that's not why × ziam au (short story)

part iii × father

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"Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom."

—Marilyn Ferguson

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It’s already been three days since Liam has read Zayn’s second letter and quite frankly, he is starting to see people differently now. Especially the ones in school, the people he used to call his ‘friends’. Those ‘friends’ were one of the reasons why Zayn Malik had killed himself and he wasn’t going to just forget about that. Even though Zayn had said that they were only a small percentage, they still are a reason why isn’t alive anymore.

He’s been ignoring them all day, barely even talking to them when they would ask him a question. He only hanged out with Harry and some other kids in the science club. Sure, Jordan will make fun of him later on for hanging out with the ‘weird Albert Einstein wanna-be’s, but Liam can honestly care less, they are kind of cool.

Except for the fact that one keeps poking him with some sort of utensil, asking him for ‘samples’.

“Uh, no thank you.” Liam smiles nervously, scooting away just a bit.

Harry rolls his eyes as he looks into the microscope. “Don’t be a pussy, Liam. He’s just going to collect some of your DNA.” He scoffs, his curls draping over his forehead.

Liam just ignores him and continues to study for some history test he has later on in the day. Unlike the other players in his team, he preferred to have good grades. He didn’t like it when people would take him as a stereotypical stupid jock; he wanted to prove them wrong.

So as they do that, Liam’s mind trails off to the memory of Zayn’s second letter, the effect it had on him. He would hate for that to happen again, but he wants to know why Zayn is dead, this just can’t be left at that because he’s afraid of having another panic attack.

Once he gets home, he is going to read the third entry and he is not going to freak out again.

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the table he looks up to see a teen around his age with a bit of a smile on his face. “Hey, guys.” He greets sitting down.

“Greetings, Tom.” Harry says in a monotone, due to his concentration towards whatever he is looking at through the microscope.

The others also greet Tom and he greets back with a small smile. But it disappears once he lays eyes on Liam, his eyes turn cold and there is a slight frown on his lips.

“Why is this dipshit here?” He asks rudely, eyeing Liam in a way that made him feel like as if he had two heads.

Harry’s head shoots up and he looks at who Tom is staring at. “You mean Liam? Nah, Liam’s cool.” He says calmly, putting his face back down on the device.

But Tom disagrees. “So he’s one of the cool guys that killed Zayn?” His voice is still cold, barely showing any emotions besides anger.

Before Harry can answer, Liam harshly slams his book on the table, making it shake and bring all of the attention towards him. “I did not kill anybody.” He says in between clenched teeth. He doesn’t like to lash out on people, but this guy just can’t come and insult him and tell him that he killed someone.

Tom laughs bitterly, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You and your stupid friends are the reason why he killed himself. He didn’t deserve to die.” His voice rises a bit.

Liam slams his fist onto the table. “You’re not even sure why he killed himself. Don’t go blaming me for something my team mates did!” He growls.