Smoke & Mirrors • Zarry

18. My favorite

TW// Mentions borderline personality disorder and attempted suicide.

"What? I can't hear you," Zayn spoke into his phone as the sound of static clouded his mother's voice on the other end.

"Hold on," she said, moving to a different location.

"Can you hear me now?"

"Yeah, that's better."

"I said we're selling the house. We're moving to Manchester and I need you to stop by and go through your things, Zayn. Come collect the stuff you want or throw it all away, I don't really care what you do with it just get here and tend to your belongings."

"Alright, when?"

"Today or tomorrow, preferably."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few hours. Love you," said Zayn, but his mother just hung up the phone without bothering to say it back.

Zayn's relationship with his family had been pretty rocky ever since they discovered he was bisexual at the age of 17 when his cousin Jawaad outed him, and Zayn hadn't bothered to try and find some common ground or ask for any acceptance from them in nearly ten years.

He didn't see the point in doing so, because he knew that a strictly religious family like his would never understand him, and aside from their awkward, forced family holidays where he was expected to attend, he rarely spoke to his father, mother or even his sisters. And since his family hardly checked in on him, or asked how he was doing, or ever seemed to make him a priority at all, Zayn almost contemplated just asking his mother to throw everything away so that he didn't have to step foot back in Bradford, but he didn't, because Zayn was usually the bigger person. Even though his family often treated him like the black sheep, Zayn still had love for them, especially his mother, but it remained a hard pill to swallow just knowing that it continued to feel one sided after all this time.

Zayn sighed outwardly as this veil of dread washed over him and Harry had been standing a few meters away from Zayn in the kitchen, just scrolling on his phone as he overheard their conversation, but he stayed quiet until Zayn gave him a sense of how he should react in what appeared to be a touchy situation.

Zayn looked over at Harry then, who proceeded to look up from his phone and Harry offered him a smile as Zayn motioned for him to come over. Harry held his arms out and drew Zayn in for a hug, gently rubbing his back and Zayn immediately felt soothed by Harry's tender embrace.

"I guess I'm taking a road trip to Bradford," Zayn spoke against Harry's shoulder.

"Do you want some company?" Harry asked.

"That's probably not the best idea," Zayn declared. "They're not too keen on me with a man and that's exactly what they're going to think if they see you and I together."

"Well, I could just wait in the car then so you could at least have a driving companion. I think I might be able to make it fun..." Harry said as he tightened his hold on Zayn's back and pressed his body into him, and then very subtly rubbed his cock up against Zayn, who let out an aching groan.

"Mmmm," Zayn hummed. "You're very convincing."

"It really doesn't take much," Harry quipped back playfully, withdrawing himself.

"I'll go get changed."

Bradford was situated approximately four hours north of London and after the first hour of speeding down the highway in his Range Rover, Zayn resolved that he was quite glad that Harry was there with him, because Harry had this impeccable way of just making everything more enjoyable and especially during a long drive.