You won't Say it, Will You? (Zarry)

'Stay'

The thing with Zayn is, he's quiet. He was quiet as a kid, when kids around his age were full of stories to tell, Zayn was a beautiful silence in a corner of a room.

So when a new kid moved next door, Zayn had absolutely no stories for him. Zayn didn't expect him to stay, just a weird look and silence was all he expected.

But when the kid with the curious green eyes, blinked at him and smiled wide, his dimples evident and front teeth missing, Zayn felt it, a promise to stay.

It was miraculously easy between them, Zayn tucked in a corner of his garden with a paper and pencils in his hand, sometimes paint too and Harry with snacks and lots of stories.

Harry never minded Zayn's silence, he enjoyed it. Zayn thinks he enjoyed it because no one really heard him, behind those wild curls and deep smiles was an insecure kid, trying to be heard, struggling to be liked and he did charm people, but no one lasted long enough for him to complete his stories.

Zayn did. He heard and hung onto every slow word Harry drawled, kept those words tucked into a corner of his heart, and nodded at every point where Harry needed assurance, assurance that Zayn was interested, that his stories were being heard, that he's a good kid.

Zayn told him a story or two, sometimes, when Harry would fall silent, Zayn told him stories and Harry laughed at them, at the right places, and Zayn would run his fingers through his curls until Harry got tired and yawned.

But there were times Zayn wished he should have said something.

Like when they were in the fourth grade and Harry came running to Zayn, in the garden, Zayn shuffled automatically to make space for him, but Harry shook his head and told him he was going to hang out with Jake. And Zayn couldn't say a word, because his throat did this thing where it closed off. All Zayn could do was look at Harry with pleading eyes, but Harry was Harry, he tilted his head at Zayn.

Zayn nodded then, to let him go, he couldn't ask him to stay. And Harry blinked at him again, but then he rushed off with Jake.
Zayn broke a pencil that day.

They were inseparable, Zayn and Harry. Trisha and Anne saw them drawing and laughing, Robin and Yaser rescued them from trees they climbed and couldn't get off from.

They were seventeen when Harry got asked out by a girl for the first time. He was shit nervous, Zayn could tell with how he kept on biting his nails.
"What if I mess it up Zayn? What if she doesn't like me? What if I don't kiss her nicely?"

Zayn ran his hand through his curls and scratched his scalp, a little scraping of his nails and Harry fell silent.

After an hour, Harry got a text from the girl, Miley, and he looked at Zayn before leaving, with the slight tilt to his head, figuring Zayn out. And Zayn nodded. Harry nodded back and left.
Zayn broke a pencil that day.

They grew together, so long so much, they could read each other. So when Harry cried on Zayn's shoulder one night, when they were nineteen, Zayn knew Miley broke up with him. Zayn whispered a song to Harry that night, and Harry stopped shaking. He kissed his cheek and Harry smiled.

It comes flashing before Zayn's eyes now, in this church, standing behind Harry, when Harry whispers a "I do." to Jake, and they kiss, Zayn wonders if he should have said something.

Harry looks back at him, curious eyes and a wide smile, and Zayn's throat does that thing again, it closes off.
So Zayn does what he does the best, he nods at Harry, Harry who has his head tilted at Zayn in confusion.

Zayn breaks a pencil later that night, under his covers, with blurry eyes and keeps on whispering "Stay" to his pillow.

A/n - That was painful to write.