TW: mention of child abuse.
"Hi, I'm Niall!"
A guy of his age sat next to Liam, who was busy doodling on the last page of his notebook. So far since he sat in his new class, this guy was the first and the only one to approach him.
Liam has always been too shy to openly talk to new people. Louis and Harry had been the ones who approached him too.
"Hi, I'm Liam Payne"
"Oh you're British, I'm from Ireland. Well you would've guessed it by my accent, you don't know how happy I am to meet you, we're basically neighbours"
Liam chuckled a bit because of Niall's blabbering. It reminded him of Louis suddenly. He was sure if both of them will meet, the duo will be the most chaotic.
"I'm doing my major in business administration. But you know they make us attend these English classes, like, hello mate, I do know English, better than you!"
Niall was going on and on. But Liam didn't mind it one bit. At least he'll have one friend because he thought he would be incapable of finding a good friend.
"Good morning students! Welcome to NYU"
The loud voice of the professor made Liam jump in his seat. Niall chuckled beside him, ruffling his curls. A pretty pink blush spread through Liam's cheeks as he looked down.
All his life only Louis and Harry had pampered him like this. Maybe Niall is really just like them.
He diverted his attention to the professor who had just entered the classroom.
The class started with the introductions of all the students. He found that his classmates were from different parts of the world, it was the first time he saw such cultural diversity.
He has been in New York for the last one week, and to say things were tough for him would most definitely be correct.
One of the things he wanted was to stay in the dorm with his new roommate. Being a single child, he has always felt lonely. And even though he had his friends to keep him company, he sometimes wished he had a sibling with whom he could bicker, share stuff and of course he would love them immensely.
He had thought that living with a roommate would be a new experience. But Mikhael crushed that wish also.
He had already booked an apartment for Liam. Of course Andrew and Zayn would be with him.
And don't get him started with the dark haired man. Zayn was again giving him a cold shoulder. Liam doesn't understand what goes inside that beautiful and handsome head, one minute he was nice to him but the next minute, he was back to the silent treatment.
Andrew is the only one who tries to make small talk with him. From Zayn, all he gets is deadly silence. But Liam has also learnt to ignore him, he has come here in a new city to have a change in his life, so he won't sit back and sulk just because the guy he likes doesn't acknowledge his existence.
The class ended pretty soon as it was the first one of the day. Niall sadly parted his ways from Liam, but not before exchanging numbers.
Now it was just him. He saw everyone dispersing out of the classroom. Thankfully he had a break, his next class would start around noon only.
The moment he stepped out of the classroom, he saw his two bodyguards there waiting for him. It still feels weird to him when he calls them like this.
Liam now knew how influential Mikhael is. The man got the permission from the university authorities about Liam's protection and his need of bodyguards.
Only the authorities knew the truth about Liam, but the guy was afraid that his classmates will also get to know the reality. He wanted a normal life, wanted to get away from his previous life, but Mikhael was always one step ahead of him.
The confidence he had about his new life and new start had dwindled a bit when he came to his university in the morning. Those scrutinized gazes of the people around him had made him look small in his own eyes.
It felt weird to walk down the hallways with two built men beside you. Everyone was eyeing him and murmured among themselves. He wanted to hide somewhere, where no one could see him.
He soon reached the cafeteria, and turned around to face the two men with him.
"Can you at least leave me alone here. I want to have my food in peace"
"We have clear orders Mr Payne. We will be with you all the time except for in classes. We can't disobey our boss" Zayn said in a monotone voice.
"It's just a cafeteria and these people don't even know me. Do you really expect someone to attack me or something? Besides you both can also have a free time, you must be so bored looking at my face for so long"
"We are not going anywhere. This is our job, to protect you" This time Zayn said a little impatiently.
Before Liam could say anything back, Andrew came to his rescue.
"It's alright Zayn. We could have a break, let Liam have his breakfast with his friends. We'll be waiting for you here only when you're done"
Andrew was definitely his saviour.
Beaming his beautiful smile, Liam gave a smug look at the dark haired man and went inside the cafeteria without any further thoughts.
His steps faltered once he entered. All commotion stopped and every pair of eyes was on him.
Some were judgy, some curious and some had a mischievous glint in them.
He went straight to the counter and took his plate. He got whatever he needed and searched for a place to sit. Now that everyone was back to normal, he silently took a seat where no one was there, avoiding any eyes on him.
He was checking through his Instagram, seeing that Niall had sent him a request, and having his breakfast when he realised someone sat in front of him. He looked up and saw a blond girl and a brunette guy there.
"Umm, Hi" Liam mumbled as he had just taken a bite of sandwich.
The girl giggled, "Aww, you're so cute", She had ocean blue eyes and curly blond hair, she looked really beautiful.
The curly haired boy's ears turned red and he was sure his cheeks heated up too. The guy was not even looking at him, his gaze was either on the girl or the floor.
"Well, let me do the introductions! I'm Tracy and this is my best friend, Greg. We're in our second year, and you must be a fresher right?"
"Hi, I'm Liam and yes I'm new here"
Then their conversation was pretty chill and Liam actually talked to her without any hesitation. Tracy was quite talkative but her friend was not, he was just picking on his food, not even eating anything.
Liam noticed though that the guy, Greg, kept stealing glances at Tracy. And the curly haired boy could smell a little jealousy too. But he let that detail slide for the time being.
After breakfast they both went back to their classes, leaving Liam alone. And of course Tracy had exchanged their numbers. One thing Liam realised in such short interaction with the girl is that she loves to talk.
Greg, on the other hand, was a closed book. But Liam felt that with time they could be good friends too.
Soon he too left the cafeteria and his two bodyguards were on their heels behind him.
"You two have no life", Liam muttered under his breath.
"My life is my job Mr Payne, and it is to protect you. Sorry we don't have a rich fiance like yours who can provide for us, while we do nothing. Not everyone is as lucky as you", Zayn said quite annoyed, but what he failed to notice was the hurt in Liam's eyes.
The curly haired boy held in the tears that had welled up in his eyes. But Andrew was not as oblivious as Zayn.
"Zayn, mind your words. He's practically our boss, you can't say something like this"
The dark haired man spared a glance at Liam but didn't apologize.
"I'm going to my next class"
"But it's at 1 only Liam, you still have time"
"Then I'll sit in the library, please don't follow me there also", He didn't wait for their reply and sprinted off from there.
The words didn't actually hurt him, but those hurtful words coming from Zayn had impacted him more. The same Zayn who made jokes with him, whom Liam was getting to know more slowly before things got fucked up.
The same Zayn who had kissed him under that moonlight and made Liam feel the most special person in the entire universe, thinks so low of him.
He didn't know where he was going, his eyes were a bit blurry, so he couldn't even see properly. Suddenly he bumped into someone. The person held him by his waist so he couldn't fall.
Liam opened his teary eyes as he realised it was Greg.
"A-are you okay Liam?"
The boy nodded and stood up properly, "I'm sorry I didn't see you"
"It's alright. Um, here"
Liam looked at Greg's hands as the guy offered him his handkerchief. A soft giggle left his pink lips as he took the kerchief, "Thank you, it's just that-"
"You don't have to explain anything to me. We all have good days and bad days", Greg shrugged and they both started walking.
"I thought you had class" Liam asked.
"I didn't want to go, so I was actually going to the terrace. No one goes there, especially this building"
"Do you mind if I join you? My class will start at 1 only and I don't know anywhere else to go"
Before Greg could reply, Zayn and Andrew rushed towards them. Liam could see the dark haired man's frown when he saw Liam and his friend close to each other.
"We were searching for you Liam. Please don't ever run away like that" Andrew scolded him, but there was an affection behind those words.
While Zayn who stood beside Andrew looked like he was ready to kill Greg. Maybe their closeness was bothering him. Why? Liam doesn't have any answer for that. More importantly, he didn't want to think too much about it and get his hopes up only for them to shatter later.
"I'm sorry but I was just going to meet my friend here. Greg, this is Andrew and Zayn, um they are my.." Liam didn't want to tell the entire truth to Greg. They were still strangers and he didn't want to be treated differently.
"We are his bodyguards and if I find you crossing a line with him or hurting him or even getting too close to him, that will be the last day you're alive", Zayn's voice was a bit loud and Greg visibly flinched in his place.
"Zayn!"
Liam quickly looked at his friend who was pale as a ghost, "Greg, it's true that they are my bodyguards but believe me they won't do anything he just said"
Greg didn't dare to look at the dark haired man, he fixed his trembling gaze at the curly haired boy who held his hands tightly, hoping to calm him down.
"C-can I leave? I don't want to be here", He said so lowly that even Liam couldn't hear him properly.
"Yes of course we'll leave. You go to the terrace, I'll be there in a few minutes" Liam calmly replied but inside he was bubbling with anger. He watched as his friend took shaky steps and turned around the corner, finally disappearing from his sight.
Soon Liam's furious gaze met with Zayn's hazel ones.
"You've got to stop doing this. Let me live my life in peace Zayn. Every fucking time you are there to ruin things for me, first it was Jacob and now Greg, who is just my friend, nothing else. And why do you keep interfering in my life, you are just my bodyguard right? You yourself said that, so just remember it for the next time, you're nothing more than that"
He finally spoke his heart out. All the times the dark haired man had hurt him came back to his memories. And he was relieved that he said those words to Zayn because it was high time that the guard realised his mistake too.
He stepped a little closer to Zayn, "And next time keep your jealousy in your pants if you can't act on it"
He left from there in search of his friend, leaving a dumbfounded Zayn and a very confused Andrew behind. He found Greg at the terrace after a few minutes as Liam himself didn't know the correct way.
"You alright?"
Greg nodded his head but his eyes were still a little teary, "You must be thinking why an eighteen year old got so scared of a threat that was not even that serious"
"I'm no one to judge anyone Greg. And as you already said, everyone has their good days and bad days"
"I was four years old when my dad first hit me. He came home drunk that night, and I just wanted to show him the drawing I had made of our family. But before I could show him, he just slapped me. My mom came in between us and they both started yelling at each other. I couldn't even understand what was going on, but what I realised that day was, that I was never going to draw a family picture again"
Liam didn't interrupt him once and Greg continued.
"Then their fights started regularly. I used to hide in the closet at night because I couldn't sleep as their shouts could be heard in my room and my four year old self couldn't bear the fact that my loving parents were fighting"
"Soon they got divorced but that left a big impact on me, till this day I'm afraid of loud noises. Even though my father doesn't live with us anymore, even though he hit me only once, he still haunts me Liam, I can see him in my nightmares, hitting me, beating me up. Till this day I don't know what wrong me and my mom did to him"
Liam hugged him tightly and rubbed his back. He can't even imagine how much Greg must have suffered. He could only offer his comfort and support to his friend.
"Everything will work out Greg. You just have to be strong, for yourself and for your mom. Even if that monster comes back into your life, I know you have the courage to face him, you are brave in your own way"
Greg sniffled softly and pulled away, "You are the only person apart from Tracy who knows about this, please don't tell this to anyone else Liam"
"It's not my story Greg. And of course I won't tell anyone, I can assure you that"
They both gazed at the scorching sun, "So this is your safe place"
"Yeah, whenever I feel low I just come here. Sometimes Tracy also accompanies me"
"So are you and Tracy like something?"
Greg gave him a sad smile, "No, she just thinks of me as her best friend. Even though we are childhood friends, she never saw how much I care about her, how much it hurt me to see her with someone else"
"It's alright Greg, with time I'm sure she'll also see the truth. True love always wins"
Greg just hummed first, but then a mischievous smile bloomed on his lips, "And what about you? I saw someone was damn jealous back there. Holy shit I forgot, they are your bodyguards? I mean who the hell are you man, even the rich kids here don't have that privilege"
Liam felt like he should be transparent with Greg. The guy just told him about his greatest fear, and Liam felt like he could trust him.
So he told his story too. And by the end of it, Greg was shocked. But Liam didn't feel like his friend judged him. Greg was supportive and promised to be with him and help him in anything he needs.
Liam was happy we found a friend like him. Even though he missed his friends back home terribly, he felt that this new start, new friends won't be such a bad thing as he had imagined.
First there was Niall, a fluffy ball of sunshine, then Tracy, a free spirit and lastly Greg, in whom he could confide easily.
Life here in a new city won't be as problematic as he had initially thought. And even though there will be many ups and downs, he was fucking ready for anything.
Mikhael can go to hell, he won't be able to stop Liam from living his life. And even though Zayn's presence will bother him, he can't do anything in that case. He will have to learn how to deal with the dark haired man as he did today.
Suddenly an idea popped up in his mind.
"Greg"
"Hmm"
"Do you want Tracy to know what she's missing out on?"
Greg was first confused but then his eyes lit up when he finally understood what the curly haired boy meant.
"What's going on in that head of yours Liam Payne?"
"A plan that will help the both of us"
Liam couldn't wait to teach Zayn a lesson. He isn't a fool to understand that the guard has feelings for him and if Zayn won't do anything about it, Liam will definitely do something.
And what better way to make your crush jealous. It's the oldest trick that always works out.
But will it be in his case?
...................................................................
Huge apologies for the delay guys, I tried my best in this chapter and I really hope I get your support to continue this book..
Things will get interesting further on and yes you will see jelly Zayn..
See you in next update!!