Ranked // ziam (boyxboy) COMPLETED

seven

Going to school with two black eyes certainly captured a lot of attention. Behind my glasses, my eyes dart from one person to the next who was staring at me as I pretended to stare at the ground while I walked to my locker.

When I got to my locker and unloaded my books, Harry closed his locker door and glanced at me.

"Woah, Zayn. Are you alright?" he asked, looking at me with surprised and worried eyes.

"Yeah, I just-"

"Damn Malik, those black eyes suit you, bud. You look bad ass," a kid says and punches me on the shoulder. I wince slightly from the punch and my eyes follow the kid as he walks away and joins his friends. His popular friends.

"Hey, Zayn," Harry says, his fingers snapping. I revert my attention to Harry and stutter, "Sorry, yeah, I'm fine . It was just a few punches,"

"A few punches?" Harry questions, suspicious.

"Yeah." I say coolly and close my locker. Harry starts talking but I zone out, when I see Liam walking into through the doors and down the hallway.

The hallway hushes as they watch Liam walk painfully through the crowd.

Liam's left eye was swollen shut as mine were on Friday, and his nose was dripping blood. His lip was cut and his hair line was bright red with blood. He was walking with a slight limp. His eye catches mine and he nods his head, motioning me to follow him. He disappears into a classroom as fast as he could.

"Woah, Liam too? Hell, are you two in a fight club or something?" Harry jokes as the hallway's volume raises once again.

"Yeah no. I need to go. I need to check in with my mum. She's been bugging me about these injuries. See you in class," I say hastily and walk away, leaving Harry calling a good bye to my back.

I quickly enter the empty classroom Liam had previously entered and close the door, hoping nobody noticed me.

Liam is leaning over the sink in the corner of the empty science room, cleaning up his injuries.

I walk over to him and hop onto the counter next to the sink, watching him. He addresses his busted lip gingerly.

I don't want to question what happened because I'm afraid of the response, but I have a good idea of how Liam's face got beaten.

"Guess I won't be able to kiss you," Liam mumbles as he wipes up the blood.

"I don't think that's the top of your problems Li," I comment.

"It is," Liam says, now cleaning up his hair line. It turns out, the blood came from a cut along his temple. With all the blood cleaned up, it looked much smaller and less painful.

I hop down from the counter, grabbing a paper towel, wetting it and started helping him.

Liam freezes as I start to move the towel towards his face.

"Let me," I say softly. He lowers his own hand slowly and watches me intensely as I carefully clean his wounds.

"Thank you," Liam murmurs. I look him in the eye for a quick second, give him a small smile and continue. "It's sort of my job right?" I laugh in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean?" Liam asks in whisper.

"Well, I mean, erm, never mind," I mutter quietly under my breath.

"No, tell me," Liam says, his hand catching mine, restraining me.

"I mean as someone who- uh- is - uh- who cares for you," I stammer.

Liam smirks. He still looks so.. what's the word.. sexy and adorable even in this state, with a half beaten up face.

"Zayn, can I ask you a question," he says through his smile.

"Ask me anything you want Liam," I say.

He's still holding my wrist. With his other hand, he removes the paper towel clenched by my fingers and drops it into the garbage bin. Then he moves the hand holding my wrist and into my own. He intertwines our fingers painfully slow and looks at me with a bright eye; his other still swollen.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" He asks, his voice confident, yet still hesitant at the same time.

His smile falters, probably by the worried look on my face.

"But what about your group? I'm sorry Liam, but I don't want you to get hurt any more than you are right now. I mean look at you," I protest.

Liam's smile falls this time by my words.

"Zayn," he says softly.

"Zayn," he repeats, "I would take a a beating for you in a heart beat. Just to be here, talking to you, touching you," He gives my hand a light squeeze.

"Being able to see you," his good eye meets mine, my stomach fluttering. He smirks his special smirk and drops his gaze down to my lips.

"Being able to kiss you,"

His lips meet mine ever so slightly. He pulls away and his lips hover over mine, the delicate kiss lingering on my lips.

"This is what I would take a beating for. Just to be here with you, Zayn," He whispers my name so quietly, I almost miss it. Yet shivers are sent down my spine and my legs are suddenly weak.

I stumble slightly and Liam's grip around me tightens, preventing my fall.

Liam's arms wrap around my body, engulfing me in his scent and warmth. I sigh into his flannel shirt. His thick and comforting red and black flannel.

"I-I"

"I shouldn't be asking you to be my boyfriend now. I'm sorry. Let's just take this slow," Liam murmurs, his chest vibrating as he speaks each word.

I nod into Liam's chest and Liam chuckles.

And just to ruin our moment, the bell rings. Three rings of the bell and Liam pulls away, his arms extended and his hands on my shoulders.

"Will you be okay today?" I ask concern filling in my voice. I can't help but stare and examine Liam's injuries.

The swelling around his eye has gone down immensely, Liam finally being able to open it slightly. His cuts aren't bleeding anymore. His nose is cleaned of all the blood.

"Of course. But will you be okay? I warned the gang to leave you the hell alone." Liam says.

"That didn't go well, obviously," I mutter.

"I know, that's why I'm worried," Liam says in a strained voice.

"Don't. I'm fine. Lets just go to class and we'll be okay in class," I say. Liam gives me an unsure look and he nods ever so slightly. We make our way our of the classroom. Liam's limp is still very noticeable.

Before he opens the door, I stop him.

"Why are you limping?"

"It's no big deal Zayn. I'm fine," He mutters and tries to pull the door open. I block the doorway and glare at Liam. "Please just tell me," I say. my voice gentle.

Liam sighs and looks down. He puts his hand on the hem of his shirt and pulls it up revealing purple and blue bruises along his torso, just as mine had been.

"They got me a bit here," he says under his voice.

"Liam," I murmur, sad. I lightly trace my fingers over his bruises and Liam sucks in a breath.

"They got you more than a bit. You can't go to class with you like this. We need to go to the doctors or somewhere for this," I say when Liam drops his shirt, covering his beatings.

"I can go to class, it's fine." Liam protests and pushes me aside gently with a pained look on his face. "Please, you can't go," I say.

"I can,"

"Why are you being so adamant about going to class?"

"I have to be here to watch over you," he whispers.