One Direction // One Shots

Zouis :: Unpredictable

Louis and Zayn were in love. Their relationship was quite complicated, but they loved each other nonetheless.

They were sat together now, in fact. They were leaning against the back of their school building, all alone. Their hands were intertwined between them, but they wouldn't look at each other.

Zayn had his hood up, a cigarette in his hand, and a few dried tears (as well as dirt and bruises) on his cheeks.

Louis had a book in his lap, turning the pages with his free hand. He had blood on his lip and a scar above his eyebrow.

Zayn let out a puff of smoke. Louis didn't notice as Zayn put out his cigarette against his collar bone. He only looked over when Zayn hissed slightly.

Louis grabbed Zayn's hand, pulling it and the cigarette away from Zayn's tan skin. "I told you not to do that anymore."

"Sorry." Zayn muttered. They fell to silence again. Louis gazed at the side of Zayn's face while Zayn stared at his knees.

Louis pressed a soft kiss to Zayn's cheek. He brushed his fingers lightly over the small burn mark on Zayn's collar bone.

"We're alright now." Louis promised, keeping his fingers there for a moment. "We don't have to go home right now."

"We will eventually." Zayn said. Yeah. Louis knew that. He squeezed Zayn's hand, locking their fingers together tightly.

"I know." Louis looked away from Zayn, looking down at his knees as well. He let out a soft sigh, wishing he could stay here with Zayn forever. "I'm sorry."

Silence fell over them again. The silence wasn't awkward or angry. It was sorrowful. Neither of them wanted to go home. Louis just didn't want to leave Zayn alone or see his father again. Zayn didn't want any more bruises.

"I have to be home in ten minutes." Zayn announce after a while. He pulled his hand from Louis' grip and stood up. Louis reached out and took Zayn's hand again, stopping him from walking away.

"Why don't you just stay at my place tonight? I've wanted my parents- my mum- to meet you for months now, anyways." Louis said. Zayn was still a bit of a mystery to Louis, but Louis loved that boy nonetheless.

He remembered how it had taken months just to get Zayn to talk to him. He was happy they were in love, now.

Zayn shook his head. Louis stood, still clinging to Zayn's hand. "Please, Zaynie? I-I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know." Zayn said. He didn't look or sound scared. Louis knew he'd be terrified. He admired Zayn's strength. "But it'll only be worse tomorrow if I'm not there tonight."

Louis' eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Zayn's neck, grabbing fistfuls of his hoodie. Zayn hugged Louis back for a moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Louis." Zayn said. He left Louis, then, walking away with his hands in his pockets. Louis had to do something. Zayn would get beaten to death if he stayed there. He had to do something.

-•-

"Mum!" Louis went home in a rush. His mother was stood in the kitchen. She gasped when she saw the blood on Louis' bottom lip.

"Louis!" She rushed over with a wet napkin (where had that come from? Louis hadn't even seen her grab one.) and dabbed lightly at Louis' lip while that wasn't the biggest issue right now. "What happened, baby?"

"Not important." Louis said as best he could while his lip was bent back. He and Zayn had been jumped by a couple jackasses earlier, but luckily, neither of them had their wallets. "Mum, I want to move to London."

His mother's face dropped, and she pulled her arms back. Louis forgot how touchy this subject was. All four of his sisters were living with his aunt and uncle now, because he and his mum didn't want them around his father. "Oh? Well, alright. Do you have enough money?"

"Well, I'm not going to have the biggest house, but yeah. I've got enough." Louis smiled. He was grateful to have such a supportive mother. He hoped she would be okay by herself.

"Oh, sweetie, what about Zayn?" She asked, as if just remembering her son's boyfriend of two years.

"I'm taking him with me." Louis said. He smiled at the thought. He and Zayn would escape together. Zayn wouldn't get hut anymore. Neither of them would.

"Good. You won't be alone." His mother smiled. They heard loud footsteps suddenly, and they both froze.

"Your father's home." She warned. Louis' father abused them both, but only when he was drunk. That's why they sent the girls away. Louis had refused to leave his mum alone, but he made the girls go. He was older than them, anyhow. They couldn't grow up like this.

"You should leave him." Louis said. He kissed his mother's cheek, then disappeared upstairs, listening for breaking glass or screams. He heard nothing.

-•-

"London?" Zayn and Louis were sat in Louis' living room. Louis' father was at work, and Louis' mother had gone out to do window shopping.

Louis was applying small amounts of cream to Zayn's bruises, so they wouldn't swell. It was a good thing that Louis was currently studying to be a doctor, or else Zayn would have swelling wounds here and there that would take thousands of dollars to fix.

"The house will be small." Louis bit his lip, looking up at Zayn. Louis was sitting on his couch while Zayn was on the coffee table. Louis was two years older than Zayn, so he was in college now. Zayn was in his last year of high school. He would graduate soon.

"We'll have to work hard for food and furniture." Louis continued. He was making this situation sound horrible, but he had to be honest. "But we're Zayn and Louis, you know? We can do it."

"So, we'll stumble through it all." Zayn chuckled. He looked happy. Louis hardly even saw Zayn happy. He liked when Zayn was happy. That meant he was okay- for the moment.

"Pretty much." Louis said. He rubbed the last bit of cream into a dark bruise on Zayn's cheek and capped the tiny bottle.

Zayn smiled at him. "Yeah, okay. Let's go to London."

-•-

Louis had thousands of dollars he'd been saving for college, but he'd gotten a scholarship. Zayn and Louis didn't struggle at all, but they still stumbled through everything.

They were Zayn and Louis; "Partners in Crime" as their friends, Liam (who Louis had met at work), Harry (who Louis had met at the local bakery), and Niall (who was an Irish transfer in Zayn's school) liked to call them. Of course they were going to be unpredictable.