His Perfect Match (Liam Payne AU)

Part 5 - Liam

Liam followed her all over the store, spending more money than he wanted to because he liked her smile. She was cute. She was helpful. Stop, Liam, he told himself. She's also young.

They paid for everything and headed next door, to the subway, to order lunch. Liam went first, ordering Jackie's tuna sub with lettuce, cucumbers and extra, extra mayo and his meatball sub, nothing else. No veggies. He motioned for Alex to order. She ordered ham and cheese with lettuce and mustard. "No veggies?" Liam asked.

"Uh, not a fan of tomatoes? Or peppers? And cucumbers don't belong on a sandwich?" Alex answered.

Liam felt himself smile again. "Right? Like, excuse me? Cucumbers are for dipping." Jackie and he had this argument every time they came here. Liam paid for the sandwiches and walked over to the drinks. "Jackie gets Coke Zero. What do you want?"

"Same." Alex said. Liam nodded, filled the cups, stuck them in a tray and walked out to the car. He opened the back and Alex set the teacher supplies in, then headed to the front.

"Get in and I'll hand you the drinks." He said. Alex jumped in and reached for the drinks. Her hand brushed his and he felt a spark. He gasped and looked up, into her eyes, which were, indeed, green.

She was looking back, blushing. "I've got them." she said.

Liam nodded and let go. He wasn't ready for this, for her. He had just gotten divorced. She was too young. But, damn, was she ever right for him.

Back at the school, they all sat, eating lunch, in Liam's room. Alex ran to turn on the laminator and Jackie said to Liam, "So? What do you think?"

Liam shrugged. "She's nice. Helpful. Why?"

Jackie slugged him. "You know why, dumbass." she said.

"I'm not ready, Jack. You know that. I just got divorced. She's too young anyhow." he said.

"Uh, you've been separated since I met you. And you dated that witch, Michelle, last year. This is a nice girl and she's 24. I know you'll like her." Jackie said.

"Set her up with Harry." Liam griped.

"Harry is gay." Jackie replied.

Liam slumped. "I know. Just, don't expect much, okay? You aren't my mother. You don't have to find me a wife."

"One, yes I am. And two, yes I do. And I did. Mark my words, right now. She is perfect for you, Liam. Completely perfect."

The door on the other side of Liam's room popped open. "Hey, Ladies, where is my sub?"

Liam stood up and walked over, hand out. "Harry! My man! How's it hanging?" They grasped hands and chest bumped, using their other hands to pat each other on the back.

"A little to the left, man. Heya, Jack! Stand up. Let me see!" Harry said.

Jackie stood and did a little turn, rubbing her belly and smiling. "I look pretty good, right?"

Harry nodded. "Sure do, babe. How's Niall doing?" Just then, Alex walked back into the room. "Woah. And who is this?" he asked.

Alex smiled. "Hi! I'm Alex. Student Teacher." She gave him a small wave.

Harry nodded. "Nice."

Jackie started making introductions. "Alex, this is Harry. 5th grade. From the end of the hallway it goes, Ms. Brower, Harry, Liam, Us. Across the hall is the 3rd grade. The little kids are on the other side of the office. You'll need to get to know Harry. We work with him a lot."

Alex looked at her confused. "Why?"

Harry spoke up. "Because Ms. Brower is a bitch. She hates me because I'm gay, darling. She likes to tell all of the parents, even though she's been ordered to stop on several occasions. So, I get all the bad kids and she gets all of the requests. It's okay, though. It could be worse. I could be Liam. He gets all the single moms who forget to wear a bra." Harry shuddered. "Can't wait until that woman retires. I want her room. Right by the recess doors? Yes, please!" he laughed and grabbed Liam's chips. "So, what's happening?"

Liam was thrilled when Jackie decided to go home and put her feet up. Her decorations were done. Alex stayed and helped Liam put up all of his. She even wrote the names on all of the tags because he didn't like his own handwriting. "Thanks for staying." he said. "Will you be back tomorrow? Tomorrow, I'm pulling everything out of the cupboards and putting everything where is goes?"

Alex nodded. "Yep. Jackie wants me here at 8am!"

Liam laughed. "Well, I won't be in that early, but I'll see you tomorrow then?" Then he kicked himself. He sounded like an overeager teenager. He needed to stop acting that way. He was going to give her false hope. "Also, on Friday? It's my birthday? Jackie and Harry are coming? So are a bunch of other teachers? You are invited, too. Around 5? Swimming, BBQ? Give me your phone. I'll put in my info." Alex handed him her phone and he typed in the name, number and address. He handed it back and nodded. "Ok." he said. "Tomorrow." He walked her out to her car and waved as she drove away, wondering what he was doing. He didn't need a girlfriend or a wife, despite what Jackie thought.

"Yo, Payne!" Harry called, walking out of the building. "She's cute."

"She's young." he said.

Harry shrugged. "Young is relative once you hit your 20's."

Liam nodded. "Except I'm 30. On Friday."

"Man. Stop. She's cute. She likes you. Ask her out."

"And when we break up or it doesn't work out? How weird will that be? She's here until after Jackie has the baby." Liam told Harry.

Harry nodded. "Good Point. Well, just wait. And see what happens."

See what happens, Liam thought. I guess I can do that.