"That was fun, Zayn." Harry said as he pulled up in Zayn's driveway.

"Yeah, it was. Thanks for inviting me." Zayn nodded, smiling.

"Of course. I'll probably invite you next weekend if you don't have plans."

"Harry, I never have plans." Zayn chuckled.

"Well you will now." Harry smiled.

"Okay. I look forward to it." Zayn said, the two staring at each other for a moment.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Zayn said, opening the car door.

"Wait, um, about that," Harry said, making Zayn pause and look at him.

"I know you usually come to school with Niall but if you want me to come get you just let me know. It's on my way sort of." Harry said shyly.

"Niall might try to fight you." Zayn chuckled.

"Oh, yeah okay." Harry said, faking a chuckle as well.

Why couldn't he drive Zayn to school?

Maybe just a few days out of the week?

"Sorry. But I'll still see you tomorrow, okay?" Zayn asked, touching his hand.

"Wait, what about....I mean..." Harry trailed off, blushing some and giving him a knowing look.

"Oh. Uh, m-maybe just see where things go?" Zayn asked, feeling anxious.

He didn't have anywhere near enough courage to ask Harry to be his.

At least not right now.

Maybe if he waited he could make it special.

"Okay, sure." Harry nodded.

Harry knew where things were going and damn it, he wanted Zayn to ask him out.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Zayn smiled, squeezing his hand some before he let go.

"One more thing." Harry spoke up before Zayn could get out.

Zayn looked at him, and Harry leaned across the console and kissed him.

"Bye." Harry said softly, doing that thing where he bit his lip to keep from smiling.

Zayn loved that.

"Bye." He answered, glancing at Harry's lips before he made himself get out of the car.

"I saw that." Zayn's mom grinned as soon as he stepped inside.

"Saw- saw what?" Zayn frowned, wanting to laugh at how quickly she spoke to him.

"The little display of affection. I was going to come out and say hi but I didn't want to embarrass you. I know you got all flustered the last time I mentioned him." She said.

"Oh." Zayn said, blushing.

"Well? Are you two dating or not?" She asked.

"Mom!" Zayn frowned again.

"What? This is the first time in forever I've known of you having feelings for anyone and he's so adorable Zayn. I'd love to meet him." Trisha insisted.

"No. I-I mean...we're not dating we're just taking things slow-"

"You're too scared to ask him out, aren't you?" She asked knowingly.

Zayn looked around for cameras to see if he was being pranked.

"Mom are you drunk?" He asked.

"Zayn, I know you. I know you've always struggled with your shyness and your anxiety. I hate that it ruins things for you. I don't want it to ruin this, I can tell you really feel something for him. I can already tell because of the way you act when I mention him." She said.

"I'm done talking about this." Zayn said, walking towards his room.

"I wanted to help, sunshine! That's all!" She called after him.

"It's too soon for all of that anyway. Just give me time, I can do it. But this," Zayn motioned between himself and her. "Is giving me anxiety. No more talking about it, okay?"

"Right. I'm sorry." She said, nodding.

Zayn sighed heavily, going into his room.

×

×

×

"Hey, you look quite tired." Niall smiled as Zayn got in the car the next morning.

"I didn't sleep much." Zayn mumbled, feeling his phone vibrate.

hey I'm making a Starbucks stop, want coffee?

Zayn smiled at that message.

you read my mind 🙌

yeah I put a chip in there, sorry xx

btw enough dirty thoughts about me

Zayn laughed.

your chip is wrong, might want to get that checked

it picked up a bunch of thoughts about me in those little pink shorts...?

Zayn blushed, embarrassed because that part was true.

shhhh

do you want anything to eat?

nah my mom already took care of that, thanks anyway

"S'that Harry?" Niall eventually asked when Zayn put his phone down.

He'd said other things but he guessed Zayn hadn't heard him.

"Yeah." Zayn smiled, suddenly remembering all Harry said about Niall having a crush on him.

He looked at Niall, wondering how he would react if he just came out and asked him about it.

Zayn didn't want to make things awkward, plus Harry could've been wrong.

Maybe he just needed to pay more attention.

"Where'd you guys go after the play Friday night?" Niall asked casually.

"We went to a bookstore and then got coffee." Zayn said.

"Well, I got coffee. He got this weird tea." He smiled.

Niall nodded some. "Did you two hang out on Saturday too?"

"Yeah I spent the weekend at his house." Zayn said, looking down at his phone as it vibrated again.

I'll surprise you x

Zayn frowned a little.

I'm not hungry

LET ME FEED YOU

xx

"What?" Niall asked, catching Zayn's attention and making his smile fade.

"You and Harry Styles all weekend? What happened between you two?" Niall asked.

"What do you mean?" Zayn frowned.

"Like you used to go on about how much you hated him, now you're spending the whole weekend at his house?" Niall asked.

"Oh. Well we did a lot of talking and stuff over the last month and...we have a lot in common." Zayn told him.

"How?" Niall scoffed skeptically.

"It's hard to describe."

"Give it a shot." Niall said.

"He's just been through a lot. He's so different than the way he acts at school."

"Ah." Niall said.

"Yeah, I know it's kind of weird but it just happened." Zayn smiled.

Niall turned and stared at him. "What just happened?"

"My and Harry's friendship." Zayn said slowly.

"Oh, okay. I thought you meant something else." Niall said, faking a chuckle.

"Why would it matter if something else happened?" Zayn decided to ask.

There was a short, awkward silence.

"It'd just be weird. I could never imagine you guys being friends let alone imagine you dating." Niall said.

"Well I'm sure you'd get used to it, right?" Zayn asked.

"Yeah." Niall said quietly, staring ahead.

Zayn stared at him a moment, feeling very uncomfortable.

He could sense that Niall was upset.

What the hell?

He'd never noticed Niall acting like this before.

Had he really been that blind?

And what was he supposed to do?

××××××××××

A/N: I'm sorry to those of you who read my other books too. I can't describe what I'm going through but I only have eyes for this story at the moment. I'm obsessed with it.

-Z

P.s.- Any advice for Zayn on his situation with Niall?