Falling For You

Chapter 5

Zayn opens his eyes when he feels the couch shift beneath him. He looks over to see Niall standing up and walking away. Zayn doesn't quite know where he is.

He remembers watching the movie. He's guessing he fell asleep somewhere along the way. He feels something hard under his head and looks up. He's laying on Liam's shoulder.

Liam's asleep, his head fallen back against the couch cushions. Zayn stares at him for a moment. His lips are parted slightly, turned up into a smile. He looks happy.

Zayn looks down again. Liam's arm is wrapped around Zayn's waist, holding him close and Zayn's arm is thrown over Liam's stomach.

Zayn looks at the tv. The movie is over, and a new one is playing. He can't even remember watching most of it.

Were we cuddling like this the whole time? Zayn asks himself, looking around. Harry and Louis are lost in their own little world and Niall is still in the bathroom.

Zayn pulls out his phone, to see a million texts from his dad. Shit. He thinks. I'm gonna be in deep shit when I get home. It's nearly 1 am?

Zayn scrolls through the notifications and stumbles upon a notification from Liam's instagram. Zayn clicks on it to find a picture of him and Liam. Liam posted it about two hours earlier.

Zayn looks up at the sleeping boy and then back down at the picture. Zayn is asleep in the picture, his head on Liam's shoulder, and Liam is looking down at him.

Zayn thinks he looks dumb while he's sleeping, but Liam's posted dumber pictures of him. That's not the problem. What catches Zayn's attention is the caption.

how cute is he? <3<3<3

Zayn just stares at the phone. Liam thinks I'm cute?

Butterflies shoot through Zayn's stomach and he looks back up at the sleeping boy. He called me cute.

Zayn is still a little bit in shock, but he manages to shake himself out of it. Don't read into it, Zayn. He's your best friend. He doesn't feel that way about you, don't be ridiculous. He posts pictures of you all the time. Why on earth would he like you?

Zayn doesn't particularly like that little voice in his head, but he's come to believe that it was right.

Zayn moves the hand that is thrown across Liam's stomach and taps Liam in the centre of his chest. He doesn't wake up. Zayn sighs. He could get up and wake Liam up that way, but he didn't really want to.

Instead, he taps his forehead against Liam's shoulder a few times, effectively shaking him awake. Liam looks around for a few seconds before glancing down at Zayn. He looks a little delirious.

He's adorable. Zayn thinks to himself, smiling up at the boy.

"I have to go home." Zayn says softly, his voice still quiet from sleep. The older boy just stared down at Zayn, not yet comprehending his words.

"Really?" Liam asks, his voice gravelly from sleep, brow furrowing. It sends butterflies through Zayn's stomach. God he looks so cute.

Zayn nods in answer, not meaning it. He doesn't want to go home. He'd much rather stay here, wrapped up in the arms of this boy, his favourite person in the world, then go home to face his father. But he knows he has to.

"Ok, do you want me to walk you over?" Liam asks, wrapping his other arm around Zayn, pulling him in closer. Zayn just leans his forehead against Liam's chest, feeling his heartbeat. Zayn takes a deep breath, swallowing the lump in his throat.