Kick, Push

Competition Day: +6

Oh boy do they fit.

From where he's sat on the tattoo parlour's couch, Zayn watches Liam stare at the different designs littering the wall.

He's tucked the shirt into the trousers, allowing for his torso to look just the right amount of thin that made Zayn stare a bit too long when the lad had appeared outside his door a few hours ago. Even throughout dinner, Zayn's mind wandered to how Liam's arms were on perfect display and the unbelievably cool swagger he carried in Zayn's custom trainers.

Exploring his wide shoulders from behind, Zayn's eyes trail down to his legs. The cotton blend material shows off the results of running long distance every morning. Zayn doesn't even think about Liam's negative connection to the sport because there's absolutely nothing negative about the way his figure looks when he bends down to look at a particularly interesting dragon sketch.

"See something you like?"

The british accent in his ear nearly makes Zayn jump out of his skin. "Fuck me." When Louis comes round the side of the couch to take a seat next to him, Zayn glares at the male. "Go get needles stabbed in you."

Used to Zayn's annoyance, Louis simply watches Liam. "Harry's getting his drawn up."

"Are you sure you want him to ink you?"

It seemed like the only one in their little group of five who was against the idea of tattoos was Niall, but he went to meet up with another skating friend after dinner, so there wasn't anyone to be the voice of reason in situations like this. Having to step into that role with the lack of blank skin on his body was weird to Zayn, yet he wholeheartedly believed that just because they were all on board with permanent art, didn't mean it was a good idea to have anyone other than a professional take on that job. Zayn wouldn't even give Louis that power, close friend or not. To have a guy you knew for a week was crazy to Zayn.

"Pretty sure, yeah," Louis verifies, untroubled. "And I don't think I need to tell you about it being for life."

Zayn looks to his right arm that Louis' pointing to to prove his point. "Suppose it's better than you getting matching tatts."

Louis' "that's for later" makes Zayn mildly concerned, but until that day comes, he doesn't want to have it be another thing he needs to worry about. "I'm sure," he replies curtly.

"First time you've been in a shop without getting anything," the man points out, which gets Zayn to thinking.

Off to the side, he can see the parchment paper holding a sketch of the Olympic ring symbol that Louis planned on getting. Obviously Zayn knew that it was a common thing for athletes to get, and when his friend told him that he was, the first thing that ran through Zayn's mind was that he wanted one too. Louis was right, he never not got a tattoo if he was in a shop, but the prematurity of the drawing was too much for him. He had made it to the Olympics, and for some that was reason enough to get the rings, but the last thing Zayn wanted was a reminder of his failure if he didn't perform well in the end.

"Don't want to jinx it," he mumbles, hoping that Louis gets the hint to leave it be. Thankfully Liam was coming over to save the day, as usual.

Louis scoots over so there's room for the physio to sit, "Gonna get something Liam?"

"No, I don't get mine on a whim." The male takes a seat between both friends, trousers stretching to accommodate the new position. "They all have pretty strong meanings to me."

"You hear that Zayn?"

Zayn's brought out of his stare when Louis speaks, the question earning him a punch to the leg that he had to reach over Liam to land.