'love burns, brighter than sunshine' - liam payne/charlie mcdonnell
title 'love burns, brighter than sunshine'
genre: romance
rating: pg i guess?
warnings: boy-kissing... unrealistic i guess?
author's note i don't really know why i wrote this oops. title is taken from brighter than sunshine y aqualung.
if you don't know who charlie is, his youtube is here hough you probably will
The small café was quite crowded. Too crowded for Liam’s liking but it seemed like the only place where he wouldn’t get mobbed by fans. He loved the fans but he just needed some time to himself. He spotted an empty seat next to a boy wearing headphones and a bright blue hoodie and made his way over, but only succeeding in tripping and falling straight into said boy.
‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I should’ve been looking where I was going and-’
The boy chuckled, taking off his headphones. ‘It’s fine!'
It was as he looked up that Liam really noticed the boy. He was dressed in tight jeans and that bright blue hoodie that had attracted Liam’s eye in the first place. He had long brown hair, not dissimilar to his own, and a mole on his cheek. It was his eyes, though, that really stood out. They were a bright, ocean blue, with a sparkle like no other. Liam was brought out of his mind when the boy spoke.
‘Wait, you’re that guy from that band aren’t you?’ His eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to place Liam's face.
‘Um, yeah, Liam from One Direction.’
lsquo;Wow, cool. Sorry, but I don’t listen to your music…’ The boy went quiet but Liam laughed, ‘Don’t worry about it! I’m willing to bet the majority of our fans are teenage girls.’
‘I could say the same for me.’ Liam looked up confused. ‘Uh- I'm on YouTube, charlieissocoollike.’
‘Oh, right. I think I might have heard that name before.' There was an awkward pause between the two boys.
Come on, Liam, make conversation with him ‘So, what kind of music do you like?'
‘I don’t really listen to much music. I mean, I have an album out and I’m in a band but…’ Charlie trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
‘You’re in a band? Cool! What kind of music do you play?’
Charlie giggled nervously. ‘Erm, it’s called… Trock- Or Timelord Rock…’ Charlie stumbled over his words.
‘What’s that?’ Liam sounded confused.
‘My friend came up with it one day. Basically, it's music about Doctor Who…’ Embarrassed, Charlie giggled. Liam had to admit, it was the cutest thing he'd heard in a while.
‘Sounds cool, what’s the name? I’ll check it out at some point.’
‘Oh, we’re called Chameleon Circuit.’
The two boys continued chatting for another half an hour and by then, Liam had learnt that Charlie had almost 1.5 million subscribers at just 21, was friends with Alex Day who was number 4 in the Christmas charts and one day wanted to work in television. They talked about all sorts, from One Direction’s tour, what it was like to be in a huge boyband, to what being on YouTube was like and about Charlie’s videos.
‘The fans are just mental, I mean-‘
Liam was cut off suddenly by the ringing of his phone. He looked apologetically at Charlie, who simply smiled back.
‘Hey Lou… Oh, okay… Yeah, I’ll be back in about ten minutes… Okay, bye.’ He ended the call and looked apologetically at Charlie who was absentmindedly playing with his phone. ‘Sorry, I completely forgot about that, we have an interview in about an hour.’ Liam frowned. 'Strange, normally I'm the one reminding the others about things like interviews.'
‘Ah, okay. All part of the job, I suppose.’ Charlie said with a small smile.
‘It was great to meet you, and I’ll check out your YouTube and stuff when I get back from the interview.’
‘Thanks! It was great to meet you too!’
The two boys shook hands and Liam left the café. Charlie sank down into his seat, thinking of the beautiful boy that he would probably never see again. He sighed and picked up his phone to text Alex about who he'd just met.
Liam walked a few steps away from the small building and sighed, his mind filled with floppy brown hair and bright blue eyes, an intelligent and articulate manner of speech and a tall, skinny frame. He sighs and vows that he will find a way to talk to this boy again, lest he drive himself crazy with thinking of him.
It was a few days later and Charlie got an email from Liam. It read:
Hey Charlie, it’s Liam from the café :)
Found this address on your YouTube page and thought this would be the best way to get in touch with you. Do you want to meet up again? I really liked our talk in the café and wondered if you want to meet up again sometime?
Liam
Charlie quickly typed a reply and the very next day the two boys were sat in Charlie’s living room playing video games, laughing and joking together. At the end of the day, when it was time for Liam to go home, the boys swapped numbers and promised that they would see each other again soon.
It was only after a month of texting and learning about each other and two angst-ridden months of seemingly unrequited love before Liam plucked up the courage to kiss Charlie, surprised when he reciprocated the younger boy’s actions. When they pulled away for air, Liam looked into Charlie's eyes, burning brighter than the sun on a summer's day.
‘I really, really like you.’ Liam whispered softly.
Charlie smiled. ‘I like you too.’
They kissed once more, failing to notice Alex staring open mouthed and wide eyed from the doorway of his and Charlie's kitchen, not believing that a) his best friend liked guys as well and b) he was currently kissing (more like making out with) a member of one of Britain’s biggest boybands. He turned around and shook his head in disbelief, leaving Charlie and Liam to themselves.