The Way It Is ! ** Ziam

Part 10

He isn't carded at all the whole night, but there's always a fresh bottle of something on the table they're sitting at. A table that's sort of more than a little cramped. Perrie's friends (two girls that he's never met before, but apparently moved to New York a year ago or something) seemed more than happy to have them all, though, and Louis only complained once about the fact that the seven of them are squeezed into a booth meant for six, which is definitely surprising.

Not that Zayn drinks at all, unlike everyone else. Everyone else except Liam. It's like they're the only two sober at the table. One of Perrie's friends is flirting shamelessly with Niall, who is more than happy to reciprocate. Louis hit his limit two drinks ago, and he disappeared somewhere into the club almost as long ago. And Perrie…

"He's just hot, isn't he?" she's asking her other friend, the one not flirting with Niall. And she's waving a hand at Liam, not Zayn. "Like, totally fit, right?"

"Definitely," her friend agrees.

"God, I hate him. Why can't he be ugly?"

"Okay," Zayn says loudly. "I think we should go. It's getting late."

Because of the small booth, Zayn's stuck trapped between Niall and Liam. So he feels it when Liam laughs, and he definitely feels it when Liam drops his hand onto Zayn's thigh. "Once a train's gone off the tracks, you can't stop it from crashing," he says. "No matter how hard you hit the brakes."

Perrie grabs Zayn's hands. "Can— can you, um, pour me another drink, babe? And one for Meredith, too. You want one, right, Mer?"

Zayn's pretty sure that this train already crashed, but that doesn't mean he can't try to clean up the mess. He shoves at Niall until he gets out of the booth, and then he bends low to be heard over the music to ask, "You good to get your own way home?"

Niall waves him off. "Sure, sure."

"Come on, Per," Zayn says.

Perrie pouts at him. "But it's still early!"

"It's three in the morning."

"Is it?" She lets Zayn help her out of the booth, and she nearly slips out of his arms until Liam grabs her arm. "Oh, thank you, Liam. You're so wonderful. Why do you have to be wonderful?"

"Hot and wonderful," Liam says. "You know, she's growing on me."

"Just help me get her to a cab," Zayn snaps at him.

Liam looks more than happy to help, weirdly enough. He carries the brunt of her weight through the club, even though she's wobbling on her feet and trying to clutch Zayn as close to her as she can. He wishes he'd cut her off earlier. Not because he cares about her sloppy behaviour, but because he knows she's going to be horribly sick in the morning. Some people (Niall) never get hangovers, but Perrie is the kind that seems to always wake up with a serious headache after a night of drinking, even if she's only had a single drink.

"How're you feeling?" he asks her when they get in the cab. She leans her head against the window and closes her eyes. "Perrie?"

"'m good," she mumbles. "Totally— good."

He's brushing back her hair when Liam gets in beside him. He didn't expect that. "I thought you were staying."

Liam shrugs and pulls on his seatbelt. He gives the driver the address and grins at Zayn. "Decided not to."

Perrie turns, her head lolling onto Zayn's shoulder. "I'm tired," she yawns. "And you smell really good."

Liam leans into him, and Zayn feels the cold tip of Liam's nose against his neck. "You really do," he murmurs.