Next To My Heart (Zarry AU)

Part 8

Thursday happens to come with an obnoxious amount of rain.

It hasn't stopped since this morning, and Harry had already resigned himself to staying inside after work, until Cassandra roped him into dinner. Alright, dinner was nice. They chatted so much Harry isn't sure how his mouth is still working, and as a result their friendship has gotten stronger. It's an exhilarating feeling. After dinner he hurried home, hunched under his umbrella, only to find the rain had stopped when he arrived in his street.

Now he's standing on his balcony, watching the clear sky with an unbelieving expression. He can't quite make out any stars, but there certainly aren't any clouds left. The air feels clammy, although the temperature has dropped to a more acceptable level.

Not everything about rain is bad. He enjoys the smell of the air afterwards, how the world feels almost cleaner. Likes hearing the small drip, drip, drip of raindrops after the downpour has passed. On days when he's not planning to go outside, he likes the background noise it gives. Also, it waters the plant on his balcony. Harry keeps forgetting about it and it was just on the verge of dying. It should be fine now.

He sniffles the air a last time before he decides to head back inside, only to stop in his tracks when the neighbouring balcony door slides open.

''Zayn.'' The name is out of his mouth before Harry could stop himself. Surprise does that to you.

''Wha-'' Zayn looks his way, startled. Harry can see something in his hand, but he doesn't get the chance to properly look before his eyes meet Zayn's.

''Hey,'' he says tentatively. He doesn't know why he's being careful. They spoke this morning and everything was fine, then. Maybe it's just this moment, how fragile it feels to stand under the moonlight with no noise around them. No real ending like their mornings when they're separated by time.

Zayn nods, smiling softly. ''Hey.'' Harry can see the item in his hand now that he's shifted; a bottle of wine, still unopened. Suddenly he feels like he's interrupting something, like maybe Zayn just wanted some time alone and is now forced to spend it with him.

''I could-'' Harry motions towards the bottle Zayn's holding -''I could go.''

''No!'' It comes out rushed, and Harry catches Zayn wincing at himself, if only a tiny bit. ''Stay. Celebrate with me.''

''Celebrate?'' Harry asks, intrigued.

''Finally got a permanent position at my school,'' Zayn holds up the bottle ''they gave me this, too.''

''How come you didn't have one yet?''

Zayn hums, placing down the bottle on the floor and leaning against the wall. ''Couldn't. Not until this older man retired.'' He waves his hand in a dismissive gesture. ''Doesn't matter. Got it now.''

''Yeah.'' Harry smiles, feeling his heart jump a little at Zayn's answering one. ''Congratulations. And, I'll stay.''

''Thank you.'' Zayn goes to pick up the bottle again, but pauses. ''Um, I don't have wine glasses.''

''I'll go get mine. You brought the wine, I'll do the dishes.'' He shrugs. ''It's only fair.''

''Alright. I'll be here.''

Harry breezes back inside, his heart suddenly pounding inside his chest. Zayn wanted him to stay, spend time with him. He makes himself take deep breaths to calm himself down while he goes to his kitchen to retrieve the glasses. They clink in his hands, sounding incredibly loud in the silence of his home. He rolls his shoulders, tries to shake off any tension and carries the glasses back with a smile on his face.

They're silent while Zayn pours a liberal amount of wine into their glasses, shrugging when he catches Harry's questioning gaze. No words are exchanged when they bump their glasses together and take a sip, taking in the flavour. Harry's surprised; expected something much sharper, but the liquid in his mouth is mellow, only a little tangy. Doesn't burn as much as some much cheaper wines have.

''It's good.'' Zayn sounds surprised as well.

''Yeah.'' Harry's throat feels dry, his fingers a little cramped around the stem of the glass. He takes a bigger sip this time, feeling the warmth spreading through his chest. Still, he can't shake the feeling that he's stealing something. An evening that wasn't meant for him.

''Liam couldn't join you?'' he asks, fitting his glass in his palm, with the stem lodged between his fingers. This way he's not as scared of dropping his glass.

Something shifts in Zayn's features, but Harry can't decipher it. ''No, he's at home.'' He takes another sip before explaining. ''The journey here takes a while. He's got work in the morning.''

''Ah.'' Harry nods, trying to appear understanding. Really, he's just relieved. Doesn't feel as guilty knowing he's the second choice.

''You know...'' Zayn starts, looking down into his glass. Harry recognises it as a way to avoid eye contact, does it himself too many times. ''You two seem to be getting along quite well.''

Something clicks, like the final puzzle piece falling into place. Harry feels a bit stupid for not having seen it before, but it's kind of obvious now. How Zayn has been acting off, not like the person Harry knew him to be before Liam came into the picture. Those looks Zayn kept giving him, calculating and on the edge of unfriendly.

''Oh.'' It comes out on a breath, punched out of him with the realisation. Zayn thinks he's trying to steal Liam from him, which couldn't be further from the truth.

If only he knew.

''That - I would never do that, okay? He's cool and I like him, but not like that.'' Harry takes a deep breath, makes his voice softer. ''I would never do that to you.''

Zayn's expression seems to grow heavier and lighter at the same time. Less guarded, more open with his frustration. ''Sorry,'' he runs a hand through his hair, ''I'm just paranoid.''

''No need to apologise.'' Harry winks, tries to lighten up the mood. ''I've been told I make people fall like flies.''

''The expression is drop like flies, and-'' Zayn narrows his eyes at him- ''you did that on purpose, didn't you?''

Harry snorts. ''Make myself look like an idiot? Don't need to do that on purpose.''

The smile he receives in return is something that spreads a warmth through his chest much like the wine did earlier. Only this doesn't stop at his chest, creeps through his arms and legs all the way to his fingers and toes instead. Every time he sees Zayn smile he's enchanted all over again, and every time it makes him sad. He's just waiting for this stupid crush to end so he can move on, really.

''You're funny,'' Zayn says, placing the glass at his lips to take a drink, but his eyes are still smiling.

For a moment Harry thinks he knows why the sky is empty, because all the stars are in Zayn's eyes.

Seems you guys guessed right! Zayn was indeed jealous ;) The next part will be up on Thursday!

Laters xxx <3