Chapter 4

                                    

                                          
*Present day*
*Liam is 18 and Zayn is 17*
*Liam's pov*
"Come on, mate, just tell him. Rip off the band-aid." Louis urges, with Harry and Niall nodding along. 
Liam shakes his head, rolling his eyes. "I can't. I don't want to risk it. He's my best friend, Louis." 
Louis rolls his eyes right back. "That's exactly my point, Li. You've been best friends since you were 6 years old. You guys have so much in common, you're perfect for each other. You've literally been in love with him for, what, like 4 years?" 
"He's not even gay, Louis." Liam hisses back, just as Zayn walks back into the room. Thankfully, it doesn't look like he's heard anything. 
He walks in carrying 2 large bowls of popcorn. He plops down on the couch between Liam and Louis, effectively shutting down the current argument. 
Zayn hands one of the bowls to Louis, for him, Niall, and Harry to share, and keeps the other for Liam and himself. Louis gives Liam a meaningful look over Zayn's head as he reaches for the remote. 
"What movie did you guys pick?" Zayn asks. 
"Sherlock Holmes." Liam answers and Zayn smiles, scotting a little closer to Liam. 
"yay." He says quietly and Liam smiles, his heart melting at the small sound. Zayn always loved mystery stuff and Marvel, so when he found a Sherlock Holmes movie that cast Robert Downey Jr, it instantly became his favourite movie. 
That was why Liam had pushed for them to watch it. He just wanted Zayn to be happy. Liam looks over at Louis, who has his eyebrows impossibly high, Niall and Harry watching the scene unfold from Louis' other side. 
Tell him! Louis mouths, but Liam shakes his head discreetly. Louis just rolls his eyes and turns back to the TV, slinging an arm over Harry's shoulders and pulling him in. Harry wraps his arms around Louis' torso and lays his head on Louis' chest. 
Liam feels a pang in his heart watching them. Even as Niall gets up to shut the lights off, even as the opening credits start rolling, he can't look away. His heart longs to be able to cuddle Zayn like that, to be with him as more than his best friend. To be able to call Zayn his. 
But he can't. Even if Zayn was gay, even if Zayn's family accepted gay people. Even if Liam stood a chance of Zayn feeling the same way, he wouldn't tell him. He wouldn't risk what they had on a maybe. 
Liam forces himself to turn to the movie, but he isn't focused on it. He barely knows what's going on, his mind racing. He suddenly gets pulled out of his thoughts by something landing on his shoulder. 
He looks down to see that Zayn has fallen asleep on him. Liam's heart swells. 
He looks so adorable. Liam thinks, looking down at the boy. His eyes are closed, but he has a small smile on his face, and he looks calm. Happy. 
Liam looks back up to see they are barely into the movie. He pulls his phone out to check the time. It's only 10:42, he must have had a long day. Liam thinks to himself. 
When he opens the phone, he finds multiple text messages from Louis. 
Lo: If you're not going to tell him, at least start dropping hints
Lo: call him cute or something, idk
Lo: Wait, Hazza has an idea
Liam looks over at Louis who is typing away at his phone while Harry whispers into his ear. A text comes through a minute later. 
Lo: post a pic of him and you with him sleeping with the caption: "how cute is he?" <3<3<3
Liam stares at the text, then looks back up at Louis, who looks over at him. 
Right now? Liam mouths and Louis nods. Liam sighs, contemplating it. He knows Zayn wouldn't care about the picture. They post dumb pictures of each other all the time, and he looks adorable here, so that isn't the issue. 
I don't want him to find out. Liam thinks to himself but eventually decides to do it. What the hell? He thinks as he opens the camera app on his phone. 
Careful not to wake Zayn, he moves his right arm to be wrapped around Zayn's shoulders and pulls him a little closer. Zayn shifts in his sleep, pressing closer. 
His face is pressed into the crook of Liam's neck, breathing softly, and he throws his arm over Liam's stomach, snuggling closer. Liam gets instant butterflies. 
God, I wish we could be more than this, Z. He thinks as he snaps the picture. It's dark, but you can still make out both of them. You can still see the small smile on Zayn's face. 
He looks so beautiful. Liam thinks, staring at the picture for a moment before remembering what he was doing. He quickly adds the picture to his Instagram story, typing out the caption with his left hand, not wanting to move his other one from around Zayn. 
He posts it and sets the phone down, returning his attention to the TV. Liam can hear Niall's, Harry's, and Louis' phones all buzz with the notification. 
Niall sits up, looking between Liam and Zayn and then back to his phones. Louis and Harry just sit back with proud smiles on their faces.