If you want me,

Let me know,

Where do you wanna go?

No need for talking,

I already know.

If you want me,

Why go?

- "Stars" || the xx

__

"Anais!"

"Guys, Anais is here!"

"Well," Soo smirks, as Anais trails behind Zayn into the very crowded apartment, "Look who decided to join us, finally."

Cara comes to throw her arm around Soo's shoulder. "She had to make a dramatic entrance with Zayn, of course."

Anais stands before her friends, pulling a face. "Aren't you just a funny lil' bitch."

Cara blows her a kiss. "Love you too, hun."

"Yeah, yeah," Anais replies, shrugging out of her coat. "Come home in Niall's underwear again, or...?"

And Cara's face falls as Soo starts cackling, head thrown back, hand clutching her stomach.

"Fuck you, Ana," Cara hisses, as Anais laughs, too, because there's no way she's still gonna take shit about Zayn when here all of her friends were fucking around with his friends.

"Love you too, hun," she says, pulling Soo first into a hug and then, Cara.

"Get off me," Cara replies, wriggling from her grasp and only making both Anais and Soo laugh that much harder.

Zayn's out of his coat when he looks between the girls, obviously confused. "What's so funny, eh?"

Cara narrows her eyes at Anais. "Your girlfriend," she replies, as Zach and Jesse and Harry and Magdalena and Liam and Sophia and Louis join them in the living room.

Anais shoots her a glare, because Cara knows that Zayn's not her boyfriend, but Zayn has only shrugged, and Anais has noted that he didn't quite correct Cara...at all...

"Was about time you showed up," Jesse says, clapping Zayn on the back.

"Yeah?" Zayn grins, amused, "'Cause I like, live here, maybe?"

Zach folds his arms. "Someone's in a better mood."

Zayn shrugs, because he definitely left his place that morning more than annoyed with all of his friends fucking up his sleep patterns. "Takes a lot to enjoy you lot in the mornings."

"Ana's here, too," Zach shrugs, "but, y'know," he shrugs again, "that's just coincidental," he shrugs one more time, "I guess."

And for a while, but, only a short while, Anais and Zayn both stand around and laugh and joke with their friends, moving from the living room to the kitchen, and when Zayn goes back to the living room, he interrupts the conversation Ana's in with Zach because he's noticed her coat and her bag draped across his couch.

"Wanna put your stuff in my room?" He asks, because he thinks they've spent enough time with his friends, honestly. He kind of just wanted to hang out with her, today, if that wasn't asking too much.

Anais nods gratefully. "Yes, please," she says, politely excusing herself from Zach and their conversation about Jourdan not being able to show up so she can grab her things and allow Zayn to take her hand, leading her to the bedroom of his she'd been in many times.

"So, I'm just gonna pretend like you're not leaving us," Magdalena grins, Jesse nodding at her side.

"We're just gonna overlook that," he adds.

"Only," Magdalena raises a finger, shaking it at Anais as she rolls her eyes "and I do mean only for today, young lady."

"Hey! Don't you roll your eyes at her, Anais, or so help me..." Jesse begins.

"See?" Magdalena exclaims, "Look what you've done, Ana. You've made your dad angry."

Anais groans. "Oh my god-"

"Piss off, you two," Zayn snorts, pulling Anais down the hall and leaving the two to laugh to themselves.

"God, those two..."

He turns to her, watching as she enters his room and places her things on the chair against his desk. "They're together 'cause of you, remember?"

"Eh," Anais falls upon his bed, and Zayn sits beside her. "I'd say that was a joint effort."

And he snorts, watching as she grins beside him.

He shakes his head, because now, they're alone again.

Now, it's quiet.

"Ana?" He asks.

She hums, watching as he scoots closer.

"I don't - "

"Wait," she interrupts, "before you finish that thought, can you do me a favor?"

Zayn nods, although he'd have to admit, he's confused. "Anything."

"Can we play music?" She asks, because she likes his room because it's quiet and away from the commotion coming from the front of the apartment...but, Anais needs a distraction and she's missed being in his room with him like this.

"I just..." She shrugs, not knowing how to put all of those feelings into the right words. "Yeah."

And Zayn chuckles, rising from his bed with a nod. How does he deny that request? So, he pulls his laptop from his desk and sits back beside Anais, placing his computer in her lap with a, "Go on, you pick," before he leans backwards, watching as she slowly scrolls through his iTunes.

Typical Anais, she picks Chris Brown.

She grins and presses 'Play.'

You're a goddess in the bedroom,

Devil in them skintights,

Drug that, I'm hooked to,

But it's okay, I'll be alright...

And Anais slips his computer onto a clear spot on the bed before lying backwards, arms above her head.

And in this moment, Zayn hesitates. He doesn't exactly know what Anais is thinking, being here with him. He'd like things to just go back to the way they were, the way they should be, the way they kind of were today, but because he doesn't exactly know if she'd like that, or if she even wants to still be with him, he can't help but feel the slightest bit nervous.

He can't help but feel like he did, months ago, when he first met Anais in Astronomy 101.

But, he watches her close her eyes, allowing the music to filter in the room around them, and he smiles. He smiles because the fact that she's here means something to him. She could've stayed in the cafe. Hell, she could've stayed out in the living room with their friends and she didn't. She could've told him to leave when he'd seen her out. She could've continued to ignore him, but she didn't do that, either.

She said he matters, right?

That meant something, didn't it?

That means something, doesn't it?

He still meant something to her, didn't he?

He still means something to her, doesn't he?

He's holding tightly onto this thought.

So Zayn scoots against her, laying by her side.

He's positioned himself so that their arms are touching; he's up against her completely, although his feet are planted on the floor and hers are dangling over the edge of his bed.

And he listens to the sound of his own heart mix with the voices singing in his bedroom.

Zayn lets out a sigh, throwing an arm over his closed eyes.

He likes this song, too.

"Do you mind if I stroke you up," he sings absentmindedly, "Baby girl, imagine that. Dripping that honey, love, I'mma hit it hard from the-"

"God, your voice."

And Zayn takes his arm from his eyes, opening his mouth to speak when Anais, whose eyes are still closed, speaks before him.

"I love this song," she murmurs, "and you're like, killing it, Zayn."

His mouth plays with a smile. "Yeah?"

She hums. "Like, murdering it and also doing weird things to my heart," and at that, he laughs.

"Why?" She asks suddenly. "Have I told you that before?"

"No," he shakes his head. "Like, why'd you ask that?"

Anais snorts softly. "'Cause you're laughing at me."

Zayn angles himself so he can see her face. Her eyes are still closed, arms above her head.

"What?" He chuckles. "M'not laughing."

She dismisses him with a tut. "Whatever. Smiling, then."

He actually smiles, now. "How could you tell that? Your eyes're closed."

She cracks an eyelid. "I can hear it."

Zayn props himself upon his elbows. "Like," he's staring at her, "you can hear me smile?"

"Mhm," she nods. "Sure can."

He bites his lip. "You can't"

"I can, though," she replies. "I've trained myself to always know when you're happy."

He coughs on a little laugh. "Shut up, you."

She grins. "No, but honestly, your voice changes. Like, when you're being silly or playing around or teasing you use like, these weird, cute, little voices that all change in tone and I don't have to see you to know you're actually, genuinely happy," and Anais grins to herself. "And it's nice, 'cause you spend a lot of time being serious with so many people, that when you let loose and you're comfortable and you're yourself I'm like, okay. I feel good 'cause Zayn does."

He's blushing. "I don't."

"Oh, but you do," she says. "Y'do it a lot actually, and each time it happens, I think to myself, 'There he goes. Zayn's smiling. He's really, actually so happy' and that makes me smile."

Zayn laughs. "That's um, that's a really interesting thing to notice."

Anais laughs, too. "I notice some very interesting things."

Zayn's grinning. "I know. You never hesitate to share, remember?"

Anais chokes. "There you go, laughing at me, again."

Zayn chokes on a laugh, too. "I'm not!"

"You are," Anais replies. She sighs, "I can always tell, remember?"

"Anais..."

"What? It's a good thing. Well," she shrugs, "I like it."

He chuckles. "What?" He asks, sarcasm laced in his tone. "When I smile, or when I laugh at you?"

"Funny," Anais replies, as Zayn hides a smirk. "When you smile, of course."

Zayn's smiling again, now, and he can't help it.

He lays down again, head against her. "Ana?"

She hums softly. "Yeah?"

"Like..." He pauses, hoping to choose his words carefully. He stares upwards, choosing to look at the paint upon his ceiling rather than the girl beside him. "Do you miss this?"

"I-"

"Like," he continues, hurriedly, still staring at the ceiling. "I've missed this. A lot. Like, y'know, us. Us like this - I dunno, I..." He shakes his head.

"Zayn?"

"Sorry," he runs his hands across his face, because now he just sounds stupid in his own ears. "God, just...Like, forget I said anything honestly."

The room fills with silence, the only sounds coming from Chris Brown in Zayn's speakers.

He swears his heartbeat is deafening, though.

"Zayn?"

He grimaces, hands still over his face. "S'alright, Ana," he mutters, voice muted beneath his palms. "Y'don't have to answer. Was a stupid question, really."

She ignores this. "You know what I miss?"

He risks a glance her way, watching how her eyes remain closed, breathing even, small smile playing upon her lips.

Zayn takes a breath. "What?"

"When you laugh at my awful jokes," she replies.

"What?"

Anais giggles. "I mean...yeah."

"That's what you miss?" He exclaims. "How I laughed at your jokes?"

She shrugs. "Takes a special person to find me funny, y'know."

Zayn runs his hands over his face again. Is she trying to make him feel better now, or worse? "Anais..."

"And," she continues, "I miss you correcting my papers, 'cause you've made me a better writer, y'know."

He pauses. "I have?"

"Yeah," she nods. "You have."

A tiny smile breaks across his face. "I really ought to get credits for your English grade then, yeah?"

She smacks her lips. "Anyway," she continues, and he chuckles, removing his hands from his face. "I'm not done, see? I," Anais opens her eyes, staring at the ceiling. "I miss you drinking cocoa with me, even though I know it doesn't taste like my mom's, you make me feel like it does. I miss you gossiping with me about my friends. I miss you coming over at night and I miss going out with you, kinda like today..."

Zayn's teeth are sliding along his bottom lip and he's so endeared he almost doesn't know what to do with himself.

"Anais-"

"Not done," she sings. "I miss you spending the night, 'cause I've got your soap in my shower and that extra toothbrush beside my sink. I miss your hugs, because your clothes smell like me now, and not you, and I don't really want them to smell like me. I miss falling asleep to your kisses and waking up to your sleepy morning voice..."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she lets out a breathy laugh, because here comes her honesty all at once, again. "So, your question wasn't stupid. I know you thought it was, but it wasn't. I miss this a lot. I miss you a lot, actually...Mostly," Anais nods.

And her eyes meet his. She smiles sadly, "Mostly I just miss you."

Now, Zayn pushes himself further on the bed, and Anais watches as he crawls on his hands and knees across his mattress, making his way towards her.

"And I hate that I miss you," she says, as he slowly places his elbows on either side of her, laying against her, legs between hers as he stares down at her and she stares up at him.

He dips his head, kissing her collarbone. "No, you don't."

She hums, "Oh, but I do," she says as he kisses her again, her jaw this time, realizing at once how long it's been and how much - God, how much - he's missed this.

Anais lets out a little gasp. "I hate that I miss you because I should be angry. I am angry," and she attempts to wriggle from his grasp, but she doesn't really try that hard, and Zayn allows her to go all of nowhere. "I should be giving you the silent treatment instead of going out with you and cuddling in bed and doing what we're doing now, and you should feel the same way about me, shouldn't you?"

"But, I don't," he states.

Anais almost laughs. "Anymore, then."

"No," he whispers. "Not anymore."

Now, Anais laughs softly. "Yeah, but Lucky's still around and he's not going anywhere, and ultimately, there will be more guys that like me and," she snorts, nose wrinkled, "c'mon, just look at you, Zayn; there'll always be girls chasing after you, and the question is honestly, what are you going to do about it?"

She shakes her head, eyebrows pinching slowly, bottom lip pulled between her teeth. "What are we going to do about it?"

And for the moment, Zayn thinks.

His tongue darts between the corner of his lips as he stares down at her, eyes memorizing her face. "I dunno," he says.

And Anais lets out a breath, slightly defeated. She attempts to push herself upon her elbows as she says, "See?" but Zayn presses his weight against her, his face closer as he lays completely on top of her and leaves no room for movement.

"No, but," he shakes his head, "s'not bad, really," he shrugs. "It's like, it's normal, isn't it? No relationship's perfect. Yeah, I was mad. Yeah, I reacted poorly, but that's life, isn't it? It'd be unrealistic to say that I'll never be mad again, or I won't do something that'll piss you off, either."

Anais blows the hair from her face.

"We all make mistakes, and," he drops a very quick, very light kiss upon her lips. "And," his voice fans out against her skin, "us being apart is a mistake..."

Zayn can feel Anais' hands on his back. "But, Zayn - "

"But, we grow," he continues softly. "And if we want to be together, we figure out how to be together so no one's staying mad," he kisses her cheek, "'cause there're still gonna be times that we get mad at each other," and he kisses slowly along her jawline, "but we'll figure it out so no one's reacting poorly, 'cause we're gonna make mistakes and we're gonna fight, but at the end of the day," he kisses her neck now, this time licking that spot he knows she likes and sucking because he wants to hear her moan, and when she does, he smiles, "I still wanna lay next to you like this," he meets her gaze, "and talk to you," he lets his lips grow as close to hers as possible without touching, "just like this," he whispers, "'cause that's what you do when you love someone," his eyes flicker to her lips, then dart back to her eyes, "isn't it?"

Anais looks from his lips to the impossibly long lashes casting shadows upon his cheekbones. "How can you be so sure?"

He slips his hands between her back and the bed, somehow forcing the two of them even closer.

"About what, love?"

"About us," she says. "This. About all of it."

"Ana, the only thing I'm sure about is how I feel about you right now," he says, and their lips are so close it's as if his are moving against hers and they're not. "Like, isn't that enough?"

And now, he takes things a step further. "Unless, y'know," there's a pause, "something's changed?"

Anais nearly laughs. "I don't think-"

And like that, in typical fashion, there's an obnoxiously loud knock upon the bedroom door.

"Ana! Zayn! Stop having sex and get out here!"

Zayn closes his eyes because today is actually the day he's going to murder Louis.

"They're having sex?" Comes Soo's very distinct voice. "Guys! They made up! They're having sex in there!"

"What?"

"WHAT?"

"Fucking finally!"

Zayn groans. "Shut the fuck up, would you?" He calls.

"No one's having sex!" Anais yells.

And Zayn turns to her as the voices die down in the hall. "How're you friends with them, again?"

"Me?" Anais exclaims with a shake of her head, "I'm sure you met Louis before me."

"Wrong; met Liam first," he lifts a brow. "What's your excuse?"

"My excuse?" Anais laughs again. "Soo was my freshman roommate," Ana replies. "So, blame the school for putting us together."

"And Louis?"

"Had to've been your friend before he was mine!"

"No," Zayn shakes his head. "Nope. Absolutely not."

Anais chokes on a laugh. "Y'know, I never pegged you as a liar."

"What?" Zayn exclaims, laughing, too. "You're saying it's my fault Soo and Louis're together?" And he grins, surprising Anais as he nips quickly upon her bottom lip.

Her eyes go wide as he smirks, "That's your fault, matchmaker."

Anais lifts her arms from around his waist to throw them over his shoulders, "Thought you were my accomplice," she replies smartly.

Zayn slowly brings his face to hers, allowing his slow breath to wash across her skin. He doesn't reply right away, instead, trailing his finger beneath her jaw, tilting Anais' head his way as he feels her pulse quicken.

"I am," he replies, and Anais' eyes flutter close because Zayn's ducked his head, his lips ghosting against hers before they quickly pull away with another, simultaneous, "What!?" cursing out loud because Louis has decided now, to take it upon himself and open the door and enter the room.

Anais is staring at him like she really doesn't know who the hell he is.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" She demands.

He comes and stands and leans smugly against the dresser, legs crossed at the ankle, arms folded across his chest as he stares across the room at Zayn and Anais, who are both staring at him like they aren't quite so sure how they could all be friends.

"Looks like I'm interrupting something."

Anais doesn't believe him. "You think?"

Zayn hurls a pillow at him. "What, Lou?"

Louis can't help but notice that Anais and Zayn might as well be one body on the bed and they are listening to some very sexual music.

No post-break-up, make-up sex?

Sure.

"Ah, but by the look of things," he nods smugly, "there is certainly a party going on in here."

Zayn throws another pillow.

"There was."

__

Hehe...Good ol' Louis. Fucking shit up always, everywhere.

No, but honestly HE PLAYS TOO MUCH.

Kinda really enjoyed writing this chapter so... looking forward to your reactions/comments.

Also, the lovely @wishing4zayn has asked that I check out her adorbs short story and it's called Consistency and I'd really truly love if you all commented and voted and offered your opinions too bc I'm all the way here for supporting everyone's writing.

P.S. It's a lil Niall fic and I love me some Nialler.

This story is kinda ending, huh? What'm I gonna do with myself once it's over???