ziam smut

The Locket

Of course it would, but unfortunately Zayn had never been too good at doing the right thing, which is why he grabbed the necklace before he had time to think, then put it down, then picked it back up again. What if he did open it, but in the living room so that there was no chance of Liam catching him? Would that be ok?

Evidently it wouldn't be at all morally correct, but Zayn's morals weren't exactly the strongest in the world and it was enough of a compromise to convince him that it was a good idea. And, yes, he had wanted this opportunity for years, but it was simple curiosity that was the cause of his obsession - he didn't actually care about the contents, did he? That suggested a level of intimacy past that of even the closest friendship, which was just way too complicated for him to contemplate right then.

Instead he grasped the locket, bounded into the living room with a ridiculous amount of adrenaline-fueled energy and, with a paranoid glance around him in case there might be a hidden camera in the corner or something, prized open the clasp to reveal its contents. And inside it was... him. What the fuck?

It wasn't just him, obviously, it was a picture of the two of them from ages ago - back in the X Factor house on the sofa with their arms around each other. They were at our closest back then before Danielle came into the picture, when kisses just sort of happened and they would often end up in the same bed just talking about things until they knew each other inside out and back to front. Zayn missed those times so much sometimes he thought he would cry.

But that didn't explain why this photo was what Liam had been keeping a secret for so long, or why it was so precious to him - why Zayn was seemingly so precious to him!

"Hey, I'm just gonna - Zayn? What are you doing?"

Zayn almost dropped the locket in shock when the unexpected voice cut across his deep thoughts, but it remained incriminatingly in his hands as his eyes jumped to Liam's and they both stared at each other in shock.

"What are you doing?" repeated Liam, and Zayn realised that he should probably say something in order to stop this situation from appearing any worse.

"I'm so sorry Li!"

Okay, well, sounding like a 5 year old that had just been caught next to a broken window was probably really helpful, right? Zayn decided to blame his outburst on the fact that he was trying to ignore how hot Liam looked when he was just out of the shower with only a small towel wrapped around his waist covering his... stop that train of thought right now, Malik! Your best mate is just talking to you and now is not the time to be getting an awkward boner!

In actual fact Liam still seemed to be struggling to comprehend what was happening if his stuttering was anything to go by.

"H-how did you... I mean why - what did you... Zayn?" The last word was clearly a plea for information, for an explanation, for something other than the silence which Zayn had adopted to blanket his rushed apologies that weren't helping the situation at all.

Liam's eyes bored into Zayn's own desperately, yet the only thing he could think to say in response was, "Why is there a picture of me in your locket?"

Smooth, Zayn, very smooth. Obviously the question was rather more abruptly probing than he had planned, however that still didn't explain Liam's dramatic reaction: with a choked sob his knees gave way and he collapsed onto the sofa with his head in his hands.

"Liam? Are you OK?" Suddenly any discussion of the necklace paled into insignificance compared to the emotional trauma Liam was going through in front of him, and Zayn's voice filled with concern.

"I - it's just... it wasn't supposed to happen like this!" His voice was muffled by the hands that ware obscuring his face but the distress in it was still obvious. Before Zayn could butt in to comfort him, though, Liam was continuing on his rambling explanation that he tried desperately to follow. "I didn't want you to know, at least not until... well, I know you've got Perrie and I'm sorry that I feel like this but I - I think I love you."