in the hills • zayn malik

twenty one- wounds

twenty one- wounds (may be triggering)

song for this chapter: "back down the black" by Boy & Bear

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"You and Perrie been talking?" Niall asked, taking a sip of beer and looking at Zayn with somewhat tired eyes.

"Despite common stereotypes about people who have broken up, I've been talking to her a lot." Zayn admitted, shifting a little in his seat. "We've been close for so long, I didn't want to let it go."

Niall smiled and clapped him on the back. "Well I'm glad for you mate, you deserve some happiness."

Zayn saw the hesitancy in his eyes and realised how on edge he made everyone, how worried they must be about setting him off. He did feel happy that he was talking to Perrie, he did feel happy when he saw the boys and his family.

"Do you want to go back on tour?" Niall asked quietly, looking into the depths of his glass.

Zayn laughed bitterly. "No, yes, maybe. It seems like the only thing that will distract me from everything that's going on."

"We'll be gone for a month before we come back to London." Niall said, Zayn seeing how positive he was trying to be.

He smiled wistfully. "Yeah, not too long."

Niall chugged the last of his beer and let out a sigh. "Have you tried going back to see her father?"

"No," Zayn said, taking another sip of his beer. "Paul wouldn't let me after what happened last time. I thought I was going to get crushed-"

Zayn moved his hand to his head, where a bandage was covering a scratch on his forehead. One of the cameras had clipped him and before he knew it, blood was dripping onto his eye and he nearly fell to the ground in his confusion.

Luckily, his so called 'bodyguards' had made their way through and grabbed Zayn, taking him to the safety of the car. The flashing of white lights were imprinted on the back of his eyelids for a while, and it was only when he was taken back to his apartment that they began to disappear.

"I can't go back, not until everything has died down." Zayn said, hands quivering as he lay them on the the bench.

"In a month the paparazzi will have forgotten that it happened and they will find some other poor person to prey on." Niall said with his ever-brightening smile.

"I hope so, I really do." Zayn said, and then smirked. "Well, as long as it isn't you."

"Oh yeah, me and my shenanigans." Niall chuckled, getting up from his seat and heading over to where the beer was.

"You always were a troublemaker-" Zayn begun, smiling widely, feeling giddy.

"Oh Zayn, don't forget that I'm womaniser!" Niall called over his shoulder, picking up a beer and twisting off the cap easily.

"And a drunk." Zayn added, laughter bubbling up in his chest.

"Aye, the drunkest of 'em all!" Niall yelled, starting to laugh hysterically, spilling half of his beer on his shirt, making Zayn clutch at his stomach, nearly losing his balance.

"The druggie, the fool that I am!" Niall roared, stumbling over to Zayn, his face turning red from the ridiculous amount of laughter that was coming from him.

It was this that Zayn had missed when with Iris, the easy way he could just joke and mess around with the boys and manage to have a good time even when he was having the worst of days.