Can you love me now, Zayn?

Chapter 12

Three weeks flew by in France and before they even knew it, Zayn and Harry were on their way home.

As their leaving day approached, Zayn was beginning to see the tension rise in Harry. He noticed the pensive, distant mood, something he hadn't seen from him throughout their time abroad.

As their plane bound for Boston left Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, Zayn asked, "Hey, what's wrong? You seemed a bit down since yesterday. We can definitely come back, you know? This doesn't have to be our last time in Paris, or anywhere for that matter. We can take another vacation some time soon".

"I know", said Harry.

"This has been really great, I'm so glad we got to do and see so many things here, but let's just enjoy the memories", Zayn said.

"Yeah, I will. It's been great and I'm happy we've been able to see so much. I'm not upset about leaving", Harry said.

"Ok, then what is it? What's going on?" said Zayn not understanding why Harry's mood had taken a turn for the worse.

"I wish we were going straight home", he said.

Zayn sighed deeply. When they had originally planned to leave France, the flight out included a layover in Boston for one night. Instead, Zayn had wanted to spend a few days with his family in Boston, so they had changed their plans to include a week at his family's home there. He was looking forward to spending some time with them, it had been nearly a year since he'd gotten back to Boston, he missed his parents and his sisters and he'd been looking forward to extending their vacation to include some time spent with all of them. A lot of things had changed in his life, and he'd thought it would be a good opportunity to visit.

Harry had only met his family once over three years ago. He hadn't said anything when Zayn brought up the visit, but Zayn knew he wasn't thrilled about it. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized it was going to be this big of a problem for Harry.

"Is that what this is about? You don't want to visit my family in Boston?" asked Zayn, slightly frustrated with Harry for mentioning it now. The plans had been made, his family was excited they were coming. He wanted Harry to be excited about it too, but apparently that was too much to ask for.

"I didn't say that. I just don't think its great timing, we should have waited to do it another time", said Harry.

"Like when? You never wanted to go before either, so when would be "great timing", in your opinion?" asked Zayn testily.

Harry didn't comment, he just looked at Zayn and rolled his eyes.

"What?" asked Zayn, not wanting to back down. Zayn loved his family, he wanted his family to love Harry and he wanted Harry to love them, too. It was simple, and he didn't understand why Harry had to complicate things now. "What was the look for?"

"Nothing", said Harry, with a frown.

"Jesus, if you have something to say, then say it. I don't understand what your issue is with my family. Why can't we just enjoy spending some time with them? You can get to know them, maybe you can make more of an effort this time".

Having been staring out the airplane window, Harry turned his head to look at Zayn in the seat beside him. "Make more of an effort? They made up their minds about me - they didn't like me from the beginning. What was I supposed to do about it?"

Zayn's frustration was growing. They'd had such a wonderful time in France and he didn't want to taint that now by having an argument about this. "Look, all I'm saying is, you were different then. When you met them, you were really...distant and quiet and didn't make much of an effort to get to know them, but you're more mature now, you've really grown up, and I'm sure you'll feel differently because you've..."