50 Shades Of Gay.

(Prologue)

The first time Niall saw Zayn was outside of a club. Zayn was leaning against a wall, one foot kicked back, knee bent, the other straight, as he smoked a cigarette, a boy on his side, and a leather jacket hugging his shoulders tightly.

So cliché, really.

The raven-haired ‘bad-boy’ had met Niall’s gaze, threw down his fag and grinded it into the pavement with his boot, smirked, and then, pulled the boy beside him into a sloppy, provocative kiss, all the while, keeping eye contact with Niall, dark eyes sparkling.

Niall looked away.

*

The second time Niall saw Zayn was outside the apartment complex he was supposed to be living in that year with his best mate, Sean.

Sean had just informed Niall that he was studying abroad for the semester. A little too late seeing how they had rented the apartment together the month before and finding a roommate right as the semester was starting would be really fucking difficult.

Niall had gone outside to punch the wall, seething with anger and forgetting that the brick wasn’t so forgiving.

Zayn had laughed and asked Niall what his problem was.

Niall walked away.

*

The third time Niall saw Zayn was inside his apartment, when he was helping the raven-haired bloke move his stuff into the two-bed room flat.

Sean had moved out a week previous and Zayn was the only one who responded to his flyers for a new roommate for the semester, and well, Niall definitely wasn’t going to be able to pay the rent by himself, so he had no choice but to say yes.

Niall tried to look past Zayn’s smoking and partying, and especially past the fact that Zayn was very blatantly into blokes, and pretended that he was just another guy, another roommate, another mate.

Zayn blinked his long eyelashes and Niall pretended not to notice how nice of a jawline the lad had.

Niall blurted out that he was straight.

***

“I’m straight.”

Zayn paused, looking up from the box in his arms, which seemed to be overflowing with every imaginable thing from socks to condoms to an apple.

He laughed, continuing to walk once more, heaving the box to the room on the left of the apartment.

“Good for you mate.”

And that was all they spoke of on the matter.

Niall felt relieved, having told Zayn, and was able to follow the lad’s retreating steps, lugging a suitcase behind him.

“Jesus, how much did you pack?” Niall heaved, inhaling sharply as he surveyed the small room, which was now packed with boxes upon boxes of clothes and other junk.

Zayn shrugged, following Niall’s eyes and looking around the room as well.

“Enough,” he replied simply with a nod of his head. He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment before tugging a small black box out. “You want a smoke?”

Niall stared at Zayn’s outstretched hand, appalled.

“No,” he said sharply. “And that’s the first rule. No smoking in the apartment, I don’t want the flat to smell like that shit.”