Heyloo people of Earth :)
I hate school. It comes in the middle of my writing time.
This update is a teeny bit late (only by a day lol) so sorry about that.
This is yet another one of those short and boring filler chapters ._.
But I promise the next chapter won't be, and I hope you like it anyway.
Ooh and the Take Me Home slipcases are freaking amazing :O
And one other thing - it would be beyong amazeballs if you vote, comment, fan, spread this fanfic to your friends, give it a shoutout on Twitter, tell your cat, your dog, your goldfish - anyone, I would appreciate that greatly :)
Enjoy the chapter, as always ;)
SM xx
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Zayn's POV
"Hey lads, I need your help," Harry asked, stirring his straw around his drink.
We were sitting in a restaurant and eating out after a long day at the recording studios. It had been a few days since our month long break ended. We had finished recording our album, and now we had to promote it, then go off on a US arena tour before returning for a UK and Ireland one. All this would take roughly six months, then after that we'd have a two week break, and then we'd set off on our world tour, another six-month long session of gigs spanning around the globe.
That would be exhausting.
Incredibly fun, but exhausting.
"Is Harry Styles really asking for our help?" Lou smirked.
"Pinch me I'm dreaming," I grinned.
"Oh quit it guys, I'm being serious," Harry laughed, looking up at us.
"What do you need help with?" Liam questioned, dipping his chip in some sauce
"A surprise party." he proposed, looking at us.
"Ooh I love surprises, whose birthday is it?" Louis asked excitedly.
"Your girlfriend's, you git," Harry said, glaring at Louis for his incompetance.
"Ouch," Liam smirked.
"Burn," Niall laughed, taking a bite of his chicken wrap.
"Lou just got owned," I snickered, earning me a sharp slap on the arm from a scowling Louis.
"Oh shut up, we talk about better things okay," he mumbled, defending himself.
"Really?" questioned Liam, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes, really," Louis said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"It's okay Lou, you don't have to defend your bad boyfriendness, it's just us," Niall chuckled.
"Shut up you guys," Louis rolled his eyes, "And Ni, 'boyfriendness' usn't even a word," he countered, folding his arms.
"But seriously, what boyfriend doesn't know their girlfriend's birthday?" I raised my eyebrow, nudging him to wind him up.
"Yeah, that's just horrid," Liam spoke up.
"And mean," I stated.
"And inconsiderate," Liam added.
"And -"
"Guys, drop it okay," Lou moaned.
"But you're -" Niall started.
"Shut it. Back to the party," Lou said quickly, not giving Niall a chance to finish.
"Okay okay," he intervened, laughing silently.
"So when is her birthday again?" Louis asked, making us all (except Harry, who was trying very hard to.maintain his serious character) burst into laughter till we ached.
"Dude, you're the worst boyfriend ever," Liam smiled, sipping his drink.
"Is it enjoyable for you guys to make fun of me?" Louis muttered, focusing all his attention on his food.
"Yeah, pretty much," Niall shrugged, a smirk on his face.
"See now if this was one of us, you would never let us hear the end of it," Liam remarked, his eyes shining, a thing which his eyes have been doing since a certain someone waltzed into his life.
Ugh, why was he so happy with Mel? Why was he so hard to resent? Why was his happiness more important to me than my own?
He deserved it. He was a way better person than I was. Here I was, thinking about such wicked things, while he was smiling at me. Liam was my best friend, one of the people who understood me (but couldn't see past my facade of fake happiness, of course), but he's always there for me. Always.
He deserves Mel, he deserves her so much more than I do. He deserves the happiness.
I'll just have to smother my emotions. Yes. I'm not going to fight with myself further, or have these long mental debates with myself. I'm going to be a big guy and slit the throat of my own joy for the sake of Liam's.
Wow, I should go into poetry, that sounded so poetic.
Ah, I'm such an idiot.
And that is so not going to happen. I may say all these big things now, but acting according to them is going to painfully hard.
While Liam and Niall continued to tease Louis, I looked over at an unusually quiet Harry, who was playing around with his food.
"What's up?" I asked with a half-smile.
"Oh I'm just contemplating ways to kill Lou for being so shit to my best friend in my head," he said, his lips curling into an evil grin.
"Hey, I heard that, and I am not being shit to Em okay," Lou butt in, justifying himself, "Now can we please, for the love of god, go back to the topic of the upcoming party and move on from my shit boyfriend skills?"
"So you admit it?" Niall said, his smile reflecting pure mirth.
"Niall, I will pour this bottle of sauce over your head," Louis warned, grabbing hold of the bottle to prove his point.
"Chilli sauce would be a good look on you, Niall," Liam laughed.
Mel's even made Liam develop a humorously epic sarcastic side. Wow, that girl surely does works wonders.
"I doubt it. Lou, stop being a cunt and put the bottle down," Niall said casually, before turning to Harry, "So what exactly do you need us for?"
"Well, everything really. Decorations, food, invites, music..." Harry trailed off.
"Why is this a surprise exactly?" Liam inquired.
"She hates parties, she's only ever to be one," Harry smirked, a distant look on his face as if he was in a world of his memories.
"And you are throwing her one because...?" I questioned.
"Because...it'll be fun," Harry shrugged.
"So you just want an excuse to party?" Louis smiled mischievously, his eyebrow quirking up.
"No..." Harry said unconvincingly.
"I call dibs on food," Niall grinned.
"I'll do decorations," I offered.
"You can just play our music." Liam suggested.
"She doesn't like our music," Harry and Lou said at the time, smiles on both of their faces.
"She's into bands like Green Day," Harry stated.
"And Florence + the Machine," Louis added.
"Simple Plan," Harry spoke.
"Linkin Park," Louis put in.
"All Time Low," Harry said, grinning, "We went to a concert of theirs once, she went insane," he chuckled.
"So basically, we need music like that, leave music to me," Louis said, still smiling.
"I need you to distract her on the day, keep her away from the house," Harry ordered, turning to Niall.
"Why me?" Niall said, frowning.
"Yeah, why him? I'll do it." Louis volunteered enthusiastically.
"Because you'll crumble and end up ruining the surprise, just like I would, so even I'm not going to talk to her," Harry said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"But -" Lou started to argue, but Harry stopped him.
"You'll stay with me and sort out invites and music." Harry said, taking a bite of his food.
"But Haaaaaarry," Louis whined, which he did when he was trying to persuade Harry into doing something he wanted.
It only worked 0.00001% of the time, sadly.
"Lou, are you indirectly refusing my company?" Harry raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms across his chest.
"What? No...not at all. But -" Louis protested.
"No ifs, ands or buts. You can have dirty time with Em later, right now, we focus on the party," Harry said seriously, while Niall and Liam were silently laughing.
"Harry!" Lou blushed, smacking the younger one's arm, "It's not...ugh, fine, I'll do invites and music with you," he grumbled, giving in.
"Good," Harry smiled, "Okay so I'm also gonna trust you with the food and drinks, Niall," he said, turning to Niall.
"Aye aye captain, I feel honoured," Niall grinned, giving Harry a salute.
Harry smiled, before turning to Liam and I, "You two could do decorating and set up the music system and stuff," he said, but his voice had a questioning tone.
"Sure," Liam nodded, without bothering to consult me and ask if I was okay with the whole arrangement of events.
Which I kind of wasn't.
"Okay good, we're sorted then. Oh Louis, stop frowning, good god, you haven't been forbidden from seeing her...well, you have, but only for a week," Harry said, smirking.
"Harry, you're a total dickhead," Louis muttered, glaring at him.
"I love you too," Harry winked, as Louis cracked a smile.
"So is this apartment going to be in our apartment or...?" Niall inquired, while stuffing his face with chicken wings.
"I was thinking of this abandoned basement downtown, it's not too big, it's cheap to rent and it'll fit in all the close friends, and it's more...Em-ish," Harry grinned.
"Perfect," Niall smiled.
"Hey, I'm sure Mel would like to help too," I blurted out without thinking.
"Yeah, Em and her did get along nicely when we had that sleepover," Louis backed me up, throwing a wink at me when nobody was looking.
Ah, Louis is awesome.
"Okay, she could do decorations and setting up and all the technical stuff with you two," Harry smiled, looking at me and Liam.
No.
No no no no.
I didn't mean it that way.
Heck, I don't even know what way I meant it in.
For the second time, I want to punch Harry for his little suggestions.
I'm going to be the third wheel here.
I can't bear the two of them together, it breaks my heart into a million pieces.
This is unfair okay, fate just has the biggest grudge against me.
"I guess Operation Surprise-The-Shit-Out-Of-Em-On-Her-Birthday is on the go," Niall grinned.
So is Operation Stay-Strong-And-Keep-Calm-And-Try-Not-To-Hyperventilate-To-Death.
Which should be the easiest operation ever. Not.
"Hey, can you guys please tell me when Em's birthday is?" Louis begged, "And don't you dare laugh," he threatened.
"July 19th, mate," Harry laughed, "Don't you ever forget it,"
I looked at Liam, biting my lip. He was laughing with the boys, his eyes crinkling the way they did when he was bouncing with happiness. He must have felt me staring at him because he suddenly turned to face me.
Was it just me or did his smile waver a little when we met each other's eyes?
And even if it did, why did his smile flicker, when I had more of a reason to?
~~~
"Hey Zayn," Louis said as he walked into the kitchen two days later, where I was stood leaning against the counter and drinking some RedBull.
Hey, I like RedBull a lot okay.
RedBull even gives you wings.
"Hey man," I smiled at him.
"What's up?" he asked, sitting down on the tabletop and facing me.
"Nothing much really," I said, taking a sip of the energy drink.
"So, the party's in five days..." he said, looking at me.
"Yup,"
"And you're doing deco with Liam and Mel..." he trailed off.
"Yup," I said, half-heartedly this time.
I still wasn't okay with that.
I mean come on, who wants to spend time alone with their best friend and his girlfriend who you also happen to like?
Yeah, nobody does.
"Oh I'm just going to cut the crap. How do you feel about it?" Louis asked bluntly.
"Not too keen on it," I bit my lip.
"Okay...how do you feel about her?" he asked cautiously.
"Ugh, Lou, I'm trying, I really am. I'm trying to forget these feelings, I'm trying not to like her in that way, I'm trying to just ignore it all for Liam. He's so happy with her, and so is she, and I really want to forget her, but I can't. I just can't. Those stunning blue eyes, that amazing personality, I can't get over it. I want to, I want to so bad. It's just...the more I try to get over her, the more these feelings grow. Lou, I'm starting to really like her. And it bugs me. A lot. She's my best friend's girlfriend. And her being that is making me...I don't even want to say this, but I'm jealous of Liam. A part of me despises him now. I feel horrible for saying that. But it's true. And I don't want it to be." I ranted.
Louis didn't say anything for a few moments, but then he looked up at me and his lips parted, "Wow man, you are really into her,"
"Yeah," I sighed.
"Try being friends with her?" he suggested.
"I just can't. That day when we were alone -" I started.
"You were what?!" Louis exclaimed.
"Oh, you were with Em then. Mel came over when Liam was out, and it was just us. Lou, that was one of the best times ever. Just me and her, goofing around and laughing together. But I can't be friends with her, it leads to me to wishing otherwise. When Liam came and kissed her, I...I don't even know how to describe it. I'm in way too deep now, and I have no idea what to do - ignore her completely, or be friends." I breathed out.
"Don't ignore her. Try to control your feelings." he advised.
"It's much harder than it sounds..." I said, looking down.
"What do you want to do then? As much as you hate to admit it, they're happy together. Zayn, you need to accept that and let her go," he said honestly.
"Why can't she be mine Louis?" I sighed.
"Because your best friend fell for her," he answered.
"But Lou, how can I get over her when I see her so often? How can I get over her when Liam talks about her so much? How can I get over her when I like her as much as I do?" I said exasperatedly.
"Sometimes in life, you need to make sacrifices for the sake of others. In this case, it's the girl you like." he stated.
Wow, now that was deep.
"But -" I started to protest.
"Don't you want her to be happy?" he stopped me.
"I do." I said almost immediately.
"Don't you want Liam to be happy?" he asked.
"I guess I do." I mumbled, fiddling around with my hands.
"Zayn, will yourself to get over her, you're an awesome guy, you'll find someone better, trust me." he said earnestly.
But all I want is her.
And only her.
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