Smoke & Mirrors • Zarry

11. This isn't supposed to happen

Harry had fallen asleep on the drive home, which left Zayn alone with his thoughts. Honestly Zayn had thought about kissing Harry and what it might feel like, how sweet it might taste, and it terrified him. He was allowing Harry to become too close, to weasel his way inside, and the more time he spent with Harry the more he felt himself breaking.

Ever since that day that Zayn had asked Harry to hang out, when they chatted shit about A Clockwork Orange and then he ended up fucking him in that hotel room, room 25, how Harry of all people ended up being the one that Cara picked up; that's when everything changed. Zayn hadn't foreseen it coming, but it happened and there he was, trapped in what he actively participated in creating for himself and now Harry was living with him. 

He parked the car in front of his apartment and glanced in his rearview mirror, eying two men in a white Ford who were parked across the street and Zayn was reminded in that moment that he was also being stalked by cops and he felt this lurch in his stomach, which almost made him feel completely sick. Panicking, Zayn leaned over and shook Harry awake. 

"Wha, what?" Harry stammered, rubbing his eyes.

"You fell asleep. Get out quickly and come inside," Zayn said rigidly and Harry's eyes widened, looking bewildered but he complied and they made their way up the stairs swiftly, Zayn slamming the door behind them as they got in. 

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, still half asleep. 

"I'm being watched," Zayn said, making his way into the living room and plopping down on the couch with his head in his hands. 

"What do you mean you're being watched?"

"I'm being fucking watched. By cops. They've been hanging around here for weeks now just trying to catch me doing something they can pop me for. It's nerve-wracking."

"What the fuck?"

"That's why I haven't been selling shit out of my flat anymore. I'm meeting up with my customers in random places but they know my car, so even that's risky."

"What are you going to do?" Harry inquired, looking concerned as he took a seat beside Zayn on the couch. 

"I don't even know," Zayn responded. "It's taken them five years to catch on but somehow they must have been tipped off recently. You can't trust anyone in this fucking world."

"You should just stop selling drugs," Harry said earnestly. "I'd rather find bum weed from some shitty dealer then have you with the constant threat of being put in prison."

"No, I'll figure something out," Zayn grumbled, getting up from where he was sitting.

He started pacing around the living room, contemplating other possibilities and as he looked over at Harry, he noticed that he was dozing off again.

The evening lingered on while Harry was napping and Zayn's phone continued ringing nonstop with the same customers looking to meet up and buy drugs from him, but he kept avoiding them, feeling paranoid. And that's when he got a call from Cara, which he answered immediately. 

"Hey Z," she said sweetly into the phone. "I'm back. What are you doing tonight?"

"Thank God you called. Can we meet up?" 

"I'm at The Four Seasons."

"I'll be there soon," Zayn said and hung up the phone, rushing to grab his things before stopping briefly to gaze at Harry, who was soundly snoring on his couch.

He couldn't help but smile and just let him sleep in peace before exiting his apartment. 

Zayn was tailed the entire way to Cara's hotel by those same two men and he could feel every muscle in his body tense up, so he made sure he drove the speed limit, followed every rule of the road and carried absolutely nothing illegal on him so that they'd have nothing to bust him for.