Zayn had been rubbing his nose against Harry's ear and his neck, trying to get him to stop working. Harry thought it was cute but it was also very distracting since he was trying to type a paper on his new laptop which his mother surprised him with two weeks ago as a late back to school gift.
"Zayn." He giggled and playfully pushed Zayn away from him. "I think I hear Gemma. Don't."
But he pouted. "School is over for the day everywhere else in the city. Why are you still working?"
"I told you already. I woke up late and I want to have this finished by Friday."
"It's Wednesday."
"Yes, but I don't want to work all night tomorrow. I have to edit this and everything. So I figured I'll have today to type, tomorrow to edit and then Friday is due day."
Zayn frowned. "So I have to sit here until you finish then."
"Yep. Sorry. Or you could go spend some time with Gemma if you want. You know she loves you."
He stood up and held his arms out with a chuckle. "Maybe I will. Because then at least it's someone who will enjoy my attention."
Harry didn't take his eyes from the computer screen. "I wish I could feel bad but I don't. Have fun on your play date."
When Zayn saw him smirking at the screen, he decided he wouldn't let him get away with it. So just as he began tying again, he leaned down and planted a rough kiss on Harry's lips.
"Zayn!" Harry said as he pulled away and ran out the door. "Quit it! You're distracting me!"
But Zayn just laughed as he reached the top of the stairs. "That's for lying and saying you heard Gemma."
"Actually, the joke is on you! Because I just got a kiss!"
That statement made Zayn stop midway down the stairs and he face palmed. He'd just realized Harry was right.
.
.
.
Later that night, Zayn just lay in bed thinking about Harry. It had now been nearly two months since he first kissed him and told him how he felt. He totally disregarded his promise of never dating anyone else after Sydney. It was officially a promise he didn't keep to himself. But now that time had passed, he was starting to feel it was a good thing. Because he felt that they might be good for each other.
Only time would be able to tell that for sure. Just as he closed his eyes and turned over to go to sleep, he heard the text tone on his phone. So he opened his eyes and reached for the phone on his dresser. It was a text from Harry.
H- I can't sleep :'(
Zayn typed a reply.
Z- Why not?
H- I just can't.
He didn't really know where to go with that.
Z- Okay.
H- What are you doing?
Z- Trying to sleep. ;)
H- :/ Sorry.
Z- No it's okay. What?
H- Can you come out?
Zayn raised his brow and sat up.
Z- What do you mean come out? Where are you?
H- Outside.
Z- Outside where?
H- At your back door
Zayn didn't bother answering the text. Instead, he got up and turned on the light in the room. Remembering he was only in boxers, he threw on a T-shirt and jogging pants and then tiptoed downstairs. Harry was standing outside, fully dressed and in a jacket when he got there.
"Come in." Zayn whispered.
"What?" Harry asked with a hint of confusion on his face which Zayn couldn't see.
"Shh. You'll wake my mom." And Zayn pulled him inside and upstairs to his room where he closed the door and locked it behind them.
"I wanted you to come outside, not bring me inside. I don't think your mom will be very happy about me being up here. Or should I say, being sneaked up here." Harry took off his backpack and jacket and put them in the chair at Zayn's desk.
But Zayn chuckled quietly and pulled Harry down onto the bed with him. "That's if she finds out."
He smiled. "Ooh. You are so bad. Next thing you're going to do is ask me to spend the night."
Zayn paused. "You want to?"
He stopped smiling. "I... You have to get up for school in the morning."
"So?"
"So what's the point of staying?"
"To sleep next to me. That's the point."
He put the back of his hand over his forehead. "You're going to get us in trouble."
"Maybe. But I think this experience would be quite interesting."
"Of course you do." He took his shoes off and then got under the covers with Zayn.
"So was it another attack?"
Harry furrowed his brow. "Huh?"
"That's why you can't sleep, right? Because you had an attack? I mean... I saw the tears in your eyes. And your voice always sounds deeper whenever you've just finished having an attack."
Harry just stared at him. It was clear he didn't want Zayn to know that.
"I must be right."
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't have a reason why either. I just don't." He turned away from Zayn and right away, Zayn understood that his walls were up. He was not going to open up to him about this tonight.
It was silent thereafter and soon, the silence put Harry fast asleep. Zayn sadly stared at his back. He just didn't understand. Harry was a strange boy. He was always trying to find a reason to leave, but he always wanted Zayn to stay at the same time. It didn't make much sense and only led Zayn to believe that Harry was conflicted with himself in his circumstances. He had a feeling that it was always going to be like that as long as Harry was continuing to hide from him.
→→→→→
Zayn was waiting patiently for math class to start when Liam walked in and went straight for him. The moment he reached him, there was a scent that smelled so familiar to Zayn and he recognized it right away. He frowned as he fought back a cough. It was weed.
"What's up, dipshit?" Liam asked with a dark chuckle. His eyes were heavy and bloodshot. Obviously he skipped lunch to go smoke. So Zayn just stared at him. "I know you hear me talking to you."
But Zayn was still not saying anything. In fact, he was trying to hold his breath to keep from going into a coughing fit.
"Well fuck you too, Zayn." He turned away mumbling.
He also said something else that Zayn didn't hear, but Zayn didn't care. All he could think about was the way he seemed to be wasting his life away. Liam was a senior just like him. He deserved to graduate this year. But skipping school to smoke? He could do so much better than that. Why was he making decisions that could ruin his future?
For the rest of math class, that image of bloodshot and droopy eyed Liam replayed in his mind. He couldn't believe that he was actually feeling sorry for him. That was not supposed to happen. And it certainly was not supposed to be on his mind even when he came home and had stepped through the hole in the fence to go see Harry.
Harry was sitting on the couch and typing on his laptop, trying to finish editing his paper like he said he would. Zayn threw himself on the couch beside him and sighed as he kicked off his shoes. Still, Harry kept on typing.
"Are you seriously still not done?"
"Nope."
"Well, you are for now." He stood up and reached down in Harry's lap, closed the laptop, then carefully sat it on the coffee table.
"Zayn, what are you..."
Harry's voice faded when Zayn dropped back down on the couch. This time lying on his back with his head in Harry's lap.
"You'd better be glad that has an auto save feature."
"Sorry. I had to. This makes two days in a row and I wanted you to look at me."
Harry frowned down at him. "Well now I'm looking. What do you really want?"
Zayn buried his head into Harry's stomach. "I want you to stop working and give me attention."
Harry softened at his request and pushed his fingers through Zayn's hair repetitively. That put a smile onto Zayn's face as he closed his eyes and huddled against Harry even closer. It was true that before he met Harry, he had never felt like this before about another boy. But for some reason this just wasn't strange at all. Being like this with Harry just felt natural. As if this was the way it was supposed to be. Harry had no idea of how comfortable he made him feel.
With Harry running his fingers through Zayn's Hair Zayn had gone to sleep before he knew it. And even though Zayn was keeping him from working this time, Harry couldn't deny he liked the closeness.
Just a bit later, Gemma's school bus came pulling up and she came into the house as her normal, chirpy self. "Hello, Harry!"
"Shh." He told her.
"What?" He pointed to Zayn and put a finger to his mouth.
"He's sleeping?" She whispered and Harry nodded. "Okay."
"Do you have homework?"
She nodded.
"Go do it. Let me know if you need help."
She took her backpack and as she past them to go upstairs she also briefly rubbed Zayn's hair.
When she was gone, he leaned back against the couch with a smile. He had just really given this some thought now. But Gemma really liked the idea of them together. She loved it almost just as much as he himself did. And that was a really good thing.
Sure, it was way too early to start thinking about what they could be. But he couldn't help but wonder if this would be all there was or if they would last long enough to get to do more. Right now, they were still growing into adults so they hadn't yet become as serious minded as they could be. And if this was Zayn's first time having feelings for a boy, things could change.
However if they never did change and if somewhere down the line, Zayn realized that right here in Harry's lap was still where he wanted to be, everything that Harry needed to say and still wasn't telling Zayn was going to have to come out. Of course not now. Zayn didn't really need to know now. So he could still keep it secret from him. But if it ever did come to that point where he had a right to know, he could only hope that Zayn would find a place in his tranquil little heart to forgive him for not telling him before.