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“Payne, do not make me warn you again-” Liam jumps as soon as he hears the teacher call his name, and looks up with wide eyes. He’s been sneaking on his phone every chance he gets, but it was only a matter of time before the teacher caught him. “Put that phone away.”
“Sorry,” Liam mumbles, before stuffing his phone back into his pockets. He rolls his eyes when he hears the two annoying girls giggling behind him. He already knows what they’re going to sy.
“Who’s he texting anyways? Not like he has any friends,” Gigi whispers to her friend.
“Tell me about it. He’s a total loser,” Kendall whispers back.
If only they knew…
“You can chat amongst yourselves the remaining five minutes, but no phones,” Mr. Smith warns, giving Liam a hard glare.
“Please tell me the One Direction tickets came,” Gigi says, and Liam perks when he hears her mention ‘One Direction’.
“Yes, of course they did! They’re sitting on my desk at home right now,”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Kendall gasps. “I cannot believe it. We are going to be meeting One Direction, and seeing them live front row, in just a couple of weeks!”
“I know,” Gigi squeals. “We have to pick out our outfits. Zayn’s going to fall in love with me.”
“Ugh. Fine,” Kendall rolls her eyes. “If you get Zayn, then I get Harry. He’s so dreamy.”
“What? You don’t want Niall,” Gigi giggles.
“Ugh,” Kendall sticks her tongue out. “No thanks.”
Liam frowns when he hears Kendal say this, because how could anyone not want Niall? He’s charming, sweet, hilarious, and he’s Irish! Liam loves him to death.
“Are you eavesdropping on our conversation, Payne?” Gigi asks, glaring at Liam.
“Is it really eavesdropping if you’re speaking loudly right behind me?” Liam retorts, raising his eyebrows as he looks over at Gigi. “You’re both mental if you think any of those boys will fall in love with you.”
“What? You think you would stand a chance against us?” Kendall laughs.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say anything, Payne.
“I didn’t say that…”
“Because you know they’d never love a freak like you,” Gigi hisses.
Liam rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say, Gigi,”
Liam couldn’t be more grateful when the bell finally rings, because it’s the last class of the day, and it’s the weekend, which means Liam finally gets to go see his boyfriend for two whole days.
Liam pulls his phone out as exits the classroom, but stops when Mr. Smith pulls him back. “Mr. Smith?”
“If I have to warn you about that phone of yours in class again, I will confiscate it,” he warns.
Liam frowns at the science teacher. “Yes sir,” he says, quickly pulling his arm back, and quickly walking out of the classroom without saying another word, not wanting to stand another minute in this school.
lima bean:
plz tell me you guys are home???
zedd:
i’m home :D (i’m your favorite, right)
nialler:
fuck off with that talk z
(and yes, i’m home too!!!)
can’t wait to squeeze the shit out of you payno
hazza:
lou and i stuck in traffic H E L P
but don’t worry babe, we’ll both see you soon!!! x
loubear is typing…
Liam is hardly paying attention as he focuses on the boys going crazy in the chat, and he accidentally bumps into someone when he’s walking out of the school.
“Sor-”
“Watch where you’re going, freak!”
Liam looks up, and sees that it’s Kendal that he’s run into.
“Ew! You’re probably going to catch some disease now!” Gigi shouts.
Liam sucks in a deep breath, and quickly walks away before they can say anything else.
Finally, Liam makes it to the boys’ house. He’s on the verge of tears, because it’s been a hellish day, and all he wants to do is see his boyfriends, and forget about school and the bullies.
Liam unlocks the door and walks in, kicking his shoes off, and throwing his bag, before making his way into the living room, where he finds Zayn sitting on the couch, watching TV.
Zayn looks over, and grins when he sees Liam standing in the doorway. “Hey, babe!” Liam instantly runs over to Zayn and falls into his lap, surprising Zayn. Zayn blinks a few times as he wraps an arm around Liam, holding him. “Li, what’s happened? Is everything okay?”
“Please convince me not to drop out of school. I’m two steps away from doing it,” Liam mumbles.
Zayn frowns. “Is it the bullies again?”
Liam nods his head into Zayn’s chest. “I just don’t understand what I did…”
“You’ve done nothing. People are just cruel, and are taking their problems out on other people,”
Liam scoffs at that, and sits up, wiping at his eyes. “Gigi and Kendall are like the richest girls in school. What kind of problems could they possibly have?”
“I’m not trying to defend them, because what they’re doing to you is horrible, but just because they’re rich, it doesn’t mean they don’t have problems of their own,”
“Or maybe they’re just spoiled brats who think they’re better than everyone else?” Liam grumbles.
“That’s… probably more likely,” Zayn says, before sighing. He sits up, and gently wipes away the tears on Liam’s cheeks with his thumbs. “Love, you can’t let them get to you.”
“I- I know. But, it’s hard, especially when you deal with it everyday,” Liam says.
“Is that my Liam I hear?”
Liam looks over as Niall walks into the living room.
Niall stops when he sees how upset Liam looks, and instantly feels anger. “Who do I have to beat up?”
Zayn huffs out a laugh. “Niall, I don’t think they’d let you beat up some eighteen year olds,”
“You think I care? I’ll beat up anyone who is hurting my Liam,” Niall snaps before hurrying over to Liam and sitting on the other side of him. “What have they done this time?”
“Just the usual,” Liam mumbles. “Don’t know why it’s getting to me so much lately.”
“You deal with it everyday, Li. Of course it will get to you,” Niall says softly. He gently wraps his arm around Liam’s waist. “I just wish there was something I could do to stop it from happening.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Liam snaps. He stands up from the couch. “I’m eighteen years old, practically an adult. I shouldn’t have to be putting up with this. I don’t even care about high school!”
“Zayn, maybe now is a good time to bring up our plan to Liam,” Niall whispers to Zayn.
“No. We should wait for Harry and Louis to get here to talk about that,” Zayn hisses.
Liam frowns as he watches the two. “What plan are you guys talking about?”
Niall pauses, and looks up at Liam. “Uh, well, you see-” He scratches the back of his neck.
“Well, go on, Niall. Go ahead and tell him the plan,” Zayn says as he crosses his arms against his chest. “Since you’re too impatient to wait for our other two boyfriends.”
“Zayn,” Niall whines, and then his ears perk up as soon as he hears the front door open.
“We’re not doing interviews tomorrow!” Louis shouts. “No! We’re not doing it!”
“Yeah, Paul! Our boyfriend is here and we’re spending time with him, so the interviews can wait!”
“You are going on tour in three weeks!” A third voice shouts.
“That’s plenty of time! We don’t even need to promote our tour when it’s already sold out, so ha!”
“You are going to be the death of me, Louis Tomlinson!”
Liam can’t help but smile as he listens to Harry and Louis argue with their tour manager. He knows that the boys love to give him a hard time, especially when they’re busy like this.
“Goodbye Paul!”
Harry laughs loudly as Louis slams the door shut.
“Alright, boys. If we walk into that living room and lima bean isn’t there-”
Liam perks up as soon as he sees Harry and Louis walk into the living room, grins on their faces. “Harry! Louis!” He runs over to them, and squeezes them both tightly.
“God, I’ve missed you so much,” Louis whispers. “I hate when you have to leave us for a week.”
“Well, my mum doesn’t want me distracted from my school work, even though I ace all of my classes,” Liam mumbles. He pulls away from the two. “Trust me. I hate it just as much.”
“You boys got here just in time. Niall here was just about to reveal our plan that we were gonna talk to Liam about altogether, weren’t you Niall?” Zayn asks.
“You were going to do what now?” Harry asks.
Niall glares at Zayn. “He was freaking out! I was just trying to help!”
“What’s going on, babe? Why were you freaking out?” Harry asks, gently placing a hand on Liam’s arm.
Liam shakes his head, feeling his cheeks turn red. “I- It’s nothing. We were just talking about the bullying and I mentioned dropping out,”
Louis scoffs. “Bastards,” he mumbles. “Anyways. Me and the boys were thinking, and we already talked to your parents and they’re totally cool with it. They know about all the bullying and how difficult it is. However, the boys and I want to bring you with us on tour-” Louis begins.
“So, we’re thinking you can finish your last year of school during homeschool,” Harry finishes.
“W- Would that really work?” Liam asks, and looks over at Zayn and Niall.
“We think so,” Niall says. “It would be easier for you, and you don’t have to worry about the bullies. Plus, we’d get to see you every single day.” He grins.
“I mean, I would love to. There’s no doubt about that,” Liam says, and Louis cheers. “But, I mean… wouldn’t people notice me? People from school would see me. I know there are major One Direction fans that go to my school. I- I don’t want to get you boys in trouble.”
“People already know that us four idiots are dating,” Zayn says. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out once they start seeing you traveling with us. But, you wouldn’t get us in trouble. We’ve already talked to management about the whole thing. We’ll make sure you’re protected.”
“No doubt about that,” Louis adds. “So, what do you say, lad?”
Liam looks over at Louis, and takes a deep breath. “Of course I want to go,”
“You sure you don’t want to think about it?” Harry asks, stepping closer to Liam. “It’s okay if-”
“Harry, I was just talking about dropping out of school. I’m ready to get out of that hell hole,” Liam snaps. “Besides, I don’t want to be away from you when you guys leave. I hate when you guys are away.”
“We hate it too, babe. That’s why we came up with this brilliant plan,” Louis says, before pulling Liam in for a passionate kiss, and Liam instantly melts into the kiss. “Fuck, Li.”
“Alright. Alright. Quit hogging him, Louis!” Harry whines as he pushes Louis away.
“Dammit, Styles. We were having a perfectly good moment!” Louis groans.
“Well, you’re not the only one who has missed him this week,” Harry snaps, glaring at Louis.
Zayn snorts as he watches the two argue over Liam. He steps forward, and gently pulls Liam back. “Boys, enough. Come on, now. Liam’s not some piece of meat. He’s our boyfriend. Treat him as such,”
“Thanks Zayn,” Liam chuckles, and melts into Zayn’s arm.
“You’re welcome, babe. Besides, Liam’s had a rough day, and we should order some takeout and watch a movie or something. Take his mind off of all that school crap. How’s that sound?”
Liam lets out a sigh of relief. “That sounds wonderful,”
**
Liam couldn’t be more grateful when his last day at school finally arrives.
The past three weeks have been completely awful, and he’s surprised he hasn’t had a mental breakdown. All he has to do is think about traveling with his boyfriends while they’re on tour. He knows that he’s going to have so much fun, and the boys are going to make sure of it too.
“Is it true, Payne?”
Liam blinks as he looks over, and sees Gigi and Kendall standing there. He’s outside, waiting for the boys to come pick him up. They’re heading straight to the airport, and then heading to San Diego.
“What on Earth are you talking about?” Liam asks, already annoyed.
“You’ve dropped out of school,” Gigi says. “I’m not surprised-”
Liam rolls his eyes. Although, he’s not surprised that the word has gotten out. Nothing ever stays a secret at this school. “No, you idiot. I haven’t dropped out of school. I’m finishing my year with homeschool.”
“I’m not surprised either, Gi. We’ve always known how dumb he is,” Kendall whispers to Gigi.
Liam looks down when his phone starts dinging.
nialler:
are those the girls bullying you at school? lemme at ‘em!!!
hazza:
*cracks knuckles*
zedd:
boys, you cannot beat up 18 years olds!!!
Liam chuckles at the messages, and looks up to see a car pulling up to them.
The window rolls down and Liam’s eyes widen when he sees Harry and Louis both poke their head out the window. Harry grins as he looks up at Liam. “You coming, or what? We’ve got a tour to get too!”
“And we really must go before Niall starts beating up random eighteen year old girls,” Louis adds.
Liam looks over as soon as Gigi and Kendall start squealing with excitement. He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, let’s get out of here, please,” he walks up to the car and opens the door. He yelps when Louis pulls him inside the car. Liam doesn’t even care that he can hear Gigi and Kendall screaming.
“What were you idiots thinking?” Liam asks once he’s sitting up.
“What? They’re going to be finding out anyways,” Louis says, looking at Liam.
“Yeah, but boys, is this really how you want to start your new tour?” Liam asks, raising his eyebrows. “People are going to be talking about your relationship instead of the amazing shows you put on.”
“We’ll deal with it if we have to, Li,” Harry says. “And they’ll be talking about the amazing show we put on no matter what we do. We’re just that incredible.”
Liam rolls his eyes playfully at Harry. “You’re ridiculous, but you are incredible,”
“For now, you are all ours,” Zayn says, pulling Liam into his lap. Liam laughs, but he doesn’t complain.
Liam is not surprised when Kendall somehow gets his number, demanding how he knows One Direction, but Liam doesn’t want to have to answer to her. He doesn’t owe her anything.
“Who’s that?” Niall asks when they’re at the airport, later on. He’s leaning against Liam, who’s looking at his phone. The only people Liam really texts are his parents and the boys.
“Kendall. I don’t know how she got my number,” Liam says.
“Gimme that,” Niall says as he snatches the phone out of Liam’s hand.
“Oh no, Niall. What are you doing?” Liam whines.
“There,” Niall says after being quiet for a moment. “I gave her a piece of my mind, and then I blocked her. By the way, we need to get you a new phone. This one is so outdated.”
Liam rolls his eyes as he takes the phone back from Niall. “I like my phone, thank you very much,”
“Well, the internet has already got a whiff of Liam being with us,” Zayn says as he walks up to them, holding up his phone. “Twitter is going nuts. I think your friend Kendall posted something.”
“Ugh, don’t even. She is not my friend,” Liam warns, glaring at Zayn. “She’s a bitch.”
Harry gasps as he looks up at Liam. “Lima bean! I’m shocked at your language,”
“What? It’s the truth,” Liam mumbles, crossing his arms against his chest.
“He’s been spending too much time with Louis,” Niall whispers to Harry, who nods in agreement.
“Hey!” Louis shouts, looking up at the two.
“Look, don’t pay attention to that stuff, Z. People are going to talk no matter what we do,” Harry says. “We’ve got more important stuff to worry about than those gossip sites.”
“I know, it’s just kind of hard when your timeline is being flooded by fans tweeting,” Zayn says.
“I told you guys this was a bad idea,” Liam whines, feeling guilty that the fans are talking now.
“Hey, no. Don’t say that, Payno,” Niall says as he wraps his arm around Liam. “We do not regret bringing you along with us. We knew this was going to happen. We just want to have some fun, and not think about that stuff. Everything is going to be fine. Listen to your wise boyfriend,”
Harry lets out a snort. “Wise?”
Niall instantly looks over at Harry and glares at him. “Yes, Harold. Wise,”
Liam laughs. “I don’t know how we’re all going to survive each other for this long,”
**
Liam tries to stay out of the way as the boys prepare for their first US show in San Diego. He starts getting set up for homeschool to keep him distracted.
But, when it’s time for VIP, the boys drag him out of the bus.
“You’re going to watch us tonight, right?” Niall asks softly as he stands with Liam in the VIP room, waiting for the other boys to arrive.
“Of course I am. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?” Liam asks, grinning. “You’ll be amazing.”
“As always,” Niall replies jokingly, he grins when Niall laughs. He reaches over and tickles Liam.
“Don’t!” Liam whines as he tries to grab Niall’s hands, and laughs when Niall tickles him again. He tries to grab a hold of Niall, which ends up with them falling to the floor.
When the boys walk in, this is how they find their partners, but now Liam has Niall in a headlock.
“What in the actual hell is going on here?” Louis asks with amusement.
“I would expect more of this from Louis,” Zayn says, raising his eyebrows.
“Hey!” Louis glares at Zayn, and rolls his eyes when Zayn grins playfully at him.
“Niall was tickling me,” Liam says as he looks up at the boys. He yelps when Niall tries tickling him again.
Louis laughs at the two. “That was your first mistake, Nialler,”
“Let go of me!” Niall laughs as he gets out of Liam’s grip, and pushes himself up. He grabs Liam’s hand, and pulls him up as well.
“I guess this means I should head out, huh?” Liam asks.
“What? Nope. You’re staying in here with us,” Louis says, walking over to Liam. “You can’t leave.”
“But, your fans-” Liam begins.
“They won’t care. They know who you are now, so it doesn’t matter,” Louis says. “If you’re worried, then don’t be, because we have security on standby. So, you won’t be in harm's way.”
“Louis is right. We don’t want you to leave, Li,”
Liam sighs as he looks over at Harry and Zayn, and rolls his eyes when he sees Harry giving him his famous puppy dog eyes look. “Dammit, Styles. You know I can’t say no when you do that,”
Harry grins, and high-fives Zayn. “Why do you think I do it then?”
Liam settles himself in one of the chairs, kicking his feet as they hang over the edge, phone in hands.
The meet-and-greet has started, fans piling in. Liam enjoys listening to the boys excitedly chatting with their fans, and tries not to giggle at the girls screaming with excitement.
“You look familiar,”
“We’ve never met before, but I can’t believe we’re meeting you now!”
“Hi Zayn!”
“Hello,”
Liam glances over curiously, and his eyes widen when he sees that it’s none other than Gigi and Kendall. He had no idea that they were going to be at the San Diego show. He knew they had tickets, but here?
Liam looks over when someone taps on his shoulders, and is relieved to see Paul standing there.
“Liam, could you go get the boys some water? Niall’s complaining it’s getting hot,”
“Yes, of course. Anything for Niall,” Liam says, and instantly stands up, setting his phone down.
“Payne, what are you doing here?”
Liam stops, and closes his eyes, before turning and seeing Gigi glaring at him.
“I-”
“There’s no way this is happening. You can’t be dating him. He’s a freak. And- And you’re supposed to fall in love with me!” Kendall exclaims, pointing at Harry.
Harry gags at the thought. “No offense, babe, but I’m kind of gay, and kind of taken,”
“I could change your mind-” Kendall says as she steps closer to Harry.
“Okay lady. You have two seconds to back away from Mr. Styles,” Louis warns.
“You did this,” Gigi accuses as she points a finger at Liam. “You’ve ruined everyone else’s chances! Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Liam’s eyes widen as he stares at Gigi, his heart pounding against his chest. He feels guilty, even though he knows he didn’t do anything wrong, but he can’t help but feel like he has. “I- I didn’t-”
“Liam,” Paul warns. “That water? I can handle this.”
Liam looks over at Paul, before running out of the room.
Niall instantly goes to run after him, but Paul quickly pushes him back to the other boys. “But, Liam-”
“I sent him to go get some water. You’re staying here. We’ll escort these ladies out,”
“But, we paid for this meet-and-greet!”
“You should have thought twice before you chose the way you acted,” Paul says sternly, before calling for security. He watches as Gigi and Kendall both protest and struggle against the security guards.
“I love you, Zayn!” Gigi shouts as she’s dragged away.
“Those girls are mental,” Zayn says as he watches with wide eyes.
“Shit. Those are the horrible girls Liam’s had to put up with? Bloody hell. Poor lad,” Louis says, and then his eyes widen when he remembers that Liam is gone. “Liam! We have to-”
“You’re not going anywhere, boys. You still have fans to meet,” Paul warns.
Even after the meet-and-greet was finished, the boys had no time to check on Liam to see if he was okay. They had to prepare for the show tonight.
Luckily, Liam still showed up to watch the boys perform for their first show of the tour.
“Liam!” Louis exclaims as soon as he sees their boyfriend. He immediately runs over to him, and pulls him into a hug. “God, we were so worried about you, babe.”
“‘M sorry,” Liam mumbles as he hugs Louis back, and laughs when the other three boys join the hug.
“Don’t be sorry, babe. What those girls did to you in front of all of our fans is horrible,” Louis says softly.
“We wanted to come check on you as soon as you left, but Paul wouldn’t let us. He’s a big fat meanie,”
“I heard that, Harold!”
Liam giggles, and pulls away from the boys. “I’m fine. Really. You guys have enough to worry about,”
“We’re always going to worry about you, Liam. You’re our boyfriend,” Zayn argues.
“What are you doing here, anyways? We thought you went back to the bus or something,” Louis says.
“I did. I stayed back there until I knew it was time for the show to start. I talked to my mum on the phone, and she calmed me down. Then, I took a nap. Came here. I’m not missing the first show of the tour,”
Niall grins at Liam. “I fucking love you,”
Liam laughs. “I love you boys, too. No one will change that, not even the horrible bullies from school,”
“Attaboy,” Harry says as he slings his arm around Liam’s shoulder, kissing his cheek.
“Boys! You have a show starting in one minute!”
“Oh, bloody hell, Paul! We’re having a moment with our boyfriend!” Louis shouts back.
Liam laughs, and shakes his head. “I don’t wanna hold you up. You boys go, and put on an epic show like I know you will. I’ll see you after, and we’ll celebrate the first night of the tour, yeah?”
“Hell yeah. Kiss for good luck?” Niall asks, grinning.
Liam rolls his eyes playfully. “Course,” he says, before giving each of the boys a kiss. He chuckles as he watches the four boys take off for the stage. “Love you, have fun!”