See My Demons (Zarry AU)

Chapter 7

There was a bright blue sky with fluffy, white clouds. A field of lush green grass spanned in front of him. And then there was suddenly a soccer field. Boyish voices yelled at one another, calling for a pass, yelling out names. "Zayn!" He turned, blinking as the ball was suddenly passed to him. Stampeding feet, and then he saw Harry running straight for him. Zayn made a run for it, dribbling the ball down the field. But he wasn't fast enough, the taller male was on his heels, before he knew it Zayn was toppling to the ground. "Pussy," Harry snarked, and then the coach is yelling. "Off the team, Malik!" It seemed as though everyone was talking at once, overwhelming him. And then...

Zayn jerked up with a gasp, panting as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was still in bed, light filtering through his window through the cracks of the blinds. His honey colored eyes flicked to the clock, it read five minutes before his alarm. With a groan, the boy rubbed his eyes and fell back on the bed. Stupid dream. Why was it Harry even intruded his dreams? The fact he thought about him so much was starting to make him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but think that, fuck... Was he starting to like the asshole?

His alarm rang out moments later and he reached out to punch down the off button. 

The morning passed by much too quickly from there. Zayn took his time getting dressed and fixing his hair and what not, as well as putting together his backpack. Yet it did nothing to slow time down, no matter how slow he moved. He made his way downstairs, sighing as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetheart." His mom greeted cheerily.

"Morning," He yawned.

"Stay up all night, Zayn?"

His dad was looking up at him from where he sat at the dining table, behind the newspaper in his hands. The look on his face was all but judgmental, as if he knew he wasn't staying up doing school work. Zayn shook his head, pushing his hair back as he opened the fridge to pull out the carton of pulp free orange juice. 

"No, just slept later than usual."

Yaser tilted his nose up, as if to say he didn't believe him. But he dropped it, looking back down at the paper. "Don't forget you have to come to the mosque tonight." He reminded him.

Zayn put the orange juice back after pouring himself a glass, making a slight face. It's not that he didn't like going to the mosque, because sometimes he did. It was a community, he had a lot of friends and family he saw there when he went to pray. The problem was his dad forcing it down his throat. He could list a million things he wasn't allowed to do because of his dad. Because it was "inappropriate" or "sinful". Of course, he did most the things his dad told him not to do behind his back.

"Yeah, I know." He muttered and finished his glass of juice, putting the cup in the sink.

"Gotta run, see you guys later." 

He hardly gave them time to reply as he walked out of the kitchen, nearly running into his little sister, Safaa. 

"Morning, Habibti." Zayn grinned, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

All his sisters were sort of the golden children of the family. His father, although protective over them, was way less harsh with them. Whereas with Zayn, it was a completely different story. Not that he held it against them. 

"Morning, Zaynie!" She sang, twirling around him before bounding into the kitchen.

He shook his head, heading out the door to drive off to school.

- - -

"I think, if we keep teaming up at tryouts, like subtly... We'll definitely make the team."

Liam hadn't stopped talking about soccer the entire lunch period. It was making Zayn lose his appetite, really. The more he thought about it the more he thought about Harry's weird, cryptic threat yesterday in the locker rooms.

"Are you saying we're not good individually?" Zayn snorted, arching a brow at his friend.

"No. Just saying we're a force to be reckoned with when we're together."

Liam held his fist out, a sandwich in his other hand. Zayn rolled his eyes and reluctantly lifted his fist, bumping it half heartedly against Liam's.

"What's the matter? You're broodier than usual." He commented, before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

Sometimes Zayn wondered if Liam would ever grow up if he kept eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch for the rest of his life. All he ate was junk, and unfortunately the bad habits had rubbed off on Zayn a little as well. Their fast food Fridays had been a thing for years.

"Nothing. Just tired." 

He's not sure why he lied to him. Maybe it's because he was thinking about the Harry thing too much, and he didn't want to be judged. Even if it was his best friend he was talking to. Lately he'd been overwhelmed with everything that was going on, and school had only just begun. With his father pressuring him, tryouts looming over his head, and Harry breathing down his neck every moment of the school day... It was hard not to be stressed.

"Mhm.." Liam eyeed him suspiciously.

Zayn tossed the rest of his food into his paper bag, crumpling it up. He'd hardly eaten, but it was useless. He just needed some peace and quiet before their next period started. 

"I'm gonna head to the art room. I'll meet up with you in English," 

He smiled tightly before getting up and tossing his trash in the garbage can. Liam said something in return but he doesn't hear, already out of the lunchroom and down the hall, heading toward the art room.