A hand brushed Liam’s shoulder as he slept on the park bench. His eyes shot open and he leapt to his feet. His eyes widen when he saw who had woken him. It was Zayn Malik, a boy he went to school with. He obviously wasn’t a threat to Liam’s safety, and Liam went from being completely on edge from what he thought was an attack to fiddling with his hands and looking at his feet self-consciously. He glanced up again as Zayn spoke.
“Um…Liam? What were you…doing?” he asked, unsure if he should even bother asking. He didn’t really expect an answer, but he was curious and he couldn’t help asking. After all, it was almost 2am, and Liam had been asleep on a park bench. Zayn was on his way back to his house after sneaking out for a walk and a late night smoke, and he’d seen a person on the bench. He’d been too curious not to investigate, but now he was wishing he hadn’t. Liam went to his school. He was well-liked but not exactly popular. He had plenty of friends at school, but no one he was really close to. He was on the basketball and soccer teams, and he was quite good at both. On top of that, he was a good student and a favorite of all the teachers. Overall, he was just a really nice guy, and Zayn was wondering if perhaps he was imagining the current situation. Liam wasn’t answering him, and was looking around like he might run away. Still, Zayn thought, it was an improvement over how he’d looked when Zayn had first awoken him. He had looked like a cornered animal, ready to go on the attack. It was terrifying if Zayn was honest with himself. Liam was pretty big. He wasn’t overweight; he was just built, a little over 6 feet tall, broad shoulders, well-muscled, and athletic. Now though, he looked like puppy that had been caught doing something wrong. Zayn felt a bit of pity as he looked at the boy in front of him, and he spoke again.
“That’s alright, you don’t have to answer me…it’s none of my business anyway,” he told him. Liam looked up at him, and a faint smile showed.
“Er…thanks, Zayn. I just…I got a bit tired, so I was having a rest, and I guess I just fell asleep. I should probably get home now,” he said. Zayn wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a slight grimace cross Liam’s face when he mentioned going home now. He shook it away, probably just a trick of the light, he told himself.
“Yeah, well, me too. See ya at school tomorrow then, mate,” he offered a smile before tucking his hands in his pockets and turning away. He hesitated only a moment before walking away. When he reached the end of the sidewalk, he glanced back once. Liam was sitting on the bench again, his head in his hands, looking utterly defeated.
A frown creased Zayn’s face. He fought with himself over it for a moment before deciding he couldn’t go back. Liam had seemed too embarrassed before. But, his conscious nagged, you can’t just leave him there. He looks like he needs help.
“Oh, and he needs help from a loser like me?” he countered before realizing he was talking to himself. He sighed heavily, deciding on a course of action. He stepped behind a rather large tree and watched Liam from a distance. A minute or so later, Liam rose, an anguished look on his face. He strode over to a nearby tree and punched it several times in quick succession, a series of jabs that must have hurt terribly and had Zayn cringing in his hiding place. He then moved under the streetlight that stood about ten feet away from where he’d been sleeping. Zayn could see the blood on his knuckles, and he gasped out loud. Then he clapped a hand to his mouth, hoping he was far enough away that Liam wouldn’t hear. He didn’t appear to. He was too busy wiping the blood in the grass. Zayn cringed away. That could not possibly be sanitary. Liam didn’t seem to care.
