Loners || Ziam AU

Prologue

Liam's eyes widened, and his mouth was left opened once again, seeming like a habit that he recently picked up. "Louis' coming?!" He asked, almost jumping up from his chair in excitement. It had been almost a year since he'd seen his best friend, and any time with him seemed as rare and amazing as winning the lottery.

Karen chuckled and sat down in the chair in front of Liam, her breakfast settled in front of her. "Yes hunny, I knew you missed him tons; you guys were basically inseparable as children." The memories that the two shared made a soft smile spread across Liam's pink lips, as he remembered them as if it was yesterday. It was amazing that even though they were completely different from each other, they still made their friendship work. Liam helped Louis in his studies, considering the boy struggled from his dyslexia and stayed back a grade, while Louis taught him how to have fun and enjoy life to its fullest.

"Oh, I almost forgot," his mother spoke, as she hurriedly stood up from her chair. Liam watched as she walked over to her bag, which sat upon the table. Her manicured nails searched through the jungle inside of it, until she walked back with a stack of pink papers in her hands and a smile playing on her lips.

Karen dropped the papers in front of Liam, who stared at it curiously. "What's this?" He asked, and reached over for a sheet. He continued skimming through the words written on the paper, until he stopped once he saw the word 'invited.'

"Invitations for your friends," Karen replied casually, as she brought the fork up to her mouth, the piece of pancake sliding on top of her tongue. As soon as the words left her mouth, Liam swallowed deeply and a familiar fear welcomed itself back into his body.

"Invitations?" He stuttered out, daring himself to look back at his mother, who was staring at him like he had two heads. The thing was, Liam's parents didn't know that Liam was a loner. An antisocial introvert, who spends his days browsing the Internet, rather than hanging with friends. But Liam didn't even know why they had this idea that he was strangely popular among his peers. Honestly, it's not like he brags about his friends to them or goes over his texting limit. He does nothing that can prove their theory correct and Liam thinks that they should stop assuming things that aren't true.

"Yes Liam, invitations. If we're going to spend money on your party, might as well invite your friends, right?" And how was Liam supposed to explain to her that he doesn't necessarily have friends. He did have a reputation to withhold, and blurting out the truth wouldn't exactly help his case.

"I don't think you should spend so much money on me, mum. I don't want a party at all, it could just be Louis, our family, and some snacks. I mean, we just moved and this is just another thing to add to your expenses." He added, and fought the urge to smirk. His clever reasoning was sure to make his mother change her mind.

"Liam James. Money is our problem, not yours. Your father and I have taken on extra shifts to make sure you guys don't have to worry about anything, so don't you dare start. Now, run along to school and hand these invitations out to all your friends. They're going to be so excited, because trust me dear, your party is going to be the hippest one on the block."

Liam had expected a heartwarming agreement, maybe a little praising for being such a great son, not a scolding. No matter how kind his parents were being, he still couldn't find himself to give in to this party idea. So with a frown, Liam stood up from his chair, almost knocking the bowl over in the process. Grabbing his bag, he left the invitations on the table and hurried towards the front door. Quickly, Liam put some worn down sneakers on, pet Loki's head and placed his hand on the doorknob, before a stern voice stopped him.

He turned around to see his mother standing there with an amused look on her face, and the stack of papers in her hands. "Forgetting something?" She raised an eyebrow and Liam groaned as she shoved the papers into his hands. As he turned to open the door again, a hand on his shoulder stopped him once again. "Remember, I will know if you don't hand them out. And tell Mrs. Ridler that I said hello."