Wrong Side of Love (Ziam bodyswap)

Chapter 16

Perrie is not what Liam expected. Sure, he's known her for years, but he's not ever gotten to know her. And she's not the evil, horrid bitch who stole the love of his life, like Liam wishes she were. She's nice and she's funny and she's sweet and she loves Zayn horribly. It's so obvious in the way she squeezes Liam's hand and looks at him like he shines brighter than the sun when they leave the hotel.

Liam has to constantly remind himself not to throw up. It'd be easier if she were horrible. It'd make Liam feel a lot better about how he feels, about how many times he's prayed for Zayn to leave her. But he's painfully aware that the only horrible person in this situation is him.

But there's this moment, this one really confusing moment when they're heading back to the hotel after hours of traveling around the city, trying to find something interesting to do, and people are cheering and cameras are flashing, that Perrie leans in close and whispers, "There's cameras. Kiss me, quick."

Liam blinks at her, pulling back just a fraction, confusion flashing in his eyes. Perrie rolls her own. "Just pretend I'm him, if it'll make it easier," she says. "Come on, Zayn."

So Liam kisses her, but he's so confused that he barely even registers any of it except the way her lipgloss sticks to his lips afterwards, and the annoyed look on Zayn's face when they break apart, and the people screaming. He lets her drag him inside by their joined hands, which she releases as soon as they're out of the line of sight.

"Can we do dinner now?" she asks, batting her eyelashes. "I'm starving."

Liam feels like he's missing pieces. Important puzzle pieces that reveal the whole picture, and Zayn's standing just to the right of them, hands stuffed in a pair of Liam's jeans, a look on his face that says he's praying with everything he has that Liam doesn't figure them out.

*

"I'll sit with Niall," Perrie says at dinner. They're at some cheap restaurant with low lighting and booths with holes in the seats that look like they've been around much longer than Liam has. But it smells great, it's nearly empty, and it's not the kind of place anyone would expect them to be, so it's the perfect place for them to be.

"Okay," Liam says slowly, sliding into the booth beside Zayn. Zayn, who doesn't look even slightly fazed that his fiancée would chose to sit with their bandmate instead of him. She's not even sitting across from Liam, in fact. Liam's on the outside seat, she's on the inside with Niall across from him. At the most, Zayn looks a little pinched, maybe, and he's excessively jiggling his leg, but he's definitely not surprised.

A waiter comes over to them, a guy with floppy reddish blond curls and the most bored expression on his face Liam's ever seen. He hands them all menus, asks if they'd like to start with drinks, and then slouches off without batting an eyelash.

"We should tip him very well," Perrie comments. Liam almost snorts a laugh until he drops his gaze to her hand, and suddenly any and all laughter dies in his throat as the low light glints off the ring.

While his eyes scan the menu, and Niall (as always) reads out every possible option, like he's fishing for input on what to get, Zayn barely even looks at his own. He's still vibrating, nervously licking his lips and shaking, and Liam hates it. So, as discreetly as he can, he puts a stilling, comforting hand on Zayn's thigh, fingers squeezing in just a bit until Zayn sighs and sort of leans towards him.

"— just one, though," Niall is saying. "That's why I hate restaurants. What if I get one thing and it sucks, and there's like fifty other things I could have gotten that are probably awesome? It's just too much pressure, man. I need an adult."