Broulmates ♡ Ziall AU [COMPLETE]

DOS

"You have the biggest crush on Niall," Liam says bluntly. He steals a few pretzels from the bag Zayn has in his lap while Zayn just stares at him, open-mouthed.

"I --" Zayn tries not to blush. "I do not."

"Zee, what are you even benefiting from lying to me about this?" Liam laughs. "I'm not gonna judge you, dude."

"Of course you aren't. I don't have a crush on him."

"You've watched his Snapchat story three times."

"Maybe he just takes really good selfies and I want to learn his angles," Zayn says defensively.

"I'm pretty convinced that you only haven't screenshotted them because he'll get a notification."

Zayn finally blushes at that. "That's not true," he lies, badly.

"You're in each other's Instagram bios," Liam adds, pulling it up on his phone. "It's gross."

"Best friends do that all the time!"

"Do they write gross things about each other in them?" Liam raises an eyebrow. The sass master is back at it.

"We aren't --"

"'We're like Romeo and Juliet except for the whole dying part,'" Liam reads aloud. The eyebrow stays raised. 

Zayn is so pink he can feel how warm his face is from inches away. "...So?"

"For the love of God, Zee. Ask the poor boy out already."

Zayn's eyebrows shoot up. "Are you high?"

"Zayn, I'm serious."

"Have you been experimenting with drugs, Li? You know crack is wack," Zayn scolds, trying desperately to get Liam to keep that idea away from him.

"Zayn." Liam literally leans across the bed so he can grab his best friend's face in his hands. "That boy looks at you like you created ice cream. He loves you so much it's literally sickening."

"What about you and Harry then?"

"Don't try to change the subject, Zee, I'm serious," Liam urges. "Take the guy on a date."

"We're just friends," Zayn says. He's not really sure if he's trying to convince Liam or himself. "That's all."

"Okay," Liam shrugs, grabbing the remote to turn Air Force One on. "Fine. Just don't get mad when Henry from his math class asks him out like he said he was going to."

Zayn sits up so fast he almost falls off of Liam's bed. "Excuse me?"

"You didn't hear about that?" Liam eats a few more pretzels. "Yeah, I guess he's gonna ask him out at lunch tomorrow or something? I didn't get all the details, but..." He pretends to be nonchalant, but he's watching Zayn. Even though he already knows that his best friend is almost, if not already, in love with Niall, he wants to see it proven by his actions.

"Liam, this is terrible," Zayn says worriedly. "Henry's a horndog. He's practically a sex addict...and, Li, you know Niall's demisexual, that won't go over well at all! He...he...No. What if Henry makes him have sex with him, Liam? Then Niall's going to be emotionally fucked up and then he --"

"So do something about it," Liam shrugs. Liam is friends with Niall, too, and of course, he wouldn't actually let anyone hurt him. But in this moment, what he needed to know has been proven, and he'll let Zayn work it out for now. Liam's phone vibrates in his pocket, and he pulls it out to see it's a text from Harry.

H: Zayn and Niall are idiots.

L: Ikr. We hav 2 get them 2gether

H: Why? Why do you have to text like this? I'm cringing as I'm reading your responses.

L: Y r u cringing? U kno what im saying u can read

H: Liam. Please.

L: Pls wut?

H: OH MY GOD

L: Asai ishne Isah

H: Is...is this some abbreviation nobody told me about?

L: Lol

L: No I'm just fucking with you

L: Literally ;)

H: You're the worst.

H: But seriously. We have to get them together somehow.

L: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? :D

H: If you make a How I Met Your Mother reference, I'm going to punch you the next time I see you.

L: Suit up!

L: Oh.

~ ~ ~

"Niall," Zayn calls, catching his favorite blonde person by his elbow on his way to lunch. He has to protect him from Henry.

"Zayn!" Niall cheers, and Zayn actually groans because he's so damn cute. He's wearing one of Zayn's hoodies, and it's way too big on him. It's so fucking cute. "I haven't seen you yet today!" He wraps his arms around Zayn's waist, and Zayn lets out a sigh, leaning his cheek against the top of Niall's head.

"Hi, princess," he grins, laughing when Niall pouts at him. "Cute. Listen, I have to get off campus today, I need some real food. Wanna come with me?"

Niall blinks up at him, surprised. "We aren't allowed to leave for lunch."

Zayn winks at him. "I won't let you get caught." Niall blushes, still hesitant. "We can go to McDonald's," Zayn offers, and Niall beams at him. Zayn slings an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, smiling to himself. Niall is his, and Zayn plans to keep that way.

~ ~ ~

Later, though, Zayn gets a call from Niall.

"What's up, princess?" Zayn asks, already smiling just from knowing that he's talking to Niall.

"Guess what?" Niall is giggly, Zayn's favorite sound.

"What?"

"Henry from my maths class asked me out!" 

Zayn doesn't even know what to say, so for the first time in his life, he hangs up on Niall.