I Cannot Hide This Even Though I Try ~ A COMPLETED One Direction Fanfic

8 - So Wrong

"No. I'm not standing up to then no matter how much I want to do just that."

"Why not?"

I sigh. "Maybe because I don't want to jeopardize the careers of my four best friends. Maybe because I don't want to screw up my already faulty relationship with Liam. Maybe because I'm scared of what the world will think. Whatever the case may be, I don't want to do it. I'm not ready to do it."

Louis runs a hand through his hair and takes a seat on one of the barstools surrounding the island in the middle of my kitchen. "I'm sorry, Niall. I shouldn't be pushing you to do something when I know I wouldn't be willing to do it yet. 

I remain silent for a moment while I search my pantry for food. "It's alright, Lou. I would probably have done the same thing if our roles were reversed," I finally say, pulling out a bag of crisps from the shelf Liam designated for snacks.

"We do need to stand up to them eventually, y'know," Lou states with a smirk.

I pause a moment to think about his words, then pop a crisp into my mouth and bite down on it. I smirk back at my older friend as I retort by saying, "Only if our eventually comes sooner than their eventually." 

************************************************************************************************************

*Zayn's POV*

Abby texted me in the middle of the meeting with management and we made plans to see each other afterward, so here I am. My brown-haired, brown-eyed girlfriend is sitting across from me, giving me a look that tells me I'm in trouble. All I can do is gulp... Again.

"So," she begins, raising an eyebrow at me, "you decided to point me out to the world on live television?"

"I-I warned you!" I complain, reaching out to take her hand in mine.

"But I didn't think you would follow through! Not while I was in the studio audience," she rants, not allowing me to interlock my fingers with hers.

"Oh come on, love, I gave you plenty of warning," I remind her.

Suddenly, the brunette in front of me starts giggling and takes my hand. "I'm teasing you, Zayn. I got nervous and such from having so many people looking at me, but I care about you a lot and am kinda glad that I can openly say that you're mine and I'm yours," she says with one more laugh, grinning up at me.

I can feel my cheeks heating slightly, so I just smile at my beautiful girlfriend.

After a few moments of silence, I start absentmindedly playing with Abby's fingers that are intertwined with mind. Now if only Niam could be as happy as Abby and I are, I wouldn't feel so bad... What happened to them, anyways?

"Zayn? What are you thinking about?" Abby's voice draws me from my thoughts and I realize I must have been staring off into nothingness again.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing important," I mumble, trying to put myself back together.

"Zayn, you know you can tell me anything..."

I sigh audibly before reaching across the table to take Abby's hand again. When did I let go of her hand? ... Not important. I have to refocus myself before replying. "It's just, well, you know that thing we talked about that you can't tell anyone? 

I watch as my girlfriend thinks through the things I've shared with her until she figured out what I'm talking about. "Yeah, why?" Abby slowly questions.

"They've been having problems recently and I can't help but feel like I should try to help them," I explain.

"Do you know what's causing the problems?"

I shake my head slightly while saying, "Not exactly. I mean, I tried to talk to Niall earlier but all he said was that things have been awkward since Liam got back from Florida. And that he keeps having this dream, but he tensed up and stopped talking when I asked about that." I stop and take a deep breath, starting to feel more upset just talking about it.

"So... Niall has been having a dream that he can't talk about and Liam has been distancing himself since he got back from Florida? Have you thought about talking to Liam about this, Zayn?" Abby looks at me seriously, raising her eyebrows.

I let out a low chuckle as I realize that I should probably have already talked to the Wolverhampton boy about this matter. "Not really, no," I admit aloud to my girlfriend and myself. "Actually, if you'll excuse me I need to make a call," I add, standing up from the table and walking to my bedroom.

*Ring*

Come on, pick up…

*Ring*

Dammit, Liam, pick up the phone!

*Ring*

You have got to be kidding me…

*Ri-

"Hello?" a voice calls through the speaker on my phone.

"Liam, perfect, I need to talk to you!" I practically shout over the line.

"Ow! You know I can hear you without you yelling," he teases. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

I hesitate, questioning whether or not this is a good idea. "I want to know what happened while you were in Florida that has made you distance yourself from Niall so much lately," I finally force myself to say.

"Nothing happened in Florida, mate. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the bullshit, Payne. Something happened and now you and Niall aren't as close as you were before you left to Florida," I snap.

"Look, I'm with friends right now. Can we talk about this later?" the younger boy asks.

"You have to promise me that you're actually going to tell me later, then," I command, my voice coming out more stern than I thought possible.

"Fine, I promise I'll talk to you later. Now if you don't mind, I'm showing some friends around the city, so I need to go."

"Alright," I give in.

"Thanks, Zayn. I'll see you later."

"See you." As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I can hear the line go dead.

I walk back to where my girlfriend is sipping from the cup of tea I fixed earlier and sit down across from her. 

"So? How'd it go?" she inquires the moment I'm in my seat.

"Horribly. Liam was busy with friends, so we made a deal to talk things through later," I explain, laying my head down on the table. Why is everything going wrong?