It’s around noon and Liam is walking to his favourite sandwich shop for lunch. He’s passing by the same abandoned house that he always sees when he hears a crash come from inside.
“Ow, fucking hell!” comes a voice from inside.
Liam stops walking. He thinks about what to do for a moment before calling out, “Are you okay?”
Liam waits for a moment, listening for a response. When he doesn’t hear one he starts to get worried. After considering, he decides he should go in and investigate. He’s nervous about going into an abandoned house alone, but if someone is hurt then he wants to help. He feels his pocket to make sure he has his knife and when he confirms that it’s there he goes up to the house. The windows and door at the front of the house are boarded up, so Liam goes around the side. Following along the side of the house he finds some broken boards laying on the ground next to a hole in the wall.
“Hello? Is everything alright?” he calls out, directing his voice into the house.
When Liam once again doesn’t get a response he takes a deep breath and makes his way through the hole. When he steps into the house he sees something that makes him momentarily forget why he’s there. The walls are covered in stunning graffiti art. Not just the simple tags that you usually see, but large intricate murals. Some depict characters, others have people, and some are just pieces of abstract art.
“Woah,” Liam says quietly.
Liam stands and admires the art for a moment before hearing a noise from another room. He snaps back to attention and looks towards the direction the sound came from.
“Hello? I know someone is in here. I’m here to help you. I heard someone get hurt and when there was no response I started to get worried,” Liam says.
After a moment someone cautiously peeks at Liam from around the corner. The person is a beautiful man with black hair and black eyes. Liam offers him a kind smile.
“You’re not the police, are you?” the man asks.
“The police? Why would I be the police?” Liam asks, chuckling.
The man gestures at the art all over the walls before saying, “Graffiti isn’t exactly legal, is it?”
“You painted all of this?” Liam asks, amazed.
“Yeah. I don’t know why but other people don’t really come and put up art here. It’s kinda just for me,” the man replies.
“So, are you okay?” Liam asks.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just cut my hand on some broken glass. It’s not the first time I’ve done that. I should probably be more careful,” the man says, holding his hand up and displaying a cut down the side of his hand.
“Okay, that’s good. You had me worried. It would’ve been on my mind all day if I hadn’t stopped to see if you were okay,” Liam replies.
“Well, it’s nice to know someone cares,” the man answers, smiling.
“That cut should probably be covered,” Liam says, pulling a red bandana out of his back pocket.
Liam walks over to the man. “May I?” he asks, gesturing to the cut.
The man nods and holds his hand out to Liam who gently wraps it in the bandana, securing it with a knot.
“Your art is sick, by the way. What’s your name?” Liam asks as finishes fastening the knot.
“Thanks, mate! My name is Zayn,” the man responds.
“I’m Liam. How long have you been putting it up in this house?” Liam asks, looking around.
“I think around a year. Want to see some more of what I’ve done?” Zayn asks.
“I’d love to,” Liam answers.
Zayn leads Liam further into the house showing him rooms upon rooms filled with artwork. Some pieces overlap and some pieces seem to completely cover others. Some rooms even have work done on the floor. Liam’s favourite is a massive self-portrait of Zayn that looks like it’s fragmenting and spreading onto the ground. Liam takes his time admiring as many works as he can. As they move through the house, the two men chat, getting to know one another. By the time they’ve walked through the entire house, Liam is in pure awe. It’s like a beautiful private gallery and it’s poetic that it’s been made out of something that was once forgotten.
“Zayn, mate, your talent is incredible! This place is awesome,” Liam says, grinning.
Zayn blushes and smiles. “Thank you. I’ve never shown anyone around here before,” he tells Liam.
“I feel important now. Why am I the first?” Liam replies, chuckling.
“Well, none of my friends and family know I put up graffiti art. It’s sort of just been my little secret. Until now, that is. Once you came in I didn’t see any harm in showing you. I mean, you’d already seen me and you’d already seen some of my art so I figured I might as well show you the rest. Especially since you seemed to like it so much,” Zayn explains.
“Thank you for showing me the place. It feels magical in here. You look around and the art just consumes you, there’s so much of it. You really are a brilliant artist,” Liam responds, smiling.
“Now you’re flustering me. I don’t know how to respond to compliments,” Zayn says, laughing as he blushes again.
“Well I’ll have to keep that in mind, won’t I?” Liam replies with a wink.
Zayn turns an even darker shade of pink and looks down at his feet. He twists the bottom of his shirt in his hands and Liam can see a smile spreading across his face.
Zayn looks up and asks, “Are you flirting with me, Liam?”
Liam smirks and replies, “I don’t know, am I?” before stepping a little closer to Zayn.
“Honestly, I kind of hope so,” Zayn answers.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind too,” Liam says, smiling.
They look at each other for a moment before Zayn does something that really surprises Liam. He leans in, closing the rest of the gap that had been between them, and he kisses Liam softly on the lips. Liam kisses him back for a moment and then they both pull away. Liam smiles and looks at Zayn, but his smile fades when he sees the look on his face. He looks startled. Liam reaches out to put a hand on Zayn’s arm but he backs away from the touch.
“What’s wrong?” Liam asks.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry,” Zayn answers.
“What? Why?” Liam questions.
“We practically just met. I probably just made you really uncomfortable. I don’t know what came over me,” Zayn says.
“Zayn, it’s okay. I promise. I was gonna save kissing you until I’d asked you out, but this works for me too,” Liam responds with a chuckle.
“You’re sure you’re not upset?” Zayn asks.
“Yes, I’m positive,” Liam says, smiling. He watches as Zayn seems to visibly relax.
“Wait, did you say you were going to ask me out?” Zayn asks, surprised.
“Yes, I did,” Liam laughs.
“I hope I didn’t fuck up that opportunity,” Zayn tells him, chuckling nervously.
“Not at all! I’m heading to a sandwich shop for lunch right now. Would you like to come with me?” Liam asks.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time right now. I’m late to class,” Zayn responds, looking disappointed.
“That’s alright! Are you free for dinner tomorrow?” Liam asks.
“Yes I am! I’ll give you my number,” Zayn replies, a big grin on his face.
“Perfect. I’m looking forward to it,” Liam says, smiling.
The two exchange numbers before Zayn says, “Well, I think I should get going. I have some stuff I need to do at home.”
“Alright! I’ll text you later,” Liam replies.
Zayn gathers his stuff into a backpack and the two men leave the house, being careful not to be seen. When they reach the sidewalk at the front of the house they go their separate ways. They wave goodbye, both smiling.
“See you tomorrow!” Zayn calls out.
“See you then!” Liam responds, already daydreaming as he resumes his walk to the sandwich shop.
