Wrong Side of Love (Ziam bodyswap)

Chapter 18

She's pouting, is the thing. It's fairly effective, what with the perfectly pink lips and the wide blue eyes and the batting of her heavy eyelashes. "Okay."

Liam throws a single, stressed look at his phone, desperate to grab it and send Zayn a text to come with them, but Perrie's grabbing his arm, tugging him out of the room, and he doesn't have time. She keeps her arm linked firmly in his the whole way down to the lobby, like she's expecting him to run, and she doesn't drop it to link their fingers together until they're in view of the large glass entrance and the people waiting out front.

A member of their security is waiting for them in the vehicle, unsurprisingly. Liam slides into his seat, Perrie climbing in after him, and does up his seatbelt before looking out the window, watching the people outside through the tinted glass. That's how he spends the whole drive, while Perrie happily chats up the driver and their security guy. She's ridiculously bubbly and cheerful to everyone, and Liam's never met anyone (aside from Niall) who can befriend anyone, at any time, so easily.

"Come on," she says half an hour later, shoving a few pieces of clothing at him. They're in some small, local clothing shop with more manikins than Liam's ever seen in such a small place, and ridiculously high prices for clothes almost identical to something he could buy for a fraction of their cost anywhere less private. "Go try it on."

Liam groans. They've only just started shopping, technically, but it feels like they've been at it for hours. "I don't—"

"Liam would like it," Perrie teases, waggling her eyebrows. "So go try it on."

"What— what does that have to do with anything?" Why would him liking it persuade Zayn into trying something on?

Perrie shoves him forcibly into a changing stall. "Just try it on," she orders. "Stop complaining."

So Liam does, with the hopes that obeying will get her to back off, and maybe they can head back to the hotel soon. He's hungry, bored, irritated, and he wants to be with Zayn, not with her. So he pulls off his own shirt, tugs on the one she'd handed to him. He's not sure what's so special about it, it's just a simple black printed t-shirt, but.

"Happy?" Liam asks as he comes out.

"Oh, that looks great on you," Perrie compliments. "Definitely get it."

"Okay." Liam goes back inside the change room and works on getting back into his own clothes.

"Speaking of Liam," she says as he does, door of the change room between them, and Liam pauses, tensing a little. "How are you two, by the way? You didn't really say last time we chatted."

"Uh. We're good?"

"I take that to mean you're both still completely stupid," she sighs.

"Um." What? The more she talks, the more confused Liam gets. It's starting to really bother him. "I guess."

"Boys," Perrie scoffs. "Boys and their stupid inability to talk about or own up to their stupid feelings. You're both annoyingly daft."

Liam comes out of the change room, door banging loudly against the wall. "Can we go?" he snaps. He wants to be back at the hotel. He wants to pull Zayn aside and demand answers to all the questions he has. "I don't want to shop."

Perrie looks marginally taken back by the heat in his words. "Okay," she says. "Yes, we can — Sorry. I know I shouldn't have brought it up." She lowers her gaze, scuffs the sole of her hightops against the ground. "I know how you are about it, and I shouldn't have pushed. I apologize."

And now Liam feels guilty. "No, it's not you," he says quickly, and it's not, or not completely anyways. "I'm just tired and cranky."

Her happy smile is back so fast Liam nearly gets whiplash. "I know," she says. "Just give me ten minutes to pick something out, yeah? You can wait in the car. I'll be fast." She tugs the shirt from his grip. "And I'll get this one for you."

"Alright." Liam lets her wave him off, heading for the car, where he sits for the next half hour, impatience growing by the second. Finally she comes out, weighed down by bag after bag. How had she had time to try all that on? Fucking Christ, Liam will never understand women. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," she says pleasantly. "I'll show you what I got when we get back. You should see this pair of shorts I got. They're gorgeous. And this pair of wedges that—"

Liam tunes it out.

*