Chapter 12: Liam Payne?

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I have no idea how Zayn actually drove here while being drunk. I am so glad he didn't hit his Camaro- and yeah himself too, but mostly his black Camaro which looks so beautiful. I wasn't aware he was this rich, one minute he rides a heavy bike, the other minute he comes out of a shiny Camaro while being drunk. If I had a Camaro, I would never drive it even if I was as sober as a judge. I would treat it like a baby and smother kisses on it every day.

"Where did that bike come from all of a sudden, yesterday?" I ask Zayn who is almost asleep on his passenger seat while I drive his car.

Don't even ask me how I feel driving a Camaro. I have always been the type of girl who drools at the sight of beautiful cars. Especially when Paul Walker used to race those ravishing cars in The Fast And Furious movies.

Harry and I have a shared Silver Corolla that we got as a present from our mom on our 17th birthday last year. Which is mostly driven by my brother who doesn't trust me with it and thinks I would crash it somewhere if he lets me drive it.

Zayn wakes up at the sound of my voice and tells me to repeat what I said because he was half asleep. I roll my eyes as I talk again, "Bike. Where did that come from?"

"It was my brother's," Zayn mumbles as he exhales softly and looks out of the window.

"You have a brother? How many siblings do you have?" I ask him in amusement after catching his sentence. He never mentioned anything about his siblings before. He turns his head to me before answering.

"It just used to be my brother and I," his replies are coming out barely audible. He gives out a shaky breath after that, making me turn my head towards him to take a glance. He is looking down at his hands as he fidget with his fingers, a visible frown forming on his face.

"What do you mean 'used to be'?" I ask Zayn, looking back at the road. My eyes narrow in confusion as I wait for Zayn's response who is extremely silent which makes me look at him again.

If my mom was here right now, she would have been screaming at me for continuously removing my eyes from the road.

Zayn's eyebrows are knitted together and his lips are in a thin line as he continues to looks down at his fingers.

"Are we there yet?" Zayn asks me, completely ignoring my question so I raise my eyebrows as I look at him then back at the road. Why would he ignore my question?

He seemed pretty upset at the mention of-

My thoughts get cut off when my eyes land on a tall figure walking on the footpath wearing a dark coloured hoodie. The figure seems to be coming from the front, getting nearer as our car moves forward on the road. There are only a few yellow street lights on the side which illuminate the empty road with only a grocery shop by the end of the footpath. In the dim yellow lights, I widen my eyes to take a better look at the figure walking in front of me because I think I saw someone I shouldn't have. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me. It's dark out here and we seem to be pretty far from that person so maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. But what if my mind is not playing tricks on me and it really is him.

With that thought, my heart starts beating fast and my chest begins to rise and fall rapidly at the sight in front of me.

No, it can't be him. He is not supposed to be here.

"Why does it look like you saw a ghost?" Zayn says from beside me, completely bringing me out of my thoughts and my gaze shifts towards Zayn before back on the road.

The person who was walking is no longer there, which makes me confused as I search for him at a, now, empty road before I pass Zayn's car from there. Maybe the person went to the grocery store by the end of the footpath or maybe he wasn't there and I must be seeing things because I'm sleepy.

"I really hope it was a ghost," I mutter slowly as I exhale a sharp breath before parking my car in front of an abandoned building with a neon sign that reads "Payne Tattoo Corner".

I shake out the thoughts which started to cloud my mind rapidly at the sight of what I saw on the road. I can't be thinking about all of that again, I had a pretty rough time trying to forget all of that, years ago. I can't let those feelings take over me again. I take a deep breath and remind myself all these things before walking out of the car with Zayn by my side.

I look up at the dull beige coloured building with cracks of seepage running through it, but a large neon coloured board with the tattoo name completely takes away the attention from the exterior look of the damaged building.

I look at Zayn who is looking at me with a slight frown on his face. "Are you okay?" His voice comes out in a genuine tone and I lightly nod my head.

"Are you?" I ask him because of our previous conversation about his brother which made him uncomfortable. He closes his eyes for a brief second before opening them again and giving me a slight nod.

He does not seem okay, but if he does not want to talk about it, I won't push him until he is ready.

"Let's go," I bring up a smile on my face to cheer him up as I motion towards the gate of the tattoo shop.

"Liam Payne?" Zayn and I both speak up when a tall boy with brown hair and warm brown eyes opens the door and welcomes us with a smile. Liam is just a teenage boy like us who goes to the same school as ours and even shares the same classes. We have been studying with him since childhood, and he always has been one of those kids who would secure high scores, respect everyone, join the school choir and keep a low profile to stay out of trouble and the school's attention.

"The name should explain it why I'm here," Liam says with a smile as he points up at the board with the name "Payne Tattoo Corner".

The realisation hits Zayn and I, before we let out an "Ohhh," putting the not-so-difficult pieces together. Liam gives out a chuckle before welcoming us inside the tattoo shop. As soon as we step inside we are welcomed by dim red lights and graffiti adorned walls.

"So this is your shop?" I ask Liam a dumb question because it is kind of shocking to find that Liam runs a tattoo shop. I had never thought of him anything else besides a sweet boy who just likes to smile every time.

"No, it's my older brother's. But I sometimes come here to make some tattoos as I'm in art class," He says with a gentle smile, taking Zayn and I to a room which has white lights. Thank God!

I know those red lights were to make the place look cool but honestly, they were giving me legit horror movie vibes and were also making my head dizzy.

"So who wants a tattoo?" Liam asks and I point towards Zayn who looks half asleep while standing. I push his shoulders with mine and he opens his eyes, looking all around the room, baffled.

Liam looks at Zayn with a raised eyebrow as Zayn is blinking his eyes rapidly to overcome his sleep. He begins to shake his head from left to right continuously as he is trying his best not to fall asleep. I just look at him with a deadpanned expression. Who told him to get himself drunk tonight?

"Where do you want it?" Liam asks.

Zayn takes a seat on the chair hesitantly, as he points towards his wrist. "Here. A ying-yang,"

"A ying-yang?" Liam asks and I squeeze my eyebrows together. "What does it mean?" he asks with a smile in amusement.

"I've heard that a first tattoo always has a meaning," I join in between their conversation and Zayn looks up at me.

"It means there's some good in bad and some bad in good," Zayn says, inhaling a sharp breath. "Like people think you're bad, but I know there's good in you, Malory." Zayn completes his sentence, looking directly at me and I look up at him in surprise. I quietly stare at him with wide eyes before looking down and releasing a light chuckle with a smile.

"Wow. That's thoughtful," Liam says, as he picks up his tattoo machine and Zayn's eyes widen at the sight of the needle.

"I'm scared, Malory. Would you hold my hand through it?" His honey-brown eyes stare into mine with fear prominent in them and his tone as well. He gives out a shaky breath as he waits for my answer.

"Yes Zayn, " I reply, pulling out my hand from my jacket in front of him. "I'll hold your hand through it."

~*~

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Q: What do you think Zayn is hiding about his brother? Who do you think Malory saw on the road?


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