Zayn's POV
It had broken all our hearts to see Niall in such a state. Luckily we all had a few weeks off before our North American tour. This meant he had time to come out of his hell hole. However, to my delight, all this confusion and chaos had paved the way for a beautiful understanding between us lads. The rest of the lads and kids, who had joined us in LA a couple of days after the whole incident, were all in my house.
After much stuttering, Harry and Louis had finally admitted to being a couple to the rest of us and we had rolled our eyes telling them for the hundredth time that they had been very obvious to the entire world anyway - especially to the fans.
While this was amazing and a happy event, this also meant we frequently walked into them going at it like rabbits. PDA became very normal for them and we had to sit them down and make them understand the concept of kids and their innocence - which was surprising considering Louis already had one son! A week into our stay we were joined by Freddie. He was happy to be with his dad and his two best friends - Khai and Bear. Brianna had been surprisingly very accepting of Harry.
"Finally!" she had snorted when they stuttered their way telling her all about it. We laughed at her reaction while the couple looked shocked at her ready acceptance. She had laughed with us and continued. "I know love when I see it. What Lou and I had was not love in the true sense of the word. I liked Lou and we adored each other and were comfortable enough to have a kid. But the love you both have for each other - only a fool would try to rip you both apart. And I don't want to be that fool. So, you have my blessing as well!" she smiled at the pair warmly.
At that moment, Freddie had walked in and made a beeline to Harry.
"Um, do I still call you Uncle H? Or do I have to call you papa?" his curiosity burned through his eyes. Harry had smiled unsure of what he had to say to this. Brianna had answered the boy quickly.
"Sweetie, you can call him however you feel comfortable. It is the relationship and emotions that matter - not the title. Okay?" she smiled and Freddie nodded. Turning to Harry and Louis, who were cuddled into their partner's side, he smiled.
"I love you... papa." he went to hug Harry. Overcome with emotions, Harry and Louis kneeled down to his height and hugged the boy tightly while Harry was talking to the boy in a low voice.
"I will be whatever you need me to be Freddie... Friend, Dad, Uncle.... even a partner in crime!" he chuckled through his tears towards the end. We all smiled at this beautiful sight.
A few weeks later, we had started to plan for Khai's birthday. The day after that was when we were going to start our American tour. Considering the young girl was only going to turn two, there was not much she understood, but I still wanted it to be something she could look back upon with a fond smile.
We had planned it to be a small and intimate affair. We only invited a few people apart from ourselves - Louise, Lux, Paul, Katherine and Jennifer along with her six-year-old son. By the end of the day, Khai had changed six dresses, one each from the boys and three from me and Liam. She had received more presents than she could count and was squealing with happiness from her sugar rush. Throughout the party, we snapped a lot of pictures capturing the entire occasion to the best of our capabilities.
"That went well!" Liam whispered as we went back to our room after putting the kids to sleep. I nodded and sat down on the bed while he sat behind me, slowly massaging my shoulders to ease out the tension. This soon turned into a session of him pressing loving kisses on my shoulder and across my neck. Within five minutes we were both facing each other, kissing ourselves senseless. As we pulled away, panting and breathless, Liam faced me with a look - a look which I had come to recognize very well over the past few days. He had something serious to talk about.
"What is it, Li?" I asked with an amused expression. He smiled, shaking his head at how perceptive I was starting to become these days when it came to him.
"I am thinking about us..." he trailed off
"And?" I urged him with a smile, encouraging him to go on.
"What are we doing Zayn? We promised to take things slow - which we have done. But the way we move around each other - we might as well be an old married couple. It sometimes makes me wonder what exactly we are!" he asked, his voice fading away towards the end. Judging by the way words were flowing out, I could tell that this was a well-practised statement - a conversation he had probably revised a hundred times in his head.
"I didn't know we were slapping labels on this Li! I am just going with the flow..." I replied, a small frown and a smile playing on my face as I continued. "But I guess if you really want to talk about where we stand, I would say you are my boyfriend... Right?" I was unsure of the answer that he expected from me. His answering smile dazzled my eyes.
"So you're my boyfriend? Like, you're mine?" he smiled broadly and I nodded with a smile again.
"I have a boyfriend!" he shouted out, punching his hand into the air. I laughed at his sudden childishness. "And more importantly I have Zayn Malik as my boyfriend!" he continued and this time our door opened and in came Louis and Harry, looking confused beyond measure.
"What the hell is going on?" Louis grumbled. Either they had been sleeping or had been in the middle of much more important activities - we couldn't exactly tell because they were in their boxers and they both had bed hair which was common for either of the above-mentioned activities.
"Zayn asked me to be his boyfriend." Liam laughed, bringing a smile to both their faces. Harry stumbled over to hug us while Louis grumbled out a brief 'congratulations'.
To say that our break from work ended on a happy note would be an understatement. We restarted the tour from Rose Bowl. The stadium was at full capacity. We started the concert with a bang with the crowd favourite 'Midnight Memories'. Towards the middle of the concert, when we were to sing 'Girl Almighty', Khai had been planned to be brought on stage. I - considering my daughter's identity had already been compromised - was going to be bringing her onstage just before the song started and have a very short audience session with her.
Khai toddled onto the stage while I walked behind her, enjoying her cuteness. She made a beeline for Louis who had become her favourite the past few days. He pretended to slowly jog away only for her to quicken her steps. Just as she was about to trip and fall, Louis scooped her into his arms and she squealed with laughter. Liam and I were watching this with a smile of adoration. Once we started singing to her, she was gurgling with giggles and laughter and ran to us asking to be picked up - who were we to refuse her?
Towards the end of the song, she was in Liam's arms. I went to get her so she can be dropped off with Louise backstage. She refused to come to me, so we both walked with her to Louise. Once she was dropped off, we came back to the stage where Niall and Louis were entertaining. As we were making our way back to the boys, Liam casually put his hand on my waist, pulling me to him his head nuzzling into my shoulder with a smile. Alarmed by his sudden display of love onstage, I twisted my way out of the hug quickly and walked over to Harry with large strides. Once I reached him, I turned back to see Liam standing exactly where I had left him frozen with shock at my actions. While a part of me felt guilty for walking away that quickly, he should have warned me. He knew I was still nervous about PDA outside of our group. Shaking himself out of it, he walked to Louis but I could see the stern set on his face. He was irritated, to say the least - but how could you blame me? He should have at least given me a warning beforehand!
After the concert, we went back to my house and Liam went into our room and before I could walk in slammed the door on my face - quite literally, considering my face was inches away from the door. Louis and Niall looked at me bewildered at this, while Harry was not surprised at all. He must have seen the interaction onstage.
I tried the door which - to no one's surprise - was locked. I rolled my eyes and went to the panel in one of the cupboards in the living room and got the spare key and opened the bedroom door to see one of the most disheartening scenes ever. Liam was sitting in the middle of the bed, staring at the walls, but tears were streaming down his face. It was as if he was in a trance. His shoulders were shaking with his silent sobs. I walked to him getting close enough to hold him. The moment I placed my hand on him though, he glared at me and pulled himself away from me.
"Liam... listen..." I started when there was a sound of a slap echoing around the bedroom. Harry and Niall who were at the entrance of the bedroom to ensure nothing got out of hand flinched as Liam slapped me across my face. Louis had taken both the kids who were asleep to their room to put them down in their own bed while towing along a half-asleep Freddie. So he missed this action. I spluttered in shock my eyes widening as my hand clutched my face. Liam never - NEVER - raised his hand on anyone!
"You're pathetic and you have not changed at all!" he hissed at me. I looked up to see him glaring at me in fury. He looked like he could murder someone with his level of anger. "I will forever be your dirty little secret and you don't even want to change that. You will call me your boyfriend only within the four walls of your house and nowhere else. If you feel that the idea of a perfect family would be spoiled with me in it, why did you want me back? To fuck me behind closed doors and for me to shut up when you act like there is nothing going on when we are outside? Guess what - I quit! It is either all or nothing! I am tired of trying to hide. 1 week - that is the time I am giving you. Whether you like it or not, I am coming out to the world by then. Whether you want to come out as my boyfriend then or not is up to you. Fair warning - if you want to continue staying in the closet... well enjoy the darkness of it alone."
So saying he started to walk away when I held his hand in an attempt to stop him. When he tried pulling away, I tried tackling him, ultimately leading to the both of us falling on the bed with him under me. I took this vantage position to my advantage and held him under me.
"Listen here! You are already out to your parents and family and I am not. They will NOT be pleased to find out about my sexuality from the news on the internet. That is why I had to do what I did! I am going to explain to them about everything but you need to understand how I felt. I am not used to public displays of affection from you when we are out in the public. So do NOT act like this is something normal and I overreacted! Get it?" I snarled back at him.
"Well, we have been together for months now! Why is it that your family still does not know about anything? Huh? What the fuck is stopping you?!" Liam shouted back at me. "Is it because you are ash-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU FOOL! IF you call yourself my dirty little secret ONE MORE TIME I will smack you across your head until your brain begins to function normally again! I am not ashamed of you. You are my home! You are my salvation! You are my everything! FOR FUCKS SAKE! I LOVE YOU, YOU WANKER! I FUCKING LOVE YOU!" I was shaking with tears now. I lost all resolve and slumped forward only to fall right on Liam. He caught me, but his mind was still processing my words. To make sure nothing further happened, Harry walked to us and carried me - with surprising ease, might I add - and took me to his room. With one pointed look, he got Louis - who had smartly stayed away from this to avoid taking sides - out of the room and soon enough, I heard the door shut softly.
Two lanky arms wrapped me in a tight hug.
"Sshhh... Calm down, Zee. Please calm down. Don't do this. Please relax. Everything is going to be okay, love. Please just breathe in slowly and relax." Harry soothed me.
"I love him Hazz. He is my everything. He is my life. He is my home..." I sniffled. "I know my situation is pretty messed up right now, but I am scared too! We have two kids now. I need to make sure my actions do not affect them. I love all three of them - Liam and the kids. They are my family." I sobbed silently after that, crying myself to sleep. This had been recurring too much the past few months.