Incomprehensible [Zayn]

03 | Study

"SO HE JUST apologised? Just like that?" Liam asked as we walked towards the cloakroom, the only sound being our footsteps as they they echoed down the corridor. He'd been kind enough to wait for me after class had ended.

Miss Davidson had attempted to recruit me into the Under 18's Hockey Tournament again. I'd politely declined the offer, just like the previous times she'd asked, stressing that the importance of studying was greater to me than winning a gold trophy. She had only frowned, nodded and turned to leave the gym.

"Yeah, it was quite unexpected," I said as I walked over to my locker. I pulled out my things and turned to find Liam smiling at me.

"Told you he never meant you any harm," he said as we turned and started to walk towards the doors. 

I wrestled my folders into my bag as we paused by the front doors, zipping up our jackets to prepare for the rain. It had calmed down since the morning, but it was still enough to soak us through if we loitered too long.

"I know he doesn't but I was just a bit uncomfortable. Usually, new students don't act all confident like that," I explained. "Unless they're a dick. But dick's don't apologise."

Liam rubbed his hands together as we walked through the drizzle. I could hear his teeth chattering and I gave him a small smile as we turned the corner and crossed the road.

"By the way you described him, he does sound like a bit of a dick," Liam chuckled. I nodded absentmindedly, remembering that I'd called Zayn that name as well as several others that morning. However, I'd changed my mind about him after his apology. Sometimes first impressions weren't always the best and everyone deserves a second chance. And besides, since when was confidence a bad thing?

"He was initially but maybe I was just being silly? He's not as bad as I originally thought," I admitted. 

As Liam and I continued down the road, the rain gradually reduced to mere spit-spots and I found myself smiling up at the patchy grey sky, thankful that the crap weather was finally starting to shift.

During the years Liam and I had known each other, I'd come to learn that he was very protective of his loved ones. I could tell he was a little on edge after I'd explained what had happened between Zayn and I. I'd seen his eyes narrow slightly as I'd mentioned his arrogance and I couldn't help but smile. I was extremely lucky to have a friend like Liam, someone that looked out for me at even the slightest inconvenience. 

"So, what do you need help with for maths?" I asked as we walked down a narrow, gritty path towards the shops. 

With a quick look up at the sky, Liam shook the raindrops off of his hood before pulling it down and swinging his bag around to his front. He pulled the zipper open and handed me the orange folder containing his maths work. I opened the folder and scanned the sheet of paper at the front.

"You've wrote out the equations wrong," I muttered as I  looked over the algebra. I heard Liam curse beside me and I just smirked. He hated when he was wrong, especially when it was something he was good at. I took in the many letters, numbers and mathematical signs, creating a quick solution in my head.

"How are you able to just think and get it right?" Liam asked me as he looked over my shoulder. His breath was warm against my cold-bitten face.

"Practice," I mumbled as I read over the last question. "It's fairly simple. It's far easier than the Maths Challenge last year."

"Maybe for you," he teased and flashed me a smile before he plucked the folder from my grasp and unceremoniously shoved it back inside his bag. 

Once we crossed the road and found ourselves standing outside the local convenience store and bakery, we exchanged a knowing look.

"Muffin?" I asked and Liam just nodded. It was a stupid tradition we'd started back in our first year at school, where sugar was needed as motivation to keep ourselves focused on obtaining our top notch grades. And five years later, we occasionally gave in to the nostalgia of it and treated ourselves for old times sake.