It's Complicated || Larry & Ziam [COMPLETED]

four

Harry entered his AP History class right before the bell rang and took his assigned seat.

"Got caught up hitting on innocent guys in the hallway?" Louis asked with a smirk. Harry hated that Louis sat next to him in this class.

"Actually, I was talking to your best friend, who apparently doesn't think you're trustworthy enough to talk about his problems with," Harry retorted. "Leave me alone."

"Zayn?"

"No."

"So Liam." Louis shook his head in disapproval. "Why would Liam want to talk to you?"

"I don't know, Louis. Who would ever want to talk to me, because I'm just this worthless, pathetic kid who just happens to get on your nerves just enough for you to get on mine back. Your best friend obviously doesn't think he can tell you his problems, so he comes to me instead. Maybe that should be enough for you to realize that you're a complete and utter asshole. Just leave me alone, like I said."

"I still need that job," Louis lowered his voice.

"Then go look for another one. I don't even know why you're asking me. You don't want to see me at school, let alone at work. So go back to being... you know what? Never mind. Just go away."

"Fine. Whatever. I don't need to talk to a nerd like you anyway."

/ / / \ \ \

That night, while Harry went home and Louis went over to Sara's, Zayn went to Liam's.

"Oh, God, Li," he said breathlessly, panting as Liam's soft lips molded with his own and the other boy's hands fell on his waist.

"You're so hot," Liam told him with a groan. Because Zayn was hot, and all Liam wanted to do was brag to his friends and family about how he got so lucky to have a chance with such an attractive boy. But Zayn made it so that Liam didn't even think he had a chance.

"So are you. Ugh, fuck."

Liam thought back to his conversation with Harry, about how he was a hopeless romantic. Liam was kind of one, but around Zayn, it became so much more. All Liam wanted to do was shower him in affection and flowers and cliché nicknames.

And then he started thinking about how he wanted Zayn to be like that, too, which made him pull away and push Zayn away when he chased after him.

"What was that for?" Zayn asked, wiping his mouth as Liam walked away completely. "Is it my breath? Do I look like shit today?"

"No," Liam muttered. Why couldn't Zayn see how much Liam wanted him? It wasn't even a sexual thing. Liam wanted him in a way that was nothing more than wanting to wake up to him and kiss him good morning. He sat down on the couch, putting his hands over his face in an effort to think.

"Then what is it? I had to lie to my mum to come over."

"Maybe you shouldn't have." Liam said angrily. "Maybe you should have stayed home and slept with some random chick. Maybe I'm not worth it to you."

Zayn looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Li, but you know how I feel. I—"

"I don't, actually."

"What?"

"I don't know how you feel. One moment, you're saying that you don't want a serious relationship, and then you come over here and kiss me. And then you talk about how this doesn't mean anything, like I'm supposed to follow whatever you say because I'm too hung up to say anything else. And then you kiss me again, and I'm left with my head spinning and you say that your fucking reputation is more important than me!"

His voice was raised now, and Zayn was silent. He was biting his lip, though, nervously and awkwardly standing around while Liam yelled at him.

"I'm sorry," he said weakly.

"You aren't. You were never sorry, or else you wouldn't put me through this."

"I am sorry, Liam."

Liam ran a hand through his hair. "Sure. I've got one best friend who's homophobic but not really, and then another best friend who thinks that my feelings in this aren't important. So tomorrow, I'm sitting somewhere else at lunch. With someone who doesn't give a shit who I like."

"Who?" Zayn asked jealously. "Not Sophia, right?"

Liam sighed. Zayn sounded so damn insecure from the last question and it made Liam want to say no, love, I'd never want her over you, but he didn't. "No, not with Sophia. Although it's pretty bad that there's a better friend than my actual best friends and you don't even seem to care. You don't care as a boyfriend, or even as a friend. Make that a new record. Zayn Malik — not caring about anyone or anything since nineteen ninety-three."

"Liam," Zayn implored desperately. "I do care about you. You're important to me. So, so important."

"Apparently not. Listen, I'm going to go because I'm not in the mood to try to convince you about anything. Bye." He grabbed his coat and slipped on some shoes.

"Li, please. At least kiss me one more time, just so I know—"

Liam cut him off by pressing his lips against his. He hated how much this boy affected him. He hated how much he liked kissing him. It was like his own personal drug.

"Are we okay?" Zayn asked softly when they'd pulled away.

"No, we're not, and I doubt we'll ever be. Bye, Z."

Liam knew where that bakery was, so he took his car and drove the short drive there. Sure enough, there was Harry behind the counter.

Liam's grimace as he walked in must've given his mood away, because Harry gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Bad encounter?"

"The worst," Liam confessed with a sigh. "I don't know why I let it even happen. It's, like, everything is great, and then it all comes crashing down. What even does that mean?"

"Have you ever been in a real relationship before?" Harry asked with an amused smile. "That's what it's like. Only it's better, because the good parts are better. You're going through a rough patch, when nothing good seems to happen. He'll come around. And even if he doesn't, you'll find someone who cares about you as much or even more than you care about them."

"I wish I'd thought about it before. Everything would be so much easier if I had known my sexuality before all of this happened."

"It all happens for a reason," Harry told him. "And trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to figure it out earlier. Or maybe people at school wouldn't care so much about me if they saw you. Who knows?"

Liam only sighed and sat down at one of the chairs by the counter. "It's so difficult."

"Is he at least a good kisser?"

"The best," Liam replied, suddenly wanting to brag about Zayn. "He just seems to know how to kiss me without me even having to tell him, like he knows me enough to know what I like when I'm kissing someone."

Harry grinned. "I can tell. You've got that daydream-y look in your eyes, and your lips are swollen."

"You think people at school can tell?" Liam asked, touching his fingers to his mouth worriedly.

"I doubt it. If anything, you can just lie."

"I wish I didn't have to lie."

"Don't we all," Harry said with a smile. "It'll work out. Maybe he'll realize that losing you is something he wants less than his reputation."

"He won't lose me, though. I'm always going to be there, no matter how badly he treats me."

The green-eyed boy shrugged. "You could easily let him think that he can lose you."

"I don't want to hurt him."

"He seems fine with hurting you. I'm not saying you have to or anything, of course, but maybe things would be better if you made it seem like it."

The next day, Liam sat with Harry at lunch, all the while meeting Zayn's glares from across the cafeteria.