Back to Where We Started

Chapter 22

Thankfully, Zayn didn't have long to dwell on how to address the pair since they were all pulled from their thoughts by Harry stirring awake. After throwing one last look toward Louis stood in the corner, Niall made his way over to sit next to Harry.

"Mornin' again, Haz. Sleep well?" Niall asked with a gentle smile.

"Mhmm," Harry mumbled, knuckling the sleep out of his eyes.

While Niall took it upon himself to help coax Harry out of his sleepy state, Zayn turned to Liam. "How about you and I see what we can put together for breakfast?"

For a moment, it looked as though Liam was going to argue against that plan. However, after a quick glance toward Louis, nodded his head in agreement.

"What's going on?" Harry asked once he'd finally noticed Louis standing in the corner.

Smiling conspiratorially, clearly over whatever he'd been feeling after Louis had first been put in the corner, Niall leaned into Harry's side and caught him up on the events he'd missed while he'd been sleeping. Zayn kept an ear on the conversation, amused to hear the boys so animated over the situation.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zayn caught Louis shifting from foot to foot as he stood in the corner. It was hard not to feel bad for the lad. Here he was, the oldest, with his nose stuck in a corner. Despite the fact that Niall had clearly been teasing when he suggested that, had he been the one to do what Louis had, he'd have ended up in trouble, it was true. The only reason they had the arrangement they did with the younger boys was because Zayn and Louis had learned to reign in their behavior. Well, for the most part. Clearly, he and Louis needed to pay better attention to their own behavior and set the right example if they expected the other boys to do the same.

Hardening his heart, after a quick glance at the clock to note the time, Zayn forced himself to direct his attention to the task of helping Liam find something suitable for breakfast. "What are our options, Li?" He asked.

Liam scanned the refrigerator before answering, "Our options are sort of limited given that the bus is still moving."

"Mmm," Zayn hummed in agreement.

After thinking for a moment, Liam decided to poke through the cabinets. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, and once he did, he retrieved it set it down on the counter. "How about waffles?" he asked. "Should be easy enough to cook up a bunch of those. I think we've got some pre-cut fruit in the fridge too."

Zayn nodded his head in agreement. "Sounds easy enough."

For the next several minutes, Liam and Zayn worked side by side in companionable silence. Zayn considered trying to engage Liam in conversation, but every time he looked at the younger lad to address him, it was as if Liam was making a pointed effort to keep to himself, refusing to look his way.

Shaking his head in slight exasperation, Zayn couldn't help but wish Liam would just tell him what was bothering him. It was clear that something was on his mind.

'Maybe he's just feeling impatient about waiting for Louis and me to talk to him about what he'd asked the other day?' Zayn thought to himself. Convinced that that's what it must be, Zayn resolved to make sure he and Louis pulled Liam aside to let him know what they'd decided.

That decision made, Zayn glanced at the clock once more, only to find that Louis was due to be released from the corner. Zayn cleared his throat and addressed the oldest. "Right, Lou. I think you've got the picture now." He watched as Louis shifted about once more before screwing up the courage to turn and face the rest of them. Smiling gently, he continued, "Breakfast is almost ready, 'cept for the tea. I'd make it myself, but we all know you make it best. Would you mind doing that?"

Quickly bouncing back to his normal self, Louis threw a cocky grin at Zayn. "You got that right."

Once the waffles were ready, the boys made quick work of setting the food on the table. As they'd suspected, Paul had made sure to get them some pre-chopped fruit so they didn't have to worry about trying to use sharp knives on a moving bus.

"Thanks for making breakfast." Niall said around a mouthful of waffle.

Before Zayn or Liam could reply, Louis admonished, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Ni."

"It's really good," Harry agreed.

"Thank you, boys," said Zayn. "Everyone eat up before it gets cold."

None of them needed to be told twice, and before long, the five of them sat before empty plates, their stomachs sated.

"Ugh, I don't want to move." Niall groaned.

Louis snorted a laugh. "Sorry to hear that, Ni, because you and Harry are going to be cleaning up since Liam and Zayn did the cooking."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Harry asked.

"Probably sitting on his arse." Liam grumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Louis asked, hearing perfectly well what the lad had said.

Liam focused his attention on his hands, finding them very interesting. The remaining four boys sat in a tense silence, no one knowing how to react to Liam's out of character behavior.

Coming to his senses, Zayn finally broke the tension. "Right, Liam, I want you to go and wait for us in the back lounge, please."

Liam's head snapped up at that. He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could do so, Zayn cut him off. "Now, Liam James."

Snapping his mouth shut, Liam huffed before scooting out of the booth and stomping off to the back lounge. Louis and Zayn shared a look before turning their attention to the two youngest.

"What's going on with Li?" Harry asked quietly. It was unlike Liam to be so rude and blatantly disrespectful, and Harry was feeling thrown off by it.

"Don't you worry your curly little head about it, Haz." Louis teased lightly. "Zayn and I will get to the bottom of it and we'll have our happy Liam back before you know it."

Harry nodded, eyebrows furrowed. He really would have liked to press the matter, but knew better than to argue. From the very beginning, there was an understanding between the five of them that, when one of them was in trouble, the others weren't to pry.

"Right, boys. Why don't you focus on cleaning this up and then work on getting ready for the day, ok?"

"Ok," Harry and Niall agreed.

Satisfied that the boys were going to do as they'd been asked, Zayn and Louis headed to the back lounge, where they found Liam sat on the couch with a scowl on his face. 

A/N: I'd like to say thank you to onedirection131301 for the comment. You always seem to know when to check in and give me the encouragement I need to finish up whatever chapter I'm working on!

Regarding this chapter, it was a short one, but I promise that the next chapter is almost ready to be posted! I just needed to find a good way to break it up. 

Thank you to everyone still reading!