Diana [Liam Payne Fan Fiction]

9: The Lion and the Lamb

"Watch this," Liam said. He bent his knees and exploded off of the ground. His long arms caught the branch above him and he swung himself up onto it in one swift motion, seating himself next to me.

"Bravo, Tarzan," I said with a small golf clap.

"Thank you, thank you," he said, bowing his head. "I am known for my superior athleticism."

"Oh really?" I smiled wryly. "How's your balance?"

"My what?" he asked, but I gave him a little shove and he toppled onto the grass below. I giggled at his less than catlike landing. "Okay, I see how it is." With a shriek I tried to pull my feet up, but Liam grabbed them and swung me down from the tree and on top of him even less gracefully than he had fallen. We struggled to untangle ourselves and I rather awkwardly started blushing and Liam laughed. Finally we managed to get our limbs back to ourselves and sat up against the trunk of the tree, watching children throw a frisbee around and their mothers gossiping on the park benches. How nice it must be, to have such normal lives.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, my mind drifting.

Liam glanced over at me. "What are you thinking about?"

"A lot of things." I hesitated. "Mostly my dad. And...well, you know."

"It's been over a week, Meg," Liam said. "Chances are if he hasn't found you yet, he probably won't."

"I know," I said, but it did nothing to relieve my feeling of anxiety. The boys were about to leave Dallas, and no one had come looking for me yet, so that was a good sign, but the fear of being found still tickled the back of my head. It would be such a huge relief if I could go back to the UK with Liam...

"But I'm not leaving you behind," he said suddenly, as if reading my thoughts. "I'm not taking any chances."

"Liam-" I started, but he put his hands up.

"Please, don't try to argue. We both know this is the best thing for you, to start over and get away from all of this. And besides...I'd- well, I'd like to be with you."

I felt my eyes widen. Liam must've mistaken my shock for something else, because he looked away quickly and added, "That is, of course, if you want to be with me, too."

"Of course I do," I said. "I've never wanted to be with anyone as much as I've wanted to be with you."

A grin lit up Liam's face. "Good, because now I can finally do this," he said, and he reached for the cooler we had brought for lunch and pulled out an ice pick. He turned around and began to carve into the tree trunk M+L inside of a lopsided heart.

"Oh, come on," I laughed. "That's so cheesy."

"But it's also cute," he added pointedly, and planted a kiss on my forehead. My pulse jumped and after a short hesitation I put my head on his shoulder, watching the lives of the happy strangers in the dying sunlight.

~*~

It was getting late when we walked home from the park. My left hand was clasped with Liam's and the other in the pocket of my shorts. My hair blew in my face every time a car whizzed passed us on the busy street and for the first time in forever, I felt...light. It took me a minute to realize it was happiness I was feeling. We passed several shops aglow with warm, inviting lights, and Liam stopped at a small Chinese restaurant.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said. "I told the boys we'd pick them up something to eat. I've heard this place is pretty good. You wanna come in?"

"Nah, I'll just wait out here," I said. Liam shrugged before going inside. I watched him go up to the take out counter through the outer glass wall and saw myself reflected in it as well as the roaring street behind me. In the reflection, I saw a police car pull up to the side of the curb on the opposite side of the street without its sirens on. Sparking my interest, I continued to watch as the window rolled down, revealing two burly officers inside. I made eye contact with the one closest to me and immediately he stepped out of the car. Followed by his companion, he briskly strode across the street, avoiding traffic. I felt a sudden mix of apprehension and distant amusement- those cops were jaywalking!- and turned around to face them as they stepped up on the sidewalk in front of me.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to come with us."

"What?" I said incredulously. "What did I-"

"You're the missing girl," the second officer said. "A report was issued about a week ago for your search and return. We saw you here at this location today with Liam Payne on social media."

He held up his cellphone. A picture of Liam and I at the park, taken from a distance, glowed brightly on the little screen.

My heart dropped. I stood in shock as the first officer grabbed me by the arm and began tugging me toward the car. I distantly remember struggling against him and whipping around to face the restaurant. Liam's back was to me. I yelled to get his attention and tried to break free, but the officer had an iron grip, and his friend now had me by the other arm. Panic set in and I desperately thrashed around and screamed. As I was dragged across the street, I stared at Liam and willed him to turn around, but he never did. No, I thought miserably, no, nonononono. I was shoved into the car before I could think of a way to escape. I tried the door knowing what I would find. Locked. The officers were in the front seats saying something, but all I could hear was the blood pounding in my head as I stared back at the restaurant, terror gripping me with its cold, unforgiving hands.

~•~
A/N
So this is part 1 of this chapter, I'll be publishing the other half later ;)