It Started With A Fire

Chapter 9: Her

A/N: Hazel is played by Emma Stone for now. If you know any other actresses that could fit the part, leave a comment on the description of her. Thank you. Also, Dakota is played by Nina Dobrev

Chapter 9: Her

I asked Harry to watch Ben a little later today so I could come with Zayn to pick up his best mate. She captivates his attention so much and he’s been here with me through everything so I figured that I could do the same for him.

So now here we are sitting in the middle of an airport holding up a cheesy sign, waiting for this girl of whom I’ve never seen to come towards us.

Fun right?

I sigh, checking my watch. I don’t wear watches, but this one has lots of value to me since my father gave it to me. I don’t want to be late in picking up Benjamin. It’s a hassle, really.

“There she is man,” Zayn says excited, pointing up the escalator and waving. I make out a happy face, smiling and waving with the same intensity. It has to be her. Her blonde hair is straight, pulled back a bit out of her face, but not up. Her eyes are a boring casual hazel color, probably the reason that she got her name. She has freckles lining the bridge of her nose. To most people, she would look extremely plain, but to me she’s gorgeous.

Did I really just use the word gorgeous?

When did I become such a pussy?

“Zayn!” she cheers once she’s right in front of us. Zayn returns the excited gesture, embracing her in a tight hug. Once the release, she looks at me, her smile still bright.

“I don’t know you, but I’m going to give you a hug too. Hi,” she says and true to her word, she hugs me. She’s short, but it’s the right kind of short. Still, I think I might end up teasing her later on. She pulls away quickly, blushing a bit at my tight embrace. I couldn’t help it.

No, this isn’t some stupid love at first sight bullshit.

I just think she’s really cute, but she’s Zayn’s so it’s okay. I watch as the two old friends embrace in a conversation, ignoring me, but that’s okay. We continue walking towards the cab that Zayn paid to wait for us. She puts her stuff in as I climb in to the back, Zayn taking the passenger seat and Hazel sitting with me. We’re both quite the distance from each other.

“Are you coming with us or are you going to go and get-” Zayn begins, but I cut him off.

“Yeah I have things to do,” I rudely remark. It was a burst of the moment sort of thing. I know that he was going to mention Benjamin, but I don’t want Hazel to know, at least not yet.

It’s weird and a sudden on the spot decision, but she’s pretty and I want to be friends with her. Who would want to be friends with a UNI student that has a newborn son? Nobody. It shows irresponsibility and nobody wants to take care of a person that only eats, sleeps, poops, and cries. That’s legit all he does. It’s horrendous.

I don’t want to scare her away.

This is the first lass who’s actually looked at me and not thought I was some douche bag. Granted, that’s probably due to the fact that she doesn’t know how I act around campus or my rep, but it’s a nice refresher.

“Oh. Okay,” he says from the front seat and I nod, acknowledging that he’s probably upset. I’ll have to explain it to him later. I nod as our cab pulls up in front of a little hotel. I’m assuming that this will be where Hazel is staying. We’re not supposed to have girls in the dorms.

We aren’t supposed to have babies either.

I’m just thankful for Zayn right now.

“Well, it was nice to meet you Liam. I’ll see you around, yeah?” the blonde next to me says. I am captivated by her, the way that she wants to look at me, but can’t seem to. I watch as she twiddles her thumbs around. It’s just everything that she does really.

“Yeah,” I respond casually with a smile. She returns it, climbing out and walking around to the trunk to gather her stuff.

“This is going to backfire at you, ya know?” Zayn says from the front seat.

“I’ll tell her about Ben. I will, just not yet. I don’t want her to think badly of me,” I explain as shortly as I can. It’s only about half the story if I’m being honest.

“I’m telling you mate, it’s a bad idea,” he continues.

“Please don’t tell her. Not yet. Just give it time,” I tell him. He rolls his eyes at me, turning to look at Hazel, who’s waiting on the sidewalk, looking back at us with a smile.

“For you Liam, I won’t. Just don’t delay it too long,” he says before paying the cab driver and getting out. I watch as they walk in to the hotel together, laughing and talking. I kind of wish I had a girl that I could hang around with like that.

“Where to mate?” the annoyed cab driver asks me. I tell her the address and lean back in the seat, watching the scenery pass us by. It’s amazing really, the change that occurs from the hotel to Shawny’s place. It slowly becomes less full of people, the paint on buildings chipping off. Near her place a lot of the buildings are tagged with spray paint and people hang out in groups of three to four, smoking or just huddling together. I know that I should paranoid that my son, I mean Maura and Hunter’s son, stays down here so much, but I’m oddly comfortable with it. I guess I just trust Shawny and Harry.

The cab stops finally and I hand the driver some euros, climbing out myself. I pull my jacket closer to my body, not liking the chills that have racked through my body at the harsh London air. I walk up to the door, not even bothering to knock anymore and just walk in.

“Hello?” I nearly shout as I walk in. I make my way around the corner of the messy little duplex and see into the living room one more extra adult than I’m used to. Well, occasionally I’ll see some other parents picking up their children, but never have I seen one as young as me and in a lab coat.

“Liam! You’re just in time. This is Doctor Tomlinson. He’s a certified pediatrician that comes and helps out with the children since most parents can’t afford to take them to the doctor. It’s quite kind, really,” Harry shouts excited. He and Shawny must’ve made up.

I then look towards the guy in the lab coat who stops crouching and turns to look at me. I recognize him, but how? His brown hair shags around his face just right, slight stubble. How? When I see his eyes though, that’s when it hits me. That piercing blue.

“Ranch boy?” I ask. He raises his eyebrows in confusion.

“What?” he asks confused.

“You’re the guy that always comes in to my work to eat and gets at least twenty ranch packets,” I laugh. His eyes widen before narrowing at me.

“It would be nice if workers didn’t judge their customers or call them names based on their preferences,” he scoffs before turning away and walking towards another child. I just laugh, shaking my head before walking to Benjamin. He’s fast asleep in his carrier. I sigh now at this, knowing that he’ll be up all night.

“He’s perfectly healthy so you’re able to take him,” Shawny tells me and I smile at this information before nodding and picking him up. I then leave, hurrying to the bus so we have a way home.