Our Cheeky, Movie Star Romance (Zouis Talik)

Chapter 11

"Zayn."

Silence.

"Zayn."

He sighed. "Yeah?"

"Do you even know where you're going?"

Some jackass cut him off, and he nearly honked at him. Nearly. Instead, though, he shook his head. "No."

Louis stayed in his seat, keeping his hands to himself as he began to direct Zayn to the location of his hotel. Zayn had his teeth gritted tightly, and he could feel his eyes watering, but he willed himself not to cry. He didn't want Louis to see him like that.

When he pulled the car into the parking lot of the hotel, Louis didn't get up. He stayed in his seat, staring down at his lap. There were a few seconds of silence before Louis spoke.

"Zayn, are you okay? I mean, is everything okay?"

Zayn was grateful for the dimming sunlight. Maybe Louis wouldn't see his face and know that he was about to burst into tears. He waited a second to swallow the lump in his throat before answering.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, but it came out croaky and pained, and he had to cough afterwards. Louis shook his head.

"You're lying to me. Come on, love, let's talk."

Zayn stared up, trying to force the tears back. The engine of the car stopped rumbling, and Zayn realized that Louis now had the keys in his hand.

"Do you want to go into my room? C'mon, love. We can talk there."

Louis' sweetness only made Zayn want to cry even more. He followed Louis' lead and stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Louis gripped his hand and led him inside the building.

The woman at the front desk didn't really pay much attention when the automatic doors slid open. Her focus remained on her copy of Cosmo, and Zayn was thankful for that. He didn't want anyone to see him in such a state of disarray.

The elevator was occupied by a man who quickly stepped out, leaving it empty for the couple. Louis kept a tight hold on Zayn's hand.

When the elevator opened on floor three, Louis led Zayn down the hall and stopped at room 314. His slid the room key into the slot, and pushed the door open when the light turned green.

"Okay, do you wanna tell me what exactly happened?" Louis asked once they were sat on the sofa. Zayn squeezed his eyes shut, and knew that once he started talking, the tears would be inevitable. He sighed.

Louis was looking at Zayn with big concerned eyes, and Zayn sighed. "I don't even know where to start."

"How about at the beginning?" Louis tried, and Zayn pulled his knees up and into his chest. A long breath escaped his lips, and he nodded.

"The beginning? Like..."

"Just let out everything you've been keeping in. You know that's unhealthy, babe," Louis said, pressing a quick kiss to Zayn's lips.

It was a few seconds before he spoke. Where was the beginning, exactly? Everything had been building up over the past three years, little by little, until it was exploding with today's events. God, what the hell was Zayn's teenage years?

"It started when I was fourteen," he finally began. "I just... I realized that I didn't like girls, and I tried to make myself like them. I'd always been told that being gay was wrong, and that you'd go to hell for it or whatever, that gays were disgusting, and it scared the shit out of me. It fucking terrified me that I couldn't help looking at guys the way I was supposed to be looking at girls.