Gay Is Bad-Ziam

Chapter 53

Zayn's P.O.V.

I shut my phone off and throw it into my bag. It's fine, don't freak out. Even if she does come looking for me, which I doubt because I'm an adult, I have an hour head start.

I decide that the best thing to do at this point is making conversation with the taxi driver to get my mind off of my mum.

"So Andrew, are you from around here? Or...?" I ask.

He nods. "Born and raised in Bradford but I now live about 10 minutes away. Moved out with my wife, three kids, and dog."

I raise my eyebrow. "Three kids? You look young though."

He chuckles. "Well thank you, I've been told that I age well. I'm going to be turning 45 next week. I keep a strict diet along with working out every day to keep me looking this way."

"Good for you. And happy early birthday." I say, awkwardly playing with the straps of my bag.

I don't want to be rude but he isn't aging as well as he claims to be. His hair is thinning and graying, along with some wrinkles across his forehead.

The rest of the ride is filled with small talk, listening to music, and trying to ignore the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Before I know it, Andrew is telling me we're about 20 minutes away.

"Really? That was quick." I say.

He chuckles. "Yup so now would be the perfect time to contact anyone that you need to contact."

"Will do." I say, turning on my phone.

I hope Liam is close now because all I want to do is hug him and I don't think I can wait much longer.

Liam: I'm 15 away
Zayn: damn ur gonna arrive before me
Liam: but where??
Zayn: ur first so u choose
Liam: starbucks on the west side?
Zayn: sure ok I'll meet you there in 20

I tell Andrew where to drop me off and then I run a hand through my hair, using the camera app on my phone as a mirror. It looks fine, a bit flat but there nothing I can do about it at this point.

Now I'm counting down the minutes, nervously tapping my foot and the butterflies in my stomach are getting worse and worse.

Just as I'm about to lose my mind, Andrew pulls over. "Here we are sir. It was a pleasure driving you and now you owe me some money." He says, smiling at me through the rear view mirror.

I dig into my pocket and pull out the stack of money I brought with me. I pull out the amount that I owe him and put it into his waiting hand.

"Thank you, have a safe drive home." I tell him.

"You too. Have fun Zayn." He says as I'm getting out. I shut the door behind me and wave as he drives off.

It's not until I turn around that the realization hits me. I'm in London. There's thousands of people running around everywhere, rushing to get to where they need to go on time.

It's also very easy to spot the tourists with wide eyes taking in everything around them, much like I am doing. Their cameras are snapping anything and everything.

There's an unfamiliar buzz in the air but I love it. It's different but good.

"Zayn!" I hear a voice yell in the distance.

I turn around to see Liam running at me, arms wide. My heart flips and I'm frozen in place. He looks so handsome in his skinny jeans and loose sweatshirt, much like my own.

His warm body hits me and I immediately wrap my arms around him. His familiar smell fills my nostrils and my eyes well up with tears of happiness.

"Fuck." I whisper, squeezing him tighter.

"You're so fucking cute." He whispers, giggling into my ear. "You were standing there looking around at all the building like a lost puppy."

My cheeks heat up and I wiggle my way out of his grip. "You cut your hair?" I ask.

He runs a hand through his shorter hair. "Not much but it was beginning to fall into my eyes." He says. "Does it look okay?"

I nod, smiling. "I like it."

He smiles back, our eyes lock. It suddenly feels like we're the only two people in the world. I don't know how long we're staring at each other, grinning like idiots, but Liam is the first to speak up.

"Well let's go get some food." He says, reaching behind me to grab one of my bags. "And then we can go find a hotel room to crash at, yeah?"

I crinkle my nose. "Li, I can carry my own bag."

He shakes his head, walking away. "I know you can but I didn't go to the gym today so this will be my work out."

I laugh and awkwardly follow behind him. I really wanna hold his hand but I don't know where we stand as of right now. I don't want to make things awkward but I have so many things to say and so many questions.

"Are you really hungry right now? Or can we get something at Starbucks?" He asks.

"Starbucks should be fine." I say and we get in line to order.

The wait is really awkward, there's a weird tension between us and neither of us know what to say. I hate it so much, I can feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes but I do everything in my power to not let them spill over.

I get an iced tea and a sandwich, Liam only gets a coffee and we find a table near the back. We sit right next to the window so we get a nice view of the sun setting over the river.

"It's so pretty." I say while unwrapping the sandwich .

He nods, sipping on his coffee. "Yes we should go do a bunch of touristy things tomorrow."

"Definielty." I say. "So how are things back home?"

He sighs. "Well it felt good to be back finally but I feel like my sisters hate me. They're pissed off that I missed so much and never even called on their birthdays and all that. I feel bad but...I don't know. I'm just a shitty person." He laughs dryly.

I frown. "You're not a shitty person Liam. You're one of the best people I know because you're so caring and thoughtful even thoug-"

"Just stop." He cuts me off.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You left me like everyone else did." He says, all the emotion gone from his face.

"I-I-" my mouth opens and closes, not knowing what to say. This is not how I imagined this conversation to go. "You said you wouldn't be upset if I chose my family."

"Yeah well I lied. I said that because I didn't think you were stupid enough to go back to your mum and dad who don't approve of the person you are." He says while staring at his coffee, angrily.

I frown. "I was doing what I thought was best in the heat of the moment. You really think that was an easy decision for me to make? And you're right, I'm stupid for coming all the way out here to see you." I say, grabbing all my stuff and walking out.

"Zayn!" I hear him call after me but I ignore him as hot tears run down my face.

I don't know where I'm going but the plan is to find a bench somewhere, call up a taxi and go back home. I'm an idiot for thinking this would ever work.

I turn a few more corners before sitting down in front of some park. I get out my phone and just as I'm about to call for a taxi, a strong hand grabs my wrist.

I look up to find Liam standing over me. His eyes look softer and he's out of breath from chasing after me. His hair is a mess and his face has a pink tint to it and- fuck he's so beautiful.

"Don't do this Zayn. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Please just come get a hotel room with me where we can talk, okay?" He begs, giving my hand a squeeze.

I bite my lip and sigh. "Okay fine. Only because I'm tired."

And because he's beautiful as fuck, leaving me in some sort of trance where I just go along with anything he says.

He nods, sadly. "And don't leave without saying goodbye again, okay?"

I bite my lip. "Okay."