Blinded (z.h)

o n e

I woke up in the morning to a loud, beeping sound next to me, also known as my alarm clock. "Fucking hell," I muttered as I slapped the snooze button. I opened my eyes to see the flashing red numbers read 7:00. I quickly pulled the covers off of myself and got out of bed, knowing Niall would be awake soon. I wanted to wake him up with a little surprise, as it was his birthday today.

I ran to the kitchen, struggling to put on a pair of sweatpants in the process, and opened the fridge. I took out all the salad and leftovers from dinner last night and put them on the counter, revealing the cake I had made last night after Niall went to sleep. I took out the chocolate goodness covered in green frosting that said, "Happy 19th Birthday Niall!" on it and made my way to Niall's bedroom.

I was so happy. Niall meant the world to me. I still remember the first time we met, one year ago.

"Um, hi," I heard a thick Irish voice say from behind me. I turned around to see a blonde-haired boy put his bag down on the floor, then hold his hand out in front of me. "I'm Niall."

I smiled, then took his hand in mine and shook it. "Hi, Niall, I'm Zayn."

He looked at me with his wide blue eyes filled with curiosity. "Zayn. What a lovely name."

"Same to you, mate." 

I remember that I had been worried earlier, as it was my first year of college and I didn't know what to expect with a dorm mate. I was scared that my dorm mate would be rude and cocky, but Niall seemed to be a nice guy.

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you something important, and I thought it would be good to tell you right from the beginning," Niall said as he fumbled with his hair.

"Sure, you can tell me anything."

"Well, uh, this is kind of awkward to say, but I'm gay."

"Cool," I replied, shrugging.

"Cool? You're not totally disgusted by it? You don't want a new dorm mate or anything?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, genuinely confused. "Why would I care about your sexuality? You can be whatever you want to be. It doesn't affect me in any way."

Niall let out a sigh of ease as he jumped on the couch. "What a relief!"

I walked over to the couch and took a seat next to him. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, my name is Niall Horan, I'm turning eighteen in September, and I'm from Ireland."

"Interesting. I'm Zayn Malik, I'm already eighteen, and I'm originally from England but I moved to New York a couple of years ago."

"Oh, nice. I'm new to New York. Maybe you can show me around sometime?"

"Yeah, of course, mate."

I remember every day after that, I found myself falling for Niall. I would deny it, though, being I thought I was straight. But it was Niall who made me realize that I was gay, and I've been falling even harder every day for him.

I was lost in thought when I noticed Niall starting to stir in his sleep. He brought his hand to his face to rub his eye as he covered his mouth while yawning.

"Happy birthday, sleepy head," I softly said as I walked over to his bed side, holding the cake in my hands.

Niall immediately sat up, startled. "Oh, Zayn," he yawned. "Thanks so much. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, lad," I replied, resting the cake on his bed side.

"Ugh, this sucks. I have class on my birthday. I fucking hate my life."

"Why don't we just skip class?" I smirked.

"No," Niall smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and laid back down. "Then I wouldn't be able to see the most beautiful man alive: Harry Styles."

I internally rolled my eyes and groaned. "Aw, Niall, that's so cute," I cooed, trying to hide the bitterness and jealousy in my voice. "But it's your birthday. Not seeing him for one day won't kill you."

"Exactly, it's my birthday. To see him would be the best birthday gift ever!"

"Whatever," I sighed, this time actually rolling my eyes. "If you wanna go to class, then you gotta get ready."

"Yes, sir," Niall responded, jumping out of bed.

If only Niall talked about me like he talks about Harry.