No Coincidence

Ruffled Feathers

It was a complete coincidence that Brynn Dawson met Liam Payne on November 22nd.

Liam was in the bookstore, like usual. And, just like usual, he had Paul with him. Paul liked going to the bookstore with Liam, it gave him an excuse to flirt with the barista, Jenny. Liam just liked it because it gave him some peace -- like Zayn with his art, or Niall and his golf, or Louis with his football, or Harry with his... whatever it is Harry does.

He was looking through the shelves while Paul was flirting with Jenny. Liam had no option but to wear a baseball cap and some hipster glasses he stole from Harry so he would look more like, well, someone just off the street.

He grabbed a couple books that interested him and went toward the counter to pay for them. But, as he walked by a rack, he noticed a girl there, sobbing quietly. Everyone near the aisle was just acting like they didn't see the poor girl. Liam rolled his eyes and walked over to see what was the matter.

"Hey," he greeted softly, praying she didn't recognize his voice. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him like he was stupid. "Are you a dumbass? Of course I'm not okay!"

Even through her choked up voice, her American accent was perfectly noticable. Also, her rude response should've been enough of a hint that she wasn't from around here.

"Well, what's wrong?" Liam persisted.

She sighed and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket, huffing when she saw that her eyeliner smudged. "My application got rejected."

"Application to where?"

"I was hoping to get an interior decorator job at Wells and Quinn, but that won't happen." She sniffled again and more tears started to fall. "I spent my entire life savings to come here and get that job. My apartment doesn't even have hot water. Or electricity anymore. I've been freaking living off cold canned soups and tap water. This job was my only chance. Now I don't even have the cash to get home."

Liam had nothing to say. Good Lord, her situation seemed horrible. He felt both helpless and like he could do everything in the world for her. Liam had every capability in the world to let her stay at his place. But, on the other hand, he didn't even know the girl's name. For all he knew, she could be a pap, trying to find out where he lived.

"What's your name, love?" he asked quietly.

"Brynn," she replied, sniffing again. "Brynn Dawson."

"I'm Liam. Come on, I'll buy you a coffee."

"You aren't trying to take advantage of a crying girl, are you?"

Liam was appalled for a moment. Then, he saw the smile on her face and the glint in her eye and he had to laugh. "No, of course not. I'm British, I'm too posh."

She laughed and he led her over to a table. He bought himself a coffee and she asked for a cup of oolong tea. Liam raised an eyebrow at that. She shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm cultured."

Liam laughed and the waitress brought their drinks over. He took a sip of his before determining that maybe, just maybe, he should put some cream and sugar in it. He did so before stirring it and taking another swig. He sighed and smiled.

"So, Brynn. Tell me about yourself -- happy stuff only though. You've had a pretty crappy day, it seems."

She nodded and sighed. "Well, I grew up in North Carolina, so, sometimes when I don't pay attention I get this thick southern accent."

He already noticed that she had a southern accent, but what stunned him was the fact that it got thicker.

"Anyway. My dad was a firefighter and my mom was a housewife. I had two older brothers and a younger brother. I grew up on this big farm. We had every kind of animal you could imagine. Dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, a pig, a couple goats, a shit ton of rabbits. Hell, we even had a guinea."