Starring Role [ Ziall ]

Chapter 6;

Since we lived under the same roof, it wasn't that easy to avoid Zayn. Even when he made an effort in keeping his distance, we still crossed each other's paths often enough. If we did meet, he avoided eye contact, which, confusingly enough, only attracted me more to him.

Two days after our beach conversation, I walked into the kitchen — I had already eaten a peanut butter sandwich in my room —and to my surprise, a half-naked woman sat there. Somehow, she still managed to look attractive with unkempt hair.

She turned around to me, and her face quickly changed from surprised to disgusted. She stemmed her hand in her hip. "Did you just come out of the food locker?" She asked and fluttered her eye lashes.

"Yes. And did you just come out of Zayn's bed?" It slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself. And that, even though Zayn had told me that his sex life wasn't any of my business! I should have kept my mouth shut.

The young woman raised her perfectly plucked eye brows and twisted her mouth to an amused grin. "No. Even though I wouldn't mind if I did... But don't tell Grant." She waved her hand as if wanting to scare away a fly. "Oh well. He probably already knows it, anyway."

I was confused. "So, you just came out of Grant's bed?" I knew right away, that this wasn't any of my business either. But I was curious, since Grant didn't live here.

The girl ran a hand through her shaggy hair and sighed. "Yup. Or rather his old bed."

"His old bed?" I repeated.

A movement from the door caught my attention. I turned around and caught Zayn's eye. He was watching me with a smirk. Great! He caught me as I put my nose in other people's businesses again. But maybe he hadn't witnessed everything? The certain glint in his eyes, however, told me that I shouldn't be getting my hopes up.

"Please, don't let me disrupt you, Niall. Just keep going with your interrogation. It probably doesn't bother anyone here —nor Grant and neither his guest," Zayn said in his usual bantering tone. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame, like he was making himself comfortable.

Guilty, I walked to the trash can, brushed off the bread crumbles from my fingers and considered how to get myself out of this situation. Zayn shouldn't notice how interested I was in him. Something, that he obviously didn't want.

"Good morning, Zayn, thank you for letting us crash at yours. We definitely had too much to drink to drive home safely," the woman said.

Oh. So, that was the case. Shit. Why didn't I have my curiosity under control?

"Grant knows that I always have a spare room for him, when he needs it," Zayn gave back. I could see him from the corner of my eye, pushing himself off the door frame and walking towards the kitchen counter. His attention was on me. Why couldn't he let it go? I should have better cleared off.

"Oh well, uh, I better get back upstairs again," the girl suggested with an unsure tone. Zayn didn't give an answer, and I didn't turn around. She must have taken this as a hint to leave and I waited until I could hear her foot steps on the stairs. Only then did I risk to take a glance.

"Don't be so nosy, sweet Niall," Zayn whispered and came towards me. "Did you think I had another ovenight guest? Hm? And you wanted to find out whether she stayed in my bed the whole night, huh?"

I gulped, but kept quiet.

"With who I sleep, is none of your business. Didn't we talk this through already?"

I managed to nod. If he would have only let me go, I would never talk to any guest in the house ever again.

Zayn reached for a lock of my hair and twisted it around his finger. "You don't really wanna get to know me, believe me. Maybe you think you do, but you don't. I swear."