Oh, Won't You Let Me Burn (Won't You Let Us Conquer) [Zarry]

Chapter Eight | You Wouldn't Be Apollo

Zayn's eyes travel back up to focus in on Apollo in front of him.

"Hi," he mouths, beaming softly through the window, appearing slightly bashful.

Zayn can hardly believe his eyes. He meekly lifts a hand to wave at him. "Hi," he mouths back, and his heart jumps within his chest, because finally.

Apollo's looking at him and seeing him this time, and he doesn't know why it feels so good that he is, but he feels like he's finally ready to see him now too.

The sensation is incredibly foreign and strange, and everything within his body is trying to fight against it, but it's dug itself deep, so he immediately comes up unsuccessful.

He tilts his head slightly in the direction of the door to the bookstore and nearly releases a sigh of relief once he sees Harry grin brightly before turning to go use it.

He hears the bell above the door ring out throughout the store but doesn't round until he hears the familiar, deep voice right next to him. It sends chills up the back of his neck.

"So I have to ask," he starts, both hands wedged in his coat pockets, face set in a mock serious expression. "Have you been following me, Zayn? Because it seems that lately, you have been popping up wherever I go. You stalking me or summat?" He smirks, and Zayn snorts in response.

"You know, I could ask you the same thing, Styles, because I always come to this bookstore, and I have never once seen you anywhere near here."

"Maybe you just weren't looking hard enough."

His shoulder's given a light nudge, and, "Maybe," Zayn concedes quietly, because he's starting to believe that himself. He moves his attention back to the bookshelf in front of him. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on my way to get some frozen yoghurt down the street," Harry informs him, "but then I saw you in the window. Thought I'd say hello." He shrugs easily.

Zayn peers at him. "Why? You didn't the last time that we saw each other." He didn't mean to say it out loud.

Apollo doesn't look offended though. In fact, far from it– it seems that he rather lights up at those words. "Why, Zayn," his dimples are proudly put on display, "is that a hint of hurt that I detect in your voice? Do you feel starved of my company?"

He rolls his eyes. "No," he denies vehemently. "No, I just thought that for someone who claims to want to be friends with me, you sure do seem to avoid me quite a lot."

Hypocrite, a voice at the back of his head whispers.

"I wasn't avoiding you," Harry states, eyebrows furrowed. Zayn only arches one of his own back at him, and he hangs his head to evade his stare. "Okay, maybe I was avoiding you a little," he reluctantly confesses, "but you're one to talk," he goes on to accuse.

Zayn doesn't even bother trying to refute that.

"I mean, you haven't come around Lou's since the party. You turned Lana down when she asked you to come grocery shopping with us, and I know for a fact that Niall called you as soon as he saw me walk into Malee's the other day, so I just– I just thought that that was what you wanted me to do," Harry rationalises, still not looking up at him as he shakes his curls out. "Avoid you, I mean. I– I don't know. I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to approach you when we saw each other at the aquarium, since we're not exactly friends, and besides, I was with my class on a field trip that day anyway, so I couldn't very well leave them all on their own just so that I could–"

"I get it, Styles." Zayn cuts him off, because he sounds like he's becoming more and more breathless with each word. "You don't need to explain yourself to me."