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The worst part, Liam found, of telling people he was in choir was they always widened their eyes, breathlessly asking him to sing us something!!
He, of course, always declined with a duck of his head, his cheeks warming at the very thought.
No, instead he stuck with singing in a large group, where his lone voice–thank God–wouldn’t be heard with all the other voices surrounding him.
And sometimes he sang in the shower when he was in a good mood.
Not that he would ever tell anyone this. All the bullies he was well-acquainted with would no doubt find that completely hysterical and he’d never hear the end of it–or get the echo of their cackling out of his head.
—
As Zayn slides into the driveway, Liam knows he’s arrived without even looking. He can hear the low bass, the beat reverberating through the walls of the house. He beams, grabbing his wallet as he races outside. As he locks the door, he tries to school his face to a neutral ‘cooler than you’ look, the one he’d picked up from Zayn.
He begins his stroll to Zayn’s car, yelling out as he does, “Where we going to, now-official driver, Mr. Zayn Malik?” He draws out his words, the smile quickly reappearing on his face as Zayn giggles, just slightly sticking his tongue out at Liam.
Turning down the music so he doesn’t have to scream, he replies, “Get in, dork.” He fondly rolls his eyes as he gestures to the door. “It’s a surprise.”
“Ooh,” Liam hums as he pulls open the door. Getting in, he wiggles excitedly in the cracked leather seat. He stops moving after a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “Just imagine, only one more year until I can drive, too.” His words are quiet, as if afraid he’s said the wrong thing.
“When you’re ready, I’ll teach you, babe,” Zayn says gently, flashing Liam a grin. When Liam’s put on his seatbelt, he zooms out into the street, making the car jerk at the sudden shift.
Babe. Liam’s heart patters at the word, the newness of the syllables against Zayn’s tongue.
Babebabebabebabeba–Still processing, Liam can only nod in response, giving a weak smile.
“Here, we gotta have the music again,” Zayn starts, glancing over at Liam for confirmation. “No one to tell us no now, eh?” He grins mischievously, raising his eyebrows, eyes flickering to Liam as he flips the knob up on the volume. Louder, louder, louder. Until it’s so loud that Liam has lost all murmurs of the babe echoing through his body, left only with… Zayn. And the music occupying the space surrounding him.
There’s no use talking over the music, the R&B beat pounding through Liam, Zayn’s falsetto voice occasionally filtering in and out of the song.
After a bit, Zayn pauses, mid-lyric. Chewing on his lip, he quickly gives Liam a look.
Seeing the look out of the corner of his eye, he holds his breath. “What?” He yells over the music, once again feeling the nervousness race through him, the nervousness that only Zayn can give him.
“Why—don’t—” Zayn starts, trying his very best to be heard over the blaring music. He chuckles, turning it down before he turns to Liam and tries again. “You like to sing,” Zayn notes.
Liam nods slowly, eyebrows knitting together. “And…?” Liam questions, watching Zayn attempt to formulate his words together.
“And you’re a great singer.” At Liam’s shocked blinks, he grins sheepishly. “Heard you a few days ago in the shower.”
Liam groans, closing his eyes as he lets out a huff. “I didn’t think you could hear me. God, made such an ass of myself.”
Zayn laughs good-naturedly. “Li, your room is right next to the bathroom.” He pauses, contemplating before he finishes lightly, “And you got a set of pipes on you.”
Liam shuffles in the seat, covering his quickly reddening face with his hands. “I’m gonna get out of this car, swear to God, Zayn.”
“No,” Zayn whines, lightly grasping his hand around Liam’s arm as if that will make him stay. “Don’t. I’m just-what I’m trying to ask is…” He gulps. “Why don’t you sing?”
At Liam’s wide-eyed look, Zayn quickly removes his hand, clearing his throat as he returns it to the steering wheel. “Dunno,” Liam lies. Zayn only hums in return, obviously not buying this answer.
Liam doesn’t say anything for a moment, just watches Zayn and his hand, the one that had just set Liam’s skin aflame. There so quickly, and then, just as fast, gone again.
“I’m nervous, I guess,” he sighs with a shrug, glancing down from Zayn to instead watch his own fidgeting hands.
“You don’t have to be nervous with me, babe,” Zayn whispers, the words sounding more like a confession than a statement.
There it is again. Babe. Liam swallows, heart pounding as he lets the words leave his mouth. “But I am.”
Hurt flashes across Zayn’s face, a flicker in his eyes before his expression once again becomes unreadable.
Liam lets out a shaky breath. “No, that’s not what I mean,” he continues quietly, shaking his head fervently. “Just that you’re so you and I’m so… me.”
After these words, he closes his mouth and looks out the window as if this explains everything.
Zayn makes one final turn before he stops, pulling the key out of the ignition. “We’re here,” Zayn mumbles before he looks over to a defeated-looking Liam.
When Liam doesn’t respond, Zayn lets his hands fall to his lap. Then, he opens his mouth, letting the words, his thoughts, all fly together in a rush. “It was going to be a surprise, but we’re at the theater, right? And I was going to take you to dinner and then to the new Avengers movie and then–” He cuts off suddenly, as if he doesn’t quite know what exactly would come next.
Babebabebabeba–Liam doesn’t understand why any of this information is relevant, how this is supposed to help Liam stop worrying about him being him and Zayn being, well, Zayn.
But then it clicks. ”Zayn, is this a date?” Liam gets out, the surprise thicker in his voice than he’d intended.
“Err, I mean…” Zayn swallows hard, rubbing at the back of his neck. He doesn’t look at Liam. “Did you want it to be?” He breathes slowly.
Liam laughs at this, the easiest question he’s ever been asked. “I mean, I’d be okay with that.” Liam gives a small smile, trying as best as he can to keep his excitement contained. After a slight pause, he pokes him in the arm, continuing with a chuckle, “But I’m still not singing for you.”
Zayn snorts. “Fair enough. We have time to get there,” he responds lightly, crinkling his nose as he pulls on the car door handle. “Now, come on, we have a dinner reservation, babe.”
His breath catching in his throat, Liam doesn’t think he’ll ever get over those words leaving Zayn’s mouth. And all for him. As he and Zayn walk hand in hand to the restaurant, his heart flutters the whole way. Babebabebabebabe.