Prologue
Harry licks ice-cream off his fingers with his small tongue. “Meow! Meow!” He trills, giggling, kitten licking off the sticky substance. Liam giggles, licks a paper towel, and helps Harry clean his hands. “I’m a cat! A big daddy cat! Growl!” Harry puts his hands into claws and rakes them through the air.
“I’ll be the mommy cat,” Liam says, and presses a sloppy kiss to Harry’s cheeks, petting back his curls with his pudgy little hands. “Meow, meow!” Liam whispers, “Meow, meow!”
“Or I could be a great big T-rex!” Liam said, smiling wide, his brown eyes twinkling. Harry crosses his small arms over his chest. He sticks out his pouty bottom lip and frowns. Liam puts down his arms and grins.
“Or I can be a momma cat, with you, if you’d like that.” Liam is always a childish people pleaser.
“I would! I would! I’d like that!” Harry shouts!
The boys swing their five year old feet off the side of the patio. It’s a warm day in Oklahoma for the childish duo, missing their friend Louis, who was home making cookies with his grandmother. The two held hands and finished off their ice creams, as they watched a white movers van pull into the house across the lot. Out came a little boy, he was in a weird chair, and someone was pushing him. The boy in the chair had his hands on the big wheels, like truck wheels!, Harry thought. Harry thought of how much fun it’d be to be pushed all around and down hills!
But Liam wasn’t smiling.
“Weum?” Harry fake begged. “Weeeuuummmm?”
“Yeah?” Liam said, twisting their hands and watching a dark haired boy push the little chair up the driveway and into the house. The boy in the chair had yellow hair, like a candle, and big eyes. His feet were twisted.
“Liam did someone twist his feet?” Harry asked of the boy in the chair, getting heaved around.
“I don’t know.” Liam’s eyebrows are pulled together in confusion, “I mean, it looks like it.”
“He looks like an elf!” Harry said. The boy had been rather small and pale in his little chair with his driver.
“Shhh, Harry that’s mean. Let’s get some more ice-cream.” Liam got up and led Harry away by the hand.
~…~
Niall had been paralyzed from the waist down since the car crash. Both of his parents had passed away, the car struck by a drunk driver, and Niall was forced into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was adopted by the Malik’s, an Islamic family.
Niall and Zayn, his older brother, had immediately hit it off. Zayn was a singer, a shy, energetic little man and Niall was a chatter box. Zayn could be his legs, and Niall, his mouth. Zayn didn’t even mind pushing Niall’s wheelchair around.
Yazer had gotten a new job in Oklahoma, thousands of miles away from home, which was Bradford. Niall had spent the first five years of his life in Mullingar, a few miles away from Dublin, the capitol of Ireland. Since he managed to pick up the Irish tongue, he sounded even more out of place in the dark skinned, dark haired Malik family.
Niall had even bleached his hair, trying to forget his past, forget walking and dancing and spinning. Thinking about it hurt his heart, sharp pains. He wanted to walk again.
Zayn continued to push him around the house for viewing.
“Are you alright, Nialler?” Zayn whispered next to Niall’s ear, gently kissing the patch of skin. Niall squirmed and giggled, it was his, “tickle spot,”. The brothers we’re very close. They kissed and touched and giggled on dark nights. They were, one, and together, they were infinite.
“I’m good, Zaynie.” Niall said. He reached behind his head to lay his hand on Zayn’s. “I’m okay here.”
“Promise me you’ll tell me if you stop being okay here?” Zayn said, petting Niall’s hair softly. “Tomorrow we can play.”
“I promise!” Niall trilled. He flapped his arms. Zayn’s mum and dad came in, and immediately Zayn shut his mouth. He was silent around his parents, in fear of messing up. He was afraid of them, in a way. And Niall understood, petting his hand as Zayn pushed them towards the kitchen.
“I promise.” Niall repeated to ease Zayn’s ill hearted mind.
YOU ARE READING
When You Must -Lirry & Ziall-
AdventureZayn's likes to eat alone, sleep alone, drink his freshly ground black coffee in the morning alone, likes to dance alone, listen to music alone, but he doesn't actually fancy being lonely; but ever since the death of his handicapped younger brother...
