Accepted[Zianourry AU]

Chapter 2: The Pool House

“He’d come home every night with bruises and cuts on his face, and every time I asked him where he got them, he said it was just from an intense game of football. But I knew the truth and didn’t want to pressure him into coming clean so I let it go.

“That is why I think of our move to this wonderful, fabulous neighborhood---” she got a round of hooting from the crowd, “as being such a blessing for my family and I. From the time I spent here, I found this enigmatic, livening city to be diverse and accepting. This is our chance for change and a new beginning. And why not start it off with good food, great wine,” she nudged my father for her glass. He willingly obliged. 

My mother took a long swig. 

“---and of course, amazingly entertaining company.” She raised her glass. “To family and friends!”

“To family and friends,” the crowd cheered. 

It wasn’t neuroscience to see that she won the crowd. 

After the crowd dispersed back around the kitchen, back patio near the pool, I said hello to a couple of people who came up to me, saying that they never would have known that I was bullied. I needed to remind myself to give my mother a good lecture about personal information, and to keep said information from becoming public. 

I nibbled at the buffet line. The food was really good. However, when I reached for a bottle of wine left on the counter table, my mother, obviously with her spiderman senses, plucked it from my fingers, shaking her head. She kissed my cheek before turning in a graceful movement, walking back to a group of women that smiled and blushed at me. 

I waved two fingers their way and leaned against the counter. What did a seventeen-year-old boy need to do to get his hands on some good liquor? 

I glanced around the kitchen for more unattended bottles or even glasses. I was desperate for that all too familiar numbing feeling. My fake ID was in my wallet upstairs but I’m sure the street was jam packed with cars that would make it impossible to maneuver out of. 

Calling it a night, I groaned inwardly and made my way upstairs. 

“Don’t think you’re gonna get away from us that easily,” and I groaned, realizing the sound of the voice. It hasn’t even been a full month since I heard it and annoyingly imprinted itself into my head. When was the green-eyed giant ever going to succumb? 

I turned to him, a large grin on his face. 

“The pool house,” he motioned his head towards the back door, “you got the key?” 

“No---” Harry the giant groaned dramatically, “but I know where it’s at.”

His face automatically brightened. 

“Cool.”

“Why are you asking?” I asked, feeling a little suspicious. If he really thought I was easy---or gay enough to have a one-night stand inside a cliche, pool house no less, he was mistaken. 

His thick eyebrows bounced. 

“I snuck some liquor from my parent’s cabinet and---.”

“I’m in,” Zayn agreed before giving Harry time to finish. “What did you bring?”

“A couple bottles of vodka and some high-end whiskey.”

Zayn wanted to cry when he heard those two lovely words. High-end. It was the expensive stuff that he could barely afford back home. The one time he had a chance to take a shot of it was when his parent’s were away and the lock to their liquor cabinet was open. It was sad to admit, even to himself, that one shot of the high-end liquid gold and he swore to this day that he built a spaceship and had flown to the moon.