Good Years || ziam au✔️

t h r e e || when we first met

Past
August 29th, 2008
Friday afternoon
4.32 P.M.
McDonalds
London, England

"Come on dad!" Fifteen year old Liam grinned as he watched his father climb out of their car, rushing towards the restaurant. He was excited to grab some dinner on the way home, after spending his birthday with his family in London. He always wanted to go to London when he was younger and he finally had the chance to do so. They did everything he wished for and made sure to take a lot of pictures while visiting all the places. It was the best birthday he could ask for.

"Hold on, son." Geoff huffed and followed after his hyperactive son, smiling fondly when the door was held open by him so they could both enter the restaurant.

The two of them walked in, trying to remember the other's orders as they stepped behind one of the queues. The brunet haired boy looked around the place curiously, noticing how crowded it was. He hummed, rocking back and forth on his feet while waiting.

His eyes fell on a young boy, possibly around his age, sitting by one of the tables with three girls not too far from them. The boy's eyes were glued onto a notebook, a pencil resting in his right hand. He was sketching something, Liam seeming intrigued to see what he was doing.

He turned to look at his father, who seemed busy looking for what he wanted to eat. The brunet bit his lip and slowly snuck away, making his way to the table.

"Hi!" He chimed, his voice filled with confidence. All four of them popped their heads up once they were greeted, the boy's and his eyes meeting first.

"Uh, hi?" The dark haired boy asked shyly, narrowing his brows a little confused.

"You're cute!" One of the girls, who looked to be around the age of six, squeaked, holding onto a stuffed teddy bear. She flashed a toothy grin, her big blue eyes staring up at the young teenager.

"Safaa." Another girl, who looked older, scolded at the little one, only making her giggle and blush. "Excuse our baby sister. She thinks everything is cute. But she's not wrong about you." She excused cheekily, batting her lashes.

Liam blushed at that. His eyes moved back to the boy, catching him roll his eyes at the girl when they turned into a giggling mess. "Ignore my sisters." He said and turned his attention back to the other boy. "What brings you here?" He suddenly asked, still unsure why he randomly walked up to them.

"Oh- uh," Liam cleared his throat awkwardly, "I just- I saw you drawing and I was kind of curious- I know this is probably really rude of me." He scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Look! He looks like a tomato!" Safaa suddenly announced with a loud laugh following after, pointing at the birthday boy. Her loud voice caused some of the people to look in their direction.

"Safaa!" The older girl scolded the six year old with a stern look on her face, making her shut her mouth and sink in her seat. "Sowwy." She mumbled quietly and hid her face behind her teddy bear.

"It's okay." Liam replied and smiled at the little girl, causing her to blush and hide away some more. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, I was just–"

"I was drawing Batman." The boy interrupted him with a small smile. He placed the pen down and held up the sketch to show him. Liam looked at it, stunned by the talent.

"Wow... that looks so... so real." He trailed and grabbed a chair, sitting down across from him. "May I?" He asked politely, pointing to the notepad. The dark haired boy nodded and handed it to him, letting him admire the drawing he made. The boy couldn't help but watch him, checking him out while doing so. His sisters were right. He was kind of cute.

"This is amazing." Liam said and started flipping through the pages, being mesmerized by his work. "And you drew all of these?" He looked back at him, the shock visible on his face.

The boy blushed and shyly nodded, playing with the sleeves of his sweater. "He's really good at it!" The third girl butted in and nudged her brother, grinning.

"I can see that." Liam smiled and continued to look through the sketches. It was only a few pages in when he realized he hadn't introduced himself. "Oh, I forgot, I'm Liam, by the way. Liam Payne." He spoke up and glanced at the four of them.

"I'm Waliyha Malik. And this is my little sister, Safaa, my big sister, Doniya and my only brother, Zayn." The girl introduced everyone confidently, motioning towards her siblings as she announced their names. Liam chuckled and looked over at Zayn who was still fidgeting with his sleeve, anxiously chewing at his lip. He closed the notepad and slid it back to him.

"I really like your work." He complimented once more before getting up. "It was nice meeting you all, but I better get going. My dad is probably waiting for me to help him with the order." He told them and pointed to his father who was searching for his son, looking as if he was about to panic.

Zayn watched him and nodded his head. "I- it was nice- nice meeting you too." He managed to get out with a stutter, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"Wait!" Doniya screeched, catching everyone off guard. She snatched her brother's notepad and scribbled something down on a blank page before ripping the piece off and folding it together. She handed it to him with a grin. "Call us." She winked, only to earn a smack on the arm from Waliyha.

Liam grinned at that and gladly accepted the note, his eyes drifting back to Zayn. "I'll see you around, Zayn." With that, the young lad made his way back to his father, relieving the old man as soon as he reached him. Zayn stayed seated, suddenly trapped in his own world as he watched him from afar, hoping he would see him again – without even knowing that it was actually going to happen soon enough.

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Y'all want every third chapter to be a ziam flashback?👀