Talk To Me [Zarry]

THIRTEEN

Louis took a puff from his cigarette as he stared up at the Malik household, cocking his head to side as he waited any signs of movement. It had been far too long since he last saw Zayn and to say he was worried would be an understatement. Ok, let me rephrase. Louis had seen Zayn often these past few weeks, taking out the trash or walking his sisters to the bus stop and the two had even sat at the park and gotten high together a couple days ago. However, he hadn't seen Zayn enough and that was the problem. I mean he was Zayn's best friend, who else could he possibly be spending all this time with? Then again, Zayn hated people and social interactions and so he could have also just holed himself up in his room. 

Louis took another puff of his cigarette and nodded, yes, that must be it.  There was no way Zayn was spending all this time with somebody else, who could he possibly like enough to do that. Louis laughed at the thought. 

"What are you looking at?" 

"Jesus christ!" Louis let out startled, turning to his right to see Zayn's mother standing next to him, looking in the same direction curiously. 

" I was just looking for Zayn." 

"Go inside and find him." 

Louis let out another yelp when Zayn's father appeared on his left. "You Maliks are something else." He muttered, bringing the cigarette to his lip when he caught Yaser's raised brow. He immediately dropped it to the floor and smiled sheepishly. 

"Why are you waiting outside love? You normally burst in without greeting." Trisha questioned and Louis shrugged. 

Louis chuckled nervously, "I didn't want to intrude, but since you mentioned it..." he trailed off, gesturing towards the house.

"Go find him," Yaser repeated sternly, but with a hint of a smile.

Louis nodded and made his way towards the front door, his heart racing slightly and he didn't know why. What if Zayn was dead? Or what if he had a girlfriend. What if? He stopped in his tracks. Wait a second, was Zayn mad at him? He traced back the events of the last couple days trying to think of any reason that could have warranted Zayn's anger. As he climbed the stairs, he could hear voices coming from Zayn's room. The voices were followed with laughter and jealousy flared through him, what joke could possibly be so funny to have Zayn laughing like that? Zayn hardly laughed, who was he with? 

Louis burst into the room, ready to unleash his worry and frustrations on his best friend. But what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks. There, sitting on the edge of Zayn's bed, was Harry. Talking. Talking like a regular person. Louis's eyes widened in shock as he tried to process what was happening. Harry had mutism, he couldn't even use sign language, in fact he had never even heard him utter a sound before. This was something that he never thought he'd witness.

"W-what's going on?" Louis stammered, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Zayn simply shrugged as Harry grinned and said, "Surprise."

Louis's mind was racing as he tried to comprehend the situation. This was Harry, the boy he had known for months but never really knew at all. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Harry was here, in Zayn's room, knowing how specific Zayn was about who could enter his room and also that Harry got to witness this side of Zayn.

"Wait, so you can talk?" Louis blurted out, still in disbelief.

Harry just laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I can talk. It's not that big of a deal," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I've always been able to talk." 

"So why haven't you?" Louis shot back and Zayn glared at him. 

"Louis!" He hissed and Louis pointed at Harry. 

"I don't think you understand, he's speaking. Like words are flowing out of his mouth." 

Zayn rolled his eyes at Louis's dramatic reaction. "Relax, Lou. Harry's been talking for a while now. I just didn't tell you."

Louis couldn't believe it. He felt like he had just discovered a whole new world. He sat down on the bed next to Zayn and Harry, intentionally sitting between them and forcing them apart, still processing everything.

"Well, I feel left out. You guys have a secret language or something?" Louis asked, trying to join in on the conversation. Well at least he could now finally have something to talk about with Harry, literally. 

"I suppose we also have." Harry said laughing and Zayn joined in. Louis rolled his eyes at how cheesy they were being. 

"Just make out already Jesus." 

Zayn reached over and pinched his back and Louis pinched him right back except harder. 

"So Harry, how did you discover you could speak?" 

"Louis!"Zayn hissed again, starting to feel like his mother. 

Harry gave him a small smile and a nod. "It's okay, Zayn. He's been helping me with my speech therapy."

Louis couldn't help but feel a little agitated at the thought of Zayn helping Harry. Don't get him wrong, he was all for Zayn getting together with Harry. However, he and Zayn?  They had always been close, and Louis was used to being Zayn's go-to guy. "Oh, well, that's great. I'm really happy for you, Harry."

Zayn gave him a knowing look and handed him an oreo packet. "Come on, Lou. Join us."

Louis hesitated for a moment before reluctantly leaning back against the wall. As Zayn and Harry continued their conversation, Louis couldn't shake the feeling of being left out. He didn't like the idea of sharing Zayn with anyone, not even Harry. And he knows how stupid and petty that sounds, especially because he wasn't in love with Zayn or anything and he was quite sure Harry was, it's just, he knew how much Zayn emotionally invested himself into people he cared about. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see Zayn give his all to someone else like that, especially when he wasn't sure how it would affect his friend in the long run. 

But as he listened to their easy banter and saw the genuine smile on Harry's face, Louis realized that he was being stupid. Zayn had enough love and attention to go around, and he was doing something amazing by helping Harry overcome his struggles while slowly growing more and more confident himself. 

"Hey, Zayn," Louis spoke up, interrupting their conversation. "I'm really proud of you, man. This is really cool."

Zayn grinned at him, knowing exactly what he meant. "Thanks, Lou. I couldn't have done it without Harry."

Louis nodded, feeling a sense of gratitude towards both boys. He and Harry may not have been the closest of friends, but they were all connected in their own way. And that was enough for Louis.

A/N: Another chapter so soon? Who is this person haha. Don't forget to vote and comment!!