Sleepover.

Zayn Malik sat at the living room window, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his best friend, Liam Payne. He had invited his friend over to stay the night. Although there was another reason for inviting him to stay over, he hadn't seen his buddy in a few weeks due to the fact that they didn't go to the same school.

"Zayn," his mother, Tricia, said softly, "Liam will be here soon. You've been sitting in the same spot for forty-five minutes now! Go play with your sisters or something."

Zayn groaned, "He's going to be here soon, mom!" He refused to budge until he saw the black Honda pull up to their house.

Tricia shook her head and left her son at peace, wandering upstairs.

Zayn and Liam had met at a summer camp when they were going into primary school. Liam was on the verge of turning five while Zayn had been five since January. Zayn, being older at the time, would tease Liam that he was not yet five. The younger boy, when it got to too much, would run to the bathroom and cry. This led to Zayn comforting him and saying sorry. That's what sparked their friendship.

They would write to each other whenever possibly and with the recent discovery of the email, they could email. They would briefly call each other over the landline, but that always would be cut short by one of their parents. It was different seeing each other in person, though. Zayn could hug Liam in person, not over the phone or via email.

His face broke into a big grin and he was sure that his brown eyes were sparkling as he saw the all-too-familiar car pull up in front of his home. Liam rounded the car and pulled his stuff out from the back seat.

Liam was only twelve at the time, turning thirteen (the same age as Zayn) in a month. His hair was cut like a bowl and he would get teased about it. He would often get teased and bullied at school, which is the reason that he took up boxing. Boxing helped get out all the pent up anger. Maybe he could show some moves to Zayn.

The Pakistani threw the front door open and pounded down the front steps. He collided into his best friend from behind, sending them soaring into the backseat of the car. Liam hadn't seen it coming, as he was face flat into the backseat. He flailed his arms and finally, Zayn let go. Liam came up for air and turned to Zayn. They were both laughing.

"Nice to see ya, mate." Liam said, his British accent prominent. He ruffled Zayn hair. Liam was always the more mature one of the two.

Zayn grinned goofily and hugged his friend tighter, "Nice to see ya too. And hello to you, Mrs. Payne."

Karen Payne was watching them through the rear view mirrors and she gave the two a warm smile, "Hello Zayn. Liam, you call me tonight, you hear? You two boys have fun!"

Parting ways, the two climbed out the car with Liam's things and watched his mother drive away. Zayn steered Liam into the house, almost forcefully. He was just excited. They had so much to talk about. What had they been doing? What should they do now? And for Zayn, he was hoping to steal a kiss. And confess his love for Liam. He would hope Liam would understand.

"Liam, welcome." Mrs. Malik smiled at him. Liam waved politely and said hello back before Zayn dragged him upstairs. "Zayn, dinner is in an hour. Please don't fail to acknowledge it!" Mrs. Malik yelled up the stairs.

"Okay mom!" Zayn yelled before slamming the door to his room. He locked the door and took Liam's stuff, tossing them onto the bed. He sat in his desk chair and picked up his Play Station controller.

"So..." Liam said, taking a seat on the bed. The first few moments shared between them were always awkward. But, once they got talking, there was no stopping them.

"So, what has you been up to?" Zayn asked. He already knew all about what Liam was doing but he wanted to hear him say it. Watch him say it. Admire him while saying it.

"Well, I took up boxing to fight off all the bloody jerks at my school." Liam stated proudly. He was quite good at his sport, "Maybe I can show you some of the techniques?"

"I donno...." Zayn said. He wasn't really into sports. His father wanted him to be this big athlete, but he was more into music. Nobody understood. But they would once he could comprehend it himself.

"Come on, it's easy."

----

Later that night, way into the night, Zayn and Liam were hiding under the sheets with a flashlight, looking through one of Zayn's dad's year books. They laughed at almost everybody in the book.

"Why does everybody have such weird hair?" Liam asked, suppressing a laugh. He pointed to this one girl who had really curly hair and straight bangs.

Liam laughed, "It's a different time. Hair changes. What's up with your hair?" He smirked as Liam pushed him. He was so strong that he almost fell off the bed from impact. "It was a joke." Zayn held his hands up.

Liam shrugged. Zayn had been acting strange all night. Like something was on his mind, "I know." He looked down at the yearbook again and he could feel Zayn's eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably under the stare and resumed looking through the year book.

"Liam?" Zayn asked shakily. It was now or never. They would probably end up passing out soon anyways. He wanted to do it before the morning to let Liam sleep on the feelings.

"Hm?" His best friend answered without looking out. If only Zayn could hear how hard his heart was beating. He was nervous. What was Zayn going to say to him?

"Look at me." Zayn demanded gently. Liam hesitated but slowly looked at his friend, eyes widening when their soft, immature lips touched. None of them had ever been kissed, Liam almost coming close but being rudely interrupted. Neither knew their first kiss would be with a boy, let alone his best friend.

Zayn pulled away, red from blushing, "I... I don't know how to explain. I have these feelings that-"

Liam hugged him tightly. For some reason, he had a sense of relief. Was this what he was waiting for? His best friend to kiss him, "We'll figure it out. I know we will." He smiled and pulled back.

Zayn smiled and shyly kissed his cheek. Liam chuckled and laid back with him. Zayn pressed his face into his friend's chest. This felt right, perfect even. He knew this is where he belonged, in his friends arms. Even though he was confused about these feelings, as was Liam, they'd get through it.

Maybe it's just a phase, maybe it will stick. Who knows? All the boys know is that this is the best sleepover they've ever had.