Playing the part (Ziam)

Chapter 18: Caught in the act (Not really)

The sound of sizzling bacon and the clink of coffee cups echoed through the hotel suite as the lads finally finished breakfast. Zayn and Liam had already started bickering over who would shower first, because of course, they couldn't make anything easy. It was like a goddamn Olympic sport, but this time, the other lads were watching the chaos unfold.

"Move over, babe, I'm going first," Zayn said, shoving Liam aside like he was the king of the bathroom. "I need to wash off the morning drama."

Liam glared at him, arms crossed. "Why? So you can use all the hot water? Fucking typical. You think I'm gonna stand here like some sort of fucking audience member while you take your sweet-ass time?"

"You already know the drill, mate. I'm the diva, you're the bitch. Deal with it," Zayn shot back, winking as he stepped into the bathroom.

The other lads were just sitting back, sipping their coffee, clearly entertained by the growing tension between the two. Niall, who was already used to their antics by now, raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You two are like watching a fucking reality show. You fight more than my parents did when I was younger."

Harry snorted, grinning as he looked at Louis. "It's like they're pretending to hate each other, but it's so real that it's getting weird."

Louis, on the other hand, just sat there smirking. He was loving every minute of this drama. "The fans are gonna eat this up, lads. If they don't think Ziam is real by the end of this, I'll be surprised."

"Don't even fucking joke about that," Liam muttered from the bathroom, his voice muffled by the shower spray. "I swear to God, I'm going to throw someone out of a fucking window if I have to pretend for one more second."

Zayn's voice rang out from the bathroom, "What was that, love? You gonna cry when I'm done?"

"Fuck off," Liam retorted, rolling his eyes and not even pretending to be amused anymore.

Ten minutes later, both Zayn and Liam finally emerged from the bathroom, drenched and glaring at each other as they passed by. The lads just stared at them as they got dressed in near silence, clearly uncomfortable with the forced closeness.

"Alright," Zayn muttered, zipping up his jacket with an annoyed sigh. "Let's get this over with. Sound check. Fans. The usual bullshit."

"Hold on," Liam snapped as he buttoned his shirt. "You're not walking away without apologizing for calling me 'love' in the shower. I don't need that in my head all day."

"Oh, please," Zayn shot back, smirking. "You loved it."

Liam was about to fire back when Niall popped out of his room, shaking his head. "You two are insufferable. Are we getting out of here, or do you need to go on another round of the 'bickering about nothing' game?"

Louis joined the group in the hallway, his eyes glancing at the time. "Let's get to the car. We've got a sound check, and I don't need to hear you two fight about who's the better fake boyfriend while we're on the road."

The lads all piled downstairs, and Zayn and Liam, predictably, were still giving each other death glares. As they reached the front door, Zayn stopped short, eyeing the car and giving Liam a look like he was about to throw him in front of it.

"What now?" Liam snapped, clearly not in the mood for any more bullshit.

"I'm just waiting for you to get the keys," Zayn said, tilting his head as he reached into Liam's pockets, slowly retrieving the car keys with a mischievous grin.

Liam scowled, smacking Zayn's hand away. "Don't you fucking touch my pockets again, mate."

The argument was so petty, yet so fucking heated that neither one of them noticed Louis standing behind them, phone in hand. Louis had a front-row seat to their little standoff as Zayn held the keys, Liam glaring at him like he wanted to murder him, their faces inches apart.

To an outsider, it looked like Zayn was leaning in for a kiss, with Liam's hands on the car, holding Zayn in place as if they were very intimately involved.

Louis, of course, saw an opportunity for pure chaos.

Without a second thought, he snapped a quick photo of them in that position, then posted it on Twitter with the caption: "Ziam caught in the act. Make sure to watch the next episode of their love story... on the tour bus! 😘

The tweet went live, and within seconds, the entire Directioner fandom lost their goddamn minds.

Notifications flooded in from every direction—likes, retweets, comments. Fans were going absolutely crazy. #ZiamWasReal started trending faster than a viral meme, and the comments exploded:
• "I knew it! They're actually dating! My Ziam heart is so full right now 😭💖"
• "Is this real?? Because holy shit this is the best thing I've ever seen!!"
• "Who needs a ship when we've got Ziam?? 😍💘"

Zayn and Liam's phones instantly lit up with notification after notification. They both checked their screens at the same time, and their faces dropped in unison.

Liam was the first to speak. "You motherfucker—delete that shit right now."

"No way," Louis said with a wicked grin. "The fans are gonna love this."

"I don't care if the fans love it," Zayn hissed, glaring at Louis. "You've ruined everything! This is going to be all over the press now."

Liam shot Zayn a look, then turned back to Louis. "Delete it now, or I swear to God, I'll—"

Louis interrupted, holding up his hands in mock innocence. "What? You think they'll believe it was real? Come on, lads. It's all part of the show."

Niall, who had been standing quietly in the background, finally spoke up. "You two are fucking idiots. Just go along with it. You're already halfway there."

And that was the problem. They were already halfway there—too deep in the charade to back out now.

But god, it was going to be a hell of a ride.