Lover Dearest (Ziam Vampire AU)

Chapter 8

Zayn isn't there when Liam wakes up, but Niall is. Liam bats open his eyes, meeting a pair of blue ones as someone roughly shakes his shoulder. He panics for a moment, heart thumping, breath shortening, but then Niall's laughter fills his room and he settles once again.

"Li, wake up," Niall whines. "Seriously, dude, I'm bored. Nothin' fun to do around here. Harry's moping, Louis and Zayn are out—"

"Zayn went out?"

Niall nods. "With Louis. Two of 'em never invite me along. It's not fair."

Liam frowns at this information. "I thought they hated each other. Why would they go out together?"

"They don't hate each other." Niall looks honestly thrown by the claim that they do. "They're best friends, Liam."

"I— what?"

"Well, they were," Niall corrects. "'til you came around, at least. They get up to some serious shit, the two of them. Like, Harry and Louis have their whole 'we're in love' bullshit, but Zayn and Louis are closer than the rest of us. Partners in crime."

That doesn't make any sense to Liam. At all. "All they've done is fight since he's been back," Liam points out. "Verbally and physically."

"That's your fault, though," Niall says. "If you weren't here that wouldn't have happened. But Zayn's protective, and Louis' a little shit when it comes to fucking with humans. I think that's what makes Louis hate you even more, you know? You went and stole his best friend from him." Niall yawns. "Want to teach me to play that game again? Grand Theft Vehicle?"

"Auto," Liam corrects. "Grand Theft Auto."

"Whatever," Niall says. "I wanna run people over."

Liam shakes his head fondly and climbs out of bed, stretching as he goes. He grabs the Xbox controller and turns on the console, handing it off to Niall, who sits cross-legged on the bed, tongue stuck between his teeth like he's concentrating deeply, even though the system hasn't even fully started up yet.

"How do I pull out my gun again?" Niall asks. Liam leans over and taps the button. "Right. How do I move?"

"With this," Liam says, pointing to the toggle. "And this is how you change where you're looking."

"Right." Niall nods and looks back up at the screen. "I'm learning. I didn't have this shit around when I was your age, okay."

"You are my age," Liam points out. "Or you look it, anyways."

Niall snorts. "I haven't been your age in, like, eighty years."

Liam's eyes widen. "Seriously?" That's the closest he's ever gotten to an actual answer to that question.

"Give or take," Niall says with a shrug. "1903? I think that's when I was born. I dunno. I'm shit with dates."

Liam chews the inside of his lip. He has so many questions, but which ones can he ask without Niall shutting down and blowing them off? But he's never had a chance like this before. Every time he brings it up, they all just wave him off, so he has to at least try. "How did it happen? I mean, how did you get like this?"

The game's started up, now, and Niall's running around, punching people uncoordinatedly. "Started with too much vodka," Niall admits. "Most of my best stories do, actually. And I was fucking out of it, but I liked to party, you know? Always have. It was a fucked up time back then, Li, you don't even know. It was nice to enjoy life, and I always did."

He still does, Liam thinks. More than the rest of them, at least.

"And I was so fucking off my ass when this guy comes up to me, offers to get me another drink. I'm not into dudes. I like, you know—" He mimes groping at his chest. "But this guy, like, I couldn't say no to him. Don't think anyone's ever been able to, actually. So I say yes, right, and the next thing I know I'm in an alleyway and he's biting me and, I don't know. Said he was gonna kill me, and I wasn't afraid. I told him to do it, if he really wanted to. I wasn't 'bout to fucking beg for my life. And he didn't."