Let Me Show You How to Love Yourself (Larry Stylinson) ✅

Trouble

"Hey, Li," Zayn said, looking over at his boyfriend, who was sitting on his bed reading magazines. "Sup?" Liam asked, without looking up. "Was wondering if we could talk," Zayn replied, climbing the loft and plopping down next to Liam on his bed.

"Sure, what about?" Liam said, putting down his magazine. He was trying his best to contain his anger these days, but he knew that talking with Zayn was probably going to set him off. He took a deep breath and turned to face Zayn, who was nervously playing with the sleeve of his shirt.

"So, um. Please don't get mad, Li. Please. But I, um, talked to Louis and he said that something, um, happened the other day. Where you basically came into his apartment and told him he shouldn't be romantically involved with Harry," Zayn said, trying to get the words out without choking. "And um, he said things almost got physical. And I was just wondering, what happened? Is everything okay with you, babe? You've been super closed off lately... I thought you would have told me this."

Liam looked at Zayn with dark eyes, struggling to come up with an acceptable answer. He clearly couldn't lie, because it seemed like Zayn was thoroughly convinced by Louis' story -- after all, all those things are exactly the types of things Liam had done in the past. "I, yeah, I did that. I'm really sorry for not telling you, Z," Liam said, frowning slightly. But Zayn could tell the look in his eyes wasn't genuine. He wasn't really sorry, he never was. "Thanks for apologizing Liam, but this has happened way too many times to count. You blowing up on other people -- or me. And keeping secrets. I'm really hurt, Liam," Zayn said, locking eyes with a guilty looking Liam.

"Baby," Liam said in a husky voice. "I said I'm sorry. I'll stop, I promise. I'm going to therapy -- I've gotten better." He tried to put his hand around Zayn's waist, but Zayn jerked out of his grasp. "I'm getting really sick of you being sorry, Liam. Can't you just fix it?" he snapped. "And yeah, you have gotten better... and you've been better until Harry got back. Don't you think that he might be your problem? All of your anger is revolving around Harry-- you trying to meddle in Harry's life, Harry's recovery, Harry's relationships. We all care about Harry, Li. We all want him better-- but you're taking things too far. He can date who he wants--he's 23."

Liam felt his blood boiling and tried to shove his coiled fists under the blankets to keep Zayn from seeing how angry he truly was. "He isn't stable enough to be in relationship," he growled. "Well did you ever think maybe you aren't either?" Zayn snapped back, jumping off the bed and walking towards the door. Liam stared at Zayn, completely shattered, a sorrowful tear forming in his right eye. The tension in his fists released and he stared over at Zayn, who's hands were shaking as he grabbed at the doorknob.

"I.. If that's really what you think, Zayn," he said quietly, not sure how to handle this situation. Zayn shook his head, his dark hair shimmering. "I... I just need my space for a while, honestly, Liam. I don't know what I think anymore."

He exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Liam shaking on his bed, screaming bloody murder into a pillow.
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"Oh my god, this was so much fun, Louis," Harry giggled as the two boys made their way down the corridor where both their flats met. "I almost wish it didn't have to end." Louis raised an eyebrow. "Well it doesn't, Mr. Styles," he said, eyeing the door to his flat. "Ni is at Sophie's. We can have a pajama party. You know, just you and me cuddling. You can even sleep over. No sexy stuff tonight, just watching movies and spending time together."

Harry's face lit up at the thought of it, his green eyes gleaming. "Yeah, I'd love that, Lou," he said excitedly. "I just have to get my pajamas." He started to walk into his flat, but Louis caught him by the hand. "You can borrow a pair of mine, if you want love. And change in the bathroom. Or go get yours. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"I think I'll just go change into my own," Harry said quickly, too nervous to get undressed at Louis' place after the last encounter -- even if he would just be alone in the bathroom. He unlocked his flat and jogged into his room, closing the door quickly behind him. It was pretty quiet, and most of the lights were off so he assumed that Liam and Zayn were out on a date or something.

Harry smiled when he saw that the pile of jumpers and jeans were all put away, folded neatly in his drawer. Zayn was so thoughtful. Harry grabbed a pair of black and gray striped pajama bottoms, a fresh pair of boxers and a black thermal, all of which were relatively loose on him, and began to undress quickly, trying to avoid looking at his body as much as possible. As he tugged on the pajamas, he bit his lip, wondering if they were too tight, and decided to pull on a hoodie over the thermal just in case.

Then he sasheed out of the room, closing the door gently. As he began to leave the flat, he turned around, noticing Liam's light was on. "Li?" he called. A muffled response sounded the room and Harry walked in to find Liam at his desk, furiously typing something on his laptop. "Is... is everything alright, Liam? Where's Zayn, love?" Harry asked with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm fine, just have a work report," Liam assured him without looking up. "Zayn went to get some pints of ice cream or something. You home for the night?" Harry shook his head and smirked a bit. "No, actually, I'm spending the night at Lou's. We're having a pajama party. And I know what you're thinking -- but there will be no sex. I assure you that," he replied, pointing to his oversized hoodie.

Liam looked up at Harry with bloodshot eyes and sighed slightly. "Okay, Haz. Let me know if you need anything. And come back for breakfast, okay? Or if you eat there, tell Louis to check in with Zayn," Liam said distractedly. "I.. um. Have to go see my parents this weekend. Last minute thing..."

Harry raised an eyebrow, suspicious of Liam's behavior. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "You alright, Li?" Harry asked, walking over and stroking his back slightly. He felt Liam's back muscles tense as he touched him. "I'm fine, Hazza. Just really stressed with work. But don't worry about me, love. I just want you happy," Liam replied, planting a kiss of Harry's forehead. Harry nodded and gave Liam a quick hug before darting off to join Louis for their PJ night.