Calamity [Zarry Stylik AU]©️

Chapter 20: YOU'RE STILL FAMOUS, AFTER ALL

Z,

"He's not a bad lad, you know?" Liam noticed as we walked back to the hospital after my meltdown. I turned to him with a raised eyebrow, questioning his choice of words. "He truly is not. Louis made a bad choice, fuelled by despair."

"What despair?"

"He saw his boss get shot to death. Do you honestly think he was into this willingly? It was either "work for us or join your boss in the afterlife". Poor guy has sisters to take care of and other siblings who depend on him."

A sly of guilt tugged under my skin, but I kept silent as we walked back to the building. The beginning of the headache was forming, but I was trying to keep it together and not give the reason for its existence to the punch Louis threw at my head.

"He had a choice."

"Not that much of a choice when there's a gun pointed to your head on one end. Be fair."

"Why do I have to be fair?"

"Because you're a nice lad," Liam replied. "And the only other reason you don't like Louis is that he had Harry before you."

"Harry and I- "

"Let me stop you right there," Liam argued. "I know you two have a thing. I like that you two have a thing. Now, even though you two have a romance or a fling or whatever it is, I'm still friends with Lou. But that doesn't mean I don't like you, Zayn." Liam stopped, facing me. He placed one hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Giving me pills and fighting the urge to take them. You're on the right path." Liam tapped my shoulder twice. "Meant a lot that you shared that with me."

"You think too highly of me. How do you know I didn't steal two?"

Liam raised an eyebrow like a father would when confronting his son with a lie.

"Well, did you?"

"No,"

We continued walking toward the hospital. The night was long and cold, everything around us was dead, aside from a few groups of people standing by because they either worked at the hospital or were waiting on someone.

We crossed the parking lot and entered the building. Stepping into the half-empty emergency room, we spotted Niall and Louis, accompanied by detectives March and Gerrard. Even at a distance, Louis's eyes spat fire towards me. I can't say I wasn't slightly proud of the bruise on his face and the blood splatter on his shirt.

"Came to finish what you started, then?" Louis spat out from across the room.

Immediately all eyes came to me, but I held my ground.

"I'm ready if you are."

Louis had a bag of ice against his nose, but he wasn't bleeding anymore. I made him bleed his blood and I was fucking proud.

"You do realise that I fucking clocked you too, right?" Louis pointed at my hairline where dry blood was noticeable. "How's your head?"

"Better than your nose."

Louis stood up and everyone else tensed up. I immediately walked toward him, ready for a second round. He deserved that punch and many more for making Harry suffer the way he did. The sadness that I saw in Harry's eyes had his name written all over. He deserved to get bent.

"You think you're so fucking tough. You sneaked up on me!"

"I came right at you. You saw me."

Louis lunged at me, but Detective March stepped in pushing him back down.