Misconceptions (Zayn Malik)

Chapter 31 ~ Zayn

Chapter 31 ― Zayn

“Harry, I have something for you,” I said as I walked into his and Louis’ flat. Both boys were playing FIFA 13 and I would’ve joined them if I didn’t have other, and more important, plans for that day. “Happy New Year, by the way,” I added taking a seat next to the Doncaster boy. They barely registered my presence in their flat as they were way too focused on their game. I didn’t blame them; that game was addicting.

“Happy New Year to you, too, mate,” Harry replied, his eyes locked on the telly. Louis just nodded, the only sign that he had heard me.

“Are you gonna pause that? I need to talk to you,” I said hoping they would hear me. For a couple of seconds, it seemed like a lost battle, but Harry sighed and pressed pause on the remote before turning to face me.

“Tell me,” he encouraged me to talk.

I took the bag I was carrying to handle him what I brought him as Louis stood up to and went to the kitchen. Harry took the present and he was serious until he saw the t-shirt with the words ‘Master Of His Bladder’ on it. The curly-haired boy laughed and looked at me with an amused expression, I just stuck my tongue out and shrugged. I always kept my promises.

“Thanks, mate,” he told me with the shirt still in his hands. “Now, what do you want to talk about?”

“It’s about Mila. We have a date tonight, a proper date, and I wanna do things right, you know? I think she’s not that into this, at least, not as much as I am. And I just hope I can change that, so I want this date to be perfect.”

In that moment Louis joined us again and he seemed interested in our conversation. “What do you have planned?” Louis asked and I quickly told him my idea. He nodded in agreement and so did Harry.

“Do you think she’s gonna like it?” I asked all insecure and nervous.

“Despite that appearance of tough girl, I’ve learnt Mila is cheesy as fuck,” Harry replied and Louis chuckled. “She likes romance but she doesn’t like to be suffocated. Do you understand?” I nodded and he smiled. “I think it’s gonna be fine, she’s gonna like it. Just make sure no one will bother you two, and by no one I mean some fan. You don’t want to expose Mila to that yet.”

“You must be careful with that, Zayn,” Louis spoke seriously. In our group, he was the one who knew best how harsh our fans were with our girlfriends. Between Eleanor, Alex and Danielle, the first was the one who had it harder. “If you are really serious about this, you must be even more careful. Whatever you do or say is gonna have an impact on her. The fans will read between the lines and find things that were never meant to be. If you are gonna be with her, you will expose her to a hard situation, therefore you must protect her well.”

“Louis is right,” Harry supported his best mate. “And if you don’t think you’re capable or don’t want to be that responsible, then don’t try anything with her. She’s my friend, I don’t want you to hurt her, whether intentionally or accidentally.”

Louis spoke from his own experience, Harry because he was the closest friend Mila had from our band. I wasn’t that close to her as Harry was, I just hoped to be like that. They just wanted the best for her and for me, I didn’t have to feel threated or anything remotely similar. I knew their intentions were the best.

Louis was right, I was putting Mila in a very hard situation with this, where everyone was going to believe they had the right to judge her. Probably she was going to be like Alex and she wouldn’t care, anyhow, I was going to do my best to keep her safe. I believed I could.