Playboy » L.S

Chapter 36

Harry's pov.

"Do we ask him?"

"No, asshole."

"I think we should ask him."

"I swear to go-"

"Hi, Zayn," Louis beamed as Zayn approached us. Zayn stopped in his tracks and eyed us both suspiciously. "How was your day?"

"Okay, what the fuck did you do now?" He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you ripped one of my ties again from trying your stupid Fifty Shades of Grey fantasies I'll kill you."

"That was one time!" Louis whines, throwing his hands up in the air. "It was a silver tie, damnit! It had 'Christian Grey' written all over it!"

 "I quite liked the tie," I mutter quietly, Louis being the only one who picked up on it. He turns slightly towards me, a cocky smirk adorning his plump lips. He mouths the word 'later', followed by a subtle wink before casting his attention back upon Zayn.

"Anyway, I haven't done anything with your ties - I promise," Louis puts his hands up in surrender. "I just wanted to see how.. how you were doing. You know, recently."

"Smooth. Very subtle," I whisper sarcastically against his ear. He swats at me, but I catch his wrist in my hand. His fingers automatically spread apart, creating small spaces for mine to slip into, locking our hands together.

"What's going on here?" Zayn questions, his eyes drawing to slits. "Just spill it, alright? I don't have time for this."

"How's Liam?" Louis suddenly blurts, his eyes wide like the moon afterwards once he realized he's burst.

Zayn's shocked expression mirrors Louis', but his slowly turns to disgust. "How the fuck would I know? I don't talk to the guy."

"Oh, c'mon, Zayn!" Louis groans, slumping his body dramatically. "Everybody knows-"

"Everybody knows?" Zayn squeaks, his eyes once again huge. "Like.. everybody?"

"Yeah, well - I mean," Louis stutters, obviously not expecting Zayn to act this way. He turns to me and mouths 'help me', but I shrug and ignore him. He's the one who couldn't keep his mouth shut, so he's going to deal with it on his own.

"Oh, god," Zayn whispers, his voice almost breathless. "How can everybody know about Liam and I? I didn't tell a soul - I thought he wouldn't either?"

"So there is something going on between you two?" Louis asks.

"It was one time, okay!" Zayn suddenly yells, taking both Louis and I by surprise. "I didn't want him to do it, but it just felt too good to stop! I don't - I don't want everybody to know," His voice gradually get's quieter, "Everybody knows?"

Zayn looks utterly lost. His eyes are filled with unshed tears, his hands continuously palming at his jeans in an attempt to control the trembling. He looks over both his shoulders as if he's checking to make sure nobody is whispering behind his back or talking about him and Liam. My poor best friend.

"What happened between you and Liam, Zayn?" I ask, reaching forward to place my hand on his upper arm in a soothing gesture. It has the opposite affect, though, as he flinches away from my touch like I had just pressed a hot iron to his skin. The pain of rejection hurts like a bitch, but I don't call him out on it.

"Nothing - forget it," Zayn says quickly, looking over his shoulder once again. This time, Liam - the man of the hour - walks out of his dressing room with his bag slung over his shoulder, his keys in his hand. He stops dead in his tracks once he notices us all staring at him.