in the hills • zayn malik

twenty four- solutions

Louis remained quiet, and Zayn knew that he had silently given up, but didn’t want to worry Harry any more than he was. The two of them had a strong relationship that he himself couldn’t understand. They acted like brothers, though there was always something in the back of Zayn’s mind that wondered if there would ever be anything more.

But Louis had made it clear that he wasn’t gay or bisexual or any other sexual orientation that wasn’t heterosexual. He was touchy about the subject, and Zayn knew Harry was as well, though as time passed he seemed to be less bothered by it.

Zayn tensed slightly as Perrie walked back in, having put on a pair of tracksuit pants and carrying a bowl of pasta in her hands. Oliver followed suit, also with a bowl of pasta and having put on a t-shirt. They sat across from them on the love seat, Perrie looking awkward and Oliver looking apprehensive, as if he knew that the boys weren’t here for a friendly chat.

“You don’t mind if we eat, do you?” Perrie asked after an awkward silence, gesturing to her bowl of pasta.

“Of course not, it’s your apartment after all.” Zayn said with a small smile.

Perrie laughed, and some of the tension eased. “Alright cool, didn’t want to be rude. Now, what are you boys here to talk about?”

Louis and Harry looked at Zayn, and he almost rolled his eyes at how the responsibility was dumped on him. He cleared his throat and ruffled his hair. “We’ve got a bit of a problem, and we have no idea how to fix it.”

“Even management has no idea.” Louis added, wringing his hands nervously.

“Liam’s become the centre of the media’s attention, and not in a good way,” Zayn continued. “And we need a distraction, something big so that there will be no more focus on Liam, so he can recover properly.”

Perrie bit her lip, placing her bowl of pasta down on the coffee table. “And where do I come into this?”

Zayn didn’t want to say what their stupid idea was, and sighed, about to blurt it all out when Harry cut him off.

“I got it!” He said excitedly, eyes bright and hopeful. “An idea that won’t completely ruin our lives!”

Perrie looked even more confused. “Wait, I’m still confused, what is my role?”

“Just give Harry a second, and then I’ll explain everything.” Zayn said, hoping that the goofball actually had something good.

She frowned but remained silent. Oliver wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, staring the boys down as if to challenge them. Zayn almost smiled at how protective he was being, and figured that if he was in his position he’d be doing exactly the same thing.

Iris.

He shuddered violently, which didn’t go unnoticed by Oliver, who glared at him, a scowl on his face. Zayn mentally cursed at how ill-timed it all was, and tried not to think of Iris, though his chest was aching horribly.

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly, sensing the hostility in the room. “Well, uh, I was just thinking about how the media doesn’t know about Zayn and Perrie not being together anymore.”

Zayn looked proudly at Harry, already guessing what his idea would be. How lucky he was.

“Keep going, Harry.” Louis encouraged, making Harry smile in relief.

“I mean, I know that it’s not great, but you two could announce that you’ve split. They’ve all been waiting for the wedding for ages now, so the fact that there won’t be a wedding will send them into turmoil.” Harry ended, looking hopefully at Perrie, who looked stunned.