Chapter 8
{Liam}
"The boys were seen with a little toddler, around the age of two, walking out of mini minors, and yesterday they were spotted again with the same boy leaving Pizza Parlor.
The cute little boy seemed really shaken up and in shock, Harry doing the honor of carrying him towards their car. The boys didn't answer any questions, but panic and question marks have broken loose amongst their fans-"
Liam shook his head, shutting the tv off. "Looks like everything is going as it should."
Louis shrugged, stuffing his face with crisps. "I guess so." Harry ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "What about tweeting?"
"Not now." Niall sighed. "We've got to wait after the announcement."
Louis wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and stood up. "Well then, come on. We're getting late for the studio."
Niall shook his head. "What about Zayn? I'm starting to think this is a bad idea. We can't tag him along in everything."
Liam bit his lip, the truth of Niall's words replaying in his mind. "We'll have to find a babysitter."
"He won't trust one." Louis said simply. "Not until he gets used to us. Then maybe we can convince him." Light footsteps were heard, and Zayn appeared on the stairs. His right hand was holding the railing while the other was clutching the wolf he loved so much. "Good morning, little guy." Niall said with a smile.
"Good mowning." Zayn mumbled, climbing on the couch. He rubbed his sleepy eyes with his fist before yawning. "Want to eat some sandwiches?" Liam asked him. Zayn nodded his head, blinking his eyes.
Louis disappeared into the kitchen before arriving seconds later with a plate filled with two sandwiches. He smiled and handed it to Zayn before sitting down beside him. Zayn began to munch on the bread, his small hands gripping the sandwich on either sides.
Harry smiled at him. "We've got some work to do today, so-"
"Who weww doshe people?" Zayn asked suddenly. "Yeshteday, pweople outshide da pijja plache."
Liam exchanged glances with the boys. They couldn't tell Zayn yet, not at least until the world found out about him. "Some weird people who love photography." Louis said, mocking irritation.
"Thewe not vewy niche." Zayn grumbled, taking a bite out of the second sandwich.
Harry chuckled. "No they're not. What other things do you like except comic books, Zayn?"
The toddler looked down, shrugging his small shoulders. "Jayn likesh to daw."
Harry nodded in satisfaction. "We'll buy a drawing book before we get to the studio. That way you won't be bored."
Zayn tilted his head. "Shtudio?"
Louis groaned. "You're very curious aren't you?"
Liam expected the toddler to be offended and shy away, instead Zayn grinned a toothy grin. "Yup!"
Liam felt like awwing, this was cuteness overload. He couldn't wait till his family met Zayn, it would be so fun.
"Come on let's get you dressed up and then we'll leave." Niall said, placing the empty plate on the table.
🍼🍼🍼🍼Zayn🍼🍼🍼🍼
Zayn waited in the car excitedly. They had stopped in front of a bookstore, Harry and Liam leaving to buy him some drawing things.
"Excited, huh?" Louis chuckled.
Zayn didn't answer him, he just stared out of the window for what felt like an hour. Finally the boys arrived, a plastic bag in Liam's hand. The bulky man started the car and drove out on the road. "What did you buy?" Niall asked excitedly, as if it was for him. Harry grinned."A few things."
They arrived at a building a few minutes later. Zayn jumped out of the car along with the boys, and they began to walk towards the building. When they stepped inside, Liam led them towards a big double room at the back.
He glanced around, his mouth forming an 'o'. In front of them stretched out a little room with a bench to sit on, a carpet adoring the floor. A black table like long thing with many buttons sat on the right in front of the glass separating the other room. A door also led in there. The second room had four chairs rested by the wall, microphone stands and a guitar was lying by a stand.
A man walked over to them with a big smile. "Hey boys!"
"Hi Jace." Louis clapped the man on the back, the boys greeting him in a similar way. Jace's eyes landed on Zayn, and the toddler felt himself uncomfortable. He hid behind Louis's legs, turning his gaze down. "And I assume this is the adoptive kid?" Jace asked.
Liam smiled. "Yeah, this is Zayn. Zayn, this is Jace. He's nice."
"Hello." Jace said, kneeling down. Zayn bit his lip, wanting so much to be invisible. Oh how he wished to be invisible, just like the superheroes in his comic books.
Niall cleared his throat. "Well, let's get started."
The boys told Zayn they'd be in the other room while he could use the things Liam and Harry had just bought. Zayn glanced down in the plastic bag. Crayons, pencils, color pencils, sketch pad and a coloring book met his eyes. A wide smile lit his face and he thanked them before turning the plastic bag upside down, emptying it's contents. Zayn pulled out a sharp looking pencil and began to draw on his sketch book. He decided to draw something in the room, and therefore turned his attention to his surroundings.
His eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as he watched the four boys sit on the stools and sing, except he couldn't hear anything. Niall was even playing a guitar. A few papers were set in a stand in front of them, and the boys would occasionally glance at it before resuming. Zayn's eyes darted to Niall's guitar. He smiled as he lowered his pencil to his sketch book.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️Louis⚽️⚽️⚽️
Going through the lyrics one more time, Louis gulped down his water bottle, the other boys following suit. He threw a glance at the other side where Zayn was peacefully drawing, his small legs crossed, leaning back against the wall as he was seated on the carpet.
"He's such an innocent, nice little kid." Jace chuckled. "I thought that with you guys picking, it would be someone who would trash this whole place.
Louis laughed. "I'm not so sure about that. Zayn's just shy, I guess."
The boys stood up and thanked Jace, promising to meet up next week. As they were about to leave the studio, Louis called Zayn out. "Come on, we're leaving."
The toddler packed up, stuffing his things in the plastic bag before running over towards them. When they left the building, rain was pouring down quickly.
"Lovely." Louis muttered.
"I'll tell Mike to bring the car around." Liam said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Zayn tugged on the sleeve of Louis's shirt and the lad looked down. "What do ywou do in thewe?"
Louis shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "We sing."
Zayn tilted his head to the side just as the car came into view. "Come on, let's go."
They quickly climbed inside, and Louis shivered at how cold it had started to become. He glanced at his watch. They'd spent at least three hours at the studio, and his stomach was grumbling like crazy.
"Let's g-g-go to Nandos." Niall stuttered, turning the heater on. He glanced back from the shotgun seat. "What d-do you guys say?
"Yeah, I'm starving." Liam said, rubbing his bare arms. Louis nodded in agreement, glancing at Zayn. The toddler's teeth were chattering, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Louis reached out and pulled his hands out, they were cold. He squeezed them gently, giving them a bit of warmth. Zayn glanced up at him, his eyes curious again. "Do ywou wowk?"
Harry laughed. "Yeah, we do. A lot."
"What ish ywou wowk?" The toddler asked, his hands still in Louis's warm and big ones.
For some reason, Louis felt a sense of satisfaction. Zayn hadn't pulled away, nor did it seemed like he wanted too. Sure, it was probably because his hands were warm, but still.
"We sing." Niall said flatly. Louis shot him a glare, accompanied by Harry and Liam. Zayn was not to know that they were famous, not yet.
Mike chuckled and turned the radio on. Louis sighed in content as the car began to grow warmer and warmer. Suddenly, You and I began to blast and the four boys froze.
Zayn didn't seem to notice the similarity of voices, as his eyes began to droop. He yawned and closed them, his head falling back against the seat.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️Niall⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
The waiter arrived with their food, setting the plates down on the table. Niall immediately attacked his chicken, savoring it's wonderful and curry taste. "Oh, this is great." Louis moaned, his mouth full.
Harry slapped his arm. "No talking with food in your mouth."
"I agree, this is a delight." Niall said, sipping his water. He glanced at Zayn who was rubbing his eyes again, yawning as he did. The toddler began to dig in the chicken, taking small and slow bites. "Isn't it good?" Louis asked him.
Zayn scowled at him, not answering his question. Liam chuckled. "Someone's annoyed."
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's a normal procedure everyone goes through when Louis William Tomlinson is the one to wake you up."
Louis grinned at Zayn. "Hey, you would have been hungry later." Zayn rolled his eyes, gripping the glass with his hands.
Niall couldn't help but laugh at Zayn's attempt at an attitude, the boys joining in.
Louis grinned, ruffling the toddler's hair. Niall's eyes widened.
Zayn still didn't seem to appreciate any kind of physical contact.
Just as expected Zayn's scowl deepened, and he glared at Louis, rubbing his tired eyes.
Niall decided it was best that as soon as they got home, Zayn went to bed.
They left Nandos an hour later, the boys laughing, Zayn scowling. The toddler's eyes had begun to droop again, and Niall was afraid he might collapse then and there.
"Oh, great." Liam groaned, staring at his phone. "We'll have to run to the car, Mike can't take it out of the parking lot."
Niall pulled the hood of his jacket up, nodding. They sprung out, the rain pouring hastily around them. A cold wind blew and Niall shivered, promising himself a cup of hot chocolate when he they arrived home. Just then he heard a splash behind him, and he turned around. Zayn had tripped and fallen right into a water dam. The toddler staggered to his feet, and Niall ran over to him. He pulled Zayn up, carrying him the rest of the way. He climbed inside the car, sighing in relief as warm heated air hit him. "What happened, where were you guys?" Liam asked.
"Z-Z-Zayn f-fell." Niall tried to explain.
He glanced at the wet toddler who was freezing badly, his teeth shattering.
Liam leaned forward and took Zayn's jacket off. "Come here." Niall lifted the toddler and handed him to Liam. Mike blasted the heaters to a full, Zayn still shivering. Niall couldn't help it himself as his teeth chattered. "W-worst -w-weather ev-ver."
Harry took off his cozy coat, encasing Zayn in it's lovely warmth. Niall thanked Liam as he gave his own jacket to him. Minutes later, he felt himself nodding off. He threw a glance at Zayn to see that the toddler was already asleep, leaning heavily against Louis.
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How was the chapter? Thanks for the lovely comments in the previous one! Can't wait to start writing the next chappie 😏
xx