Chapter Seven:
“Harold! I’m home!” Zayn and I both looked up from the video game we were playing at the sound of my mums voice.
He chuckled, “Harold.”
I glared at him, “If you ever call me that I will take your jacket and burn it.”
“I’d like to see you walk after I got my hands on you for doing that.”
“Don’t threaten me Malik. I know your bad boy side is just an act. You’re just a harmless little man.”
He got up from the chair he was sitting on and walked over to me. “You want to say that again Styles?”
“Harmless. Little. Man” I made sure to enunciate every word just to get my point across that I wasn’t scared of him.
Before I knew it my hands were pinned against the wall and I had a knife up to my throat. Zayn was only an inch or so away from me. He looked angry and I knew that I pushed some buttons that I shouldn’t have. “See this knife?” I slowly nodded. “I know how the fuck to use it and you damn well know that I’m not afraid to. If someone, even you, pisses me off I will cut them. You’ve seen me fight. That guy was lucky that I let him walk away but it won’t ever happen again. So just keep in mind that your skin is just as easy to rip through as everyone else’s.”
I gulped and I know he saw it because the angry look in his eyes disappeared and his smirk was back. He slowly backed away from me before twiddling his knife in between his fingers and putting it away in his jacket. He patted me on the back making me jump a little and he laughed at me.
“Come on Harold. It’s time for me to meet your mum.”
We both walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs.
What the hell just happened?! He wouldn’t really hurt me! I think he was just trying to prove a point. At least I hope that’s what he was doing. I could just never piss him off and then I would never have to know if he was bluffing or not. I think that’s the best thing to do. Just stay on his good side Harry. You’ll be fine.
I lead Zayn into the kitchen where my mum was getting something out of the fridge. “Hey mum.”
“Hey Harry. Do you know where I put the roast? I can’t find it and I want everything to be perfect for your friend. I bet he’s just lovely. Are you sure you don’t want to date him or anything?”
I had a massive blush on my face and I was sure that by now Zayn was grinning like a bloody mad man. I didn’t dare look up at him though because then he would see the scarlet spreading across my cheeks. “Mum! We have a guest!”
She quickly took her head out of the fridge and looked at Zayn and I. She chuckled, “Oh well hello Zayn! Nice to meet you!”
She held out her hand for Zayn to shake but instead he grabbed it and gave it a light kiss. “Nice to meet you as well. Your house is beautiful. Much like its owner.”
My jaw dropped at how charming he was being and my mom lightly blushed, “Oh well thank you. Make yourself at home. Anyone that’s a friend of Harry’s is welcome here.”
He flashed her a friendly smile and I spoke up before he could, “Mum, we’re gonna go watch TV in the living room.”
“Ok Hazza. Dinner will be done in a few hours.”
I nodded and grabbed Zayn’s arm to drag him into the other room. I turned to him with wide eyes, “What the hell was that?! Two minutes ago you were threatening to kill me and now you’re prince charming?!”
He chuckled, “Your mother is a lovely lady. It’s not like I’m going to threaten her. That would just be rude.”
“But, I, you, ugh! Let’s just watch TV.”
“Someone didn’t get their nap in today.”
“Me? You just put a knife up to my throat and then completely morphed into some nice ladies man with manners! Are you bipolar or something because seriously you have some insane mood swings!”
He snatched the knife out of his pocket and held it up to my throat again, “What the hell did you just say Styles?” His eyes were dark and scary and I swear he was just going to kill me right then and there.
I gulped, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
He took a step back and busted out laughing, “Oh my god! You’re so gullible! You should’ve seen the like on your face! ‘I-I’m sorry!’ You’re ridiculous Styles!”
I put my hands on my hips and gave him a glare, “You’re an arse. I understand that you’re all big and bad with threatening people but don’t bad boys like not show so much emotion? You have as much emotion as a child has toys.”
“I don’t have to be upset all of the time to know that I can cut someone without a single thought. Bad boys have a sense of humor you know. We’re not always cold as stone.”
I nodded, “I suppose. Now stop standing there and come sit on this damn couch so we can watch some bloody reality TV.”
He walked over to the couch and plopped down next to me. I noticed that he was still wearing his combat boots and I thought about saying something but decided against it. Knowing him it was probably some weird pact between bad boys that you had to wear boots at all times. I chuckled at my thought and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Something funny?”
I shook my head, “Nope. Just thinking to myself.”
If he had any suspicions that I was laughing at him he just let it slide. He turned his attention back to the TV and when I went to make a comment about how ridiculous the girls on the show were I noticed that he was sleeping. His eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. He had his hands on his stomach and he honestly just looked so fucking adorable that I wanted to cuddle with him. I resisted the urge though and just stared at him. I thought about waking him up but he looked so peaceful that I couldn’t find it in me to ruin the moment. Maybe he had slept under the bridge again last night and he didn’t get much sleep. He must’ve been really tired because my mum was making a lot of noise in the kitchen and he didn’t even show a sign of waking. I got up from the couch and grabbed a blanket off of the chair that was next to me. I covered him up with it careful not to wake him.
I sat back down and saw him smile a bit. I smiled and whispered to him, “Sweet dreams.”
A few hours had passed and Zayn was still out cold when my mum called us in for dinner. My step dad had arrived a little while ago and I talked to him about Zayn for a bit. He seemed to like him even though he didn’t even know him at all. I gently shook Zayn to wake him up for dinner and he looked over at me.
He mumbled, “Did I fall asleep?”
I nodded, “Yea. It’s time for dinner.”
“What? How long was I out for?”
I shrugged, “About 2 hours or so. Maybe 3 actually.”
He stretched and let out a long yawn before rubbing his eyes and throwing the blanket off of him. He got up and picked the blanket back up to fold it. He set it back down on the couch and I laughed.
“What?”
I shook my head, “Nothing. You’re just so polite out of school.”
He punched me in the arm and I tried hard not to let out a yelp because honestly it hurt but I think to him it was just a light friendly tap. I laughed and when we turned to go into the kitchen I rubbed my arm so he couldn’t see. I showed Zayn which seat to sit in and I sat down next to him at my own. My step dad walked in and sat down across from me.
“Dad. This is Zayn. Zayn this is my dad.”
My step dad smiled, “Nice to meet you Zayn.”
“Likewise Sir.”
“Please, call me Joe.”
Zayn smiled, “Alright. Nice to meet you too Joe. You have a lovely family.”
“I know. Aren’t they the greatest. Too bad Gemma isn’t here. She’s a doll isn’t she Harry?”
I rolled my eyes, “Oh yea. Such a doll.” I turned to Zayn, “Gemma is my sister. She’s away at uni now.”
He nodded, “Well maybe one day I’ll have the pleasure of meeting her. If she’s anything like your mum I’m sure she’s wonderful.”
Joe smiled at that and I knew that Zayn had trapped him with his charm. I couldn’t blame my family for falling in love with Zayn though because I couldn’t resist him either. He wasn’t even a charmer towards me and I was practically begging for him to be by my side. My mum brought the last of the food into the dining room and set it on the table. We all ate and during the whole dinner my parents were asking Zayn a bunch of questions about himself and things he was interested in. I had warned them before dinner to not say anything about his family because I didn’t really know what was up with that yet and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable. Over all I think dinner went extremely well. Zayn really was such a nice guy and I was glad that I got to see this side of him. I figured that nobody ever got to see what he was really like outside of school and for me to get to made me really happy.
When dinner was over Zayn had decided to help my mum clean up and she was really grateful. At first she had told him that he was a guest and that he shouldn’t be cleaning but he insisted and that made her love him even more. Joe and I were out in the living room when Zayn walked in.
“I should probably be going now. It’s getting pretty late.”
Joe said, “You’re welcome to stay here if you would like.”
He shook his head, “No thanks. I’ve gotta get home.”
I nodded, “Alright. Well let me give you a ride at least. It’s supposed to be really cold tonight.” He was about to argue with me but I didn’t let him. “No really Zayn. Please.”
He shrugged, “Ok. I suppose that’s alright. Just let me go get my stuff from upstairs.”
He ran up the stairs and Joe said, “He really is such a nice boy Harry. And I can see that you really do like him. I know that he’s a little difficult to understand but I think that if anyone can get through to him it’s you. Just don’t give up on him, ok?”
“I won’t. And thanks for not mentioning his family. I think he was a little nervous that one of us would bring it up.”
“No problem. If you see anything weird going on in that house though I want you to tell me.”
“Alright. I will.”
He ruffled my hair, “Good. I’m going to go take a shower and then get to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hugged him, “Goodnight.”
Zayn walked down the stairs and waved to Joe before he went headed to the bathroom.
I yelled, “Mum! Zayn’s leaving! I’m gonna go take him home now!”
She walked out of the dining room and gave Zayn a hug. “Goodnight Zayn. I’ll see you soon right?”
He nodded, “Yea. Thanks for dinner. It was lovely.”
“No problem sweetie.” She stepped away from him and turned to me, “Be careful on those roads. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Ok. Bye mum.”
Zayn said his last goodnight and we walked out of the house and to the car. Once we got in I let it warm up for a few minutes before backing out of the driveway.
There was a few moments of silence until I said, “Thanks for being so nice to them. They can be a little over whelming at times.”
He chuckled, “I think they’re great. They made me feel like I’ve known them forever.”
I smiled, “Yea. They’re pretty wonderful. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
I looked over at him and I could’ve swore there was a glimpse of sadness in his eyes. If there was though it went away quickly.
He smirked, “They think we’re like best friends.”
I laughed, “I know. I think they just want us to be because I haven’t had a new friend in a long time.”
“Why is that?”
I shrugged, “Well I’m a loser so that could be why.”
“I don’t think you’re a loser. You’re not exactly popular but I don’t think that you’re a loser.”
I smiled, “Thanks Zayn. I don’t think you’re a loser either.”
He snickered, “Of course I’m not a loser! I mean look at me!”
“Yea! You’re way too sexy to be a loser!” I blurted it out without thinking and I instantly regretted it. I bit my lower lip and hoped to god that he wouldn’t freak out.
“Sexy huh? I don’t even think you’ve seen me being sexy yet Styles.” I’m pretty sure that he winked at me but I was so worried about hiding my blush that I didn’t even look at him.
Before either of us could say anything else we were in front of his house.
He sighed, “Well here we are. Thanks for the ride Harry.”
I nodded and he opened the door, “Zayn, wait.” He looked up at me, “Maybe you could come over some other time. You know to play games or just chill maybe?”
He smirked, “I like the sound of that. I’ll text you or something.”
I smiled, “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yea. Bye Hazza.”
He closed the door and I watched him walk into his house. I put my head back onto my seat and smiled, “He called my Hazza.”
I pulled out of their driveway and made my way back home. It wasn’t too long before I was walking through the front door and up to my room. I sat on my bed and heard a knock on my door.
“Come in.”
My mum walked in with a cup of tea and placed it on my desk.
“Hey mum. What’s up?”
She smiled, “I just wanted to talk to you about Zayn.”
“Do you not like him?”
“Of course I like him. He’s wonderful. I just wanted you to know that I think you two are a good pair. And I don’t mean like as boyfriends. I mean I feel like you two have a good connection whether you want to date him or just hang out. He doesn’t have many friends does he?”
I shook my head, “Not that I know of. I’ve never seen him hanging out with anyone actually.”
“I think you’re exactly what he needs. I think he just needs someone to trust. I told him that he’s welcome anytime and that if he needs anything he can always come here. I feel like he’s a very troubled boy and even though he looks tough he may be very broken underneath that exterior.”
I nodded, “I think the same thing mum. Hopefully I can get him to realize that he can open up to me and be himself without having to worry about being judged.”
She smiled, “I’m proud of you Harry. You’re a wonderful person.”
“I learned from the best.”
She placed a soft kiss on my cheek before getting up and walking to the door, “Goodnight Harry. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight mum. Love you.”
“Love you too sweetie.” She shut my door and left me to myself.
I got up off of my bed to go grab the tea she had left me and I saw a paper with my name on it. It was in Zayn’s hand writing and there was an arrow pointing to the right. I flipped the paper over and saw a sketch of me with my tongue slightly sticking out and a controller in my hand. I was concentrating on the video game that I was playing and I was sitting cross legged on my bed.
I smiled at the drawing and laughed. I grabbed a frame that was on my wall with a picture of me at Joe’s lake house from a few years back. I had just caught my first fish and I was extremely ecstatic. I opened the frame and put the sketch in front of the picture. I closed it back up and hung it back on the wall next to my bed. I stepped back to take a look at it and it was wonderful. After staring at it for a little while I yawned and decided that it was time for some sleep. I pulled my shirt over my head and shimmied out of my skinny jeans so I was just left in my boxers. I slipped under the covers and looked up at the drawing one more time. I turned off the lamp that was on my nightstand and before I closed my eyes I looked out my window at the stars.
“Goodnight Zayn.” And then I drifted off into a deep sleep.