searching for the right answer. Looking at the bag of cheese on the counter, he finally answers.
"Bardferd...," he says hesitantly.
"Bardferd?" Liam repeats questioningly with a raised eyebrow. "You mean Bradford?" He suggests.
"Yeah yeah!!" That's it! That's the one," Zayn nods enthusiastically.
"I know Bradford," Liam tells him.
"Really?" Zayn asks in low-key surprise.
"Yeah! I've been there," Liam informs him. "It's not that far. Only a couple hundred miles," he reminds Zayn.
"Yeah well.... That's quite far," Zayn replies.
Liam laughs and accepts it.
"It is a great place though," Liam adds.
"Oh yeah," Zayn agrees with a nod. After this, they fall into a short period of silence as they wait for the food to be done cooking.