Gravity Always Wins (Zouis Fan Fiction)

Chapter 7

Louis’ good mood doesn’t last. The next day he’s in a foul one. He’s the last on the bus, complaining that he didn’t have time for breakfast then making a show of spitting out the cup of tea Liam makes him asking how people in Sweden survive on that shit.

Zayn leaves him the fuck to it, retreating to his bunk to call his mother because he knows it’ll end up being his fault for keeping him up until 4 a.m.

‘He’ll be alright once he has something to eat,’ Harry says as he crawls up into his bunk, even though Zayn didn’t ask. But Louis isn’t. His mood continues for the rest of the day and normally Zayn would ignore him, but he knows Louis well enough now to know that it’s more than lack of sleep. This isn’t one of his infamous strops, he isn’t being bitchy and biting and rolling his eyes at everything everyone says. He’s angry, so angry he can’t speak, his jaw clenching and unclenching all day like he wants to say something and can’t.

‘I’m fine,’ he keeps saying – I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine – and it’s driving Zayn fucking nuts because he clearly isn’t so he wishes everyone would just leave him the fuck alone until he got over it. He’d probably get over it a lot quicker if he didn’t have to keep telling Liam that he was fine every thirty seconds.

Zayn knows that Louis is going to snap, but he’s surprised that he doesn’t do it until after the show, when they’re walking from the bus to the hotel. It’s chaos, as usual, a rush of screams and shoves, hands grabbing at him from all directions so Zayn isn’t sure if he’s being pulled away from the crowd or into it. There’s a hand on his right arm and the grip is so steady, he’s sure it’s Paul, but then he feels a sharp pain and winces. He’s about to tell him to go easy when Paul appears in front of him and reaches for his left hand. Startled, Zayn turns back to look down at the hand clutching his right arm to see red fingernails and tries to pull away. But the girl won’t let go and when he tries to jerk his arm away again, he feels a sudden, sharp pain that makes him yelp.

Then Louis is between them.

‘Let go!’ he spits, grabbing the girl’s wrist. But she isn’t listening, pulling Zayn backwards and trying to kiss his cheek as she tells him that she loves him.

‘Fucking let go of him!’ Louis tells her, but when he tugs at her wrist again, she sinks her nails into Zayn’s arm and it makes his eyes swim out of focus for a second.

Zayn doesn’t know what happens after that as all hell breaks lose. He can hear Louis swearing at the girl, but then he’s gone and he looks up to see Jag pulling him towards the entrance to the hotel. Then Paul grabs Zayn and it’s like the parting of the Red Sea as Paul holds his arm out and bellows at everyone to move.

When they get through the revolving doors and in the lobby, Zayn’s out of breath. He’s lost his baseball cap in the scuffle and presses a hand to the top of his unwashed hair as there’s another flurry of camera flashes as Paul leads him to the lifts.

Zayn hears Harry before he sees him and he’s never heard him raise his voice like that – at least not in public, where anyone can hear – and when they turn the corner, he and Louis are arguing in front of the lifts.

‘You can’t talk to a fan like that, Lou!’ Harry says, a hand in his hair.

‘You always fucking do this, Harry!’ Louis barks, and as soon as Paul lets go of him, Zayn steps forward, sure that he’s going to punch him, but Liam’s there.

‘Come on, guys.’

Louis shakes his head. ‘No, Liam. He always does this!’

‘Do what, Louis?’

‘Stick up for everyone else because you want everyone to like you!’

‘The fuck?’ Harry looks stunned. ‘She’s a kid! She got a bit excited!’

‘A bit excited?’ Louis grabs Zayn's wrist and shows Harry his arm. ‘Look!’

Harry’s face changes as he looks down at the tangle of livid scratches on Zayn’s arm. ‘Shit, man. Are you alright?’

Liam asks him as well, a hand on his shoulder, but Zayn isn’t listening as he looks at his arm. He didn’t know it was that bad, his head swimming suddenly and his mouth flooding with the taste of dirty pennies when he sees the blood.

‘Who’s sticking up for us?’ Louis says, looking at Harry, then at Liam and Niall. ‘No one gives a shit about us. They only care that we’re not late for our next appearance.’

Paul shakes his head. ‘Come on, Lou. That isn’t true.’

Louis turns to stare at him, his eyes wet. ‘What if she had a knife?’ When Paul looks away, he looks at Harry again. ‘Is this fucking worth it?’

He doesn’t say anything, just looks at his feet, and Louis curses under his breath.

‘Leave him,’ Zayn says, pressing his hand to Liam’s chest when Louis storms over to the door to the stairs and kicks it open. ‘Let him calm down.’