I'll be Strong for You

Chapter 9

It's so painfully awkward. Harry is staring at Liam, and Louis isn't talking, and Liam's eyes narrow as he takes this in. To an outsider he figures that nothing looks off about this picture at all. Except Zayn isn't an outsider, and he knows that Louis and Harry are both reacting not just to the knowledge that Liam is sick, but that it's actually sort of noticeable if you know what you're looking for. Liam could look like a normal, healthy teenage boy, except Zayn's used to him being bigger, and he's used to more colour in his cheeks and a more genuine smile.

"You told them," Liam states, giving Zayn a look that isn't really anything but flat.

"He told me," Louis cuts in. "I told Harry because I've got a gigantic mouth. I'm sorry."

Liam sighs and says, "I should just go."

"No!" Louis says loudly. "No. You know what? Fuck this. We are not going to be weird about this. Liam, have you ever had a threesome?"

Zayn groans because, really? "Um, no," Liam says, frowning at him.

Louis slings an arm around Liam's shoulder and starts guiding him inside the cinema. "Good, because Harold and myself have been looking for a third, but Zayn refuses because he's, like, committed to you or some shit. Who knows, he's so boring."

Zayn sort of wants to cry again, but he's in public so he's not going to do that. It's just that Louis is sometimes a wonderful person, and Liam is snorting his dorky laugh and grinning brightly, and it's normal again already.

"He's great, isn't he?" Harry asks.

Zayn grins at where Louis and Liam are paying for their tickets, Liam shaking his head at something Louis is saying before he bursts into a laugh that Zayn can hear from across the room. "Yeah, he really is."

At the end of the movie they stay sitting, even though Louis and Harry are both already getting up. "What are you doing?" Louis asks.

Zayn and Liam stare resolutely at the screen. "Iron Man," Liam offers.

"Iron-- what?"

"Shut up," Zayn hisses as they wait for the trailer to start.

"You would definitely be Tony Stark," Liam tells him as they wait for the trailer to start up. "If you were any superhero, that is."

Zayn wonders if he should be offended by this, but then decides that he's not. Tony is a badass, and he's hilarious. Plus, the super suit is fucking cool. "What about you?"

"Batman," Liam says, obviously. "Or Captain America."

"I can see that," Zayn says, nodding. "I can definitely see that."

"You two are fucking weird," Louis says fondly. "We'll meet you out front. Try not to come in your pants when it starts."

Zayn flips him off before grabbing Liam's hand. A moment later the trailer starts up and Liam squeezes his hand. When it's over they both just sit there in stunned silence before Zayn says, "Fuck. We have to go see that the night it comes out."

"Definitely," Liam says, but it sounds weird. When he looks over Liam has dropped his gaze to his hands, and then it clicks in Zayn's head that Liam might not be able to.

"Definitely," Zayn repeats with more conviction. "We will."

Liam smiles at him but it's not sunny. It's a little sad and a little sympathetic, like he feels bad for all of this, and he pities Zayn. Zayn hates pity, so he kisses Liam until that look is wiped from his face.

--

The next weekend Liam spends in the hospital. He tells Zayn not to visit him, and Zayn only agrees because Liam makes him promise. They're just running tests, apparently. The only reason he has to stay overnight is because he'll likely be too tired afterwards to get home, and they want to monitor him.