Hungry for Release

Part 8

Famous last words. The moment the meeting was finished, Harry and Louis had hopped into a taxi together, jabbering about some exhibition Harry wanted to check out.

"Weird. Is it 2012 all over again?" joked Liam. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel like heading for burgers, then the beach."

"Sick plan. Zayn, c'mon, don't say no, you haven't hung out with us for ages," Niall whined.

Zayn rolled his eyes. It was true, he'd been keeping to himself a lot these days. He was just so tired, he constantly felt like his fuse was about to run down. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with anyone - he already felt like the annoying fifth wheel bandmate most of the time as it was.

"No answer. That means yes! And if it means no, I'll tell all the fans where you are on Twitter. So you might as well come with us. Yes!" Niall crowed.

"Fine," Zayn sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache starting in his temples. He'd been getting those a lot lately. "But only if we can get sushi instead."

"Done! Quick Liam, let's roll before he changes his mind! Gotta enjoy this sun while we can - then it's the frozen wastes of Canada tomorrow."

"I'm pretty sure Toronto doesn't count as frozen wasteland Niall," Liam interjected.

"Whatever man. It's cold enough. Now you fools, are you gonna help me get a cab or not?"

Maybe it was the sunshine, maybe it was the lively company, but Zayn felt calm enough to enjoy a full order of sashimi in the restaurant, though nothing could have enticed him to touch the stodgy rice rolls.

As meals out went, it was an almost painless experience. It had turned out that he'd been able to get away with eating just fruit salad at breakfast, disguised by the mammoth bowls on offer, so, even with the unplanned meal, he was still way under his daily allowance.

The only uncomfortable part came when it was time to leave. As Zayn stood, he was overcome by an odd spinning sensation. Black spots started to bloom in front of his eyes, and he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. A roaring sound like a train filled his ears. He staggered back into his chair, and thankfully, the sensation passed. Niall and Liam, who had been occupied talking to fans, didn't even notice.

Realising Zayn was lagging behind, Niall yelled out, "Zayn! Get your fat ass down here. What are you like?"

Suddenly horribly self-conscious, Zayn shoved his beanie down over his eyes and strode ahead. Behind his back, Liam jabbed Niall sharply in the ribs. "Mate, can it with the fat jokes."

"What? I only said it because he's so thin! Geez!" whispered Niall, abashed. Sensing he'd annoyed Zayn, he did his best for the rest of the day to keep on his good side. He didn't even comment on the fact that Zayn chose to keep his sweat pants and baggy hip-hop style T-Shirt on when they arrived at the swelteringly hot private hotel beach, which was essentially deserted on the weekday afternoon.

In spite of his annoyance, Zayn couldn't help but enjoy himself. He even mellowed out enough to allow Louis and Harry, who'd eventually showed up again in the late afternoon, to bury him in the sand.Oddly, they wouldn't really say what they'd been up to, but they both seemed incredibly pleased with themselves.

They'd all planned an early night to allow for a four am wake up call, but in the end, had all found themselves unable to drag themselves away from the terrace until well into the night. It was rare that they could all spend time chilling out like this - the only person who bothered them all day was an eager young server, who was clearly delighted to have been assigned these particular visitors.

It wasn't to last though. Toronto airport was a war zone - flashbulbs going left right and centre, mobs of girls as far as the eye could see, and everywhere, someone tugging, screeching, or pushing at them. Ducking his head down, Zayn jogged behind the burly security team, who were doing their best not to hurt the hysterical fans. He felt someone grab his arm and snatched it away, panicked.