Just Another Prank (A One Direction/Larry Stylinson Fan Fic)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Guys! Things are winding down!!! :(

-Challen

Zayn

            “Oh my dear sweet Lord, Piper, that is the most amazing piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen!” Louis attacked Piper the minute she and Niall stepped off the plane, grabbing for the sparkling pendant at her throat. I leaned against the slick exterior of Liam’s car, ignoring the kick of adrenaline the sight of her produced. I had gotten good at that—pretending like the sight of her didn’t make me want to scream in frustration and melt simultaneously, plastering fake emotions on my face, holding back tears and resisting the urge to punch Niall in the face when the two of them were being adorable together. It still killed me inside, but at least I didn’t show it anymore. I tried to smile at the two of them and offered to take their luggage, if only so I could spare myself the pain of watching them be together for a few seconds.

            “Thanks,” she giggled. “Niall got it for me. Isn’t it amazing?”

            “Hell yeah, it is! Look at that shine! What kind of cut is that?”

            We all turned to look at Liam, who was slowly looking embarrassed. “What?” he asked, blushing. “A guy can’t be interested in diamonds?”

             “So,” said Harry, attempting, I assumed, to break the awkward silence that followed, “are those rings I see on your hands? Is there something you should tell us?”

            Rings? I snapped my head up so fast that I hit my head on the top of the car, but I didn’t care. I squinted, trying desperately to try and make out the rings on their fingers. Even though I was only a few feet away, my terrible eyesight made it impossible to make out any details. My heart was pounding in my throat. Had they gotten engaged?

            Niall chuckled. “No, no, nothing like that. They’re promise rings. Nothing more.” He looked over to where I had sunk to my knees beside the car, holding my ringing head. “Zayn? Are you alright, lad?”

            “Yeah,” I winced, pulling myself into a standing position. “The stupid car decided to give me a concussion, but I’ll be okay. Are we ready to go?” They all nodded and piled into the car, Liam sliding behind the wheel. I took shotgun and tried to calm down. My pulse rate was steadily slowing to normal, but I was still filled with an irrational fear. Thoughts of the two of them settling down and having children rotated around and around in my mind, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that if they stayed together, which they most likely would, I would be unhappy for the rest of my life. It was one hell of a scary thought.

            It was dark out—the floodlights of the apartment complex had come on automatically, giving us light to see by as we pulled into the lot and stumbled up the stairs. I was ready to crash; it had been nice being home for the past two weeks, but there was nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed. However, Harry and Louis passed right by all of our apartments and headed towards theirs, and as they had all of our luggage, we couldn’t exactly refuse. I sighed and stepped inside, throwing my coat in the general direction of the couch and missing terribly. “Not to be a bitch,” I said, “but how long are we staying? I’ve missed you guys a lot, but I’m really tired.”

            “I know,” said Harry, coming up behind his boyfriend and hugging him from behind. Louis made a soft noise of pleasure and leaned his head back on Harry’s chest. “I am, too. We won’t keep you for long—we just thought it’d be nice to all hang out together since we haven’t seen each other in so long.”

            At the pleading look on Louis and Niall’s faces, I softened. “Fine,” I huffed, but my voice was soft. “But there better be alcohol involved.”