Him (Ziall Horlik) AU

Chapter 8

Zayn's POV

Last night I had put Niall to bed after he fell asleep in my arms in the bath tub. I put him in my long sleeved shirt that I had been wearing for the past two days because I hadn't gone home at all. I also put some boxers on him just in case he would get cold. Then for the rest of the night, I stayed awake just looking at him and holding him close to me. Now I wish I hadn't done that because it's making leaving so much harder than it should be.

Niall was still asleep as I got dressed. It was four in the morning, but I knew it would give me enough time to get back to Bradford for school and work. I put my tight jeans back on and my boots before slipping my leather jacket on over the shirt I was just going to keep of Niall's. He was asleep in mine so I guess we could play the trade game. Plus, I really wanted something I could touch so I knew this had actually happened.

It wasn't the fact he was incredibly famous that made this feel like a dream to me. It was the fact he was everything I've ever wanted in someone. He was beyond perfect in every way. He was happy and wanted to make me happy. He also showed how truly vulnerable he is, yet covered it up to be strong. The one thing about us that I noticed was we switched our weaknesses throughout the day. In the day light, Niall knew what he was doing and was a strong personality that couldn't be controlled. But when the moon came out to play, he became as vulnerable as a butterfly. His soft wings showed he was scared of getting hurt because he knew he was delicate. Me on the other hand, depended on Niall during the day because I felt so raw towards the world. Then night came and all I could do was holding him tighter and protect my gentle butterfly.

I sent Niall a text from my phone saying that it was me and that I needed to leave. Unfortunately for my quick escape, Niall had his phone on loud so it rang on the bedside table next to him. Niall jumped a little in his sleep so I knew I had to give him a proper goodbye. I went over to his side of the bed and sat down. His blue eyes looked at me fully of sleep and confusion.

"I have to go, Niall." I whispered to him. My hand ran through his hair softly. Niall sat up slowly and scoot closer to me. I pulled him in for one last hug that lasted so much longer than it needed to.

"I'll call one of our drivers to drive you back to Bradford. It would be too expensive for a cab and take too long for a bus." Niall whispered back to me. He reached over and got his phone. I pulled him onto my lap as he spoke on the phone to someone. His head rested on my shoulder and his hand ran gently over my jaw. He hung up his phone and let me hold him a little longer. This was slowly killing me.

"I better go." I whispered. Niall climbed off my lap and curled into his blankets. I kissed his nose then his lips before getting up off the bed. It was just a silent moment shared between us that we would miss the other. He gave me a sad smile as I pulled the blankets up to cover him, then he let his eyes slip shut. With that, I found my courage to walk out of the room.

With my slowly pounding heart, I found myself down stairs in the lobby of the hotel. There were some security men waiting for me as well as a car I could see waiting outside. But of course, there were also a shit ton of crazy fans and already cameras flashing before I had ever walked out.

"Do you want us to move it to the back entrance? We didn't expect this reaction for just a guest of one of the boys." One of the random security people asked me. I shook my head and figured the faster I got out of here the sooner I could stop this ache in my chest. So I pushed through the doors with the security pushing the crazy girls back from me. I kept going with my head down until I was getting in the car and the door was slammed shut. I looked up to see the security was now pushing the crowed away from the car as it slowly started rolling. I let out a deep breath and rest my head back on the seat so I could evaluate what I was feeling.