"Here we are, boo," Liam gently said as the family of five approached the door to Ms. Zoe's rooms.
Louis took a shaky breath before nodding. So, Liam took that at his signal to knock on the door. Zoe opened it not a minute later and greeted the family with a smile.
"Hello! And hello to you again, Louis. Are you ready for today?" Zoe greeted. Louis gave a shy smile and nodded. "Yes, Ms. Zoe," he said. She smiled and replied, "That's great! Well, your name is on one of those cubbies over there, so you can place your things in it and then go sit by Stan. There's a name tag on your place beside his."
Louis gave a nod in response and turned to say goodbye. Liam pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. "Bye, boo. Remember to go to Baba's classroom when your school is over," he said. Louis nodded and stuck his arms out for Zayn. He pulled the small boy in for a hug and also kissed his cheek. "I love you, baby. Remember, if you feel upset, you can come to my classroom," Zayn said. Louis again just gave another nod and hugged back. "Bye, baba," he said. He was about to go in when Harry whimpered. Louis turned back to Harry with a small frown. "S'okay, Hazza. You're gonna have fun with Ni and we can play later," he told his little brother with a hug. Harry nodded into Louis' shoulder and let go so that Louis could go inside.
"Okay, I can go in now."
So Liam and Zayn left their first child in his classroom. And honestly, they were pretty sure they were more upset about it than Louis was.
Next up was Harry and Niall. However, they decided to walk them inside the classroom.
"Hello, Cher," Zayn greeted as they walked inside the open door. "Hello, Zayn. How are these little lovelies today?" Cher replied, smiling down at the two boys. "We're good! We just dropped my brother off at his room so I was a little sad but it's okay 'cause we're gonna seem 'im later," Harry replied in one breath. Cher chuckled at the young boy and reached down to ruffle his hair. "Sounds fun! Are you two ready for school?" Cher asked enthusiastically as she knelt down in front of the two. Harry and Niall both nodded, Harry's being a bit more enthusiastic than Niall's, but it was okay because it was just nerves. But then Zayn heard the bell signaling that everyone needed to get to class, so he knew they needed to leave soon.
"Hey, boys, come say bye," Liam said. Harry began to walk forward and into Liam's arms. However, Niall was frozen in his spot. Goodbye? Weren't they staying with them? "Ni, come say bye," Zayn said. At first, Zayn just thought Niall was frowning, but then he noticed Niall's little chest start to rapidly move up and down, and that's when he knew the little boy was about to cry. "Hey, hey, what is it?" Zayn asked as he walked towards the blue eyed boy who now had tears streaming down his face. By now, Liam and Harry also had their attention on Niall, so they could all see him crying. Zayn bent down in front of him and pulled him into his shoulder, shushing him. "What is it, baby? What's wrong?" Zayn questioned. He heard Niall hiccup, and then a quiet voice said, "Y-you're leaving. D-didn't know you were gonna leave me." Liam and Zayn shared a look, then Zayn picked the tiny boy up and held him to his chest.
"Baby, I thought you knew we had to leave."
Zayn felt Niall shake his head. "Y-you stayed last time," Niall hiccuped. And Liam and Zayn would be lying if they said that didn't break their hearts. Niall thought they'd be staying since they were there while they toured the school.
Zayn sighed as he heard his first bell ring. "Baby, we love you so much, but we have to go. You're gonna sit next to Hazza and you're going to have so much fun!" Zayn coaxed. Niall sniffled, but he knew he had to do this, so he brought his head up from Zayn's shoulder and nodded.
"You good, baby?"
This question received a head nod in reply, then the two kids said goodbye to the father they hadn't said goodbye to. Cher, who had watched the whole scene unfold, then grabbed each boys' hand and looked down toward them. "You boys wanna go out your stuff in your cubby? Yours are right beside each other and so are your seats!" She exclaimed. Harry excitedly nodded, and Niall gave a hesitant nod in reply, so Cher smiled and started to lead them to the cubby holes where all the other kids' items remained. Before Liam and Zayn exited though, she quickly turned around and mouthed, "I've got this."
As Zayn lately made his way towards his classroom, Liam grabbed his hand. "Hey, they're going to be okay," he said. Zayn let out a sigh. "I know, but Niall's reaction broke my heart. I hope he does fine today." Liam gave a sympathetic smile, knowing exactly how his husband felt because he felt the same way. He rubbed his thumb on the back of Zayn's hand and said, "It'll be okay. I love you." Zayn smiled and realized they were now at his classroom door. "I love you too," he said. He almost walked through the open door, but Liam pulled him back and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "See ya later, babe," he said. Zayn blushed and headed into his classroom. However, he forgot that 16 year olds are quite nosy, so he walked into his classroom to be greeted by a chorus of "ooooo!"'s.
"Oh shut it or I'll drop all your grades," Zayn jokingly scolded.
But apparently nobody knew he was joking and everyone wanted to keep their grades, because the next thing Zayn knew, he had a silent first period.
+
As the day drags on, Zayn can't help but to think about his kids.
Did Louis get along with Stan? Was he becoming the class clown with his adorable laugh and unmistakable sass? Did Harry look after Niall? Did he learn his ABC's like he'd been determined to? Was Niall still crying? Was he having a good time?
It was thoughts like these and more that kept distracting Zayn during his lessons. But it was now approaching lunch and none of the kids had come crying to his classroom. He felt this was a sign that they were okay. So as fourth period was nearing a close for the day, Zayn was able to relax a bit more.
But that relaxation came to a quick halt when a knock came to the door.
"Eleanor, could you please get that?" Zayn asked a student of his, as she sat near the door. She nodded and got out of her chair to open the door and when she did, she called, "Mr. Malik? It's Ms. Anna Jane from the preschool unit. It's about one of your sons."
That statement had Zayn shooting out of his chair and over to the door. "Thank you, Eleanor. You make take a seat."
Zayn then closed his door and stood in the hallway with Ms. Anna Jane, or more commonly known as AJ.
"What is it, AJ?" Zayn asked, worried beyond belief. "It's Niall-" AJ got out before Zayn cut her off by taking off down the hallway toward his baby's classroom. He faintly heard Anna Jane tell his class he'd be back momentarily, but the only think he could think of was Niall.
After a few minutes of running, Zayn finally arrived at the colorful door that belonged to Cher's classroom. He proceeded to rapidly knock until it was opened by Cher, herself. "What happened?" Zayn frantically asked before Cher could even say anything. He then invited himself in and lead himself over to where he could hear cries that were no doubt Niall's.
Upon reaching Niall, Zayn pulled the tiny blonde into his arms who continued to lightly cry into his shoulder. He bounced him for a few good minutes while Harry and Cher worriedly looked on. Once Zayn heard Niall's breathing even out and the cries stop, he let Cher speak as he rubbed his sleeping child's back.
"What happened?"
"Well, I'm sure you've noticed, but Niall had a little bit of an accident," Cher responded, gesturing to the boy in Zayn's arms. And that's when Zayn finally acknowledged the wet shorts that were making contact with his arm. He immediately frowned in sympathy for his youngest baby. "Do you know why? Did he maybe have a nightmare?" Zayn asked. Cher just sadly looked at Niall and replied, "I'm not sure. It didn't seem so. I think it may have just been an accident. Liam mentioned a night time problem he sometimes has," Cher replied. And that's when Zayn remembered : Niall had had an accident a few weeks before.
He sighed. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's totally okay. Kids have accidents all the time. It's not his fault," Cher responded. Zayn gave her a thankful smile then crouched in front of Harry. "Are you okay?" He asked. Harry nodded. "I tried to help him stop crying but he was real upset," Harry replied. Zayn smiled at how cute the "brothers" were. "It's great you tried to help him, bug; I'm proud of you. But I think I'm going to take Ni to my classroom for the rest of the day, so do you think you'll be okay here by yourself?" Zayn responded. Harry nodded. "Yes, baba. I'll be fine." Zayn smiled and ruffled his curls. "Well I'm gonna clean Ni up, then we'll come see you and Boo at lunch, kay?" Harry nodded and waved goodbye to Zayn as he got up to walk out the door.
Zayn arrived a few moments later back into his classroom and smiled as his entire class coo'd at his sleeping son. "Just a few more minutes, class," Zayn said. The class just murmured their okays and Zayn took Niall into his classroom office. He quickly stripped Niall of his wet pants and underwear and threw them in a plastic baggie he had. He then proceeded to wet a paper towel and wipe Niall clean. It was in the middle of Zayn putting new undies on Niall, did he wake up. He whined a bit and sat up. "Baba?" He questioned, confused as to what was happening. "Hey, baby," Zayn coo'd. "What 'm I doin' here?" Niall asked, reaching for Zayn. "Well, you had a little accident, so I came and got you to clean up," Zayn gently told the blue eyed boy. "M'sorry," Niall whimpered. "Hey, it's okay. You didn't mean to and it's all good," Zayn reassured the tiny boy who was near tears again. Niall sniffled and nodded, allowing Zayn to finish pulling his pants up.
Once Zayn finished cleaning Niall up, he pulled the tiny boy into his arms and kissed his forehead. "M'sorry I had a accident," Niall quietly told Zayn, hiding his face in his shoulder. "Hey, it's alright; I promise. There's nothing to worry about. Why don't you come out here with me and you can do some lessons on ABC Mouse?" Zayn replied. The two fathers had recently started the kids on ABC Mouse so that they'd be a little prepared for school and Niall ended up enjoying it a lot, so he usually jumped at any chance he got to go on the website. Niall eagerly nodded his head to answer Zayn's question, so Zayn smiled and got the website ready for Niall on his iPad. He brought the tiny blonde out into his classroom and told him that he could sit down by his desk as long as he was quiet, to which Niall agreed and sat down by Zayn's chair with the iPad in his little hands.
It was about five minutes before the lunch bell was going to ring when Zayn felt a tug at his shirt. He looked down to see Niall staring up at him, so he asked, "What is it baby?" "I can spell green, baba!" Niall exclaimed in response, showing his full mouth of tiny teeth and Zayn was so happy that Niall's shell was cracking a bit, even if it was just a little bit. "You can?! Well, would you like to tell my class?" Zayn replied. Niall thought about it for a second, then gave a shy nod, so Zayn called the attention of his class while they were packing their things.
"Class, Niall has something he'd like to share with you all."
He looked down at Niall and the boys placed his hands behind his back and swayed a bit. "I can spell green," he said, earning a coo from the entire class. "G-R-E-E-N." That just made the entire class want to squeeze Niall because he was just entirely too cute. The scene was even cuter because Niall was looking around the classroom shyly with his hands still clasped behind his back. He gave a tiny smile, then turned and held his arms up for Zayn to hold him until the bell rang, which was two minutes later.
As promised, Zayn keeps Niall in his arms and walks toward the lunchroom on the elementary side of the school. He walks in and searched for a few seconds before his eyes land on a head of curly hair. He quickly makes his way over to the table where he'd spotted Harry and sees that he's sitting next to Louis. Zayn also sees two other children sitting with the pair, one he recognized as Stan, the boy whom Louis was sat with earlier that morning.
"Hello, babies," Zayn mused as he walked behind the two boys. Their faces instantly lit up as they both turned around and wrapped their arms around him. "Hey, Ni!" Louis said enthusiastically as he saw his little brother in his baba's arms. "Hi, boo," Niall quietly replied, feeling shy around all these other people. "Have you boys had a good day?" Zayn asked. "Yeah, baba! Me and Stan are best friends!" Louis exclaimed, grabbing Stan's arm and pulling him towards him. Zayn smiled then looked to the tiny blonde girl sat next to Harry. "And who's this pretty lady?" He asked, looking to the girl, who giggled. "This is Perrie!" Harry announced, grabbing her tiny hand. "And she's my best friend!"
Again, Zayn smiled and then asked, "Well, how's school going?" "It's so good baba! I wanna come all the time! Can I? Can I? Can I?" Louis nearly yelled in reply. Zayn chuckled at Louis' enthusiasm and replied, "Well, you can during the week but you don't come to school on the weekends." Then Harry cut in with a slight whine. "But baba! I wanna play with Perrie all the time!" Again, Zayn smiled at the boy and said, "Well we can have play dates on the weekends and Perrie and Stan can come over." "Yayyy!" Harry and Louis cheered. "Can we have one this weekend?" Louis asked. "Yeah can we?" Harry threw in. "Daddy and I will have to talk to their mommies and daddies to see, but I'm sure we can," Zayn assured the over excited boys. Again, the two boys broke out in grins and cheered.
"Well, Ni and I have to go, but I'll see you in a little bit and you boys will come to my classroom until the day is over," Zayn told the boys after a few more minutes of chit chat. They said their little goodbyes, Harry hanging on to the hug a bit longer than Louis, but he eventually let go and allowed Zayn and Niall to exit the cafeteria.
With that, Zayn went into the teachers lounge to eat a quick lunch and inform Liam about what had happened earlier. Liam offered to come get the small boy, but Zayn declined and said he could play with the boys once they got out of their class. The bell for class soon rang, so Zayn gathered Niall and headed back into his classroom where Niall played ABC Mouse until Louis and Harry arrived at 2:45 and they all proceeded to play quietly in Zayn's office.
Once school was over, Liam entered the classroom and helped Zayn gather the children. They all hopped into the car and the only thoughts running through Liam and Zayn's minds were : this is a pretty great life so far.
I hope y'all liked it ! I'll be updating my other stories soon so look for that ! Bye !