CHAPTER 40:

"You're perfect to me." ~Little Things, One Direction.

Wednesday, 25th December 2013

HARRY'S POV

It took us about 5 hours to get to Sheffield, and I dozed off during most of the ride.

"Love, wake up." I felt someone gently shaking my shoulder. Oh, Mum. I opened my eyes and rubbed them with the heels of my hands.

"We're here, Harry." Mum informed me, her tone excited but nervous at the same time. Of course she was nervous. She was meeting her boydfriend's family for the first time.

I climbed out of my uncomfortable position in the car, and stretched my limbs, rubbing my sore neck. Robin was taking our stuff out of the car trunk, while Mum was standing beside him, talking, and twiddling her thumbs. She only does that when she's nervous.

"It's going to be fine, hun!" I heard Robin assure Mum, passing a comforting arm around her shoulder. I smiled involuntarily at the sight of my Mum with someone who could actually make her happy. Make me happy. 'Cos if my Mum is happy, then so am I.

I took my phone out and hurriedly switched it on, fearing if I had missed a call or text from you-know-who. I sighed when I only saw a few texts from Louis, Niall and Dani. Oh, I should stop hoping by now. I glanced at the little clock above my phone screen. Holy hell, 5.06 AM!

"C'mon Harry!" Robin called out to me. They were both already at the door, and Robin rung the doorbell of an admittedly huge and fancy house.

Quite a while later, the door was opened by a blonde lady in her late sixties, whose sleepy eyes widened when she saw us. Or more specifically, when she saw Robin. "Merry Christmas, Ma!"

"Oh my!" she sobbed, and gathered him in a hug. "I thought you were coming for the New Year and oh my, this is such a surprise! I missed you baby!"

"Well Ma, Anne here wanted to meet you all for Christmas, and I couldn't refuse her," Robin turned to Mum with a smile. The lady smiled at Mum sweetly, who offered her one of her own nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Twist," Mum greeted her politely. Robin's mother just rolled her eyes and pulled Mum into a lung-crushing hug with more strength then a lady her age should have.

"So nice to finally meet you, you're even more beautiful then my son described," she murmured. "Oh, and call me Beth."

Mum pulled away, smiling. "Thank you so much Beth. Oh! And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, love."

By now, more family members had arrived at the door. Robin saw me standing behind awkwardly, and lightly slapped his forehead. "Oh, Ma! This is Harry. Anne's son."

Beth smiled at me. "My, my! Aren't you handsome!" She complimented me and I blushed, quietly thanking her.

"Alright everybody, come on! The rest of the introductions can carry on inside. It's bloody freezing!" A pretty brunette woman who looked like a female version of Robin ushered us all inside.

After getting hugged a lot of times and being introduced to about 50 different people, I was exhausted.

"Alright folks! I guess we should let our guests sleep now, we'll all have plenty of time to talk to them tomorrow," Beth announced and everyone groaned. All of Robin's sisters had taken an instant liking to Mum, which I was extremely happy about and Mum was relieved.

That was the only thing she was worried about. That they won't like her. But why wouldn't they? Mum was like her old self again. Even more better now, after she met Robin.

Robin's nephew and nieces were all very sweet, and surprisingly, they actually found my awkwardness funny.

"Harry, you can take one of the upstairs room," Lilly, one of Robin's sisters told me. I smiled and thanked her.

"Elise, can you show Harry to his room?" Lilly asked her daughter, one of Robin's nieces, who smirked in response. "Love to." She stood up and nodded. "Follow me." I gulped. Yeah, she has been flirting with me ever since I got here. And to say it was a bit awkward for me would be an understatement.

Thankfully, my suitcase was already placed on the bed of a modest sized room. "Uh, thanks Elise," I said to her, confused. Why was she still here? Elise just smirked and closed the door behind her. Not good!

She walked closer to me and pinned me to the wall, running her fingers over my chest. The hell?

"Well, it was nice meeting you Harry," she purred, fisting my jumper and pulling me even closer.

"Whoa-" She leaned in but I jerked away from her. "Whoa, just hold up, alright?" I held my hands up.

Elise- who I admit was a very good looking girl- placed her hands on her hips. "Why, I've never met a guy who has ever resisted me! You sure will be a challenge. And you're tainting my ego!"

I laughed sheepishly. "Well, I don't think you should feel bad. I just don't swing that way."

Elise's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I've a boyfriend." At least I hope I still do, I thought sadly.

"I don't believe you," she snorted.

"Alright," I shrugged, and began unpacking some clothes to sleep in after taking a shower. At my lack of response, Elise huffed and swung the door open, dashing outside. I walked over and closed the door after her, shaking my head. What is up with her?

I took a quick shower and changed into some warm clothes. By the time I was done, I was too tired to even climb into bed. Eventually, I did, and yawning, drifted off to sleep the second my head hit the pillow.

I groaned when I felt my phone vibrating under my pillow. I pulled it out and squinted my eyes at the caller ID, almost dropping my phone in shock when I saw who it was. I fumbled with the dang phone and pressed the green button.

"Z-zayn?" I stuttered. He was finally calling me. Why now? At least he didn't forget about me.

"Harry," I heard Zayn softly say my name from the other side, almost as if he was surprised I was even answering him.

My head was still clouded with sleep. "W-what? Wh-"

"I'm coming to talk to you Harry, to clear things up," Zayn spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument. My heart fluttered. He cared. I knew he wouldn't just drop everything without an explanation. But wait. How is he coming...

"Zayn- I- What do you mean- Here-"

He cut me off. "I'll meet you in a few hours hopefully."

What?! "You're driving to Sheffield?"

"Yeah," Zayn answered. "Look Harry, I know you're really mad at me right now, but I swear I just need a chance to talk to you. I-"

This time I cut him off. "Alright," I sighed, and gave him the address of Robin's family's house. I have no idea what Zayn was going to say to me. He's coming here to clear things up. Meaning what, exactly? To break up with me? What about his parents?

Surely, I'll get all the answers and I hope Zayn doesn't hurt me. I love him so damn much. I don't know why but I started crying. No, they were tears of happiness. I was crying 'cos Zayn actually didn't forget about me. About us. The fact that he's driving here just to talk actually means something.

I was wide awake now, waiting for Zayn. Of course, there was no way I could go back to sleep now.

~*~

I was pacing around in my room, all traces of sleep gone. A while later, I got a text from Zayn saying he was here and I practically tripped over the stairs, panting when I reached the huge front door. It was almost 7 AM, but everyone was still asleep. They'd wake up at about 11 to prepare the Christmas dinner, Beth told us.

I unlocked the door and peeked outside. Zayn was standing there, leaning against his car, shivering slightly. The idiot only had his jacket on, and it was December.

"Zayn!" I called out, and he snapped his head up. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he slowly walked over to the porch where I was standing.

I don't know what I was feeling when I saw him, to be honest. On one hand, I was feeling happy that he'd come all the way here just to talk to me, but on the other hand, I was also dreading what he wanted to say. I was still mad at him, too.

"Hi," he mumbled when we were a foot apart, still not looking at me.

"Let's go inside, yeah? It's freezing." I led him inside the house, to the room where I was staying. Zayn sat on the bed and still looked very interested in his hands.

"So, you're here to talk, yeah? Then talk!" I spat. It came out a bit harsher than I intended to. Zayn flinched, and looked up at me with his bloodshot eyes. His clothes and hair were a mess, and he had dark stubble on his face. All in all, he looked like hell.

"I- I where do I even start?" he moaned, putting his head in his hands.

"The beginning would be nice."

"I- look Harry. I'm so, so sorry for being so inconsiderate. I was just so overwhelmed by my emotions. I was angry, and sad. I just felt so helpless. 'Cos my parents not accepting me. I bear with other people not accepting me, but my parents... as much as I pretend their approval means shit to me, it really means a lot."

Zayn took a deep breath and continued. I didn't interrupt him, he needs to exlpain everything, to let it all out.

"I know you're mad at me Harry, and so is everyone else. The lads and Dani. I was being such a selfish prick. Just 'cos I was hurt, I shut off everyone who cared about me, and worried them, hurt them," he looked up at me with glistening eyes.

"You gotta understand Harry, as soon as my sister made me realize once more, how stupid I am, how I let my fear control me and ruin everything, I came right here. To talk to you. To apologize. I'll understand if you didn't forgive me, cos if I was in your place, I'd go mad."

Zayn sighed when I didn't respond. I was still going over what he just said. "Are you mad at me?"

"N-no, Zayn. I'm not. I'm just disappointed. Disappointed in how you handled the situation. I understood that you wanted to be alone, but the least you could do was tell me if you were okay, damn it!" I seethed, then ran my hands over my face, calming myself. "B-but still, it really means a lot, that you came here all the way, on freaking Christmas, just to apologize to me."

Zayn stood up from the bed and started pacing frantically. "You see? You're just so perfect Harry! You still manage to find good in me no matter how much I fuck up! That's why I believe I don't deserve you, I still believe that," he murmured at the end, his head down.

God, seriously Zayn? I walked over to him, determined. "No, Zayn. I'm not perfect, alright? I was never perfect. You actually make me perfect. It's cheesy, but it's the truth. Before you came, I was so broken. I was insecure. I never stood up for myself. All through that, you helped me. What I had to bear with my Mum. You don't realize, but you actually helped me through all of that. You're the one who's perfect." Every word I just said was the truth.

"And," I continued, "That's why I keep forgiving you. 'Cos even though you mess up, even though you hurt me so many times, you're also the one who makes me safe, who makes me happy. And the good things you do, always manage to outweigh the bad ones."

Zayn was looking at me with so much emotion in his brown eyes, a light smile on his lips. Zayn walked oven closer to me, 'til there was only a few inches of space left between us. "God, Harry. I don't know what to say. Y-you, seriously are amazing. I really am lucky. And I hurt you so many times," Zayn sobbed.

"But, even if I helped you, you did even better. You know why? 'Cos the Zayn everyone sees is the bad boy who wears leather jackets, is covered with tattoos, owns a bike and smokes. But what they don't know that he is just an insecure and vulnerable lad under all that cover-up. He just needed somebody to see that. And Harry, you saw that. And you helped me overcome that. I don't have to use my cover-up anymore. All 'cos of you."

I choked up at his words. Did I really help him that much?

"You are perfect," he stressed, hesitantly placing a hand on my cheek. I let him, and leaned into his familiar touch which I missed too much.

"So are you, imperfectly perfect in every way," I murmured to him, looking into his deep brown eyes.

"That sounds right," Zayn smiled weakly. "Please forgive me Harry?" He asked, his intense eyes burning into mine.

"I already forgave you, Zayn. I told you, you matter too much to me to let you go. You mess up, but you make up for it. I'll never let you go," I spoke fervently, and Zayn teared up. But he was smiling.

"I-I love you," he whispered, then froze. I too was looking at him with my mouth slightly open.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't, it-" Zayn mumbled when neither of us had spoken for a minute. But I cut him off by crashing my lips onto his. This kiss was nothing like we had ever shared before. Not because were were kissing after an almost-fight, but because we had finally told each other we loved the other. Well, I hadn't said it just yet, but it's true. I love Zayn.

And as cheesy as it sounds, he completes me.

I couldn't concentrate on my thoughts much further. Zayn's soft lips were moving in sync with mine, and he still had a hand cupped against my cheek. I moved my hands to his shoulders and slipped his jacket off, running my hands over his muscled back. My hands reached back up and ran through his dark dishevelled hair, then down to his neck.

Zayn bit my bottom lip, and I moaned in response. He then licked at the same spot, and I opened my mouth, further deepening the kiss.

Somehow, we managed to walk over to the bed and tumbled over it. I was hovering over Zayn, our lips still moving in perfect sync. We broke for air, and wasting no time, I attacked my boyfriend's neck, biting the sensitive skin and marking him.

"Fuck," he moaned and I felt instanly turned on. The room started feeling a bit too hot and I moved away from Zayn's neck, pulling my jumper over my head, followed by my t-shirt.

I looked back to Zayn, and he was looking at me with a small smile. "What?" I asked him with a smile of my own.

Zayn shook his head, still smiling. He just lifted his body up, and tossed his own shirt aside. Zayn carded his fingers through my curls, and I closed my eyes at the small but intimate gesture. It felt so good when he did that. Anything he did felt so good and perfect and...

"I love you so damn much!" I growled at Zayn, pouncing on him and pushing him down the bed, aggressively re-connecting our lips. Zayn immediately responded, wrapping his arms around my neck.

I started to move my hands further down, but stopped myself in time. We had went ahead one time, and it was so damn hard not to give in and go further. So, it's better if we stop just now.

Zayn understood and seized my hands in his, pulling me to his naked chest. We lay there on the bed, warm skin on warm skin, spooning, for what felt like hours. There were no words said between us. 'Cos honestly, what more do you possibly need to say after you told each other 'I love you?'

I still can't believe Zayn said that. When he told me those three little words, his eyes held so much emotion, so much sincerity, so much...er, love, that I couldn't possibly doubt him.

And of course when I said I loved him, I meant it with all my heart, it was not a moment of lust. We both knew that.

"Harry!" Someone- or more specifically, Elise- pounded on the door. "Come downstairs babe!" She called out and I groaned.

"Babe?" Zayn questioned, amused.

"Uh, yeah. She doesn't believe that I'm gay."

"Oh? Guess we'll have to show her then," Zayn smirked.

"Yep," I smirked right back. I got up from the bed to get the door, but Zayn tugged on my hand, stopping me.

"We're cool now, right?" Zayn asked me, his eyes innocently wide and serious. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Seriously, Zayn? After all of that? Of course we're cool! We're more than cool!" I walked over to his side of the bed and cupped his face in my hands.

"I love you, you idiot." God, it feels good to say it! Why? 'Cos it's a hundred percent true.

"God, Harry, I love you more," Zayn murmured, pulling on my curls gently and placing a chaste kiss to my lips. The kiss started to deepen, but,

"HELL-LO! HARRY? WAKE THE HELL UP!"

We both groaned and pulled away.

"Come on, let's go. It'll be fun introducing you to Robin's family," I grinned, pulling my shirt back on. I was dead tired cos I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, but I wouldn't trade this night for anything else. Best night- or rather, morning- ever.

"Yeah," Zayn chuckled nervously.

"Let's go," I held my hand out for him to take.

"Wait," he pulled me back again, and I smiled at him teasingly.

"What now?"

"Say it again."

"Say what again?" I played dumb.

Zayn gave me a look, and I grinned, walking close to him. I brushed my nose along his cheek, then whispered in his ear.

"Zayn Malik, I love you, I'm in love with you."

~*~

Da Zarry feels! Hold me! THEY SAID IT. I REPEAT, THEY SAID IT! 

Longest chappie I've written, and my most favorite one no doubt! <3

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