Superman: A Liam Payne Fic

Chapter 10

As I walked to my old elementary school, I let my thoughts drift to my brother. He was supposed to be home by now, but he hasn't seen me yet. He was supposed to come home yesterday, and I knew the first thing he would have done was to find me after he got home to find no one there and call my parents. He should've been here by now. I felt a tear roll down my check as I wondered if he was ok. I found myself wishing Liam was here with me. He would immediately know what was wrong and pull me over to a bench and wipe the tears gently from my checks. Soon, I would find myself telling him all about my brother and my piano. I've never told anyone about my piano. Why would I tell him all this? He would sit with me for a while, and look worried when I told him that Will was supposed to be home yesterday.

"He'll come today, I know he will, trust me," he would say.

I would smile back up at him. "Thanks, Liam. I never told anyone, so-"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise," he would say before I even had to finish. By then I would be choking up. And that's exactly what happened.

He had followed me from Bella's house, and he wanted to do something when he saw me start to cry. After I finished, he asked after a pause, "Can I, uh, hear you play? You sound like you'd be really good."

"Ok," I said as I got up after a pause.

He stood up with me and took my hand in his. We walked to the school together, and he asked, "Why are we at a school?"

"This is where I play," I replied with a grin. We walked in the ally parallel to the building, and I stopped at a back corner. Liam laughed lightly behind me.

"I can't believe you do this," he said. "I thought you were a goody two shoes."

I smiled evilly at him and let out a really, really bad evil laugh. " MUAH HA HA HA!"

We both started cracking up. I scrambled on top of a few boxes to reach to top of the first floor windows. Then, I stood up, planted one foot against the adjacent wall, and pulled myself up to the second story windows. I crouched where the first window was open (it was too small to get though) and reached in to open the latch of the larger on above it. Once it was open, I climbed through. I took a deep breath of the familiar musty smell that I'd grown to love and know so well. I stuck my head back out the window and helped pull Liam up. I watched as his nose wrinkled at the smell.

"What is that?" he asked, grossed out.

"That, my friend, is the smell of my childhood," I laughed.

"Gross."

"How DARE you?!" I feigned being hurt. We both laughed hysterically again. "Ya learn to love it," I said after we both calmed down.

I walked over to the old piano that was half hidden in the farthest corner of the room. The top of it was covered in dust because I haven't been here in a while, and so was my stash of books that I had hidden in a hole in the wall. This school was so old that it was literally falling apart around us. I put back the chest that was in front of the wall-whole after I had gotten my books out, and walked over to the piano. I dropped my bundle of books down on the floor along with the other books that I brought. I picked out the song in my favorite book that I thought I had most prepared; it was "1,2,3,4" by the Plain White T's. I loved them; I had their entire album in sheet music. I turned to Liam, and said, " Okay, umm…why don't you sit over there," I pointed out of my peripheral vision range, "and…if you have any comments, criticisms, or anything, could you tell me after? No one's ever heard me except Will, so-so I want to know how good I am, honestly. Ok?"

"Of course," he said as he hugged me.

I smiled at him and turned back to the piano. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I just stood there; I was suddenly nervous. I've never played in front of anyone before, and only in front of Will… a long time ago. I took a deep breath and smelled Liam with the room. That was really weird, I thought that might mess me up, but then I remembered how he made me feel when I couldn't sleep: safe, like there was someone there for me. I hadn't felt like that since Will left. I felt breath on the back of my neck and felt hands around my waist. "It's ok; I think you'll do great," he said.