A.N.: beware the angst.
“You always do this, Niall!” Zayn roared, slamming his fist against the kitchen table, jostling the discareded plastic red cups and crumbs of chips on the surface. “God damn it!”
Niall tried to laugh it off, shuffling slightly in his seat. “Zayn, just relax. It’s not that big of a-.”
“Yes, it is!” Zayn yelled, cutting Niall off. “Because this is not your house okay? It’s my house,” Zayn gestured around to his dishevelled kitchen that had dishes pilled high in the sink and random cupboards wide open to show their now open insides. There was toilet paper streaming from one end to the other and things just everywhere.
“And you don’t have to deal with this! You can just walk out of the room and be done with everything and then I have to deal with this.”Niall shrank more and more in his seat as Zayn continued ranting until the audible sound of giggles filtered in through the open kitchen door and he fell silent with a deadly look in his eyes.
Harry shuffled past the door, heading three scantily dressed women down the hall as he went, shooting them a sheepish smile as they continued to flirt with him. “Yes, thank you for coming.” He mumbled tugging open the door before he finally gave in and started shoving them outside. “You’ll have to thank Niall because it was his party, not mine. No, I wasn’t invited. Okay, okay, thank you.” He finally slammed the door and sank against it with a sigh just as Liam and Louis walked out of the living room, bulging garbage bags in hand.
“Living room’s done,” Liam said, tying off the end of his with a grimace before he pushed the black bag by the door. “People are disgusting.”
“You should’ve seen downstairs.” Louis grumbled, adding his own bag to Liam’s. “I think someone took a piss in the corner and then tried to clean it up with napkins; smelled disgusting anyways. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go burn my hands off.” He made to turn away but Liam stopped him, grabbing onto his shoulder lightly.
“We’ll go deal with Niall first and then you can go deal with your hands.” Liam grabbed Harry’s shoulder as well and pushed them into the kitchen where Zayn was still glaring at Niall and Niall was studiously avoiding all their eyes, glancing down at his hands. The threesome stopped by the table but Niall still didn’t look up so Louis clicked his tongue.
“Niall,” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What on earth possessed you to throw a party at Zayn’s house?”
Niall glanced up but avoided their irate expressions, twisting his head from side to side as if to work out a kink in his neck. “Well, he wasn’t here and… I just thought…” Niall clapped his hands desperately to the table top and finally met eyes with Harry who he assumed would be the most sympathetic, the kindest of all even when mad. “He was staying over at Perrie’s and… No one was here!” Niall sighed and shook his head, slumping against the back of the chair and mumbling low. “It was an empty house. My house isn’t big enough, you know? So, I just… I just thought…”
“You just thought…” Zayn snapped before he let out a bitter laugh. “God, Niall, that’s the problem with you. You don’t ever think past the surface. You didn’t think of how I would feel or how the party would end up with such a mess?!”
Niall let out a little whine in the back of his throat, squirming uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake.” His voice was a hoarse beg, pleading Zayn to listen to him through his sniffles but Zayn’s face was as stony and angry as ever.
“You’re damn right it was a mistake,” He snapped, clenching his fists on the counter top. “But sorry is not good enough, Niall.”
“Zayn,” Niall sobbed, tears filling his eyes with the threat of sneaking down his cheeks because all he wanted was his best friend back.
“You know,” Zayn laughed bitterly, turning away from Niall with a sneer. “Sometimes, I really hate you.”
That time, Niall did let out a sob and he clapped his hands to his mouth as the flood gates opened but still Zayn wouldn’t look at him so he pushed away from the table and sprinted out of the kitchen, slamming the front door behind himself.
Instantly, as soon as it was closed, Liam took Niall’s seat. “Don’t you think you were a little harsh, Zayn?”
“We need to be!” Zayn pushed out of his seat and headed over to the fridge, wondering if there were any beers left because he could really use a drink. “That’s the only damn way he’s gonna understand.” Zayn pulled open the fridge but let out a yell as, instead of shelves inside, there was a human body, all curled up on itself, head pressed against his knees. Zayn stepped aside so the others could see as well and they let out shocked gasps.
“Is he dead?” Louis asked, moving forward but he jumped back and crushed Harry’s toes as the person inside tilted their head and opened their eyes, lashes crusted with ice. “That is so fucking weird.” He whispered but Zayn was having none of it.
Zayn reached into the fridge and unceremoniously tugged the man out. “Get the fuck out of my house.” He growled, pointing toward the front door and, slowly but surely and in stiff movements, the man stood up from the floor and disappeared down the hall, a short click of the door as the only notice that he had left the house. Zayn sighed and slammed the fridge shut, leaning his head against it as he groaned. “This is the bullshit I put up with.” He groaned low, gritting his teeth.
“Zayn,” Harry started from behind, shaking Louis off so he could walk forward and touch at Zayn’s shoulder. “Just breathe, okay? We’ll call some cleaners and we’ll have your house looking good as new in no time.”
“What, so this can happen again?” Zayn mumbled low, shaking his head as if to say ‘no thanks’.
“I think Niall’s learned his lesson, you know? You didn’t see his face when he left, Zayn. Just, call him up. Tell him to come back. He’s not in a state to be alone, let alone think you’re mad at him.” Harry rubbed his hand over Zayn’s shoulder comfortingly until Zayn nodded and pulled away from the fridge, dipping into his pocket to pull out his cell phone but, as soon as he did, it started buzzing.
“Speak of the devil,” Zayn mumbled, seeing Niall’s name flash up on the screen and showing it to the others before he picked up. “Where are you?” He asked in more of a sigh than he had intended but he wasn’t going to deal with small talk. He just wanted to know where Niall was so he could go pick him up.
“Excuse me. This isn’t my phone, I just,” A stranger’s voice started and Zayn immediately frowned, pulling the phone away from his ear to glare at it.
“Who’s this?” He growled low, thinking someone had taken Niall’s phone during the party, which would be just great. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry! I just– let me explain! Do you know the owner of this phone?” The man continued in a frantic voice and Zayn stared blankly at the wall.
“Yes, he’s my friend.” Zayn started, speaking carefully so as not to reveal much to this potential thief.
“Well, you’re listed as an emergency number for them on their phone. I’m really sorry. Your friend’s been in an accident, a bad one at that. I was just a witness but the car’s completely totalled and the paramedics are trying to resuscitate him but it’s not – There’s just so much blood.”
Zayn felt as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs and he choked, stumbled back in his step until he hit the skin and he sank to the floor, grasping at his throat desperately as the rest of the man’s words fell on deaf ears. Zayn only realized he’d hung up the phone, or maybe the stranger had, when the dial tone rang high in his ear and he let the phone fall limp from his hand, cracking rough against the floor.
“Zayn, what’s wrong?” Louis said instantly, rushing over to crouch in front of him. “Where’s Niall?”
“A-a-accident…” Zayn stuttered out, wrapping his hands around his knees to hug them close. “He was in an accident…”
“What?!”
The other three asked questions and tried to speak over each other but all Zayn could think about was, “The last thing I told him was that I hate him, oh god,” He clapped his hand to his face as a sob racked up his chest and Louis’ arms wrapped around him, whispering in his ear and trying to comfort him but he was, in every sense, completely broken.
A.N.: Might write more but not at the mo
