One Direction Sickfics & One Shots

3. Liam & Niall :: And That Was When I Ruled The World

Eurie: This is just a simple, fun story about Liam and Niall getting to know eachother and stuff in X-Factor. Takes place before the group was formed. Some of the other boys will make appearances. But they aren't going to be very big(A guest star from another band will appear as well*wink* *wink*)

2010
Who the hell is this kid? was Liam's first thought when he entered the room. His roommate must have already gotten there and was now in the loo, either that or someone broke into their room just to use the toilet. Whoever the kid was, he had a thick Irish accent and yet he was speaking in perfect Spanish.

He had blonde hair and his teeth were a bit of a mess. That is what Liam got from observing his roommate right off the bat as he left the bathroom. He had a big smile once he spotted Liam. The two made small chat and got to know each other quite well. It was actually really comforting for Liam to know he at least had one friend.

"So, you play guitar?" Liam asked as Niall took a seat on the bed he had claimed. There was a guitar propped up next to the bed, so Liam could only assume.

"Oh, hell yeah! Been playing ever since I was a wee lad." Niall looked proud and it was kind of adorable. He was only a year younger than Liam. But something about how much the kid smiled and how excited he got when just talking made him seem so much younger. "I'm starvin. Would you wanna grab a bite?"

Liam nodded at the offer. "Yeah, I could go for some food." The two made their way down to the cafeteria. Many faces Liam had seen around. But he knew next to no one's names. A lot of people knew Liam, though, as he learned from Niall. Apparently, people were aware he's been here before.

"People are all like 'Oh, that's that Payne kid. He's been here once before. Gotta pay attention to him' and I think that's really cool how you came back again a few years later." Something Liam learned quickly was that Niall talked. And talked. Niall was loud and outgoing. Everyone knew this. You could usually hear him before you actually saw him. But, he's a genuinely pleasant guy to have a conversation with. Everyone was pretty shy and nervous. X-Factor was such a big deal. However, Niall was the opposite of shy. "Hello, fellas. Mind if me and Liam sit?"

Liam zoned out and didn't even fully realize untill Niall pulled out a chair he intended for them to sit at the table. A few of them he sort of recognized. There was that Harry Styles kid with the fluffy curls sitting at the table of just him and four other girls.

"Well, I'm Niall. Nice to meet you all." The blonde flashed the five one of his award winning smiles. Liam felt a small bit of envy of how easy Niall could walk over to a group and strike up a conversation. He seemed to have no problem with it. "This here's Liam."

"Hi, I'm Harry," the curly haired boy said, confirming Liam's guess.

"Jeed" is what it sounded like the girl with the long, light brown hair said. She looked familiar to Liam and he stared at her with puzzled eyes.

"Jeed? Nice to meet-" Niall was about to say, but Jeed cut him off with a sigh.

"No, Jeed!" She insisted, but just got a confused look from the Irish lad. They went back and forth a few times before Harry finally stepped in.

"She means Jade. Girl has a bit of a Geordie accent. I can barely understand word she ever says," he said with a chuckle.

Jade blushes slightly, pushing her hair behind her ear and nodded. "Leave me alone, Harry. You're so mean!" She stick her tongue out at him and he laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

Instead of making it awkward, Niall's face lit up and looked genuinely amazed by the fact. "Geordie? That's so cool, man. I've never heard one. You've got such a nice accent. I'm from Ireland and never really been around the rest of Europe."

Conversation was made with everyone in the table, as anyone walking past could easily tell based off Niall's voice. It was fun, actually. Liam was rather glad he got to know some other people.

. . .

"I still can't believe you met Jade back in 2008 when you were on X-Factor. That's crazy. Small world we live in." Liam chuckled at the Irish boy on the bed across from his back in their room. "Okay, I'm bored. I'm gonna head outside with my guitar."

Liam laughed at this. They had been back in their room for only maybe an hour and a half and Niall was already bored. He grabbed his guitar and led Liam out the door and out of the building. There was a rather large patio with bleachers that Niall took a seat on. He propped his guitar on his lap and a couple of boys followed him over. Liam guesses the Niall Show happened often.

"Yo! Play Wonderwall!" Some guy shouted as he jogged over. Another boy followed behind, brown hair with a similar Justin Bieber type hair cut covered by a red beanie. "Walk faster, Louis!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Louis replies as he sped up his walking pace to make it. Niall grinned and once the boys finished coming over, he decided he could start his jam session. Liam did feel a bit awkward. Everyone was surrounding Niall and Liam felt a bit out of place next to his friend. Some kid began to video tape it, but Niall didn't mind in the slightest.

. . .

"Hey. Did you ever get home sick? Like when you first came? Cause you were real young," Niall whispered, turning over in his bed. It was around 11pm and the two had just been chilling in their room. Liam turned his head as well, removing his headphones and sat up to face Niall. Something was off about the Irish boy. He wasn't quite glowing with happiness like he had been the entire day.

"Of course. Yeah, no totally. I remember calling my mum and dad every night for the first week. It helped to just tell them about my day. I think it also comforted my mum,too, knowing what I was doing and that I was eating enough and remembering to change my underwear," Liam joked, successfully making the younger boy laugh. But it was clear there was still something bothering him.

Liam got up off his bed to move onto Niall's bed. The Irish boy sat up to make room for the British boy. Liam put his arm around his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "You okay?"

Niall nodded, silently, for a second, before shrugging. "I-... I dunno. I mean, I guess. I just miss home a little. I've never been away for so long. It hasn't even been that long. But like, I miss my family." Niall leaned his head on the older lad's shoulder and his lip quivered. "I miss them a lot."

"Hey, it's alright. It's normal. It will get easier," Liam said and rubbed his shoulder, comfortingly. This was a very different Niall from the loud one he had seen all day. Liam felt bad. The kid was young and he wasn't surprised he was having a tough time. "Give your mum a call. Whenever I felt like that, I'd go somewhere quiet and ring her. Always made me feel ten times better."

Niall nodded, wiping away a tear that had began to fall and gave Liam a small smile. He grabbed his small phone and held it to his ear. "Ma? Oh, hey... um, not much... nah, I just wanted to talk a bit... I'm fine... yeah, yeah..."

Liam watched as Niall's expression lightened. He gave Niall a pat on the back before getting up to give him some privacy. Before he left, though, Niall took the phone away from his ear. "Oh, Liam. Thanks, mate," he said. Liam shot the boy a thumbs up, grinning. He was happy to see Niall back to his cheerful self.