Zayn was having a silent fit, he would rub his throat and then smack his head. He did this for a couple minutes before he looked up at me with tired eyes. "Forgive me." He cleared his throat and sat up straight.

I nodded at him. "I, uh, brought you food. In car you were, like, hungry or something." I handed over the plate and Zayn took it. I then got out of the room in fear of another meltdown from Zayn. I stood outside the door and took in a deep. I had found these ways to calm myself down in situations like that. I was always nervous around people, especially when they were unstable. And I couldn't figure out any other way to describe Zayn at that moment other than unstable.

He was exhausted and I thought that the pills would help him. Well, they helped him sleep, but not with anything else. I wondered why the pills made him react so harshly. My mind automatically went to a drug abuse issue, but it just seemed to out of character for him. But what did I know about Zayn anyways. He was a shadow in my life that I knew almost nothing about.

I didn't go back into the room for a while, and when I did it was a short moment where I gave him some more water. His pill bottle remained on the bed side table and he wouldn't look at me at all when I came to check in on him.

I didn't like Ruth and Harry being gone. Especially since John went with them and they left me behind with Ashton. I tried to avoid him, but the house wasn't big enough to avoid him properly. I could have stayed up in the room with Zayn, but that was also another awkward situation. I soon felt shut in and captive in the safe home. Lunch came around and I searched for some food in the kitchen to make. Ashton walked into the room and took a seat at the table.

I thought that I would kill two birds with one stone by talking with Ashton about the pills, while sneakily making food for the both of us. "Want a sandwich?" I asked. Ashton grunted and shrugged. "I'll take that as a yes." I fixed up two ham sandwiches and set them down on the table. I took a seat and silently ate while Ashton looked at the sandwich and then I swore I saw a smile appear on his lips.

"You make a good sandwich, kid." Ashton muttered.

I felt a little better sitting with him after that. I sat up straight in my seat. "Thanks." We finished our sandwiches and before Ashton could leave I cleared my throat. "So, uh, Zayn said that he's known you for a long time. He said he saved your life or something." That sparked Ashton's interest because he stopped and turned around.

"Did he now?" Ashton rolled his eyes. "Just like the guy to bring all that up." He leaned in the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. "But yeah, I've known him a few years." He was actually interested in talking to me. I sat at the edge of my seat, hoping he would elaborate further.

"So, uhm-"

"Someone's a little interested in the past I see." Ashton pushed away from the door frame and wandered back into the kitchen where he gave me this smile. "Are you sure you want to know? Things might change for you and lover boy." That caught me off guard. "What? You don't see it? Wow, you really are blind. Zayn doesn't just do things on a whim. He had an idea about you and I'm guessing he's wanted you a long time."

Wanted me. That sounded wrong. Sure, people wanted me, but in all the wrong ways. I wanted Zayn to need me just like I needed him. "Don't say that." I bit my lip. "He's not like that." I averted my gaze from Ashton and a small chuckle passed his lips.

"So, what do you want to know?" After a tense moment of silence, Ashton sat back down at the table, pulling his gun from the back of his jeans and placing it on the table. "How about we start with the drug problem."

The bomb dropped.

"You knew he had a drug problem?" I was shocked to even hear that. He knew all along and still gave me the pills to give to Zayn. I shoved my seat back and slammed my hands down on the table. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" I knew addicts and I knew what being clean meant to them. "He said he didn't need them and you still had me give him the pain medication?" I was so frustrated and confused about everything. Zayn said I could trust Ashton and that Ashton owed him his life, but as it stood there. I didn't trust Ashton one bit. He had done nothing to prove to me that he was a good idea to be around.

"The guy was in pain and he's not going to get better if he just sits there doing nothing about it." Ashton said matter-of-factly.

"You knew, though!" I slammed my hands down again and the gun on the table shook a little.

"So what? I was doing what was best for him instead of moping around and hoping he will be okay." I knew that was a direct attack on me. The thing was that I couldn't help Zayn. I was hoping he would be okay. There was only so much I could do for him. "Zayn and I go way back and I know him better than most people. He can handle a few pills."

"What if he can't?" I asked in an aggravated tone.

"He can."

"You don't know that!" I yelled again. My throat was starting to go hoarse from arguing with Ashton. He just stared at me and when he went to speak again, his mouth shut in a tight line and his gaze went elsewhere.

"Ashton." I turned around quickly to see Zayn standing there at the bottom of the stairway. "Leave, now."

"No can do boss. I'm here to protect you-"

"I said leave." Zayn's tone deepened and it triggered something in Ashton, because he grabbed his gun from the table and walked out of the kitchen. Zayn waited a few minutes until he heard the front door slam close. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face with his good hand. He was shirtless and his bandages looked like they needed to be changed again. His lips were in a tight line and he watched every move I made.

"You shouldn't be up." I told him in almost a whisper.

"I can't lie in bed all day. Especially with the two of you yelling at each other down here." Zayn shook his head back and forth. "I should let you know that I didn't want Ashton here to begin with. He knows too much and likes to talk. But he is one hell of a shot and I don't have anyone else better to protect you." Zayn walked into the kitchen and I rushed to him to help him to a seat. When he sat down he pulled out the pill bottle from his pants pocket. I saw that it was empty and a small feeling of terror came over me.

"You-" I grabbed the bottle. There was no way he took all of them at once. "Do I need to call an ambulance?" I asked, eyes wide. I was so worried because I had seen this before. With my life and how everything bad happened all at once, I saw a lot of drug abuse, hell, I even took part in some of it.

"No." Zayn shook his head. "I flushed them."

Relief washed over me. "Thank god." My whole body relaxed and I could feel my shoulders fall from their tense position. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not important." Zayn wasn't budging, but my frustration from earlier wasn't completely gone. He looked away from me and it was like a fire lit up inside of me. I grabbed the back of his chair and spun it towards me. It jerked Zayn a little and he hissed in pain.

"Why are you keeping me in the dark about everything? I think we're long past the point of keeping our lives separate. Dammit, Zayn." I watched him as his body went rigid and he stared at me in awe. I had never once yelled at him before. It was a shock to even me.

"I'm protecting you." Zayn spoke like that was the only answer he could give me.

"That's bull s.hit and you know it." I cursed at him. I wasn't holding back this time. "Keeping everything from me isn't going to protect me. I'm so lost and confused about everything and people are treating me like a child." I huffed in Zayn's face and he pushed himself up from his seat, getting in my face.

"You are a child, Niall!" He yelled back in my face. "I think you're forgetting that." He raised his hand and place it on my cheek. I instantly slapped it again and stepped forward, pushing Zayn back a step.

"I may only be sixteen-" I stopped and took in a deep breath. "But I have lived through the worst s.hit that most people only believe happens in the movies. I think I can handle whatever you throw at me." I threw my arms to my sides like I was ready for the worst to come. I knew I could handle it. Zayn stood there in silence. He wasn't looking at me. "Please don't just stand there."

"You don't understand, Niall." Zayn finally spoke. "I've done terrible things and I don't want you to know me as the person I used to be." There must have been something dark in Zayn's past to have him look like that in front of me. Before me stood a broken man at the end of his strings. "You wouldn't look at me in the same way ever again. I don't think I could live a day without you looking at me like I was you're world." Zayn's eyes shined as he confessed to me. "I just love you too much to let that feeling go. Because you, too, mean the world to me."

A/N: What's going to happen next?!

Much Love 

Jachxx