Unseen

Chapter 9

Harry's house was rather modern but had a hint of comfort to it. Although Harry lived by himself, his house was large enough to house a family of at least 10. It hadn't always been like that though. Three years ago Harry had met a girl named Mae; she was the organiser for their stadium tours and had the job of travelling with them across the UK while making sure everything was tip-top for every concert. After 3 months on the road the boys had noticed that Harry and Mae seemed to be spending an awful lot of time together and then 5 months later they were dating. It wasn't hugely professional, but the UK part of the tour had finished... plus you can't help who you fall for. A year later and Mae moved in with Harry, and it really seemed like they were going to marry. Then after 8 months of living together Mae suddenly left Harry and hadn't been seen since. He never spoke to the boys about it, and they didn't know why it had ended. Nearly a year and a half since she left and Harry still seemed to be extremely lonely and not quite the same. Zayn now understood that separation and loss all too well.

By 7 o'clock the pair had managed to devour two whole pizzas and watch three films, including Love Actually, a secret favourite of Harry's that Zayn had to admit he loved to. Liam had watched from the opposite sofa, smiling to himself at the fact Zayn was happy and enjoying himself.

"I really needed this." Zayn admitted. Harry patted him on the arm and gave him a smile.

"I know mate." Harry replied.

"Seriously though Harry, I've been beating myself up about everything and I needed this time to just be with a friend and forget everything." Zayn sighed with a look of relief. He seemed like he'd been holding that in for a while and had finally admitted it to himself as well as Harry.

"I'm sorry..." Liam whispered, knowing that the only reason Zayn had become this way was because of him. He felt so guilty for leaving him.

"Could I... stay over tonight? I mean I don't have a way of getting home plus I'd rather not go back out tonight." Zayn asked.

"Of course, you're always welcome," Harry replied, "here let me get one of the spare bedrooms ready." He stood and went upstairs to the bedrooms, leaving Zayn in the living room alone. Well, at least he thought he was alone.

"So, fancy sharing me a slice of that pizza?" Liam laughed. He knew he couldn't eat it, I mean he hadn't felt hungry once. He just liked to talk to Zayn, even if it meant he never replied. Pizza after all, besides chocolate, was his favourite food and watching someone else eating it when you couldn't did make Liam feel as close to hungry as he could get.

Zayn was flicking through the music TV channels when One Direction popped up. He chuckled to himself at You & I as he thought about the morphs. He'd sat behind his computer on the day it had been released and watched his mentions on Twitter as people reacted to it. The tweets had progressed from "THIS IS AMAZING" to "WHERE THE HELL DID NIALL JUST GO". It was rather funny actually.

On the TV Niall suddenly turned into Liam, and Zayn froze. Liam watched as Zayn's face turned from a soft, warm smile to a harsh, stunned look of pain and sorrow. It still hurt Zayn to see pictures of Liam, let alone watch him on TV singing to him. Zayn quickly turned the channel over before he started crying, trying to control his emotions before Harry came back downstairs.

"You've got the biggest guest room Zayn!" Harry shouted as he came running down the stairs. Zayn wiped his eyes before he walked into the living room and made everything seem normal.

"Awesome. Thank you." Zayn replied. His voice wobbled a little and he coughed to cover it up. Harry raised his eyebrows but sat back down without asking any questions.

For the remainder of the night Zayn and Harry watched more films and ate more food. Zayn had never felt so full in so long, and had thought to himself how this had been Harry's secret plan to get him to eat properly. He didn't mind though; Harry's plan had worked well and he was happy. Well, as happy as he could get.

Soon into the sixth film and Harry fell asleep on the sofa, long legs sprawled everywhere. Zayn pulled him up and carried him up to his bedroom, deciding leaving him on the sofa would probably cause him back ache.

Zayn found what he thought was Harry's main bedroom as it had the nicest bed covers and posters everywhere. The walls were decorated with awards the boys had received, including their album achievements. Zayn placed Harry on his bed and tucked his long legs under the duvet, trying to make him as comfy as possible. He was still fully clothed, but Zayn knew his sleeping attire and wasn't prepared enough to strip him down to nothing. He wasn't that good a friend.

Zayn walked down the hallway to the biggest guest room. He took all his clothes off, folding them up and placing them on a chair. In just his boxers he climbed into bed and as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. It had been months since Zayn had fallen asleep so easily, and Liam sat in the other chair and watched. In the few days Liam had been there he'd noticed himself Zayn's irregular sleeping pattern. He now realised all Zayn needed was a friend to help pull him through it all. It may not be Liam as he wanted, but at least it was someone who cared for him.