I'm back! Sort of... I know I took a long hiatus but I'm not that going to be active that much, but I'll try my best to update once in a while. I'm sure you are all excited what's gonna happen next...
Enjoy this chapter :)
*****
The heartbeat kept getting stronger, making Zayn more anxious as his amber-colored eyes saw Niall getting closer and closer to him. The blonde was talking to some management crew, not noticing his presence and when they were in a close distance from one another, Zayn doesn't know what to do, but what Niall did stun him.
"Hi, Zayn..." He stood there flabbergasted when the blonde greeted him with a smile on his face, patting his shoulder with a friendly gesture. That was definitely caught him off-guard. But before he could respond, Niall was already inside the building, and he was standing there in the parking lot like a foolish boy.
*****
In the entire seventy-minute meeting, Zayn kept glancing at Niall, who sat all the way from the back corner of the room and ignoring his presence. Zayn was not at all subtle with his unspeakable way of getting his attention, and yet he did not get any response from him.
After that horrendous meeting, all of them were excited to get out of that room, and soaked in the sun, at least some of them. Zayn noticed that one of the management bosses called him. With the curiosity sets in, he decided to follow them.
"Is everything alright with you?" He heard one of the bosses asked Niall. "I've heard what happened..."
"Everything is alright, sir," Niall replied with a monotone voice, devoid of any emotions. Zayn could feel that it has something to do with what happened.
"If you need more vacation days, feel free to—"
"No, sir, that's not necessary," Niall responded right away. "I'd prefer to work."
"I see. That's good then." The boss said. "Condolence."
"Condolence?" Zayn asked himself, wondering why would their boss said something like that but then his conversation with Aiden. "Could it be?"
Zayn almost jumped from where he was standing when he heard the boss called his name. The piercing blue eyes from the blonde felt like burning a hole in his forehead.
"Yes?" He squeaked, walking closer to join the conversation.
"Aren't you supposed to get ready for the US tour?"
He glanced one more look from the blonde for a split second then pour his attention to the boss before answering.
"Of course," he flashed a toothy smile although, in all reality, he hated for another travel. All he does is travel nonstop, interrupting his sleep cycle. But at the same time, that could signal for more intimate moments with Niall. "I am so excited. Can't wait, really!" He clasped his hands altogether to show his fake enthusiasm.
*****
The blonde knew that his life was returning to normal with the hectic schedule that the lads were going to have. He cannot afford to breakdown at this moment—he cried all the tears a week ago. Grieving can wait but not now.
Niall was nearing to the conference room when he felt a presence behind him, realizing who it was.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Walking behind me. It's creepy," he said, glancing behind him, revealing Zayn with sad, puppy eyes.
"Oh okay..." Zayn nodded, walking next to the blonde. He couldn't help the sharp tension between them, considering their last encounter. "So..."
"So?"
Zayn felt those blue eyes were digging holes on his forehead, but at the same time, he cannot read Niall, wondering if he was mad, angry, or any kind of emotions. Zayn needed to know what Niall was thinking so he could use that as a step to engage Niall in the conversation.
Niall noticed how Zayn was uncomfortable, wondering if they have the same thoughts.
"Why did the boss says condolence to you?"
Niall almost caught off guard by the question. He knew at some point; the lads would find about it. He just didn't expect that it would be too soon. Niall gathered all the courage he could have so he would not look so pitiful.
"My nephew passed away."
"Wh-what?!" Zayn gasped, confirming what Aiden told him. Just the mere thought that Aiden got the information first pissed him off to no end. "When? Why didn't you tell me?!"
The demanding vibe coming from Zayn struck a nerve to Niall. He could feel his face heating up from irritation.
"Excuse me?" Niall crossed his arms over his chest to express his thoughts. "Since when do I have to report you every single thing in my life?"
Zayn gasped at the reaction coming from the blonde. "No, that's not—" It was that moment that Zayn realized to take all the verbal beating instead of arguing.
"How could I tell you? You broke my phone!" Niall snarled; blue eyes widening to intimidate the raven-lad target. "Remember?!" He gritted his teeth; anger seethed from those eyes.
"I... uh..." Zayn is rendered speechless. This was not the time to butt heads with his boyfriend. Only he could do was to sympathize with him. Losing a family member was not an easy thing to overcome.
"I'm sorry..." he apologized.
Niall sensed the sincerity in the apology. It was wrong of him to snap at Zayn, who had done nothing wrong. The death of his beloved nephew has no correlation with Zayn whatsoever. Niall had to let a long sigh, disposing the anger building up inside of him.
"Look, I didn't mean to snap at you," Niall said with a defeated tone, trying to avoid the pitiful look from the raven-haired lad. "I don't have the luxury to break down now..." He cursed when his voice broke down; tears filled up his eyes. It didn't take that long until those sorrowful tears rolled down to his cheeks.
"Goddamit!" Niall quickly wiped away the tears, not wanting to be more pitiful than he already was.
Zayn felt his body went automatic, pulling the blonde, enclosing him in a warm hug, caressing the blonde's back.
"Shhh... let it all out..." Zayn cooed. "It won't make you less of a man if you cry."
All the emotions that Niall hide for the past week came all crashing down. He sobbed, his entire body vibrated, but the warmth from Zayn made him feel all safe.
They stood there with each other's comfort. It didn't matter what happen next, and the only thing they understood that they would stay together forever...
"I'm sorry..." Niall apologized, pulling away from Zayn.
"Why are you saying sorry?"
"I ruined your shirt."
Zayn chuckled. "No worries, this shirt is washable."
*****
Questions raised in Niall's mind as he entered inside of the Apple store with Zayn. Electronic gadgets lined up from laptops to newly-released iPhones and iPads. The store filled with a few customers soaked with checking out the gadgets on the table, not noticing a celebrity in their presence.
"Oh, my gee! Zayn Malik!" That was the sign for the customers to divert their attention from an object to a bright, shining celebrity. It didn't take that long until Zayn got mobbed by countless fans.
It was a good thing that Zayn anticipated this kind of situation, bringing security detail with him. After ten minutes interacting with the fans, taking pictures, having a bit of chat here and there, the fans finally left him alone.
"That was just mean..." Zayn chuckled, elbowing Niall on the side.
"What is?" Niall asked, pretending that he didn't know what Zayn was referring to, but he did know about it. The blonde disappeared on Zayn when the fans mobbed him, making it look like it was intentional.
"The people almost swallowed me whole."
"Oh... well..." Niall feigned a surprised expression. Then, he eyed the raven-haired lad from head to toe, and said in a taunting manner, "It looks like you're fine now. One piece."
"Ha-ha, funny, Niall," Zayn laughed dryly. He pulled the blonde closer to him, giving Niall a quick peck on the cheek.
"Eeekk! Do that again!"
Both Niall and Zayn were a bit startled to see a grinning girl staring at them, with her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. It was not hard to tell that the girl was a fan.
"I beg your pardon?" Zayn asked.
"Kiss him again," the girl said. "But this time on the mouth."
With all the craziness happening around him, Niall shouldn't be surprised to hear something like that from a fan, but he did. When he glanced sideways, looking at Zayn with those sparkling golden amber orbs like a sad puppy.
"Don't look at me like that," the blonde whispered.
"Like what?"
"You know what I mean, Zayn."
"I actually don't know what you mean," Zayn pretended he doesn't understand whatever going on between them. He did want to kiss Niall. After all, it's been a while since they kissed. He couldn't even remember the last one. "Let's just give what the fan wants."
"She's your fan," Niall commented. "I'm just a tag-along buddy."
"No, you're not," Zayn replied. "You're more than that to me."
"Awww, how sweet," the fan girl cooed. She cannot believe her eyes when Zayn leaned forward to the blonde, giving him a kiss. She had to hold on to something stable to prevent herself from fainting. "Oh, my God! I must die now and go to heaven!"
Both Zayn and Niall chuckled at the remark. They cannot exactly blame her for being devoted to their relationship. It was weird in a way, and yet they were thankful for supporting their relationship. Not everyone accepts the idea of two boys being together.
"Please tell me you're going to the next Ziall meeting," the fangirl grinned, clasping her hands together, hoping to have a miracle to happen.
"A what?" Niall asked. The word seemed familiar to him. For some reason, he had heard it before, Ziall.
"I'm sure President will appreciate both of your presence," the fangirl commented.
As for Zayn, he was trying to his laugh from bursting out of him because he knows for a fact who the President of that fan club.
"What are you snickering about?" Niall asked, noticing the laughter that wanted to come out off from his boyfriend.
"Look, as a proof, President sent us an unseen photo," the fangirl said, facing them the phone. It was safe to say that both Zayn and Niall enlarged their eyes as they see the image. It was them sleeping in Zayn's room, shirtless, as a blanket covered the lower half of their bodies. Zayn's right arm was on top of Niall's waist. Niall's head was placed gently on Zayn's chest with the blonde's mouth partly wide open.
Some creep snuck into Zayn's room and took the said photo, invading their privacy. Niall felt horrible and violated.
"Where'd you get that?" Niall asked. A mix of emotions brewing up inside of him, not knowing which one to handle first. Then, he heard Zayn mumbling under his breath.
"I'm gonna kill Louis..."
Then, Niall put two and two together. Louis, his best friend, was the one feeding these fan girls their own private images. If Louis could take a photo without them knowing, Niall wouldn't wonder how much more pictures or videos stored on his phone, or even worse, in the virtual cloud.
*****
So that's all for now. I hope you like this chapter :)