Until You're Mine | Zaniam Halloween AU [COMPLETE]

FOUR

"No," Niall whines. He goes limp in Liam's hold to make it harder to carry him, and eventually Liam has to put him down so he can get a better grip on him.

"Sweetheart, please work with me. I have to carry Zayn in, too," Liam pleads.

"No!" Niall says more fervently.

"If you don't come in with me now, they'll get angry," Liam says carefully. He risks a glance over his shoulder at the house, and then back at the two of them.

"Are you fucking with me?" Niall questions slowly. He has goosebumps.

Liam raises an eyebrow. "What did I say about swearing, sweetheart?"

Niall sticks out his lower lip. "Sorry...but...who is 'they'?"

"He's just messing with you, Ni," Zayn calls from where he's handcuffed to the van. "Can you uncuff me now, Liam?"

Liam looks over at Zayn. "Are you gonna try and headbutt me again?"

"Probably," Zayn answers honestly, and to both his and Niall's surprise, Liam laughs.

"Cute," he smiles. His gaze goes fond, and Zayn shifts, uncomfortable. "I'm gonna take Niall inside and come back and uncuff you."

"Nooo," Niall whines again, and immediately starts wiggling. "I'm not going anywhere unless Zayn comes, too!"

"Yeah," Zayn interjects. He doesn't want Niall going anywhere without him, either.

Liam lets out a sigh, thinking. "Okay. I will take you both inside, but if either of you try anything..."

"We get it, you'll break our arms off," Niall mutters, and Liam laughs again, shaking his head.

"Okay, Zayn. I'll uncuff you now," Liam says. "You gonna cooperate with me, angel?" Liam asks Niall, and Niall nods, solely because he doesn't want Liam to hurt Zayn. Liam uncuffs Zayn, and Zayn takes Niall's hand. "Okay. Let's go inside, yeah?"

"Fine," Zayn mutters. He feels better with Niall's hand in his, and he runs his thumb over the back of Niall's hand. Niall inches closer to him. They have no choice but to follow Liam inside -- they're miles away from anyone else, and it's not like they can just run into the woods. They'd freeze to death, or Liam would find them. It wouldn't be worth the effort.

"Welcome home," Liam says brightly, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Niall grips Zayn's hand tighter as they walk in, expecting it to be dark and dank, but it's actually surprisingly nice inside.

"Oh," Niall says, surprised. Then he squints up at Liam. "Where are the rest of them?"

Liam raises an eyebrow at him. "Who?"

"The other people. Y'know, the kidnap-ees."

Liam snorts. "You think I just kidnap people? Like, as a hobby?"

Niall shrugs. "I mean, you don't really seem like the knitting type."

Liam just shakes his head. "We're only going to stay here for a few days," he says. He tours them through the house, which honestly makes Niall uncomfortable. He was expecting it to be gross and dirty.

"So are you locking us in the basement now?" Zayn asks.

Liam is in the kitchen, starting to cook something. "Lock you in the basement? Do you...do you want to be locked in the basement?"

"What the fuck kind of question is that?" Zayn retorts.

"Seriously. The swearing, it has to stop," Liam says in a serious voice. "No," he says to no one in particular, and shuts his eyes. His head jerks to the left once. "No. Stop."

Niall stares at him, and then looks over at Zayn. "Um..."

"No," Liam says, the angriest Niall has ever heard him. His eyes are still shut, and when Niall looks away from Zayn, he sees the van keys on the counter. He nudges Zayn and points, and quickly, quietly, Zayn swipes them off the counter. Liam opens his eyes and Zayn puts his hands behind his back. "Sorry," Liam apologizes.

"Uh...it's okay?" Niall responds, because he honestly has no idea what just happened.

Liam lets out a sigh. "I'm not crazy," he says, answering what's inevitably going through Zayn and Niall's minds. "Just some...traumatic memories catching up to me."

Niall just nods. He doesn't know what to do or say, he just wants to get out of here. When Liam turns his back, Zayn hisses, "Run," in his ear, and they both take off down the hallway to the door.

Liam calls something after them, but they're too frantic to care. Thank God Liam didn't lock the truck, and Niall scrambles into the passenger seat and Zayn the driver's side.

"Go, go, go!" Niall shouts, and Zayn sticks the key in the ignition and turns. The engine makes a gurgling sound but doesn't start.

"No," Zayn says in a horrified whisper. "Please don't do this...please start. Please." He turns the key again, but the engine just gurgles louder. "Fuck!"

Niall looks out the window to see where Liam is, and lets out a started scream when he seems him standing there.

"I'm smarter than you guys give me credit for," Liam says smugly. Niall smashes down the lock button.

"I'm not getting out of this van," he tells Liam.

"Me neither," Zayn says.

Liam shrugs. "Okay. It's gonna get pretty cold out here, though...and we're miles away from any other people. So suit yourselves." He makes his way back inside the house, and Niall looks over at Zayn worriedly.

"He's bluffing," Zayn says, too quickly.

Niall sighs and drops his head forward until it hits the dashboard. "No, he's not," he mumbles. "We're not getting out of here. Not unless he lets us go."

"Maybe..." Zayn bites his lip. "I have an idea."

"Shoot."

"We just have to play along." Niall pops his head up and stares at his boyfriend. "Look, if we just do what he wants, he won't be so suspicious. Eventually, we'll be able to escape. But if we keep doing shit like this...he's just going to be even more watchful of us. We just have to play along for a little while. We can do that, right?"

"Yeah. I guess," Niall says, wrinkling his nose.

Zayn lets out a fond chuckle and kisses the end of his nose. "Okay. We can do this."

So they get out of the van and slowly make their way back to Liam's house.

"That didn't last long," Liam says dryly, opening the door.

"It's cold," Niall whines, which isn't even a lie. Liam lets out a laugh and pushes the door open wider, and Zayn and Niall go inside.