Falling In (Ziam/with Larry AU)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Chapter Eleven

Louis's POV

The next Monday at school was horrible, to say the least. Liam was twenty minutes late, for once, and I was left waiting by his locker the entire time, looking for a sign of him or Niall. When he finally showed up, I was pissed.

"Liam Payne!" I called when he was within hearing distance. Liam didn't look up. "Come on, mate, why are you late?" He just glared at me, mouth set in a frown, movements jerky as he opened his locker. "Not even a chuckle? It rhymed!" My shoulders sagged. What was wrong with him?

"You should get to class, Louis," he snapped. I jumped back when his locker door slammed shut, and he spun on his heel to walk away - most likely to his first period class.

I groaned, and realized that my least favorite day of the week was about to get a whole lot worse. Shifting the strap over my shoulder, I jogged after Liam, my TOMs slipping on the tile floor of the school's hallway. "Look, Liam, of you're gonna be bitchy and crap all day, at least tell me why," I said, coming level with him again.

Liam ignored me. He took a sharp left around a corner, and I almost walked right past him. "Hey!" I yelled. He was really starting to irritate me, now. "If this about that jerk Malik, I swear to God, I'll go beat his sorry bum right now!"

My offer only seemed to make Liam more upset. "Louis," he pleaded. I grinned when he finally stopped and turned to face me, but it dropped instantly when I saw that sad look in his eyes. "Just forget about it, okay? Everything that happened this weekend - just forget it. Please."

He didn't even wait for me to say something in reply. He just kept right on walking.

I stood in the middle of the empty hallway, my mind going a million miles an hour as I tried to figure out how to help my friend.

~~~

By the time art class rolled around, I had three ideas.

One: Find Liam a girlfriend.

That idea was scrapped when I realized how much work it would take.

Two: Find Liam a boyfriend.

Again, a lot of work, not to mention he might not appreciate me setting him up with some guy, especially when he wasn't sure if he was gay or anything.

The last idea: Talk to Zayn's friends.

Many problems to this idea. First, Zayn doesn't have many real friends, people who actually know him. Second, I doubt I'd be able to get close enough to any of them to say anything. Third, what would I say? And fourth, the only friend of his worth talking to, is Harry Styles.

I'll pass, thanks.

When I walked into the art room, I was surprised to see Niall already in there, typing furiously on his phone. Liam was nowhere to be seen, but Zayn was seated at his usual table; alone, I noted with smugness.

I strolled into the room, flopping down in the seat next to Niall, dropping my bag on the floor at my feet. "Hello, Niall," I said loudly.

He jumped, head snapping up and phone almost sliding from his grip. "Louis!" he yelped. "Don't scare me like that!"

I grinned at him, and folded my arms behind my head. "Stop making it easy to scare you."

Niall rolled his eyes. "I hope you get hit by a bus on your way home," he grumbled.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No, of course you don't."