"That's it-I'm asking Niall."

"No," Louis cries. He's laughing, just like he's been doing for the past half hour and Zayn is scowling, running his hands through his hair.

He's dropped his pen onto the table.

"Zayn, no," Louis exclaims, chuckling. "Alright," he straightens in the seat across from his mate, holding the portrait up to his face with an acute attention to the angles. "I'm ready, I'm ready."

"You've been saying that for nearly an hour, Lou," Zayn snaps. "You know what, just forget about it," he looks about their living room. "Forget I'd even asked. M'hungry, anyway."

"Alright, alright," Louis drops the frame on the stool in the room and watches as Zayn paces away, his hands through his hair. When he grabs for his leather jacket and feels around for his Marlborough's, Louis furrows his brow.

"What's with you, today?"

"It's just..." Zayn shrugs. "It's late, Lou."

Louis shakes his head, following his friend about the flat. It's Wednesday evening, it's a bit past four-thirty and this is typically the time that Zayn's got Contemporary Culture - he's skipped, today - and this is typically the time they spend together before Niall goes off to practice and he's off to Astronomy and Louis finds something to do to kill time before the three of them meet up with the rest of their friends and find something to eat for dinner.

"S'not that late, Zayn," Louis says as he watches his friend struggle momentarily to push up the window that sticks shut occasionally, and throws his legs onto the fire escape.

He watches him grab for his lighter, flicking it on and off in the cool air.

Louis comes to lean against the window frame, standing and watching as Zayn rubs the back of his neck with his free hand, cigarette in his mouth, free fingers gripping the windowsill.

"What's the matter, Malik? Go on; out with it."

"Nothing, Lou."

"You're brooding. Why are you brooding, then?"

"It's nothing," he says more firmly. "Look," he takes a final drag on his cigarette before snuffing it out with the toe of his Dr. Martens. "Look, I'll see you-got class."

"Whatever, then," Louis says, throwing a hand in the air.

Zayn crawls back into their flat, now.

"When you feel like talking, you know where to find me," Louis says, retreating towards his bedroom.

God-Between him and Anais (who's been sulking for the past week and a half over Lucky), s'like everyone in his life's just been trying to test his patience.

And Zayn meets the chilled air outside of the house with a jaw clenched tighter than usual.

Hands shoved deep into his pockets, Zayn makes his way towards the Physics department.

Louis was right.

He was brooding.

A few nights ago he'd found himself up late working on a piece that he felt the need to receive instant gratification for.

He and Louis had gone out, they'd gotten high, and somehow, Zayn had listened to Niall's additional, "What'cha need is some fresh air and a pint," and so he'd taken his mate's advice and wound up in a local bar that he'd frequented multiple times before.

It was called The Duke's Arms.

It was on Broadway and 4th Street.

It was a traditional English pub that reminded him a lot of home, and he loved this place but hadn't been in in a while, the reason being?

A girl.

More specifically?

The girl staring at Zayn as his ass hit the stool in the bar with narrowed, angry blue eyes.

"Get out, Zayn."

A part of Zayn knew he shouldn't have come. The practical part of him knew that he should just forget completely about The Duke's Arms and that he should probably find a new place that was probably better because it didn't have her and her friends working there throughout the week.

The logical part of Zayn said that this was a free country and he couldn't avoid her forever.

The high part of Zayn had colors waving in front of his face and time slowing and his skin tingling slightly so he was like, "Fuck it, you're right, Lou," after the high part of Louis was all, "Let's go to that place-Or what? She cut off your balls, too?"

High Zayn won out.

But, 'High Zayn' had really fucked up, and he realized this upon his ass' contact with the bar stool and his eyes' connection with her own.

Eyes that never before had seemed so unforgiving-so cold.

"Get the fuck out."

But, Zayn was high and so he leaned forward on his elbows, smiling slightly.

"Hey, Pez."

She shook her head. "Don't 'Pez' me," she snapped. "Just get the fuck outta here before I-"

He leaned towards her. "Y'don't miss me?"

For a moment, her expression softened.

For only a moment.

She crossed her arms. "No."

He chuckled softly.

"Zayn, go," she said, because she had decided a while ago that the idea of 'them,' of her and Zayn together would simply never work. "Just-" She sucked in a breath that got Jade and Jesy's attention from across the bar.

Zayn did not go, though.

Instead, he slipped his arms from his coat.

"Whiskey Sour," he grinned without teeth and no light in his eyes. "Please?"

And that's when she snapped.

Her palms came down on the counter in front of him.

"No-No, fuck that! You don't get to come in here and order drinks and talk to me! You don't get to do any of that, Zayn. Go. Get out-I swear, if I ever see your face again, it'll be too soon-"

Now, he was getting angry. All he wanted was a drink.

"Pez, don't pretend like you're an angel in this situation, either."

"Pretend?" She barked out a laugh. "Pretend? You'd know all about that, huh, Malik?"

He was leaned on his elbows, now. He had sucked hard on his teeth, dark eyes even darker. "Care to explain?"

"You-you pretended to be so many things, Zayn. You pretended to love me, you pretended to want what I wanted, and you're pretending right now thinking you could come in here and be chummy as if things were all fine and well between us."

"Pez-"

"Well, they're not. Things aren't fine. They're not okay and they're not fine and you don't love me," she glared, and had he been sober he might have noticed the way her voice wavered. "You don't love me, Zayn and you never did, so what the fuck are you doing showing up in here, anyway?"

He blinked slowly. "I just-Like, I just came in for a drink, Perrie."

"Oh, really then?"

He nodded.

"Then get one somewhere else."

"Perrie," he sighs, because this is ridiculous and the smoke has made him so very thirsty and he's growing hungrier by the moment. "Can I please just have a drink, love?"

"Y'know," she turned, "I stuck up for you. To the rest of our class, my friends..." She shook her head. "I was so quick to believe you. So quick to deny the rumors, y'know? Quick to say, 'no way, he's not a bad boy. He's not like everyone thinks he is.' God, I actually just thought you were misunderstood..."

"Right," he interjected, "because that's the reason you were with me, wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about, Zayn?"

"You wanted to fix me, Perrie," he hissed. "You liked what people said about me, yeah? Didn't you? Made you feel good that we were dating, yeah? Yeah? You liked the idea of me because you wanted to be the girl who'd appear in my life and change me-Then, you found out I wasn't what people say and-"

"Not what people say??? You cheated on me!"

"We weren't even tog-"

"You know what? Save it," she said. "I was wrong," she said. "I was so stupid and so, so fuckin' wrong, that you know what? I feel bad for you. I'm sorry for you, Zayn, because you know what?"

She gave him a hard stare. "You'll always be exactly the person people think you are."

And it was that statement alone that had haunted Zayn since she spoke the words.

So, yes.

Yes, Zayn was brooding, but it was because his ex-girlfriend who he realized very early on into the relationship that he should have never been with anyway, had not only denied him service in his favorite English pub, but she'd also made a very definitive, outrageous statement that he didn't deserve since she'd only seen the parts of him she wanted to, anyway.

And it had been a day-nearly a full 24 hours-since he'd seen Perrie in The Duke's Arms but her words were still with him and, he realized on his way to Astronomy, that she was the very last person he wanted to have in his head before he had to pay attention to the stars.

-~*~-

Wow this isn't good I've just become super invested in this story someone help.

Also I promise I don't have anything against Perrie or Little Mix I just needed to set up the rest of Anais and Zayn's story. :)

Comment and vote because I would love to hear your reactions! Next chapter picks up where this one leaves off.