Drifting - Ziam

11.I'm falling for your eyes...

(A/N) Incredibly short chapter but I didn't want to make you wait two weeks for an update.

We'll have two to three more chapters, depending on how I solve this story.

Feedback is very welcomed! xx

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Liam was gone. No doubt about it.

For nine days Liam laid on and under trash, almost lifeless.

Nine days without water, without food. And that was the obvious but there must have been more things that he suffered.

Zayn wasn't informed about Liam's clinical condition. And it's not like he had the right to ask because, from an outsider's view, they didn't know each other.

To others, it wouldn't make sense why did Zayn care so much.

Now Liam was gone and, taking into account everything Liam went through, it wouldn't be a surprise if Zayn found out he died.

He's is left alone in the bookshop and he doesn't want to call his name because the lack of an answer would be too much.

Yet, all Zayn can think of is LiamLiamLiam.

The store can't be left unattended, so there's no way he can immediately know.

It'd be weird if he called Niall or Harry. What would he ask? "Hey, Harry, do you know if Liam just passed away?"

And maybe Zayn didn't quite want to find out if Liam made it or not.

Because he could cling to the fact that Liam is strong. Cling to the tiniest of hopes.

But what if Liam didn't make it? He'd be shattered. He'd blame himself for not figuring it out earlier.

So, with a numb mind, Zayn waited for the time he could go home and hopefully find some sleep.

~

The exhaustion of the past couple of days is enough to make Zayn oversleep.

It's not like he has something to do, anyway. It's his day off.

Zayn untangles himself from the covers and tousles his hair with a sleepy mood.

He reaches for his phone on the bed-side table and a rush of adrenaline runs through his body when he sees a missed call from Niall.

Zayn immediately calls him back.

And then hangs up just as he hears the first ring.

He's still not ready.

He inhales deeply, and then exhales slowly. An unsettling feeling fills his stomach.

Before he can do anything, his phone buzzes because Niall is calling him back.

Zayn's thumb hovers over the answer button while his mind debates whether he wants to answer or not.

His finger, apparently, doesn't care about his inner battle because it presses the button before Zayn can stop it.

He can't hang up, so he puts his phone on his ear.

"Hello?" Zayn answers scared.

"Zayn!" Niall's voice rings and, holly fuck, it's cheerful.

"Y-yeah?" he asks carefully.

Niall doesn't miss a beat, "Liam woke up! He's awake!" he says with bright voice.