Drive [Narry/Ziall]

Chapter Eighteen

[another warning for course language because angry zayn is angry ;x also - apologies for the slight delay, but hopefully this longer chapter will partially make up for my brief absence? x]

The car ride back to campus was the most awkward, agonizingly painful thing that Niall has ever experienced in all his life. 

He opted for driving, considering he was probably the least shaken by the incident. Granted, that really wasn't saying much, but he had to give himself some credit - he just watched someone try to stab his boyfriend; he was probably handling it as well as he really could. Suffice to say, however, that both Liam and Zayn looked like the embodiment of shit. Zayn's face had yet to regain its' colour. Ever since everything went down, his skin was deathly pale and he was uncharacteristically silent - Zayn was a quiet guy, yeah, but silence didn't really fit him.

And Liam - fuck, did Niall ever feel bad for him. He really doesn't know Harry well, so he certainly can't say he knows Liam that great either, but anyone with eyes could see just how bothered he was over this whole thing. It wasn't hard to see how glassy his eyes were, and although it was evident he was trying to keep his face void of emotion, he looked beyond simply torn up. 

Niall couldn't really say that he's unaffected by the whole ordeal - he's not, by any means, but he just figures that it is what it is. He certainly can't control Harry, he's beginning to think that no one really can, and it's seemingly fruitless to try and do so. 

That considered, no matter how worried he is about Zayn, he can't help but to be a little angry about his boyfriend's decision to try and fight Harry. He couldn't have made a worse decision, really. It's not like he knew the brunette had a knife on him, but Niall was still a bit peeved that Zayn could have actually gotten stabbed. He shouldn't be as mad about it as he is, it's more Harry's fault than anything, but he can't help it. He was definitely ready to chew Zayn out about it, but he couldn't bring himself to do that in front of Liam - who probably doesn't want to listen to an argument after his own blow out with Harry.

A tense sigh from the backseat broke the otherwise ungainly silence in the car, and Niall looked back, for only a second or two, to look at Liam. The dark, patchy bruise on the side of his face was almost enough to make Niall sick to his stomach - he knew that the same went for Zayn; he hadn't so much as looked at Liam since first noticing the bruise. It's not like Niall can really blame him for that, though, so he decided not to even touch on it.

Rather, he turned his attention back to the road, and cleared his throat before speaking up. "You alright back there, mate?"

Liam seemed genuinely surprised that Niall was speaking to him, and the reply he provided was a short one. "Yeah. Just a little shaken."

"Oh," Niall murmured, and he could have sworn he saw Zayn roll his eyes from the passenger seat. He opted for ignoring this, however, and kept his attention on the brunette. He would deal with Zayn when they were in private. "I'd imagine so."

He didn't expect Liam to go on, but to his surprise, he wasn't done talking. "I mean...Harry isn't really the greatest guy, and it's like - he's hit me before, but not for awhile, you know?" He paused, swallowing rather thickly, and Niall did the same. "He's pulled that knife on people before. He'd never use it, but..."

Liam looked at Zayn, whose eyes were trained out the window. This time, Niall was sure he saw an eye roll, and you'd have to be pretty damn hard of hearing not to hear the sharp intake of breath. Niall's grip on the steering wheel instinctively tightened.

"I'm sorry about Harry, by the way," Liam was speaking directly to Zayn now, and Niall sucked in a breath. There was no way this was ending well. "There...there's something really wrong with him. His doctors, back home, said that they guess he's got a bit of Borderline Personality Disorder - but at the same time they mentioned that extreme personalities such as his are kind of hard to come by, let alone diagnose."