Everybody Needs Somebody

Chapter Twenty Five

The weekend ended far too soon for Zayn's liking. As Saturday went on, the family continued to vegetate on the couches while watching an endless amount of movies and eating way too much junk food. However, Sunday was a bit more interesting. The family was invited to a barbeque at the 5SOS lads house in honor of them releasing their new album. It was a pool party bbq so Zayn put on a swimsuit, however, the boy knew he had no intentions of swimming.

Throughout their time at the lads house Zayn stuck to Niall like a lost puppy because, well, he kinda was. Of everyone in the house he only knew the Tomlinson-Styles' family and he had only briefly met Ashton and his bandmates. Niall and Liam, however, knew almost everyone there and were constantly walking around to make new conversation. Louis took notice of Zayn's actions and ended up telling him to sit with him and Harry on the couch because he could see how uncomfortable the boy seemed going up to so many new people.

"So it's Zayn right?" Michael asked the boy with a smile when he noticed him being extra quiet. Zayn didn't verbally answer, though, instead he just smiled back and nodded his head. "It's a sick name! I've never met anyone named Zayn before. How old are you?"

"Um, I just turned fourteen," Zayn spoke quietly as he picked at his dry bathing suit.

"Prime age for doing stupid shit if you ask me," Michael says with a small laugh. "So according to Harry you're quite the footie player? On varsity, yeah?" And once again Zayn nods while blushing a bit.

"No need to be embarrassed, love. It's alright to get complimented," Louis finally spoke when he noticed Zayn's flusteredness. "He's just really shy."

"Yeah I was the same at his age. I don't blame him for being shy in front of a bunch of strangers," Michael says as he sips his beer.

The three continue to talk for a while, at one point Harry and the other band members even jump into the conversation where Zayn immediately took a liking to Ashton. As time went on, and Zayn drank his third root beer, he felt his bladder pressure increase so he quickly asked where he could find the loo.

"Right through the doors next to where Liam and Niall are sitting, you walk into the house and then it's the second door on your left," Ashton says to the boy who quickly thanks him before running towards the door. Just as Zayn was running past where Liam and Niall were sitting amongst another group of kids he couldn't help but overhear one sentence. One sentence that had his heart stopping.

"Yeah I've always hated the thought of having a little brother," Zayn hears Niall say and almost immediately he feels his heart breaking but nonetheless he continues on to the bathroom. "But Zayn's different, I wouldn't want him to be in any other family," Niall continues on after Zayn ran to the bathroom, obviously not hearing that part of the statement.

"He's a real cute kid," Ashton says to Harry and Louis who nod in agreement.

"He is, and he's so sweet and innocent still. I know he's hardly a baby at fourteen, but he's dependent enough to make it feel like I have a little baby again and it's just nice, y'know?" Louis says while fondly thinking of the boy who had yet to return from the restroom.

As the adults continued to talk for a bit longer, Louis noticed Zayn has yet to return from the bathroom ten minutes later, so he quickly excuses himself to go find him. Louis immediately walks over to the bathroom and knocks on the door before hearing a bit of movement going on behind it. Not even ten seconds late, though, and Zayn was opening the door. Nothing visibly wrong with him.

"Hey, bubba, thought you had gotten lost or something," Louis cooed as he wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Sorry, I got a bit distracted beforehand I guess," Zayn lied easily and Louis obviously believed him. From there the man guides him back over to the sofas where he's quick to get Zayn a plate of food. The family is at the house until around eleven o'clock before Harry finds himself carrying Zayn out to the car.