(Alex's POV)
Zayn lifts the red rose up to his nose and inhales the scent, a smile played across his plump, kissable lips. I'm not going to lie anymore. I've fallen so hard for Zayn that it hurts. I'm not using him as a rebound for Louis, and I'm not trying to get in his pants and use him for his body (although I wouldn't exactly be complaining if that happened too). He's so charming and mysterious, and I can't help but want to be more to him than a friend.
In addition, Zayn is so damn beautiful. I love the way his jet black hair is always covered in a thick coat of hair spray and gel, and the way he smells like a mix of cigarette smoke and cologne. His caramel eyes always sparkle in the sunlight, and sometimes they become a darker shade when he's angry or nervous. It's these little things that make me want him.
Zayn's hand brushes over mine, and I bravely build up enough courage to clutch onto his hand. With the brisk wind rushing past us, we walk down the sidewalk together without any worries. Snow starts to fall from the sky and swirls above us, which makes me squeeze Zayn's hand even firmer.
I don't know what we are, more than friends? Friends with benefits? All I know is that I want him for myself, and I'm not going to make the same mistake with him that I did with Lou. I'll treat him with respect and love him unconditionally.
"So where do you live, Zayn?" I ask, breaking the silence.
"A few miles away from the school. It's running distance from here." he shrugs.
"You seriously think I'm going to let you run to your house in the cold?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
He smiles softly, "Hopefully not."
I chuckle and open up the passenger seat door for him, and he mumbles a thank you and gets in the car. I swear that there was a hint of blush on the apples of his cheeks.
I close the door and get in the driver's seat, then turn up the heaters and the music. We start driving down the road while Zayn constantly gives me directions to his house.
"Turn left up here." he mumbles.
I turn left into a rich neighborhood, filled with giant houses and stuck-up people. I would hate to live here. Sometimes I miss my house back in Ireland, but I just graduated from high school and want to take a break before I start thinking of uni.
"It's right here," Zayn says, pointing to the modern style house with a large back yard. I park in the paved driveway and Zayn smiles.
"Thanks, Al. We'll have to do this again sometime. It was fun." he says.
"When?" I ask.
"Excuse me?"
"When do you want to do this again?" I ask.
"You seem eager." he says.
"Can you blame me? I really like you, Zaynie." I say, not a hint of doubt in my voice.
Zayn smiles softly and stares into my eyes, "Well, there's this party on New Years Eve that I always host at my house. Everybody who is anybody at our school is going to be there. If you want, you can come with." he says.
"It's a date," I say, "Y'know, not that kind but... erm, you know what I mean." I say, my cheeks turning bright red.
Zayn laughs awkwardly, "Yeah, I know what you meant. I'll text you, okay?" he says.
"Sure. Bye, Zayn." I say. He gets out of the car and vanishes into the house, waving goodbye to me as I pull out of the driveway. I start towards my hotel and get caught up in my thoughts.
I left Ireland to have a fresh start with Louis. My intentions were to repair my relationship with him and get him to forgive me. I would've never thought that I would fall for somebody else instead, and have absolutely no regrets.
(Harry's POV)
"Are you sure you have to leave?" I ask Louis for the one hundredth time. I don't want to be left alone here with my furious father, just so he can yell and repudiate me. I know once Louis leaves, the raging bull inside of him will come out and attack me.
Nervousness brews in the bottom of my stomach as my mind paints the picture of my parents yelling at me, disappointment filling their eyes. I'm such a let down to them. As far as I'm concerned, they're not going to have the perfect daughter in law that they always hoped for in the future.
Louis sighs deeply and climbs out of the bed, rubbing his hands through his feathery hair. He stands up frowns at me, "Sorry babe. I think you need to have a private talk with your dad, you know, when I'm not here. Just talk to him and hope he'll understand." he reasons.
"They won't understand. They don't understand me." I explain.
"Be honest with them, Haz. Maybe they'll listen to what you have to say." he suggests.
"I doubt it. I'm useless to them now that they know I'm gay. They'll probably ship me away to that boarding school or disown me." I say.
Louis bites his lip, "I'm sorry, Harry. If it wasn't for me none of this wouldn't have happened." he says, sorrow fogging up his voice.
"Don't be sorry, Lou. It's not your fault." I promise.
"Yes it is, and don't try to deny it." Louis argues.
I stand up from the bed and peck his lips quickly, "It's nobody's fault, okay? They were going to find out sooner or later." I remind him.
"I guess you have a point there." he shrugs.
"Listen, Boo. Don't feel bad. I love you and that's all that matters." I reassure him, giving him a soft smile.
Louis smiles and leans on his tip toes, then kisses me gently, cupping the side of my face with his hand. The kiss is short but it's all that I need. Louis pulls away and smiles back at me. Everything is going to be okay. Our relationship is strong enough to last through this.
"I'll drive you home." I say, grabbing my keys off of the night stand. Louis attatches his hand to mine and we walk out of the mansion without being seen.
Louis holds one of my hands and I keep the other placed firmly on the steering wheel. Louis really needs a car. I can't just drive him everywhere without my parents throwing a fit. It only takes about fifteen minutes to get to Louis' house. I drop him off and he says goodbye, then reminds me that we have musical rehearsal tomorrow. I tell him that I'll be there and then drive back to my house.
I'm happy with our relationship right now. We fight like siblings over the stupidest things, but we can never stay mad at each other for long. Every touch sends me into a possession and I get lost in his eyes. When we kiss every problem in my life vanishes and I can only focus on him and him only.
It's amazing to think that all of this started because we were given detention for a graffiti crime that we didn't even commit. Life has a funny way of making everything turn out just the way it's supposed to.
When I walk back into the mansion after dropping Louis off at his house, I immediately hear yelling and shouting coming from the dining room. I kick off my shoes at the door way and sigh deeply as I make my way towards the dining room, expecting a huge scolding about disobeying them.
I walk into the kitchen and frown at the sight of my angry father, spitting out disgusting words about me. My parents are both sitting at the giant table, which can easily seat twenty or more people. The floors are wooden, which have recently been polished so a slight reflection is given off of the shiny surface. Windows line the walls and let in a great deal of light, and a giant chandelier hangs over their heads.
My mum looks calmer than my father, who is pacing around the room and cursing under his breath. My mum just sits at the table and fiddles with her thumbs, staring down at her hands. Neither of them notice me until I clear my throat, causing both of them to look up.
I cough awkwardly, "Um, hi."
My father gestures towards the table, "Take a seat, Harold. Your mother and I want to have a proper conversation with you." he explains.
I nod and sit down next to my mother, and my father takes a seat across from me. The nervousness builds up in my throat, and it creates a barrier which prevents me from speaking. My father's expression is difficult to decode.
"Your mother and I just don't understand... why you selected this life style." he says slowly, struggling to get the words out.
The block in my throat melts and words float up, but my voice still shakes with nervousness and fear.
"I didn't choose it." I say quietly, flowing out of my lips like a whisper.
My mum frowns, "There are plenty of beautiful, lovely girls at your school, Harry."
I glare at her, "Yes, but I could never love any of them the way that I love Louis."
"You know what this is?" my dad speaks up, "This is just a phase. You're a teenager, Harry. Your body is confused and hormone-crazed, that's all."
I shake my head, "I'm not confused, Dad. I'm gay. I love Louis and I've dated other guys before him, too." I tell them.
"Like who?" my mum asks.
"Drew." I say.
"Drew Portman? The neighbor's son? The one who visited last Summer?" my father asks.
I nod, "Yes. We dated for over a month during the Summer."
My mother runs her hands through her hair, "Harry, why didn't you tell us?"
"You wouldn't have cared. You never care about what I do. You don't care about football, or the musical-"
"Musical?" my mother asks.
I nod, "Dad didn't tell you? I'm playing the role of Romeo for the school musical."
"Since when do you sing?" my mother chuckles.
"Ever since I was young I've loved singing, mum. But you and dad ignore me so much that you never noticed." I sneer.
"That's besides the point, Harry. If you would've told us about Drew then maybe we could've helped you." my father explains.
"Helped with what?" I ask.
"We could've taken you to therapy or gotten professional help." he tells me.
I roll my eyes, "Being gay isn't a disease, Dad. It's nothing that you can cure. I used to feel the same way, but no matter how much I tried to feel different, I couldn't. It took me years to accept it." I say.
Mum rubs my arm gently, "Your father and I think that maybe you should start seeing a therapist-"
"You can sign me up for therapy, you can send me to a different school, you can home school me, you can set up appointments with my counselor, but none of it will stop me from loving Louis." I spit at them.
My father shakes his head, "We're not sending you to that private school, Harry, don't worry. They don't allow people like you in their school." he snarls.
"It's not a curse word, Dad. You can say it. G-A-Y, I'm gay, alright? I love Louis and there's nothing you can do about it-"
"You don't love him, damn it! You're in high school, you don't know anything about love!" he argues.
"And you do? You don't even talk to mum! I never see you hugging her or kissing her! You don't love her the way that I love Louis!" I yell back, balling up my knuckles.
He points his finger at me, "This is about you, not your mother and I."
"But it's true and you just don't want to admit it! You two never even talk to each other or sleep in the same room because all you care about is your money and your buisness!" I retort.
My father slumps back in his seat and narrows his eyes at me, "I don't want that Louis kid in our house ever again, are we clear?" he says coldly.
"Dad-"
"I said, are we clear!?" he shouts, his voice so loud that the chandelier shakes above our heads. I swallow thickly and stare at my father, who clearly is serious about this.
"Yes sir." I mutter.
"And don't bother speaking to me ever again, Harold. I'm done with you, you hear me? I'm done." he snaps. He stands up, pushing the chair angrily behind him, and storms out of the room without saying anything else.
Ouch.
I turn to my mum, who is staring out of the window with her face away from me. "Mum, are you okay?" I ask her.
She turns to me and frowns, "I just want you to have children some day," she says quietly.
I sigh, "Mum, there are other options. Adoption?" I explain.
She wipes away the tears from her eyes, "Y-yeah. I just need some time to process it, that's all." she mumbles. She stands up and lightly kisses my head, then steps out of the room, sniffling her nose and wiping away her tears with her sleeve. I hate to see her cry.
I walk up to my bedroom and give Louis a call, explaining everything that happened. When I tell him that he's not allowed to come over anymore he understands, but is still disappointed.
"So your dad basically hates me?" he asks through the phone, muffling the speaker as he sighs deeply.
"No, don't take it personally. He doesn't hate you he just wants us to break up. He wants me to be perfect and he sees being gay as an imperfection." I explain, collapsing down on my bed.
"Oh, yeah I understand."
"I don't want anything to change between us." I say.
"Me neither, and it won't, I promise." he replies.
"Good. And you know what I just realized?" I say.
"What?"
"My father said that you can't come inside the house, but he said nothing about the waterfall." I explain.
Louis chuckles, "Harry, you're a genius. I think you found a loophole!" he jokes.
"Why thank you, I am a genius!" I say.
"Don't let it get to your head, Haz. You're not quite Einstein." Louis says.
"Einstein was a flirt, did you know that?" I say, remembering one of the odd facts I learned while doing a report on the scientist.
"A flirt?" Louis asks.
"Yeah, like he married several women and allegedly had an affair with his first wife." I explain.
"I see. In that case, you are like Einstein." he laughs.
"But unlike Einstein, I only have one person to love in my life." I explain.
"Who? Cher? I had a feeling you two had a thing goin' on." he jokes.
I roll my eyes, "No, silly. You!"
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" he asks.
I laugh, "You know me like the back of your hand, Louis." I say.
Somebody calls Louis' name in the background, causing Louis to groan with annoyance. "I'll be there in a few, mum!" he replies, "Sorry, Harry. I have to go." he apologises.
"That's alright. I was going to sleep in a few anyways. Goodnight, BooBear." I say, a grin played across my face.
"Goodnight, Haz. I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"I love you." I sigh into the phone.
I can basically hear Louis grin ear-to-ear, "I love you too."
I hang up my mobile and place it on the night stand. Stretching up, I turn off the lamp and slowly drift asleep thinking of the perfectly imperfect boy who I love with all my heart.