Wrong Side of Love (Ziam bodyswap)

Chapter 1

The best way to sum the whole thing up, Liam thinks, is what Louis said on the set of Best Song Ever. He'd muttered it not long after Zayn had come out of makeup, all long, dark hair and fake boobs and perfect makeup. It had been a little surprising, honestly. Like, they all knew it was happening, but there's a big difference between hearing "Okay, Zayn, you're going to be made into a lady," and actually seeing it in real life.

He wasn't half bad, is the thing. Maybe not, like, Victoria's Secret model hot, but Liam would be lying if he said the four of them hadn't given Zayn very considering once overs once he'd gotten fully dressed, tugging at the hem of his skirt.

"I don't know how to feel," Harry had said, head cocked to the side, looking genuinely befuddled.

And Louis had scoffed, rolled his eyes, and said, "You're all acting like this is the first time Zayn's made you question your sexuality. It's Zayn. That's, like, his entire purpose on this planet."

Which — seems to be true, at least for Liam.

Really, Liam is straight. Ninety-eight percent straight, at least. He likes women. He likes soft skin and round breasts and curves. He likes flowing hair and feminine giggles and sweet perfume. His crush on Justin Timberlake, he thinks, is just an exception. He's not even sure if it is a crush. Maybe Liam's just comfortable enough with himself to be able to appreciate attractive, talented men.

And then there's Zayn and, well, that's a whole different story. That's not a celebrity crush. That's not a slight infatuation with someone he's barely met before, who he's mostly only admired (and idolized) from afar. It's completely different, and it's completely horrible.

It started, he believes, when they were on the X Factor. Liam had been extremely out of his element at the beginning, and Zayn had been so different from Louis and Niall and Harry. Sure, he could goof off like the rest of them, cause a scene, get rowdy and annoying. But there was the other side to Zayn, the calmed, softer spoken side, that had sucked Liam in. Zayn had always been Liam's favorite.

But then Zayn grew up. It's really unfair, actually, that Liam had to witness the whole thing up close. Had to watch Zayn go from a soft, round cheeked boy into a man. And that's when things started to get complicated, when Zayn thinned out a little, started growing out his facial hair. When he started dressing in tighter, edgier clothes. When he etched his skin in ink and really perfected that smoldering smirk of his.

Zayn Malik is bloody gorgeous, and anyone can see that. It's just — a fact. Common knowledge. So it really shouldn't affect Liam, it shouldn't. Because, like, they're all attractive in their own right. Harry's got the dimples and the charm; Louis has that playful, mischievous ruggedness; Niall has the frat boy thing going for him. But Liam didn't get a budding attraction to them; just Zayn, unfortunately.

Maybe it's more than attraction, though. Maybe it's more than wanting to know how that stubble would feel between his thighs; maybe it's more than wanting to kiss those lips of Zayn's until they're red and swollen. Maybe, Liam can admit, he's in love with Zayn.

Actually, that's probably a fact, too. Zayn is attractive: fact. Liam is in love with him: fact. Being in love with your best friend/bandmate is a bad idea: also fact.

Whatever. Liam's come to terms with it. Liam can handle it. He's been handling it. It's something he's pushed to the back of his mind, convinced himself isn't a big deal. He's got a girlfriend now, anyways, and Zayn's got Perrie, and Liam can honestly deal with it.

Or he thought he could. He thought he could handle it. He was handling it. He was handling it fucking brilliantly, actually, until Perrie showed up to the movie premier with that thing on her finger.