for your eyes only

T H I R T E E N

"You seem wrecked." Zayn remarks when Harry walks up to him in the art gallery the next day, his hair all over the place, his eyes red and tired and his nose running due to the cold. He looks so delicate that he could crumble then and there, and Zayn doesn't want that. So, he reaches out to curl his fingers against Harry's, and Harry manages a smile.

"I was up all night." Harry replies, rolling his eyes playfully. Then, pauses, before saying, "Well, half the night. You snore when you sleep, you know?"

"So you stayed up listening to me sleeping? Stalker much." Zayn teases. The air around him eases, somehow, and he feels his breathing become steadier. The fact that Harry stayed up at night to make sure he was okay, it warmed his precious little heart. But when he looks at Harry with a look of gratitude, he was frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?" Zayn asks, slightky concerned.

Harry looks at him, his green eyes slightly teary. "Don't you trust me? I am tired of waiting. I have told you everything. But you are not... I get it, okay? I know you have trouble trusting someone. But telling you everything, it was hard for me too. Zayn, please, just trust me."

Zayn bites his lip, every words coming out of Harry's lips feeling like a knife penetrating his heart. He knows Harry is right. It was Claire who told Alec about the abuse, and for a long time Zayn continued denying everything until Alec finally admitted Claire had told him everything.

It's true he has walls so high and so strong that even he is not sure if he can break them. But that's just the way he is. He has lived in his invisible shield for so long that he has forgotten what's it like to really trust someone, and not just for namesake.

So when Harry starts saying, "I know I have offended you. But I have waited. I really have. I am just tired....", Zayn takes his hand and starts dragging him outside.