Playing the part (Ziam)

Chapter 23: No babysitters no problem

It was another night after a wild concert, and as they piled into their respective hotel rooms, the lads couldn't help but feel a little giddy about the chaos they'd created. Zayn and Liam were forced to fake-date for the sake of the dare, but somehow, the fake had started looking real, and the tension between the two of them was reaching new levels of fun.

Tonight, however, the lads decided they'd let Zayn and Liam fend for themselves. No more babysitting. No more interference. Just them, alone, for the first time in days.

Zayn and Liam had no clue what the others were planning. They were too busy pretending they hated each other—because that's what they were supposed to do. They were fake dating. The whole point was to get them to stop fighting and maybe, just maybe, figure out that they might actually like each other.

Zayn flopped onto the bed the second they entered the room, his eyes scanning the space. He was already grinning, and Liam could sense that this was probably going to be one of those moments where things escalated quickly. "So," Zayn said, his voice smooth, "you ready to pretend to hate me some more?"

Liam rolled his eyes, dropping his bag onto the floor with a thud. "I think we've done enough pretending for the day. Maybe I'm getting a little too good at it."

Zayn's smirk was immediate. "Oh, trust me, mate. You still suck at it. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were about to kiss me right now."

Liam scoffed, his eyes narrowing. "Are you kidding? The thought of kissing you makes me want to puke."

Zayn leaned back on the bed, his hand propped under his head like he was lounging in a photo shoot. "You sure about that? You keep getting closer every time you give me those looks."

Liam's jaw tightened, but his body gave him away. He was way too close to Zayn now, standing over him as they had that ridiculous back-and-forth. "Get your head out of your ass," Liam spat, but the sarcastic grin on his face betrayed his words. "We're supposed to be hating each other."

"Yeah," Zayn drawled, "but you're looking pretty damn cozy for two guys who hate each other."

"Shut up," Liam muttered, crossing his arms, his eyes flicking down to Zayn's lips before quickly looking away. "I'm just doing my job. You know, pretending we don't want to kill each other every five seconds."

Zayn raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips twitching. "Pretending? Mate, we've been real good at pretending to hate each other."

Liam's eyes narrowed. "That's the point, isn't it? You wanna keep playing this dumb game and act like we don't get along? Fine. But I'm not getting anywhere near you."

Zayn's grin widened. "You're just mad because you know damn well I could get under your skin with one sentence."

"Go ahead," Liam challenged, his voice full of sarcasm. "Give it a shot."

"Oh, I will," Zayn purred, inching closer as Liam tried not to react. "But don't be surprised when you start getting feelings."

Liam stared at him, his heart doing an inexplicable flip. "Feelings?" he scoffed, though his voice sounded more breathless than he would've liked. "Fuck off."

But Zayn didn't. He just leaned in closer, and this time, there was a noticeable shift. It was like something had clicked. Zayn and Liam were standing way too close now, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

Liam's breath caught as he felt Zayn's fingers brush against his arm. It was subtle, but it didn't go unnoticed. "Is this the part where you start calling me 'babe' and 'baby,' or should we skip ahead to the part where you finally admit you like me?" Zayn asked, his voice teasing, though there was a hint of something more behind it.

Liam scoffed, though his eyes flickered over to Zayn, catching the way his lips were just a little too close. "Not happening."

Zayn chuckled softly, brushing his thumb over Liam's wrist. "Sure, mate. Keep telling yourself that. But I'm not the one who's getting hard right now."

Liam's face flushed red, and for a split second, he almost forgot to keep up the charade. His chest tightened as he tried to figure out how to respond. "You're fucking unbelievable."

"Oh, I know," Zayn teased, his grin now full-on smug. "But you still can't stay away from me, can you?"

Before Liam could respond, there was a knock at the door. Both of them froze for a moment before Zayn quickly leaned back, acting like nothing had just happened.

Liam wiped his mouth as if he were suddenly trying to act like he hadn't just almost kissed Zayn. "Let's just get through tonight," Liam grumbled, trying to cover up the fact that his heart was still racing.

"Sure," Zayn said, his voice a little lower now. "But you're not fooling anyone, mate."

The door swung open, and the lads stepped in, completely unaware of what had just transpired. But Zayn and Liam were back to their old, sarcastic selves.

"Alright," Louis said, glancing between them. "What's the deal? Are you two still at each other's throats or what?"

"Of course," Zayn said, shooting Liam a side-eye. "Haven't you heard? We love to argue."

Liam nodded, though his expression was anything but convincing. "Yeah, we're practically at war with each other."

But underneath the sarcasm, something was shifting. The fake dating game was still on, but the lines were starting to blur. The lads couldn't deny it anymore. There was something real going on between Zayn and Liam, even if neither of them wanted to admit it.

And maybe—just maybe—the fake dating was about to get a lot less fake.