LOUIS
"Mom, it's really not a big deal. We were working on that movie project and I fell asleep," Louis said for what felt like the millionth time that night.
"Grounded. Two weeks. School and back. No exceptions," she tells him.
Louis sighs dramatically, "but what about the project, it's due in a few weeks, we don't have time to go two weeks without working on it."
"He can come here and you two can work on it in the family room," she says, not backing down.
Louis doesn't know why she's making such a big deal out of something he honestly wasn't even worried about. All he'd done was come home at 7 o'clock on a school night, not even almost late enough to be considered an issue. But Louis did know why, really. He wasn't getting grounded for being late, he was getting grounded because his mother assumed the worst from him. She wouldn't say it, though, and Louis wouldn't either. Since he'd come back from living at Zayn's so many months ago, they'd never spoken the g word to each other, and it was a silent agreement to avoid the topic at all costs.
"Whatever, I'm going to my room," Louis says, storming off up the stairs. He slams the door behind him and he sighs as he falls back against the bed. At least his mom had only grounded him from his friends, he didn't know what he'd do if they grounded him from his phone or his macbook. He strips his clothes off and walks towards the shower.
He lets the water run a bit to heat up, and he looks at himsel in the mirror. He hadn't been hard enough on himself lately, and he'd stepped off of his diet. Louis hadn't been blessed with Zayn's incredible metabolism, and everything he ate went straight to his stomach. He was a lot smaller than he used to be, but he could still see a bit of...
The water had gotten too hot and the steam fogged up the mirror, keeping Louis from staring at his reflection any longer. Probably a good thing, too, because there's no way that was heading anywhere good.
Once he's in the shower, he lets the water run all over him, washing off the sweat on his skin from earlier. It's on the edge of too hot and just right, and it turns his skin a bit pink. He likes the pain of it all, though, it kind of wakes him up and washes the anger away. Why the fuck where his parents so obsessed with him being their perfect straight son? There was no way he was perfect, and really there was no way he was straight, so why couldn't they deal with it.
He stands there in thought until the hot water runs out a while later. He steps out of the shower and wraps up in a towel. Tugging on a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt, he heads downstairs for a drink.
His mom is there, she's sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. If he wasn't extremely pissed off at her, he'd feel bad. Instead, he heads to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water.
"You weren't just working on a project, were you?" She asks as he's leaving the kitchen. Louis frowns before turning back around.
"Uh, what?" Louis says, eyebrows knitting together.
His mom sighed. There's a look on her face- exhaustion, "The boy, Harry, you aren't just partners, are you?"
Louis sighs, for a moment he considers lying, but he doubts he'd believe her, "Not really, mom."
She looks at him, "A while back I asked your principal to keep an eye on you for any- suspicous activity. He called me a few days ago and said he thought he saw you kissing a boy- Harry Styles. I wanted to believe you weren't, really, but today kind of proved it. I thought we'd talked about this, Louis? I thought we sorted it out?"
Louis snorts, "Talked about it? You bought me a car, and didn't say anything. Though, that was after you kicked me out of the house for three months."
This time she fixes him with a look of disapointment, "Why do you do this to us?"
Now Louis' fuming, "Why do I do this to you? Are you fucking kidding me?" He practically yells at her.
"Language!" She yells back.
"What are you going to do? Kick me out?" He says cooly, leaving the kitchen. He runs up to his room and locks the door behind him.
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He'd laid in bed for about an hour before he got up in a sudden rush of energy and got out a large duffel bag. He shoved all of his underwear and socks and shoes in, before heading to the closet to grab all of his favorite shirts and pants. Before long, everything he really needed was stuffed into the large bag, and he slung it over his shoulder.
He threw the bag in the backseat before getting in the drivers seat. He stared at the stearing wheel for a second, because he wasn't really sure where to go. For a moment, he invisioned himself walking up the door at Harry's who would capture him in a huge hug and take him inside. He knew that's how it would happen in real life, too. Instead, he drove the opposite way towards Zayn's.
His final decision came down to the fact that Harry would ask why. Zayn wouldn't. Zayn knew that he'd talk when he was ready. As much as he liked Harry, they didn't know each other enough for Harry to know this. It's not like Harry would judge him, but Zayn was family. Louis wasn't really ready to talk about it either.
He didn't have to leave, not really. His parents hadn't given him the insentive yet, but they would. Louis liked the idea of leaving all on his own. He was in control, for once, and there really wasn't anything they could do. Unless, they decided to call Louis' car in as stolen, which he really didn't think they would. His parents may not like him, but more than anything they wanted that illusion of being the perfect family. Police cars outside their house didn't really promote that image.
When he pulled up at Zayn's, he sat in the car for only a second. Zayn and his parents weren't really on the best of terms, either, but they liked Louis (possibly more than they liked Zayn). The one thing they'd always given Zayn was the ability to choose who he wanted to be and who he wanted to date. Sometimes, Louis wasn't really sure if this was them caring about Zayn's freedom or not caring enough to intervene.
Once again, he'd slung his bag over his shoulder and walked up the enormous front steps of Zayn's house. He knocked three times before Zayn came to the door. He opened it, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and boxers.
"Can I stay a while?" Louis asked, speaking out loud for the first time in a while. He hadn't noticed the fact that he'd been crying, so his words came out choked. Zayn just nodded and let Louis in. When they got upstairs to Zayn's bedroom, he put his bag down on the floor and Zayn wrapped him in a tight hug.
"You've got me, Lou. Always," he said into Louis' shoulder.
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Zayn doesn't ask him what happened. Not on the first day, or the second, and now he'd been there for three. His parents didn't ask either. Of course, they'd known last time. Zayn had told them, which was perfectly ok because Louis was staying at their house and they deserved to know why. He knows that Zayn deserves to know now, but he isn't ready yet, and Zayn knows he'll talk when he's ready.
He doesn't tell Harry either. In fact, he spends as little time with Harry as possible. It isn't exactly like he's avoiding him, he just knows he can only fake being happy so long, and he just isn't ready to talk. Talking forces him to sort thorugh his emotions and he doesn't know how to do that about this situation. He also got the feeling that this time was the last time. He couldn't really see himself living back home with his parents ever again. This time was different, and things between them were irreparable.
Louis makes it thorugh another week of school. The school year just started, but he has less energy to keep going as every day passes. His teachers call it "senioritis" but he calls it "I literally couldn't give less of a fuck about this shit."
Zayn is a bit off, too. At first he thinks it may be that he's walking around Louis' feelings, but he soon realizes that it's something else. In fact, it's starting to worry Louis a bit. He's a bit paler and isn't eating as much as he would, usually. He thinks it has to do with the whole Liam situation, which Louis finds extremely odd because 1. Liam is not Zayn's usual type in the slightest 2. Zayn doesn't get tripped up over one night stands ever, not ever, literally never.
All in all it's an awful week and when Louis and Zayn walk through the front door of Zayn's house on Friday, they both crash on Zayn's bed and don't wake up until nearly midnight.
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LIAM
The kiss was a mistake. As soon as it happened, he regretted it. Zayn hesitated far too long when their lips met. When he finally did kiss back, it was reserved. Liam pulled back after only a few seconds.
"I- I'm sorry. Shouldn't have done that. Sorry- fuck- I should go," Liam stammered out, reaching for the door handle.
Zayn put his hand on Liam's thigh, "Don't be sorry, Liam," he said, pulling the other boy in and finally returning his kiss, this one solid and hard and a bit rough.
Well, maybe the kiss itself wasn't the mistake.
The thing was, nothing really happened after that. They made out for a few minutes, then Liam said he had to get to work soon, so Zayn drove him to the diner. He'd done his shift and gone home. He didn't hear from Zayn all weekend, but he realized that probably had more to do with the fact that he'd never given Zayn his phone number than with Zayn avoiding him.
Monday, Zayn confirmed this. He made a show of finally getting Liam's phone number. The first two days were great. Liam started sitting by Zayn in English, and Harry didn't seem to mind too much.
Wednesday, something was off. He could tell the moment Zayn walked through the door, "It's just something with Louis, not really my place to talk about it," he'd told Liam.
Thursday, Zayn looked pale and stressed. Liam tried not to ask if he was feeling ok.
Friday was more of the same. Zayn was distant and seemed even more worn out than yesterday. He barely said a word to Liam, and all Liam could think about was the fact that it had been a week since they'd made out in Zayn's car and that really not much had changed. Other than the fact that they didn't hate each other anymore.
After school Friday, he finally keeps his promise with Niall about the Harry Potter marathon. He doesn't have work, so they go home together. They "bro-cuddle" on the couch in Niall's media room through the first three movies. Before the fourth, they make a pallet of blankets and pillows on the floor like ten year olds, and fall asleep on the ground before the movie is over.
And just like always, Niall helps Liam forget his problems. He knows that if he came clean, Niall would be there for him, but he can't. Instead, he isolates himself and his problems. He allows them to grow and swallow him whole. Sometimes it's better that way. If you don't tell anyone about your problems then maybe they don't really exist.
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Liam wakes up with a text from Zayn and a bit less pressure on his chest.
"Hey, sorry. I crashed as soon as I walked in the door yesterday, wanna hang:)" it read, and Liam sighs.
"Can't today, got work in an hour :( sorry, maybe tomorrow?" he replies. Something about Zayn makes him text like a twelve year old girl.
Zayn replies almost immediately, "can I take you? I wanna see you:)."
Liam laughs a bit to himself and looks over at the still-sleeping Niall, "I'm at Niall's, I'll text you the address. See you in 30?:)," he hops in the shower before he can get a reply.
Exactly 30 minutes later, Zayn pulls up outside of Niall's house. Liam leaves Niall a note that says he walked to work. Zayn grins when he sees Liam walking towards his car.
"Hey babe," he greets Liam as he opens the door.
Liam grins back, "Hi."
Zayn's smile quickly fades, he looks down at his hands for a moment before he speaks up, "Look, I wanted to say sorry for this week. I know I was a bit off."
Liam smiles again because it's cute that Zayn had felt the need to apologize, and even cuter that he'd felt the need to do it in person. Liam grabs his hand, "It's ok, shit happens. You're here now, yeah?"
"Yeah," Zayn's grin returns as he looks down at their entertwined hands. He leans in and kisses Liam quickly on the lips before facing forward and pulling out of Niall's driveway. The drive to the diner is short, and Liam knows that if Zayn hadn't come he would have just ended up walking. In fact, they end up getting to the diner 20 minutes before Liam's shift starts, so Zayn parks and turns to face Liam again.
"You've kind of fucked me up, you know," Zayn tells him.
Liam laughs a bit, "And how so?"
Zayn takes a deep breath, "I don't normally do this, really. I'm kind of a one night stand kind of guy."
"I can't believe you wanted to stick around, really," Liam admits.
Zayn grips Liam's leg, "Why the hell wouldn't I stick around?"
Liam looks down at Zayn's hand, "I'm kind of plain, not really sure why you'd want to. I'm sure you could find someone a lot more interesting than me."
Zayn gets closer to LIam, "Don't say that, you don't need to put yourself down. You're perfect. Don't be so hard on yourself."
Liam wants to write him off, but Zayn pulls him in even closer, smashing their lips together in a way that forces Liam to believe his words. The kiss feels rough but full of passion, like Zayn had too much emotion to kiss him softly. After several minutes, they break apart, gasping for air.
"I think it's time for you to go to work," Zayn tells him, but Liam can't miss the longing in his voice.
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The first twenty minutes of his shift go on without a hitch. They're a bit busy, but it's lunch time on a Saturday, so it's not unexpected. He only has two tables, since the manager has a tendency to schedule more than enough people to work this shift. Liam grins when he sees the familiar head of blonde hair sit down on a stool by the bar.
"How can I help you, sir?" Liam says in his best waiter voice.
Niall turns to him, "Why'd you lie to me?"
Liam's stomach flips. There's only one thing Niall could possibly be talking about. He only hesitates a second before saying, "Lie to you about what?" in a voice that even kind of feigns sencerity.
Niall's usual fun-loving aura is gone, "Liam, cut the shit. You're a horrible liar," Liam doesn't respond , and after a while, Niall continues in a much smaller voice, "I just don't know why you didn't think you could tell me."
Liam doesn't know what to say, but he knows he needs to say something, "I'm gay, Niall," he says with a sigh. Niall looks up at him for a second. Without a word, he stands up and punches Liam in the stomach, hard. Liam doubles over for a moment, but Niall has him wrapped in a tight hug.
"Don't fucking lie to me ever again. Do you know how many guys have asked me if you were single? You could have been swimming in blowjobs if you'd just told me earlier. Fuck you, Liam."
Liam stares at him in awe, "So you're not mad?"
Niall sits back down, "No I'm furious, I'm your best fucking friend. I mean, I was a bit suspcious but you could have just fucking told me Li."
Liam stands next to him awkwardly, "So are we still friends?"
The other boy turns and frowns at him, "Of course we're still friends, why wouldn't we be?"
"I don't know, I just thought- you know, the gay thing," Liam looks down at his hands.
Niall laughs. He stands up and hugs Liam again, "Gay or not, you're my best friend. I love you, Li. Now can I have a milkshake and fries? All these feelings made me hungry."
Now Liam laughs too, a wide grin appearing on his face. He already can't remember why he ever doubted Niall, "I love you too, Ni. I'll go tell the kitchen."
He walks into the back of the restaraunt and puts in Niall's order. He can't wipe the stupid grin of his face as he checks up on his other tables, because things may finally be working out good for him.