One-Shot Book (One Direction/ 5 Seconds of Summer)

Polaroid (Liam Payne)

It was crowded, to say the very least. The atmosphere was blinding; hot air, flashing lights, loud music, the works. Liam stood at the edge of the room, holding his Polaroid camera in one hand and a glass of margarita in the other. "Gosh, I shouldn't have come," he thought, carefully sipping his drink but grimacing as the alcohol burned down his throat. "Why did I let Louis talk me into this?" He scooted further away as he saw someone drunkenly walk in his direction. "Are all parties supposed to be like this?" he wondered, "Where is Louis anyway?"

Just as he wondered that, said man appeared, swaying slightly due to the alcohol in his system. "Hey, lad!" he said, Doncaster accent thicker than usual, "How are you enjoying the party?" "Not much," Liam replied, shuddering as he eyed yet another couple who were grinding on each other. Ugh, his poor eyes. "You told me that this was going to be a good opportunity for me to take photos for my course work!" he accused, narrowing his eyes at Louis. Louis shrugged. "You said that the theme was fun, so yeah, this is the perfect time for you to take pictures, Li!" he exclaimed.

"You and I have very different ideas of fun, Lou," Liam said, taking another sip of the margarita. Louis at this point shrugged. "Maybe at least you could find a nice girl, take her home for the night?" he said, nudging Liam's shoulder. Liam raised an eyebrow. "Is this what this is about? Lou, that ain't going to happen. I don't believe in love at first sight or anything. And I'm most definitely not the hook up type," he said. Louis shrugged. "Meh, no idea. Good luck, mate!" he exclaimed before rushing off, probably to grab another round of beer of something like that. Liam sighed. "I absolutely hate you, Lou," he muttered, finishing the last of his drink. He placed the glass down on the table, and awkwardly shuffled through the crowd. "Maybe I could at least get a few decent photos?" he wondered.

He roamed through the mass bodies of people, the music getting louder as more people came in. The entire room consisted mostly of sweaty bodies grinding on each other and loud pumping music. The air was humid, and Liam was mostly just trying to try to get out of there.

Then, he saw her.

Just standing there in a bright dress, features highlighted underneath the fluorescent lights of the dance floor. From her full lips to her long lashes, she was easily the most attractive person at the party.

Liam's breath hitched. True to his word, he didn't believe in love at first sight, but she made him rethink that. Without him even thinking about it, he raised his camera. With a flash, the picture was taken. The girl turned towards him upon seeing the flash. Liam gulped. His emotions were a mix, like somewhere in between 'Yes!' and 'What the heck did I just do?'

Silently, he looked down and waited for the picture to print, trying to act innocent despite knowing that he had been caught. When the picture finally did print, he looked at it and smiled. The Polaroid captured the look in her eyes perfectly. The lighting was perfect, making every one of her features stand out, from her dark brown hair to her red pouty lips. He then looked up, and saw said person standing right in front of him.

"You know, if you want to take someone's picture, it's best to be hidden about it," she said, smiling softly. "Oh, um... sorry, it was originally for my photography coursework and um... and um..." Liam stuttered. "Dude, it's alright," she laughed, "I was just messing with you." Liam chuckled. "Yeah, you looked cool, and yeah... I'm sorry. I'll throw the picture away," he said, embarrassed.

The girl laughed. "Hey, you don't have to. May I see it?" she asked. Liam shyly gave it to her, looking down at his feet. "Hey, this looks really good!" she exclaimed, "You're really talented, um..." "Liam," he said quickly, "Call me Liam." "Well, Liam. You're really talented," she said. "It's nothing. The lighting was already good and besides, the model too was really pretty," Liam said getting a sudden boost of confidence. The girl blushed. "I—I'm not," she said, stumbling slightly over her words, "I mean, compared to you, I'm nothing." "Well, you are though," Liam said. And it certainly was true. For both of them weren't bad looking to say the very least.