nebula :: [malik]

[ xlvi :: bubbly ]

And all of a sudden, Jesse's stuck his head back into the conversation and he's leaning beside Zayn, whispering loudly, "Sounds like this's a serious conversation."

Zach shakes his head as Zayn laughs behind his wrist. "Fuck off, Jess."

"What?" He exclaims, balancing on a stool to hop over the bar. "Zayn knows you like Jourdan, he's just humorin' you. Seriously, he's only fuckin' with ya."

Zach turns. "You do?"

"I mean..." Zayn shrugs, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She's the only girl you've been on about, really."

Jesse snorts. "She's the only girl you've been on about," he mimics, rolling his eyes and employing the fake British accent. "What the fuck's that even mean?"

"Ask the fuckin' Queen," Zayn retorts, flipping him off. "That's not what my accent even sounds like, ya prick."

"You both are really fucking unhelpful, y'know that?" Zach adds as Jesse laughs.

He sticks a toothpick between his teeth. "You gotta ask her out, first."

"Where'd we even go?" Zach exclaims. "Shit. Fuck," he stares incredulously between his friends. "What does she like? What's she gonna wanna do? Jesus Christ," he runs his hands across his face. "I feel so fucking stupid, like...Here's another one'a your friends trying to get with one'a Ana's."

"Hey, mate, don't think that way," Zayn says, because he's stopped laughing with Jesse because this is obviously a bit more serious than he'd thought.

"Yeah," Jesse adds. "B'sides, all Ana's friends are models. We probably honestly can't even imagine how many times a day they get hit on."

Zach looks up. "That's supposed to be helpful, Jess?"

"What I'm sayin' is," Jesse continues, as Zayn shakes his head, eyebrows raised because where the hell's this going, "that you shouldn't even worry about all that shit, 'cause you're her friend, right? Like, for some reason Anais and Magdalena and all their friends like us enough to wanna be friends with us, so you've already got a leg up on things, right?"

He claps him hard on the back.

Zach stares at Zayn.

Zayn shrugs, "He's right."

"You agree with him?"

"I mean..." Zayn nods. "Yeah."

"That's 'cause I know my shit," Jesse shrugs. "If Jourdan's dumb enough to like you, then you've got a pretty good chance that she's dumb enough to say 'yes' to a date. She's Mags' friend. This is scientific, man."

"Alright, c'mon, Jesse," Zach groans. "She's not dumb and you're making this seem way easier than it fucking is."

"But..." Jesse begins, high-pitched and drawn-out, "Am I?"

Zayn laughs. "Honestly, like..." He shakes his head, "If you need help, ask Ana. She's been trying to set you up like, for ages."

"Aww," Zach smiles. "That's so fuckin' awesome, man. Can we switch? How 'bout I date Ana for a day?"

Zayn shakes his head, because even though he knows Zach is kidding, he still doesn't find the joke all that funny.

___

Zayn is overprotective. 

He realizes this about himself. It's no lie; he'll admit it. And no, it's not like he's selfish, or that he's greedy, it's that he is fiercely protective over the things he cares deeply about.