lonely hearts club | zianourry au [COMPLETE]

twelve

"calum!" niall catches up with his best friend at his locker, and calum beams back at him, turning to face him.

"hi, ni," he smiles back. he looks good -- happy.

"how're you?" niall asks. "oh! you -- you have a hickey!"

"i do not!" calum gasps, embarrassed, and attempts to pull his shirt collar up to hide it.

"you do, too! you have a bunch! who gave you those!?" niall demands.

calum blushes more, lets go of his shirt. "um...uh, luke? and...and ashton. and maybe, um, maybe michael, too?"

niall is speechless for a second. "calum, you slut!" he giggles, and calum goes even pinker somehow, slaps niall's arm. "i am so proud of you."

"shut up!" calum is hiding his face in his hands when luke walks up, and he lets out a surprised yelp when the taller blond pulls him into a hug. "luke! you scared me!"

luke laughs, kisses the side of his head. "sorry, sweetheart."

"it's okay." calum cuddles closer. "luke, this is my best friend, niall."

niall's heart bubbles with pride at being called calum's best friend. "nice to meet you," he smiles.

luke grins at him. "you're harry's boyfriend, yeah? one of 'em, anyway."

niall nods. "yeah, harry's mentioned you before...i mean, but so has calum."

"i heard my name," harry's voice calls. niall's group of boyfriend is suddenly there, and niall tucks himself against harry's side.

"looks like you guys worked this out, huh, luke?" liam questions, grinning. calum is blushing again, chin tucked against his chest.

"yeah, i guess you could say that," luke laughs. he kisses the top of calum's head.

"so what ended up happening?" zayn questions, hand-in-hand with liam.

"you wanna tell them?" luke asks calum. calum sticks his lower lip out, glaring at his shoes, and luke shakes his head, laughing. "we're all together, too. ashton, cal, mikey, and i."

louis beams. "that's great! you guys are like us!"

calum manages a shy smile at that. "yeah, i guess we are!"

the bell rings, and niall lets out a loud sigh. harry squeezes him tighter for a second, kisses his forehead.

"we should hang out after school!" niall chirps suddenly. "all of us!" he looks over at his boyfriends, who all nod. he looks back over at his best friend, who shrugs up at his boyfriend.

"sure," luke smiles. "i'll talk to ash and mikey, but i'm sure they'd be down."

"yay!" niall cheers.

- - -
hours later, they all lay in scattered bunches in liam's backyard. they're all sun-speckled and warm, soft, safe.

liam lays in the hammock, zayn curled up beside him, snoozing -- not totally asleep, but not awake, either. harry, louis, and niall sit at the picnic table. harry is fiddling with a guitar, and niall has his head in louis' lap. luke sits next to harry, humming along to whatever he's playing.

michael lays on his stomach, lazily sketching something in his sketchbook. calum has his head on his shoulder, watching as he sketches, and ashton is laying on calum's back.

niall opens his eyes, stares up at louis. louis looks down when he notices him staring, and his expression goes soft.

"what is it, baby?"

niall manages a sleepy smile. "nothing, i just...i'm happy. i'm happy with you guys, and it's only been a few days. i'm happy, and my best friend is happy..." niall has to close his eyes, bite his lip to keep from squealing.

"you're so fucking adorable," louis mutters, running a hand through niall's hair. "we feel that way, too, you know. with the four of us, we never felt...whole. we felt incomplete. empty, almost. so we're happy, too." he leans down and pecks a kiss on niall's lips, and he almost instantly becomes a smiley, blushy mess.

"it makes us glad, ni, knowing you're happy with us," harry adds. "i worry. it's hard, you know, having so many of us in one relationship. i want to make sure you feel included, that you don't feel left out." he leans over to kiss niall's forehead.

niall settles back in louis' lap, smiling to himself. sure, it's not at all what he'd expected for himself -- but he's also happier than he'd expected, and what could be wrong with that?

THE END.