Tunnel Vision » Ziam AU «

Chapter Nine

They're at a studio, waiting for it to be time for him to go on stage and do his interview. They're going to be scheduled closer together now, what with the tour coming up only in a few weeks. There's always a lot of promotion just before a tour, which doesn't make sense to Zayn. Tickets for the tour had gone on sale months ago and had sold out in minutes. They're not trying to sell them anymore, so what's the point? But he doesn't complain because he knows that his fans love the interviews, and he loves his fans.

"Chocolate glazed," Liam says from behind him.

Zayn whirls, looking away from his phone. He wasn't even texting anyone, not really, but he and Liam haven't really spoken lately. He's still waiting for Liam to bring it up, to get pissed at him for bringing Liam's personal life into this when he had no right to. But Lam's done nothing but act normal, like not a damn thing has happened, and Zayn just feels so awkward. And, really, what are phones good for if not to use as an excuse to avoid awkward social situations?

"What?" he asks, confused.

Liam holds out a hand, where a chocolate glazed donut sits on a napkin. "You complained when we were at the radio station because they didn't have chocolate glazed," he explains.

Zayn looks at the donut, then at Liam, and then he takes it and holds it in his hand like it's something precious because he's an idiot, obviously. "I - thanks," he mutters. How did Liam even remember that? It's not an important piece of information. It was something he'd said offhandedly.

"No problem," Liam says easily. He falls onto the sofa and crosses his arms over his chest. He still refuses to take anything himself, never helping himself to coffee or any of the other refreshments. Zayn would insist, but he doesn't want to hear 'Just doing my job' again so he doesn't bother.

Silence falls over them, and Zayn shoves his donut in his mouth. It's good, soft and just the right amount of chewy with the perfect chocolate on top. He chews, swallows, and finds Liam watching him again.

With a sigh, Zayn rubs at his mouth. "Just say it," he begs. "Just - yell at me, or whatever. Please."

Liam looks genuinely confused. "For what?"

Zayn groans and throws up his hands while keeping a careful hold on the precious donut. "You know what! That Twitter shit. I went and announced your real name to, like, millions. And then the messages you got because of it, and I totally invaded your privacy, so- just get it over with. Tell me I'm an inconsiderate prick. Something. Just stop acting like everything's okay, it's driving me crazy."

Liam's head cocks to the side, and he just stares at Zayn for a moment. Until, finally, he lets out a burst of laughter. It's a nice laugh, not the kind that sounds like he's laughing at you. It makes him feel like joining in, but he's really not in the mood to laugh right now. "You cause a lot of unnecessary stress for yourself, don't you?"

Zayn blinks at him. "What?"

Liam shakes his head. "If I had that much of an issue with it, I would have said something. But it's really not that big of a deal. For one, I don't have anything to hide. For another, I'll be old news in a week or two; I'm not very interesting. And the only downside was that I had to explain to my sister why I didn't tell her I was working for the Zayn Malik."