Tunnel Vision » Ziam AU «

Chapter Fifteen

His hair is matted to his forehead with sweat, and his shirt is clinging to his back by the time he gets off stage that night. He didn't have much sleep, due to the fact that Liam was just outside the door the whole night. It kept him awake, tossing and turning, and he heard Liam get up several times, too, like he was having the same issue.

So maybe Zayn offering to let Liam stay in his bus didn't make Liam's life easier, he thinks, because Liam has look just as, if not more, tired the last couple days as he had when he was sharing the bus with the rest of their security. Only now it's fucking with Zayn, too, and he knows that it's mostly his own fault. He's the one who's acted like it all never happened. Refused to answer Harry or Louis when they badgered him about how distant he's been, and he's actually glued himself to Niall and Josh's sides because neither of them are pushy and they're both too wrapped up in each other to question him.

He should write a book, he really should. How To Avoid Your Obvious Infatuation With Your Bodyguard: A memoir by Zayn Malik.

He jogs right past Liam, heading for the table with water bottles and shit. He grabs a towel, too, and wipes down his face. Someone wraps their arms around him, and he sinks into the hug until he realizes it's not Liam. Of course it's not Liam. Why would it be Liam?

"Drinks tonight?" Harry asks. "Niall and I wanna get wasted."

Zayn turns, and Harry's arms stay around him. "I don't know if-"

"Please?" Harry begs. "We haven't had a good night out, all of us, in a while."

"All of us?" he asks. "Lou invited then, too?"

Harry rolls his eyes and finally releases his grip on Zayn's sides. "Yes. We've talked, and we've decided to put aside our differences for the sake of the band."

Zayn snorts. "Did you hire a lawyer to come to this agreement?"

Harry gently shoves him. "Just say yes, please. Please. I already told Liam we were going."

"Liam's coming too?" Zayn asks, perking up a bit without even meaning to.

Harry smirks at him. "Uh, considering that he's supposed to follow you everywhere, especially clubs, yes."

How is it that that makes him want to go even more, and makes him want to say no even more, at the same time? He lets his gaze wander over the room until it finally lands on him, but Liam's too busy chatting with Louis to notice. "Yeah, okay," Zayn agrees. He could use a drink, at the very least.

Harry grins. "Brilliant. We're meeting in the hotel lobby at eleven."

Zayn grunts his agreement. He finishes off another water bottle, and then they all make their way out of the building. There's screaming girls outside, lingering behind after the concert with the hope of catching another glimpse of him. Most of his security is there, keeping them at bay, and Zayn's too exhausted to do much, but he still locates a pen and signs a few things, stands for photos with a couple girls who cling to him and act like they're going to hold on forever.