Odds || H.S.

XXVIII

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! I just want to thank you for making it this far in the story. In regards to timing, the story began in the spring of 2020 and that is when Lila and her group graduated from NYU. It is now about August of 2021 in the story's timeline. As we all now, Gigi Hadid and Zayn are expecting IRL and I'm just going to assume they have a girl for the purposes of this story. If you want me to clear anything else up, just let me know! :) 

~~~

We left the bathroom and I reluctantly allowed Harry to lead me back to the master bedroom. He propped himself up into a sitting position while I faced him sitting cross-legged. 

"Where to begin," Harry muttered. 

"At the beginning." I deadpanned, still feeling a little snarky. 

"Okay, so in 2010 I went to audition for this show called X-factor-"

"Harry, stop," I whine as he smirks, clearly amused by his own antics.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, "As you know, Zayn was in one direction, meaning he was like a brother to me. As much as the media likes to stir up drama between all of us, most of it is exaggerated or nonexistent but, when it comes to Zayn, no one really knows how much it truly hurt me when he left the band." 

Harry cast his eyes down and twirled one of his rings around his finger. The inner fan in me was very pleased to hear that Harry was in fact hurt by Zayn's departure, despite him changing the subject whenever someone asked about him in interviews. 

"I had a different relationship with all the boys, but Zayn was like an older brother to me. He was protective, caring, and the person I would turn to for advice throughout the day. He comes off as brooding, but he's quite the opposite," he smiled.

"Anyway, Zayn was the first person I talked about my sexuality with. I told him I was attracted to men and women. As usual, he was very supportive and happy for me. I was so happy that I had finally gotten it off my chest. In the next meeting with our management team, I expressed to them that I didn't want to hide who I truly was anymore. That's when everything got f**ked up. During the meaning, management basically said 'hell no' and if I even hinted to be anything but a heterosexual male, I would be in violation of the contract. Zayn was the ONLY person who tried to defend me while the other boys tried to convince me that staying quiet would be what's best for the group." I crawled towards him and wrapped my arms around him as he continued. 

"So that's when they started setting me up on all these dates with models and stuff. They began to push the label of me being a player even harder than before. My own management team would leak fake stories to the press about how many women I've been with. It was absolutely horrid. Most of the women that they set me up with, like Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner, there were real feelings there, but out connections weren't natural. Every time I was with them, I felt like a fraud. Of course, I would always complain to Zayn about it and the whole thing pissed him off, but he and management also had their own issues. That's why he made that off-handed comment in the café earlier about leaking stories to the press, it was nothing against you personally," he added giving my hand a light squeeze.

"He would always try to convince me to go against management, saying that they were bluffing and if I were to come out publicly there is no way they could retaliate without backlash from the fans. In hindsight, he was right, but I was young and scared. I guess, his problems with management were bigger than I thought because he left the band. He left me," his voice slightly quivered.

"Anyway, after he left I felt like I didn't have anyone to turn to. The rest of the lads are great, but it didn't come close to the support that Zayn offered me. When he left I was mad at him and myself,"