Cover Story

Chapter 6

But then it started to get more obvious.

The first time Zayn really noticed was when they were sitting on the couch in the main room watching a movie one night with the rest of the boys. Niall was sitting next to Zayn when the movie started, and twenty minutes in, he had his head on Zayn's shoulder. As time passed and Niall got sleepier, he ended up curled into Zayn with his head buried into Zayn's neck and his legs half in Zayn's lap and one arm thrown possessively over Zayn's chest. Of course Zayn noticed, but he wasn't uncomfortable with it. He was glad that Niall was accepting some kind of affection because he clearly needed it. He wouldn't have even said anything if Louis would have kept his giant mouth shut.

"Look who's all cuddled up and cozy again," Louis teased from the other side of the room as the credits rolled.

Zayn shot Louis a hard look, but it was too late. Niall was already wide awake and on the other side of the couch. "Sorry," Niall muttered to Zayn before standing up. "Going to bed," he announced to the rest of them before trudging to their shared bedroom. Zayn sighed and waited for a moment before following Niall and hoping none of them would come for at least a few minutes. Zayn walked into the bedroom, but didn't find Niall. He remembered immediately about the nappy, and quickly went down the hall to the bathroom.

"Niall?" he called, knocking lightly on the bathroom door. He was surprised when the door swung open to reveal a distraught and pants-less Niall. "Can I come in?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to upset him anymore. Niall nodded and sniffled, hiding behind the door. Zayn slid in through the small opening Niall provided him and closed the door behind him. "Let's get you all taken care of for bed, yeah?" Zayn said, gesturing for Niall to lay down and taking the nappy from his hands. Niall nodded again and laid down where he usually did, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. Zayn quickly fastened the nappy around his hips and helped him stand and put on his sweat pants again.

"I'm sorry," Niall said so quietly that Zayn almost didn't hear.

"What for, Ni?" Zayn frowned.

"Dunno," Niall mumbled. "Just you having to take care of me all the time like I'm a baby."

"I've told you before that I'm doing this for you, yeah? I don't mind any of it. And you're not a baby, you just need some extra attention is all," Zayn smiled, lifting Niall's chin up. "And Louis can shut his big mouth," he added, cheering inside when Niall grinned a bit.

"Okay," Niall agreed easily, leaning his head into Zayn's chest and allowing Zayn to hug him.

"Let's go to bed now, how's that sound?" Zayn asked him.

Niall shrugged and wrapped his arms around Zayn in response. Zayn bit his lip, but then said what he was really thinking.

"How about you go lay in my bed so we can cuddle like we were before Louis interrupted while I go chat with the boys?" Zayn suggested.

Niall shrugged and bit his lip nervously. The cuddles sounded nice...but what if the other boys made fun of him?

"I'll decide then," Zayn smiled softly. "Go lay in my bed, and I'll be there in a minute," he said decisively, not wanting to give Niall a choice because he wouldn't pick what he really wanted anyway.

Niall nodded, and Zayn tucked the fact that Niall did better with directions than he did with choices into the back of his mind. He would need to remember that again for times like these. He watched Niall go into their room and crack the door behind him before walking back to the main room where the rest of the boys were still sitting and now playing Xbox.

Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Zayn cut him off. "Niall's feeling a little homesick, and he's going to sleep in my bed tonight," Zayn fibbed just a little. "Please don't say anything; he's already upset."

"Louis is sorry," Harry spoke up innocently, catching on to the look Liam had been giving them ever since Niall left the room because whenever Louis was in trouble with Liam, Harry always seemed to be as well.

"It's alright. It's taken care of. I'd just like it if everyone was a little more understanding for Niall," Zayn sighed. They all nodded and proceeded to say their goodnights to Zayn before going back to their game. It was then that Zayn realized it was only 9:30, and they didn't usually go to bed until around 11, which meant that he and Niall had at least an hour without the rest of the boys.

He walked into the room and was pleased to see Niall laying in Zayn's bed, facing the wall with his blanket hugged to his chest. It was a tight squeeze, but Zayn slid in behind him and let Niall readjust so that he was curled into Zayn's side. "Better?" Zayn asked into Niall's hair.

"Yeah," Niall whispered, curling his hand tightly around some of Zayn's t-shirt.

That was nearly a week ago, and now they were caught in a similar situation backstage. They were all waiting in line to get their hair and makeup done, and Zayn and Niall had somehow ended up at the back of the line. Niall's head was in Zayn's lap, and Zayn was running his fingers through Niall's hair soothingly, the only difference being how relaxed Niall was now that the rest of the boys were used to seeing them this way. They had all come to accept that it was just the way Zayn and Niall were, just like they had with Harry and Louis.

Zayn knew how nervous Niall was about the performance, but it wasn't like the other boys' nervousness for their own parts, but for the fact that if people didn't vote for them, they would all be going home. And what would that mean for Niall? Probably losing Zayn and the other three boys that had come to be some of his best friends over the past month or two. And that scared him more than the band being unsuccessful.

Niall's fingers scratched against Zayn's jeans subconsciously as he watched the hair stylist fluff up Harry's hair. Zayn smiled down at him when he caught Niall's eye, and he moved his hand from Niall's hair to his face. "Whatcha thinking about?" he asked Niall.

"Nothing," Niall shrugged.

"Liar," Zayn said half-heartedly, tapping Niall's nose.

Niall scrunched up his nose, feigning distaste. He secretly loved when Zayn did those type of things but knew it would be weird if he said so. "Just don't want to go home," Niall said. "I mean, I do, but that would mean -"

"I know what you mean, Ni," Zayn reassured him, already having had this discussion with him a few times. "We're just going to go out there and have the best performance we can and know that it's enough. And people will love it. How could they not when they see your cute face?" Zayn joked, pinching one of Niall's cheeks lightly. Niall blushed, not so much from what Zayn said but because that was another one of those things he loved.

But again, Niall said nothing because he had come to trust Zayn. He had been right before so Niall just hoped that the same thing would happen again.

A/N: I hope this story is making sense and coming together well. I think that I'm most proud of this one out of all the others because it's so hard for me to write, but I love the plot and characters. Sorry for the long wait on the update, but I hope it was worth it! :)