the ski lodge ➳ zarry

⤿ part forty four: how they kept secrets

Harry Styles

Harry stared outside the window watching the palm trees as they swayed in the wind. 

"What brings you two lovers to Florida?" Their Uber driver asked Zayn who held Harry's hand tighter and forced smiled.

"My Dad lives here," Zayn spoke. "And my boyfriend hasn't met him yet,"

"Ooh wow," The driver grinned at the two boys. "So we're meeting the family huh?"

"Kind of," Zayn nodded. "The thing is.. He, uh, doesn't know that I've got a boyfriend.. He thinks he's a friend.."

The driver raised his eyebrows. "Well shit,"

"Exactly," Zayn chewed his bottom lip, his grip slowly loosening on Harry's hand.

Harry was feeling Zayn's tension since the night before the two boys boarded their plane. It was evident that Zayn had been out of it, but Harry had never seen Zayn's mood drag on this long since the first party they went to together.

"Listen man," The uber driver started. "I couldn't possibly imagine what you're going through, but as a son, I know that letting your father down is the last thing you'd want to do,"

Harry flinched. "Letting him down?" He spoke, frowning. 

"Love, he doesn't mean it like that," Zayn said quietly, rubbing circles on the palm of Harry's hand.

"Yeah," The uber driver quickly corrected himself. "Of course, you telling him that you love someone of same sex shouldn't let him down, but we've got tons of assholes in the world am I right?"

Zayn nodded in agreement. "You're very right,"

"So what I'm trying to say is that, it'll all be alright. Everything happens for a reason you know?" The driver added. "My sister actually.. She came out to my family and I about two months ago.. And honestly we weren't really surprised.. But we were happy for her. The person she loves doesn't change how much I love her," 

Zayn listened, fascination in his eyes, to the drivers story.

Harry on the other hand watched his boyfriend intently. Watched every detail that made up Zayn.

The small squint of his eyes that showed he was focused, the way he continuously traced the palm of Harry's hand with delicacy. 

The way his lips moved as he let out a few mm's here and there.

"Hopefully my Dad thinks the same way," Zayn spoke, fiddling with the strap of his backpack with his other hand. "I mean, my Mum did.. But my Dad was always very old-fashioned.."

This made Harry's anxiety pick up. Old-fashioned.

"All I can say is again, we're all placed in this world for a different reason. And we all end up being loved by no matter who. So who cares who loves you and who you love? Shit, if you love boys and you're a boy, I fuck with you," 

Both Zayn and Harry laughed at his statement. 

The stories went on, and the uber driver continuously made sure to remind Zayn that he was going to be alright.

Harry noticed that eased Zayn up just a tad, as they finally pulled into the lot to Zayn's dad's house.

"That's a very, very lavish home your Dad's got their, eh?" The uber driver commented, coming out of the car to help the two with their suitcases.

He popped the trunk, and took the two suitcases out for the boys and they retrieved their own.

"Thank you so much for the drive," Harry said, and reached over to shake the driver's hand.