zm fics [discontinued]

I'll Be There For You

There's clearly something off. Her eyes are low, droopy and dull that when he looks into them all he can feel is a sense of sadness that washes over him like a dark cloud that won't go away. She isn't usually this way, all hunched over, shoulders slumped and lips pouted in a way that's completely foreign to what he's used to seeing whenever he catches a glimpse of her. Normally, her eyes are brighter, full of life no matter what time of day it is; her smile stretches so wide until it looks like her cheeks burn from grinning so hard, and she's never this quiet, no, always seems to have something on top of her mind that she always feels the need to blurt out just because. She isn't usually like this, she isn't like this at all, and if anyone in the world should know that, it has to be Zayn – he is her best friend after all.

"You okay, Ana?" He asks, glancing up at her where she's sitting on top of her bed from where he's perched on her bedroom floor. It's a typical Wednesday evening at Ana's house; they come here when school is over and done with just to hang out and relax, finish a few homework assignments they need to get done and then goof off for a bit until it gets late and it's time for Zayn to head home. There's been no goofing around tonight, though, no small talks like they usually have, no dumb jokes that aren't even considered funny but they laugh at anyway just because, no random, silly banter between the two, but instead just a room full of silence and nothing but their pens and their schoolbooks and pages of homework spread out in front of them.

Zayn doesn't like this side of Ana, this closed off, quiet side that she rarely ever puts on display. He doesn't like it at all, but mostly, he doesn't like knowing that something with his best friend is wrong.

"Huh?" Ana raises her eyebrows, seeming lost in her own little world. But when she realizes Zayn has been watching her, has been worrying about her this entire time, she quickly shifts her mood, smiling forcibly, sitting up straighter, pretending to be okay. Zayn knows she's not, though. Ana is a terrible liar, she is. There's never a time where he doesn't see right through her. "Oh yeah, 'm fine, Zayn. Just got distracted, that's all. Too much homework really fries my brain."

Zayn knows she's been withholding the truth from him, he just doesn't understand why. They tell each other everything – there isn't a single thing they don't know about one another, and Zayn would be lying if he said that doesn't hurt him deep down inside. Does she not trust him anymore? Os there something else beyond this that she just can't say? He wants to know, wants to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, but there's a loud vibration interrupting the moment all of a sudden, coming from his phone that rests beside him where he's spread out across the floor.

There's a simple text from his mother displayed on his screen telling him that dinner will be ready soon and that he should start making his way home so he doesn't miss out. Luckily he and Ana live around the corner from each other so he won't have to go far. The downside, though? He isn't ready to leave his best friend's side yet. There's so much he wants to know, so much he needs to find out, too. He doesn't want her to be alone knowing she isn't feeling well, he just wants her to be okay.

"I've got to go," he tells her instead, making a move to sit up before beginning to pack up his things so that he could start on his way home. "Mum says I've gotta be home for dinner."

"Okay," Ana nods sheepishly. Her eyes trail down until they no longer matched up with Zayn's, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. "See you tomorrow, then."

And Zayn sighs, knows that he isn't going to get much further with Ana not that he's gotten anywhere to begin with in the first place. "See you tomorrow," he mutters, sending his best friend a small wave. He starts to make his way over to her bedroom door, hand grasping the metal knob before he stops himself in his tracks. "You know you can talk to me, Ana, right?" Zayn questions, his back facing Ana where she's still sitting on top of her bed.