"It Just Hurts"|| z.m

[83]

83- Zayn

That night Zayn couldn't find himself to sleep. The boys insisted on staying with him the last night, and Zayn had finally made them book a ticket for tomorrow evening. Liam and Niall weren't talking to him and Louis too was hesitant. Harry had just been quiet.

Louis was going to suggest something, but then he had apparently changed his mind and said sleeping would be better. So now Zayn lay in his bed, twisting and tossing. The boys were sprawled on the couches, and Louis had curled up on the armchair, legs on the bed by Zayn's feet. Zayn stilled, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Can't sleep?" Harry asked quietly and Zayn didn't answer, not really wanting to share anything at the moment.

"You're brave," Harry said suddenly and Zayn felt the urge to read his expression, try to find out what he was thinking. But he didn't want to sit up because that meant opening the doors for discussion. And as tired as he was, he didn't want to talk.

"Don't forget that. You fought him off three times," Harry said and Zayn held back his comments. All three times he'd been rescued. Yes, he'd prevented the chip from falling in the wrong hands, which gave him an enemy and look where he was now. Tom wasn't a fictional evil character like Voldemort or some shit, he was real danger who'd just intruded into Zayn's life.

Harry probably thought he was asleep because he didn't say anything else. Zayn wondered how the boys slept so quickly, they had settled in bed half an hour ago. When a few minutes passed in silence, Zayn sat up slowly. He peeked at the boys. Niall was asleep with his mouth agape, Harry's face was buried in the couch, Louis was snoring lightly and Liam was asl- no.

Zayn stared at Liam who was looking up at the ceiling, awake and blinking. He was staring so intensely, Zayn wondered what he was thinking about. He lay back down to avoid any discussion and quietly grabbed his phone from the side table. The earbuds already plugged in, he listened to the familiar music. Calm settled over him, but sleep didn't.

Sometime, he eventually fell asleep. He didn't know when or how, but he woke up abruptly, heart beating out of his chest, his hand clenched around his phone. Someone cursed softly and Zayn opened his eyes, sitting up quickly. His neck pricked and goosebumps arose on his skin as he searched his surroundings for any sign of danger. But then there was Louis who's phone had apparently fallen to the floor, because he was crouched down beside it. He looked up at hearing Zayn's ragged breathing. Ears turning red, Zayn lay back down, trying to control his breathing. A phone had fallen, nothing more.

But then the same cycle repeated and he lay there for hours, not being able to sleep. He played games on his phone, listened to almost all of his songs and even went to Twitter. Curiosity ate at him so he searched up Tom's name and read all the articles like they were updates of what had been kept away from him. The bastards had kept this away from him so long. He could have known, for fucks sake.

Zayn closed his phone and glared into the dark. He sat up, finding out all the boys were asleep. Zayn sighed heavily, glancing at the clock. 4:32

Looks like sleep wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

>>>>Louis>>>>>

Waking up at a reasonable time, Louis had freshened up and eaten breakfast. Zayn was already awake so that was a bonus because Louis didn't think anyone would want to ruin his sleep. He smugly woke the other boys up, knowing Liam and Harry were the morning birds here.

After eating breakfast and making sure Zayn ate, he contacted Trisha and told her they would be leaving soon for the airport. Zayn didn't seem sad at all, and that told Louis what he needed to know. Besides, the guy seemed annoyed and didn't even speak to him properly all morning. And if Zayn was stubborn, then so was Liam this time. None of them had uttered a single word to eachother. The clock ticked its mark on two p.m. They'd agreed on saying goodbye in the hospital before going home to pack and then leave for the airport.

Even though Louis' heart was against the whole idea, his head told him that maybe Zayn needed som space. They were talking about what they would do once they got back home and Louis noticed Liam sit down in the armchair, eyes cast down.

"Do keep contact," Niall said pointedly, and Louis nodded absentmindedly, watching as Zayn purposely ignored the poor lad, instead busying himself with his phone.

"They'll figure it out," Niall said reassuringly. "Zayn's just in pushing mode right now," he whispered. Even though Louis knew how true that was, he also knew Zayn like the back of his hand. Zayn was pushing Liam too much away. It seemed like he couldn't even decide what to do, whether to be angry at them for lying or push them away for whatever sake he was doing it for.

Harry nudged Louis with his foot as Liam opened his mouth to say anything. "What Harold?"

"Don't interrupt them," Harry whispered. Louis rolled his eyes, watching intently as Zayn and Liam conversed quietly, the exchange looking pretty awkward.

Zayn just nodded and put on that fake smile of his. Louis tried to hear, but they were freakin whispering.

Zayn's eyes then locked with Louis' as he glared tiredly. Louis smiled sheepishly, turning around to bump his head with Harry's who apparently had been ogling the pair too.

The rest of the time was spent with eating and talking. When it was finally time to leave, Louis walked over to Zayn and squeezed him in a hug. Zayn was surprised at first, but then hugger back. The boys each do the same and Zayn hugged all of them, smiling reassuringly. "Have a- uh nice trip!"

Louis noticed the pain in his eyes and he wondered what was wrong.

"You okay?" Liam asked worriedly, probably noticing the same. Zayn rolled his eyes, his smile wavering. "Yeah yeah, my leg just hurts."

"I'll call Nina," Trisha said, kissing his forehead softly. She hugged the boys and patted their cheek, wishing them all well and telling them to greet their mothers from her.

"Ah give me another hug," Niall said, hugging Zayn again. Zayn smiled a genuine smile and buried his face in the lad's neck. "Now don't go about worrying about me, I'll be fine."

Niall pulled back and wiped his eyes. "Course you will."

"Niall, are you crying?" Zayn asked with a guilty look. Niall chuckled. "Just got a bit teary eyed."

"We'll see each other again," Zayn offered, smiling hesitantly. "Think about everything you'll be doing in Mullingar."

"Oh stop trying to win me over," Niall grumbled. Liam cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. "You'll probably won't like this, but I'm not leaving."

Zayn frowned. "What? Why? The tickets-"

"You look like a zombie," Liam said pointedly. "You didn't sleep last night. Promise me you'll try to sleep tonight and actually rest."

Louis instantly began to feel guilty because he knew Zayn had woken up. Th lad had been sound asleep before he'd dropped his phone while coming back from the bathroom. Louis tried to meet his gaze which Zayn purposely ignored. A message in itself.

"Yeah, I'll try my best," Zayn said with another faux smile. "Just get to Wolverhampton safely. Tell your families I said hi."

The boys nodded soberly, saying one last goodbyes before they left. And as Louis exited the hospital, he felt like he was drowning in water. He didn't want to leave Zayn. He even considered turning back and just dump Zayn's reassuring words in the bin.

Harry stopped as Alberto opened the car door. "Maybe we shouldn't after all."

"Harry," Louis said quietly. "He'll be fine, he has his family and the guards." Louis wasn't sure who he was assuring the most.

Harry glanced at the hospital hesitantly and Louis squeezed his hand. "He's fine, nothing's going to go wrong."

And as Harry sat down in the car, Louis swept one last look around the parking lot before sitting inside, hoping he was right.

>>>> A/N <<<<
I want to kidnap Zayn and keep him forever. Feed him until he's healthy, and just keep him smiling ugh 💔

First day of school and I am already so scared. Like I'like be having final exams and wow that's such a burden. Last year of high school.

xx