Tales of the Hearts

S̆̈Ĕ̈V̆̈Ĕ̈N̆̈T̆̈Ĕ̈Ĕ̈N̆̈✨

It was a busy week. Zayn had a pile of tests, lots of grading for Mrs. Smith's last period to do and a big history project due Friday night that was looming over him. On top of that, it was Homecoming week, so everyone was buzzing with energy, and excited for Friday's game.

"So, who's going to the game on Friday?" Mae asked, all of us sitting at a cafeteria table eating lunch Wednesday afternoon. Everyone nodded, noises of excitement traveling around the group.

"I'm excited about the after-parties." Jack joked, earning a punch in the arm from Noah.

"Of course you are." Noah teased.

"What about you, Zayn? Are you going?" Ava asked. Zayn shrugged.

"Probably not." Zayn answered.

"What a shocker." Jack joked, making him laugh.

"No use in changing up a routine that's worked the past 3 years." Zayn said, shrugging. He saw Mae looking at him from the corner of his eye, a mildly concerned look on her face.

"The parade is going to be awesome this year." Mae chimed in.

"The floats already look so good. I can't wait to take pictures of everything on Friday." Ava excitedly added. She was head of the yearbook committee and loved taking photos.

Zayn's thoughts began to wander, tuning out his friends as they excitedly chattered about homecoming. Zayn slowly ate his pasta salad, thinking about the project he had to finish.

"Hey, you okay?" Mae quietly asked, nudging his arm. Zayn nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just been a busy week." Zayn responded. She nodded, understanding in her eyes, before turning to face the rest of the group.

It was dark when Zayn returned to the school, quickly pulling into a spot before heading inside. He had lost track of time at the shelter and was running a little late, but Liam wasn't waiting at the door when he got to the library. He unlocked the door and headed in, flicking on the light switches when Zayn heard the door open behind him and Liam walked in.

"Hey." he greeted, grinning.

"Hi." Zayn responded, walking side by side with him to the table. "Are you excited for Friday?" Zayn asked, sitting down.

"Hell yeah. We're gonna kick ass." Liam excitedly declared, a small smile forming on his lips.

"You should come to the game. It's senior year and you've never been to a game, right?" Liam pondered. Zayn slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know, doesn't really seem like his thing." Zayn confessed.

"You never know until you try." Liam continued.

"I'll think about it." Zayn responded, earning a satisfied nod from Liam. "Okay, biology." Zayn started, pulling out a few worksheets and notes from my backpack.

"This is everything we've done the past week. Try to answer all the questions." Zayn said, sliding a review worksheet over to him. Liam nodded, his hand ever so lightly brushing against Zayn's as he took the paper, making him draw his hand back in surprise.

Liam was already working on the worksheet, seemingly unfazed, as Zayn's heart began to pound so loud he was sure Liam could hear it. Zayn dropped his gaze and opened Romeo and Juliet, taking a quiet breath before turning to the page he had stopped at, he looked over the top of my book at Liam, checking to see how far he was on the worksheet. His eyes drifted up to Liam's face, his eyebrows crinkled in concentration and his chin resting in his hand.

Suddenly, he looked up and met Zayn's gaze.

"What?" he asked.

"N-nothing, Just checking how it's going" Zayn responded, feeling flustered. Liam smirked and lifted his chin out of his hand.