The City That Never Sleeps

Chapter 5

Zayn's POV

I had no idea how I had woken up in my own bed but somehow someone had taken pity on me and managed to get me home. It was mid afternoon by the time my headache had disappeared and I decided that I really needed to leave the apartment. The thing about my partying was that while I was out I would be having an awesome time, but without fail, whenever I was back home I felt like utter crap. I wanted to do something normal, so I phoned Niall, hoping he would be willing to go out sightseeing.

“Hey Nialler, it’s me. You up?”

“Yeah. Last night was –”

“Ugh, just don’t mention it. Want to go out and see New York? I need some fresh air and you need to tell me about what happened in England, okay?” There was a slight pause and then he replied,

“Sure.” I was about to hang up when I realised something,

“Niall?” I asked, “Where did you sleep last night? Where are you now?”

“Good question. A hotel somewhere in Manhattan. I forgot Liam’s address so I couldn’t go back there. By the time I was sober enough to ring him I assumed he was asleep so I just sort of got in a cab and asked to go to the nearest hotel. So I actually have no idea where I am right now.”

“Great. Actually, just check the GPS on your phone. I’ll come meet you. I’ll pop by Liam’s and get you some clothes yeah? Might give me a chance to apologise to him for being such an arse last night.”

“You are a clever boy Zayn Malik. According to my phone, I’m on West 44th Street somewhere, near 5th Avenue?”

“You’re near Times Square I think. Right, I’ll be there in a little while, I’ll meet you on the street somewhere, okay?”

“Okay. See you.” I hung up the phone and sighed. I hurriedly got dressed, grabbed a plastic bag for Niall’s clothes and headed off to Liam’s.

The doorbell rang. I waited. Liam opened the door, a small smile on his face.

“Hi Zayn,” he said, beckoning me into the apartment. I put my hands in my pockets and stood in the entryway. Liam frowned at me and said, “Why are you being such an awkward penguin?” I chuckled at his use of the words “awkward penguin”. So Liam.

“Because I feel like an idiot for going off without you and Lou last night. Every single time we go out as a group something like that happens. And I feel especially bad because it was Niall’s first day back and I pretty much left him and we didn’t stick together like we used to.” Liam smiled and pulled me in for a quick man hug. He looked at me and said,

“Look, don’t worry about it. I was feeling tired anyway, you weren’t the reason I left early. How about we go and see Niall together?”

“That’s actually what I was here for. He got into a taxi and stayed the night in a hotel somewhere near Times Square. I told him I’d stop by yours and get some of his clothes. We were going to go out sightseeing together, why don’t you come along?” Liam’s eyes lit up and he nodded,

“His suitcase is over there, you find some clothes and I’ll get my coat, give me a minute.” As he walked into his room I moved over to Niall’s suitcase. I found an un-ironed t-shirt (Niall was never one for ironing. Didn’t really see the point.), some jeans and underwear. I shoved it all in the plastic bag (what? It wasn’t ironed anyway) and waited for Liam to come back.

Fifteen minutes later we were in a cab moving slowly down a street, searching for a familiar blonde head. Leaning nonchalantly against a wall (although Liam and I both knew he was probably getting a bit anxious by now, being lost in such an unfamiliar place) was Niall, looking extremely worse for wear. Throwing a few bills at the driver, we got out of the taxi and approached him. The closer we got, the worse he looked.

“What happened?” Liam asked, genuinely concerned. Niall absentmindedly touched his face, where an almost-there black eye was accentuated by a graze on his left cheek.

“I just got a bit drunk…Things got out of hand…It’s no big deal,” Niall half-mumbled.

“No big deal?” Liam sighed and shook his head, “I’m just glad you’re okay. You are okay aren’t you? There’s nothing seriously wrong?” Niall grinned and replied,

“Best I’ve ever felt. Well not really, but I’m fine, I promise.” I interrupted their exchange, saying,

“Niall, we’ve got your clothes here. Go get changed.” I passed him the bag and he swiftly moved into a building that must have been the hotel. After a couple of minutes he returned, shoving his dirty clothes into a nearby bin.

“I can’t believe you just chucked those away,” I grumbled.

“Zayn, honestly, you and I both know that I have plenty more clothes.” I shrugged in agreement and all three of us started walking downtown.

Harry's POV

“You paid women after having sex with them. You do realise that is prostitution right?” Louis’ voice demanded over the phone.

“Look, I didn’t plan it okay, it’s not my fault they freaking stole my wallet,” I retorted.

“It so is your fault. You deserve it for how you behaved. Did you really think you’d get away with sleeping with six girls in one night and come away without a scratch?”

“Pretty much, yeah! Look, any guilt I feel is overcome by the pride I have in the fact that I slept with six girls. That’s impressive, come on, you’ve got to admit.” I waited, and I could almost hear Louis thinking. I could tell that he thought the six-girls thing was some feat, even for me.

“That’s not the point,” he continued, “You shouldn’t have done it.”

“Whatever, I didn’t call you for a lecture,” I said, whipping out the I’m-hurt card. There was a pause and Louis replied more gently,

“I know, I know. But you’ve got to understand that sleeping around is one thing, but funding prostitution is on a whole other level.” I sighed, falling back onto my bed.

“I get it, I do. I just…I don’t know. It’s harmless fun.”

“Harmless until you get a girl pregnant.” I sat up on my bed, running my hands through my hair,

“Lou, are you ever going to let that go?” I asked indignantly.

“No, Harry, I am not! I know it was just a scare but if that girl actually had been pregnant you’d almost be a father by now. You’d have to be responsible.” I shuddered internally at the word and replied,

“Yeah, well, she wasn’t pregnant, was she? So it’s fine.” I could hear Louis’ exasperated sigh. I stood up, looking around my room. After a while Louis replied,

“We don’t agree on this, so we should just stop talking about it. I don’t want to get into an argument.” I moved to my window and looked at the street below. Cars were moving slowly along as far as I could see, horns were beeping and pedestrians were crossing the road at various intervals. I remembered that Louis had spoken and I replied with,

“Me neither. Are you free this afternoon?” There was a slightly awkward pause and Louis answered,

“I told El I’d Skype her. We need to organise flights. Sorry.” Feeling an unmistakable yet surprising pang of loneliness I said,

“Oh, okay. No, it’s fine, I’m just going to go out and get some fresh air. Text me if you need anything from the shops while I’m out.”

“Sure. Thanks Harry,” Louis said, and I detected a slight hint of pity that I was determined to ignore. I picked up my coat and beanie from the floor as I said,

“Speak to you later. Bye.” I hung up before he could reply. I would not allow him to feel sorry for me. There was no reason for him to feel sorry for me. I was Harry Styles, after all.