ONE WEEK LATER

Typing hastily, eyes moving across the screen, closing a bit because of the tiredness he feels, but it's almost lunch time which means he can leave and get a coffee.

Thankfully, it's not too busy today. The month's magazine was published and was a hit, earning over half a million dollars. It showed in Zayn's pay. And Louis was obviously ecstatic after calling Zayn and telling him how ecstatic he truly was. Then they went out to celebrate at some bar and Louis got drunk off his arse, Zayn being the responsible ride home. He even had to pull Louis down in order for his friend to not get up on the bar shirtless and begin dancin no matter how much Zayn would've wanted to see that.

It's Friday, so tomorrow is the wedding they have both been anticipating. Louis is going to meet Zayn at his apartment early in the morning in order to reach on time. Zayn took the liberty of driving up and Louis will be driving down.

The wedding is at a church in Harlem.  Zayn has hardly been to Harlem considering it's about an hour away,but he knows it's not the best area. A lot of conflict. However, respecting the couple's wishes, they will be entering Harlem.

Zayn doesn't even notice his eyes had closed until his head begins falling forward, making himself jump as he shoots back up into an upright position, breath hitching. He looks around, low chatter in the office. Louis is in a meeting and not even here to help keep him awake. A long arse meeting too, it's been about two hours already.

"Zayn, you doing good?" a feminine voice says from behind the man. Zayn turns his head to see, Katherine, a girl with short red hair in a Bob cut and freckles going across her nose and cheeks. She smiles at him, having bright blue eyes and very pronounced cheek bones. She's a thick girl with a wide waist and she keeps herself looking nice everyday, exuberating confidence.

"Yeah I'm good, just tired." Zayn replies, smiling slightly with a nonchalant shrug.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" she frowns, putting on an expression of concern.

"About four hours." Zayn shrugs again. "Not too bad."

"Oh, may be you can get on some sleeping pills if it happens frequently." She suggests kindly and Zayn shrugs once again and doesn't respond. He knows he was up because he was distracted by the feeling of withdrawl, restless, heart racing, head pounding, ears ringing. He could hardly find a comfortable position and he felt wide awake even if his eyes were droopy. It's all hard to ignore.

He fixed it by taking some pills but felt nauseous by morning. He didn't even feel for coffee or anything really.

"Well I was wondering..." Katherine says, her voice startling Zayn from thought. Zayn flickers his gaze up to her again, she standing and him sitting. "We're having this dumb office party next week and we need a list of people who are attending. I'm in charge and I was hoping that...you would want to go?" she smiles, her eyes bright behind the glare on her glasses from the sun shining through the window.

"Office party? Not really my thing." Zayn shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh come on, there will be food and even alcohol. I advise not getting drunk but think of it as a college party. You can get reckless." She shrugs, pleading to him and Zayn begins to question why she wants him to go so badly.

"Kathy, babe, how are you?" Louis suddenly appears, slinging an arm around the woman, making her flinch as she looks back at him. Kathy sighs heavily, moving away so his arm drops to his side.

"Hello, Louis." She says stiffly, demeanor changing.

"Am I missing out on something?" Louis questions, a small smirk on his lips. Kathy rolls her eyes, shaking her head.

"No, nothing actually." She snaps before turning and walking away before Louis' expression drops and he looks equally as annoyed with a roll of his eyes. Zayn snorts, quirking up an eyebrow.

"Am I missing something?" Zayn asks.

"The woman is annoying, what can I say?" Louis shakes his head as he walks back over to his desk, plopping down on the seat.

"That's it?" Zayn smiles in amusement. He knows Louis doesn't like a lot of people.

"Did she make an advancement towards you?" He questions, narrowing his eyes suspiciously back at Zayn.

"I don't know but she really wanted me to go to this office party." Zayn shrugs. Louis scoffs. "Which makes me think, if I go, do you think i'd get a raise?" He asks and Louis just scoffs again.

"No!" he exclaims. "She just wants to flirt you into having the sex with her." He snaps.

"Let me guess you fell for her trap." Zayn chuckles and Louis glares.

"I thought she liked me or something." Louis mumbles, moving to be able to be hidden by his computer. Zayn frowns, knowing his friend doesn't have the highest self esteem when it came to relationships with both women and men. Considering his short and aggressive temper, Louis has tried to stay out of putting himself out there and dating for a while even if he really wants to.

"Can you come with me on my lunch break?" Zayn asks since he's going in about five minutes.

"Sure, I've just got to send a report." Louis says distractedly and Zayn smiles slightly, nodding in content.

LATER

Walking into the cafè Zayn instantly sees the worker behind the counter, but not really who he's looking for. He actually hasn't seen Harry in a week and he wonders how he is doing. They do live next to each other, so Zayn really can just walk over, knock on the door and greet them and maybe even invite Harry somewhere to the movies or lunch or even to his home.

After not eating anything for the whole day Zayn's stomach is grumbling relentlessly now.

Louis rushes over to the bathroom after telling Zayn to order him anything and Zayn hates this side of Louis. The side that gets down about who he is and is insecure when usually his short tempered friend is bubbly, playfully aggressive and confident. Louis hardly let's himself get this way, but when he does it's a very low low and goes on for almost the rest of the day without an utterance of how he's feeling, but the next day he's completely fine, or seems to be.

Zayn gets himself a blueberry muffin and decaf coffee then gets Louis a sandwich, remembering he said he liked it last time even though Zayn hated it. But Louis isn't picky, Zayn somewhat is.

Zayn takes the items to a round table with two chairs and sets his food and beverage in front of him and Louis' food on the opposite. Taking a sip of the coffee makes him close his eyes, trying to feel the effects of it help him forget about the cigarette.

The screeching of the chair against the floor makes his eyes open and he takes the cup from his lips, looking on front of him as he sets it on the table. He watches Louis tap at his phone silently before flickering his gaze to see Zayn staring at him. Louis quirks up an eyebrow. "What?" he snaps.

Zayn shrugs, shaking his head.

"Well stop staring at me." Louis glares.

Zayn looks down at his muffin, ignoring the attitude before picking it up and he takes a bite out of it.

"You don't usually invite me out to lunch, why today?" Louis suddenly asks.

Zayn furrows his brows. "Yes I do." He says. "You're usually busy around the time." He adds.

"Oh so it's my fault?" Louis scoffs.

Zayn frowns. "Louis-"

"No Zayn, I don't want your stupid, fucking pity." He snaps

Zayn bites his tongue, sighing heavily as he looks down, taking more sips of his coffee. The man puts his drink back down, rubbing at his sleepy eyes before looking back up at Louis who hasn't touched his sandwich but has his arms crossed, glaring at the table. "Talk to me, Lou."

"There's nothing to talk about. You know it's not you, it's me, but I don't want to leave so I'm just going to sit here and bubble in anger until I'm okay." Louis says, making Zayn smile and nod his head in understanding.

"At least eat, I know you're hungry." Zayn says but Louis shakes his head, sighing shakily. Zayn stays silent  simply eating and drinking until he's done and he realizes he still has ten minutes left of a break once he throws his trash away.

With a glance to the counter, Zayn sees Harry come from a back room. The forest eyed man doesn't look up and instantly begins cleaning. Zayn looks back at Louis, figuring he isn't exactly in the best mindset and mood to be meeting the soft spoken man. Zayn turns to walk over to Harry, sticking his hands into his slack's pockets.

"Hey, Har," Zayn says, making Harry look up, eyes widened in a bit of surprise before seeing Zayn. He smiles slightly, a dimple popping up on his left cheek.

"Hey," he says quietly. "How are you?" he questions.

"Wondering where you've been." Zayn shrugs, smiling brightly. Harry nods.

"I've been here and home." He says, standing up straight.

"You've been okay?" Zayn questions.

Harry shrugs silently.

"What's wrong?" Zayn asks,  frowning.

"I don't want to talk about it." Harry says, shaking his head. Zayn nods, discouraged. "How about you?" Harry asks.

"Great." Zayn smiles.

"Um, Zayn..." Harry begins timidly, trailing off in a hesitant manner. Zayn leans forward to beckon him, interested. "Would you want to...hang out...one time?" Harry asks.

Zayn smirks. "Only one time?" Zayn says and Harry's eyes widen.

"W-well-"

"I'm joking, but I would love to hang out more than that, if that's okay with you because of course I would love to hang out with you." Zayn says and Harry smiles, chuckling lightly. The forest eyed man nods quickly.

"Yeah," he says.

"Where do you have in mind?" Zayn asks.

Harry bites his bottom lip."Mum said the park would be nice...but a movie would be better. What would you like to do?"

"How about a movie then the park? A full day of fun." Zayn winks and Harry blushes, looking down at his feet.

"O-Okay." He stammers.

"Yo, Z, break over, we've got to go." Louis suddenly says from the door, making Zayn turn to look and wonder when the hell he got there.

"Oh um, okay." Zayn says, furrowing his brows. "I'll meet you in the car, alright?" he says to the blue eyed man and Louis nods before turning and walking out. Zayn sighs heavily, knowing he has to drive back with an angry Louis. "When do you want to-"

"Is that your friend?" Harry asks, flickering his gaze back to Zayn.

"What?" He questions, glancing at Louis through a window as he gets into the car, slamming the door closed. "Yeah, it is." He nods.

"Oh, okay." Harry nods, seeming to be thinking hard. "He seems upset, does he need a hug or a cookie?" he asks and Zayn smiles.

"Actually, a cookie would be great." Zayn says, taking out his wallet.

"Mum says that when someone is having a bad day comfort them," Harry states, taking out a bag to put the cookie inside before handing it to Zayn. "Are you going to comfort him?" Harry asks, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"I'll make sure of it." Zayn nods, knowing Louis hates hugs but not cookies.

"Good." Harry nods. "Before you go, what were you asking?"

"When would you want to hang out?"

"Tomorrow?" Harry questions.

"I'm going to a wedding tomorrow, how about Sunday?" Zayn asks.

"Mum says Sunday is a time of rest." Harry bites his bottom lip, a bit hard. It obviously bothers him that he cannot accept, not wanting to break his mother's wishes.

"Its okay, babe." Zayn smiles, taking that into account. Harry has lived a certain way for years and it bothers him to break the simplest of rules, even one time. Zayn can respect that. "How about next Saturday."

Harry nods, smiling instantly. "Okay." He sighs softly, in relief.

"Text me whenever you have a bad day Harry, don't want you to be sad, okay?" Zayn says before parting, pushing himself off the counter, ready to leave.

Harry blinks, nodding slowly. "Okay." He whispers. "Bye Zayn." Harry says quickly when Zayn turns to walk to the door. Zayn looks back and smiles.

"Bye love." Zayn winks before turning to walk back out.

THE NEXT DAY

"Shit, shit, shit, Louis!" Zayn yells from his bedroom, running out into the living room.

Louis sits on his couch eating a full bag of washed grapes on his lap. Zayn sighs, ignoring the fact Louis stole his grapes.

"I can't find my other shoe!" Zayn exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

"This is why you lay out your outfit the night before." Louis shakes his head. "I guess you're wearing sneakers."

"I am not-"

Suddenly a knock erupts on the door, cutting Zayn off. Zayn basically limps towards it, having one shoe on and the other with only a sock. He sighs heavily, looking through the peephole to see Harry fiddling with his fingers and his head facing the ground. Zayn's brow raise in surprise and excitement before he tears open the door, making Harry look up. "Harry, hey!" Zayn exclaims, smiling brightly and it is obvious Harry is surprised by the delight in Zayn's features.

"Hey, I know you're going to that wedding-"

"Speaking of, I have a favor to ask." Zayn says and Harry raises his brows in anticipation. "Do you happen to have any shoes like these? Preferabbly both left and right." Zayn says, sticking out his foot to show him. Harry nods his head.

"Yes, I do, but it may not be your size."

"It's okay, I just need to look presentable." Zayn shrugs.

"Yo, Z, whose at the- oh," Zayn turns to look at Louis who stares at Harry with a vauge expression. Harry looks equally as confused.

"Louis, this is Harry." Zayn introduces the two of them.

"Wassup." Louis says, nodding his head towards the man. Harry furrows his brows, tilting his head to the side.

"Um, nothing." He says, shaking his head and Louis nods, looking him up and down in a judgmental manner.

"So, uh, shoes?" Zayn says, biting his bottom lip.

"Oh yes!" he says, turning around quickly to walk towards his own apartment. The man takes out a key from his pocket and unlocks it. Zayn looks back to see Louis standing at the door of his apartment, leaning back and frowning as he watches them. His lips tilt up slightly when Zayn looks at him, but for some reason, Louis looks upset and he doesn't know the reason why.

When Harry gets the door open they walk inside and instantly the smell of maple syrup and bacon wafts into his nose, making him smile. "My mum is making breakfast if you would like to take anything to go." Harry says and Zayn turns to the kitchen, walking in to see Anne working at the stove, classical music playing over the sizzling of oil.

"Morning, Anne." Zayn says, making the woman jump and turn with a bright smile.

"Oh, Zayn! I'm so glad you're here,  I'm making a special breakfast this morning because my daughter is coming over, would you like anything?" She politely asks, displaying her work towards him.

"I'm okay, Anne, I eat a lot." Zayn attempts declining politely but Anne shakes her head.

"I made a ton, honey, please." she scoffs.

"Well if you insist." Zayn says considering Harry offered and Anne did twice. They're too much, too kind, both of them.

Anne packs pancakes, bacon and eggs on a plastic plate before covering it in foil. She asks if he has any friends that would like anything and Zayn says yes because Louis is here, even though he already ate half a bag of grapes but Louis eats a lot considering how much football he plays on the weekends with his "football friends".

"Honey, you realize you only have one shoe on, right?" Anne suddenly says with a confused facial expression but she keeps her voice sweet. Zayn looks down, chuckling lightly because he honestly forgot.

"Yeah I actually was just about to borrow some shoes from-" When Zayn turns to get back to Harry he is already entering the kitchen with shiny, black shoes in his hand. Zayn smiles. "You're a life saver, Harry." Zayn sighs in relief, resting the plates on the table. Harry smiles brightly, both dimples showing on his cheeks.

Zayn takes the shoes, noticing they are about two sizes larger than his own. He sits and slips both of them on. They don't look too bad on his feet, thankfully, but they are loose.

Zayn turns to Harry and engulfs him into a hug, instantly feeling the man stiffen and his breath hitch. So, Zayn pulls away, small smile still gracing his lips. "What did you uh, want to say when you came over? Sorry for cutting you off." Zayn says.

His cheeks are pink. "I-it's okay." Harry says quietly. "I just wanted to know if you wanted breakfast before you left. I hope you got some." He smiles slightly.

"I sure did." Zayn nods, picking up the plates as he turns back to Harry's mum. "Thank you so much, Anne."

"No, thank you, I made too much!" she exclaims.

When Zayn says his goodbyes and leaves the home he goes back into the apartment with the door now closed. Louis stands agaisnt the wall next to his bedroom door, texting on his phone.

"Ready?" Zayn says, catching the man's attention.

"Yeah." Louis sighs, sticking his phone in his back pocket. "Ready for the second stage of hell." He mumbles and Zayn rolls his eyes as he passes him.

"Brought you food by the way." Zayn says, making Louis look back in interest as they leave. But his friend frowns.

"From that guy?" he asks, referring to Harry, making Zayn's expression drop from his questioning nature about the innocent man.

"Yes, his mother actually."

Louis snorts. "He lives with his mother?" 

Zayn sighs. "Yeah." He says.

Louis shrugs and turns back to look in front of him.

"Do you not like him or something?" Zayn asks, furrowing his brows.

"I don't even know him."

"Then why did you look at him like that when he was at the door?" he asks.

"You know, I'm beginning to regret inviting you to be my plus one." Louis says, glancing back at Zayn again.

Zayn furrows his brows, glaring at the back of Louis' head. "It's a simple question." Zayn says.

"Well maybe I don't have a simple answer." Louis snaps, suddenly, turning to look back at Zayn. "Anyway, are you like, in love with the guy? Why are you so protective over him?"

They reach the elevator and Zayn reviews Louis' words, trying to make sense of them. He doesn't answer him though because it's a dumb question and he's simply defensive because Harry is his friend, just like he would be defensive for Louis if someone was being rude to him.

Entering the elevator in silence, Zayn distracts himself by counting the numbers that will eventually get to one, the lobby. They exit into the parking lot and to Louis' car. Zayn sets the food in the back seat before going to the driver's.

The drive is silent, awkward even, for Zayn anyway. He glances at Louis every now and then, feeling guilty for some reason, but what does he have to feel guilty for?

"I'm not in love with him, I think I do have an infatuation with him though." Zayn says, deciding to go back to the topic. "Does that bother you?"

"No." Louis responds.

Zayn nods, pursing his lips. "Then can we be friends again?" he smiles hopefully, glancing at Louis who now looks back at him with an amused glint in his eye. He shakes his head, looking away.

"I'll think about it."

Zayn snorts, smiling lightly. He's glad he can joke around with him naturally whenever they have a tense moment.

LATER

Zayn waits outside for his friend who went to use the bathroom, the both of them agreeing to not stay for the reception and make up some lame excuse that is hopefully believable.

Zayn scrolls through Pinterest, trying to figure out which hair color besides blonde would look good for his skin tone. Purple, green, or should he just go back to black? He knaws on his bottom lip, sighing heavily in boredom before eventually turning off his phone, looking around the empty parking lot of people but full of cars.

His phone vibrates against his bottom, making him pull it out quickly to check who had messaged him.

From Harry: Hi.

To Harry: Hey, what's up? :)

From Harry: Do you remember what you said yesterday?

Zayn furrows his brows, pausing his thumb over the keyboard. He thinks about yesterday, at the cafe. All he remembers is Louis being angry and Harry being the sweet cupcake he is.

To Harry: What did I say, love?

From Harry: To call you when I have a bad day. I know I'm texting you, but I'm having a bad day.

Zayn frowns, becoming more alert.

To Harry: What happened? Do you want to call me?

From Harry: No, i'd prefer to text.

To Harry: Okay, love, talk to me.

The man looks up, seeing Louis walk out with his hands in his pockets and his head down. He sighs heavily. "Hey, Lou, you good?" Zayn says, sticking his phone back in his pocket. But then he feels it vibrate again, meaning Harry texted back. He quickly takes put his phone again.

"Yeah, fine, lets go, yeah?" Louis says, looking up with a quirked up eyebrow. Louis gets in the driver's and Zayn in the passanger's now.

He looks back down at his phone.

From Harry: How are you?

Zayn furrows his brows.

To Harry: I'm okay...you don't want to tell me what happened ?

From Harry: No, just want to talk.

To Harry: Okay, well, I'm actually heading back home now.

From Harry: How was the wedding?

To Harry: Long and boring.

"Who are you texting?" Louis suddenly asks, snapping Zayn out of his private conversation. He looks at his friend, slowly processing the words.

"Oh uh, Harry."

"Oh, him again? You know, Z, if you're infatuated with him make a move." Louis says a bit aggressively.

"There's actually a ton of reasons why I shouldn't do that." Zayn scoffs.

"And those reasons are?" Louis says, furrowing his brows.

"Well, for one, don't know if he likes guys, don't know if he dates people in the first place, he most likely would never date me and I don't think he even knows an ounce when it comes to feelings." Zayn says. "And those are just a few I thought of right now."

Louis snorts. "Well, it's not nice to assume. Why don't you ask?"

"Because I don't even know what I wabt yet." Zayn mumbles. "And besides, my priorities aren't to get into a relationship, so I don't care." he shrugs.

Louis nods silently, not giving his thoughts into it.

(HEY GUYS GoULS AND GALS THAT ARE READING THANK YOU SO MUCH AND FURTHER MORE THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER SO I'M SORRY BUT IT'S GON GET GOOD SO DONY WORRY)