You Had Me At Hello || z.m.

"You're In The Phase"

I'm tired of forcing myself to dance and faking smiles, so I leave Niall and Liam and look for a seat somewhere in the club. Alice and Louis are dancing, grinding on each other, and look like they forgot about anyone else around them. Harry is out of my sight, he disappeared a few minutes ago with some friends of his. Zayn is with Perrie and a bunch of other girls at the counter where I left them. I literally throw myself on one of the sofas at the end of the dance floor; my head is buzzing for the noise and the cocktails I've drunk way too fast, trying to erase the thought of Zayn and his stupid fucking doll. God, how pathetic I am.

"Would you like to go for a walk? You look exhausted" Liam is leaning over with a concerned smile on his cute face, extending his arm towards me as to say "get up, I'll help you".

I stand up and take his hand, following him outside the club. My ears rejoice for the silence of the night, and Liam and I start walking along the sidewalk.

"How are you feeling, Irene?" Liam smiles, but he seems to be truly worried for me. He's the sweetest person ever.

"I've been better, but I also have been worse!" I declare.

"Ah, god...you are in the phase"

I give him a quizzical look. "I-in what?"

"The phase... Almost every girl I knew has passed through the "Zayn phase". I guess it's quite easy to fall for him!"

I blush and I grab Liam's arm. "No no no no no no no no! What?! I-I just met him!"

"You don't have to hide it from me. I won't tell him."

I surrender, and stop faking, looking into his beautiful and sincere eyes.

We go on silently, talking about general stuff. I suddenly notice a small "D" tattooed on his hand.

"What's the d for?" I spit out without any tact; I immediately regret it, due to the sad expression that appears on his face, while he hides his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry I-I didn't mean to...It's the beer's fault, I swear!"

My apologizes make him laugh, and I feel better.

"It's d for Danielle. My ex-girlfriend." He starts explaining. "We've been together for about three years. And then, you know...we broke up!"

I nod. "I know how that feels. I've been in love with the same boy for 5 years. And then he found somebody better than me." We look at each other and don't need to say a word: we understand each other's sorrow.

"How long have Zayn and Perrie been together?" I finally express the question that's been on my mind for a long time.

"I think, 2 years now." Liam answers. Then he looks at me with a smirk and adds: "I don't like her at all, Irene. She's such a pain in the ass!" he admits.

I burst into laughter, and he joins me. "Oh god, seriously? Why?" I manage to ask.

"She's bossy and...jealous. She worries way too much about what Zayn does, who he meets...well she's in reason but still annoying!"

"What do you mean with "she's in reason" Liam?"

"Well..." he looks at me before going on "Zayn cheated on her a few times."

Wow. He's not the good person I thought he was.

"I know what you think", Liam says, seeing the disappointment on my face. "he's not a bad person. He's my best friend, and he's probably the nicest person on earth, believe me. When he really cares about someone, he would do anything for them." He seems really honest while saying this.

"And why would he cheat on his long-term girlfriend?!"

"Because...oh gosh I shouldn't be telling you this!"

"Liam, c'mon!"

"I think he doesn't love her. Their relationship started just as a "sex thing". Then she started to behave like a girlfriend, following him when he came out with us...giving him presents. I guess, Zayn was dragged into this relationship without even noticing!"

"That's quite a stupid excuse!" I sentence.

"I know, I know...I'm just saying that Zayn isn't the kind of person that intentionally makes people suffer. He's just... too disinterested and lazy, sometimes!"

We keep walking until we reach the end of the street, than we head back to the club.

I feel really comfortable with Liam: he's a great guy. He's really good-looking but I see him as a little brother, nothing more. We talk about a lot of different stuff, laughing and joking. I already know we're going to be very close friends.