Finding The Courage (a Ziam Mayne AU)

Chapter Six "Promise"

Liam's POV

"I'm sorry I burst out at you like that before."

I shook my head. "No, you're not."

We'd settled down on Zayn's bed. I was balancing a pack of ice cubes on my bare stomach where I'd burnt my skin and he was lying on his side, facing me but his gaze losing itself somewhere in the distance.

"How come you're so angry with me all of a sudden?" I turned my head towards him.

He didn't react to me. He let his eyes wander around the room and eventually fixed them in the plastic bag with the ice. He closed them and smiled slightly. "Do you think I'm angry at you?"

I shrugged. "Well, either that or you have a very strange way of showing affection."

He laughed mildly and I smiled at him. When he looked at me, something faded from his eyes and he went back to staring at the ice bag.

"Zayn, please talk to me." I turned onto my side, letting the bag carelessly drop onto the mattress. He twitched when the ice touched his bare arm.

I felt like we were too close, I could feel his warm breath on my lips, but at the same time I wanted it to be like this, I wanted to be this close. I wanted him close to me.

"About what?", he whispered, his eyes fluttering.

I slid closer to him. "Anything, really..." Slowly, hesitantly, I ran my fingertips along his jawline, waiting for his reaction.

None. He stared at me as if he wasn't sure what was happening. But he didn't pull away, he didn't push my hands aside, he didn't shout at me. I pushed myself up and placed my hands on either side of his head.

"Liam, what are you doing?", he muttered, his eyes locked on mine.

"Not sure...", I whispered and slowly slid my hand under the hem of his shirt.

Zayn's POV

Before I really knew it, I rolled to the side and sat up. I felt Liam's gaze lying on me but I didn't turn around. What was I doing?

I heard him get up and walk around the bed. When he stood in front of me, I jumped up and glared him in the eyes. What did he think he was doing?

He stroked my cheek softly. "You don't need to be afraid of me."

"I'm not.", my voice sounded miserable.

"Wait. Are you" He smiled, bending forward. "A virgin?", he hissed right next to my ear.

I ducked away. "No, it's just... You're just really..."

He smirked. "Charming? Handsome?"

"Intimidating."

"So you are scared."

"No.", I insisted and tried to look at him without my heart starting to race like this. He bent forward, slowly bringing his lips closer to mine. I put a hand on his chest, forcing him to stop. "I... How do I know, you're not just gonna run off, once you're done with me - like you always do?", I said, finding it hard to keep my voice steady, while he drew little circles on the side of my neck with his fingertips.

"Because I tell you I won't." He kissed me on the cheek, my temple, forehead and nose. Tension boiling up inside of me. I couldn't control myself any longer. I pushed him up against the wall behind him and kissed him longingly, burying my hands in his hair.

Liam's POV

I grabbed him by the waist and turned us around, pinning him to the wall. I placed gentle, feather-like kisses along his neck while slowly unbuttoning his soft shirt.

He giggled adorably as I ran my fingertips over his bare skin and he immediately put a hand over his mouth, blushing furiously. I pulled his hand away and kissed him firmly, gladly giving in to the taste of his tender, pink lips. He let out a slight moan and I couldn't help but smile.

He pulled away, looking at me, his eyes glowing mysteriously in the dark. The expression on his face made it hard for me to keep myself from throwing him onto the bed and kissing him like it was the last thing I would ever do.

After a while, he muttered something to himself and grabbed me by my shoulders, guiding me towards his bed. He pushed me down on the mattress and leaned over me to press his lips on mine again.

I moved my hands under his already loosened shirt and pulled him closer to me. Not allowing our lips to part, I slit the annoying piece of fabric off his shoulders.

He stopped, pulled away from me and looked at me with a serious glare in his eyes.

Don't stop. Not now. It's too late. Please. I grabbed his face with both hands, pulling him back down to make our lips meet anew.

He pulled away again and locked his eyes on mine. "Promise?", he whispered, searching for breath.

I flipped us around, so I was bending over him, sliding my hand through his hair. "Promise.", I said, smiling, as he lifted his head to kiss me.