Tales of the Hearts

N̆̈Ĭ̈N̆̈Ĕ̈✨

Zayn noticed how Liam started to slow down around 4, his leg bouncing and his pencil tapping against the table.

"Do you want to take a break?" Zayn asked, eyeing him.

He looked up at Zayn, his pencil pressed against his bottom lip.

"Yes, god this is a lot of material." Zayn nodded in agreement. "Do you have a football?" Liam suddenly asked, a smirk on his face.

"I don't know. Lou probably has one in the garage somewhere, why?"

"Sweet. We're gonna go play" he said, standing up
and smirking at me.

"You know, I think I'm good. Isn't there something
else we could do? That doesn't involve athleticism?" Zayn asked. Liam chuckled and shook his head.

"C'mon, Zee, just give it a try. If you really hate it we can come back inside and get back to work." he replied. Zayn sighed and stood up.

It took them a little while to find the football Louis
used to use when he practiced out back with his friends. Liam was able to reach the last bin on the highest shelf of the storage rack in the garage. They
went out to the backyard and Liam put some space
between them.

"Ready? he asked, smiling. Zayn sighed.

"Can I say no?"

"No, love you can't say no." Liam chuckled.

"I guess. I'm ready then" Zayn admitted. Liam threw the ball in a perfect spiral. Zayn was able to jump and catch it.

"Look at you! You're a natural." Liam said, laughing.
Zayn smiled and laughed before throwing it back. They continued throwing the ball back and forth, Zayn only missing a few here and there.

"Go long!" Liam called towards Zayn, running backwards.

"What?" Zayn asked. Liam rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Run that way" he said, pointing away from himself. Zayn nodded and started running backwards, watching as he threw the ball in a perfect arc. Zayn reached out to grab it, slipping and falling as the ball grazed his fingers and bounced on the grass.

"Oh shit!" Zayn heard Liam yell, followed by the sound of footsteps. Zayn started laughing and rolled over onto his back. "Are you okay?" Liam asked. Zayn nodded, still laughing. Liam shook his head and chuckled. Zayn sat up and tossed the ball to him. He offered Zayn his hand, which Zayn took. Zayn pulled Liam down and grabbed the ball back from him and ran away. He heard Liam chuckle as he stood up, chasing after Zayn.

"Zee! What the hell!" he called after me. Zayn kept
laughing and running, only to feel arms wrap around his waist and stop him in his tracks.

"Gotcha" Liam exclaimed, making Zayn laugh even
harder.

"Zaynie?" Zayn heard someone say from the back door. He whipped around, seeing Louis standing in the doorway. His eyes shifted to Liam, seeing his arms wrapped around Zayn's torso as Zayn clutched the football to my chest.

"Liam?" he asked, confused by the sight of them. Liam seemed to come to his senses and quickly unwrapped his arms, muttering an apology and clearing his throat.

"Uh, hey, Lou. How was studying?" Zayn asked him, dropping the football from his chest and holding it
in his hand at his side.

"Fine, I guess. What's going on here?" he asked,
an eyebrow quirked up.

"Just taking a study break." Zayn responded, quickly looking over at Liam to see him nod in response, looking uncomfortable.

"Hmm. Okay, whatever" Louis said, closing the door as he turned to go back inside.