stronger ↣ ziam

beginning.

"How did you get started in the boxing profession?"

Liam chuckled at that question; he'd answered it hundreds of times before so he knew exactly how he was going to start.

"Well, when I was young I got beat up a lot. I was a skinny lad, though you'd never believe it looking at me now, eh?"

The interviewer chuckled and Liam sat back, taking a deep breath before he continued.

"I had a strange urge to prove myself. My dad left when I was a baby and I guess that never really sat well with me." Liam scratched the back of his head and his eyes traveled to where Zayn was sitting, behind the interviewer past the bright lights that were shining on Liam.

"One day, when i was limping home after a particularly rough fight - 4 against 1, that was - this older bloke took me in and cleaned me up. Turns out he owned the local boxing hall, and he was the first person who really took a chance on me."

"You're referring to Isaac O'Neil, right?' Liam looked up at the interviewer and smiled faintly.

"Yeah, my first trainer," Liam chuckled, "He was first guy who stuck around after beating the crap out me."

Niall stifled a laugh and Liam's eyes flickered to where he was standing behind Zayn. Niall's hand was firmly clamped over his mouth while Zayn looked up at him disapprovingly. He turned back to Liam and put his finger to his lips, while Liam fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Who'd have thought I had a knack for fighting?"

Liam stared at his hands as his mind drifted back to his childhood. It always tended to happen when he was asked about how it all started.

The happiest memories from his childhood were every spare moment spent with Isaac in his boxing hall. Liam loved his mother, but she worked too much for her own good and anytime she spent at home was asleep. He didn't blame her for anything really; if she'd been more present in his life then it probably would've turned out very differently.

Isaac was like a father to him. He treated Liam like his own son, for he had no children of his own. Liam wasn't even aware that he had any family until one day he met Isaac's nephew Niall.

Niall was even scrawnier than Liam was at that point, but he was scrappy and had a mouth on him that got him into heaps of trouble. Isaac was always smacking Niall upside of the head for making rude jokes or taunting the adults, but he'd always ruffle Niall's hair afterwards.

As the year passed, Liam grew stronger and Isaac put more pressure on him to get better at boxing, and to stop picking fights just because he could. Niall started hanging around the hall as well, complaining at first that Isaac was teaching Liam and not him. But as Liam got better, Niall stopped whining and because more invested in helping get Liam trained.

"It'll be great! 'Liam Payne: Champion Boxer'. With me as your manager, we'll take over the world!"Liam remembered Niall babbling one day when they were fifteen.

"Who says you're my manager?" Liam quipped. Niall's smile didn't falter one bit.

"I do, of course. Who the bloody hell else would be?"

Liam brushed it off as a joke at that age, but as they grew up he realized that Niall had been completely serious. While Isaac had been training Liam to be a boxer, he'd been training Niall in the business that was boxing.

Soon, Niall was organizing all sorts of fights and doing publicity that left Liam somewhat astounded. He'd never figured Niall the type to actually be good at this sort of thing. But as well as Liam fit into boxing, Niall fit into managing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N

thank you for reading this fanfic . and all my social media in my bio . ilysm .