Z.A.Y.N.

A SIDE: INTRO

"He's twenty minutes late."

When Louis breaks the room's silence, Liam turns his head to the clock on the far left wall.

10:20 AM

"He'll be here."

Immediately, Liam looks back across the boardroom table at Harry, who's stopped typing on his phone to confidently address the two sat across from him.

"He might not always be on time, but he's responsible," the man presses down on the lapels of his jade coloured suit. "If he wasn't going to make it, he would have texted me beforehand."

Louis' not placated. "He's got five more minutes and then I'm walking."

"Hey," Liam nudges Louis' arm with his elbow. "It's alright Tommo. I don't have anywhere to be after this."

"Trust me, I know. I'm you manager." Quickly, Louis unlocks his mobile and refreshes his emails. "And the fact that you've convinced the Label to push the due date for the album back a month, means that I've got plenty of other things that I could be doing instead of sitting here, waiting for your mystery man."

A small sigh falls from Liam's lips at the guilt that his friend's trying to instill in him. "I know it's been a lot - and you know how grateful I am for it all - but I told you you didn't have to come."

"And miss seeing what this guy looks like after six years? Yeah. Sure." Ignoring his phone once more, Louis glares at the man sitting directly across from him. "Six years of trying to get this one to crack and at least show me a picture so I can satisfy my own curiosity." Harry smiles in pride at having held his ground. "Which wouldn't exist in the first place if you," Louis turns back to Liam, "just shut up and took this person for a normal songwriter."

He's not normal. We've been over this a thousand times, Liam thinks to himself, biting his tongue as he stares at the empty seat next to Harry.

As a singer, Liam's career longevity comes down to sales. He knew that well before he signed on the dotted line of his contract with one of the largest music labels in the world six years ago. Still, that doesn't mean that he's been ok with only doing what it takes to get a catchy R&B/Pop beat on the radio; he loves the art of music too much to sell himself out like that. Instead, he's done everything in his power to stay true to himself in his sound, but more importantly, his lyrics.

Being fourteen and not making it through on one of your country's biggest tv shows can take a toll on a person. For Liam, it threw him into a downward spiral for all of about a week, before he realized he could use the experience as one to grow from, not one to wallow in his sorrows because of. The two years between being turned away and auditioning for a second time was when Liam fell in love with the craft of music - songwriting included. He wasn't great back then - not by a long shot - but it was the period in his life when he saw how important and arduous a songwriter needed to be in order to create decent work. Getting told no again when he was sixteen wasn't any easier than the first time, yet looking back, Liam's not sure he would've made it all that far in the industry if he hadn't been given the time rejection had afforded him.

Putting out straight pop music like he was on the path to do as a teenager might have suited his voice, but it certainly wasn't the place for abstract expression in his opinion. His playful personality and youthful smile shouldn't fool anyone - Liam Payne is more than a rhythmic hook. More than anything, he wants to be clever with what he writes, putting his thoughts down on paper in a way that makes them more than just emotions floating through his mind. When he was finally signed at nineteen after finishing a music tech course at his local college, he knew that being able to master a skill like that would take a lifetime, but he was eager to learn from the best. He's always been like that - the type to take full advantage of the opportunities he's given while keeping his feet on the ground enough to accept criticism and use it to his benefit. What he didn't expect was to have to wait six years to meet the person whose brain he's yearned to pick the most.