~As you try your best to pull away,

Something surges, urges you to stay~

The deadline would be over officially at eight in the morning on Sunday. But now it was noon on Saturday, and Zayn was jetting off to spend the night in New York with his boo. He told Edwin that this was it - this was the end, and his roommate rolled his eyes. To work with the story, he hadn't seen Grant all week and had dutifully done his homework, moping around the common room and cafeteria, for Edwin's benefit. And now was the final break-off, in which he would come home crying and spend less and less time with Grant - and spend more and more time with "Adam". To get over his heartbreak.

In all reality, Zayn had never been this excited for a trip. A romantic getaway. He had seen pictures of the hotel suite from Grant's phone, and it was to die for. He pictured champagne and flowers - chocolate covered strawberries and soft robes. They would come back later the next day, but Zayn was supposed to call Edwin tonight and say that it was over - he would be taking a bus back, but he was just going to spend the night up there. Some totally untrue story.

The drive up was spent with swapping stories, smoking, sleeping, and doing homework. Due to Zayn's smoking habit, which had ramped up with the stress of school and the ultimatum, he had lost ten pounds. And he was already skinny to begin with. Grant was the only one who fed him constantly, making he sure he was getting the nutrition that he needed - even if that meant buying him a coffee in the morning.

"I'm gonna go up first, make sure it's perfect," Grant told him, pecking him on the lips and making Zayn stay in the car for a moment. With a soft smile, he continued working on an essay that was due at the end of the weekend. But even that was a background issue compared to the stress of the ultimatum - even though he knew that he could fake it successfully and not let Edwin know anything, just the idea of never seeing Grant again really got to him and shook him to his core. The idea of being kicked out of school was even more terrifying.

Grant came back twenty minutes later to fetch Zayn and the bags - just a backpack for each of them, with Zayn's school satchel too. "You're going to love it!" He squealed in delight, and tightened his backpack straps. Grant was one for large romantic gestures - I mean, the laptop was definitely grand. It was obviously to tell that Zayn had also had a style upgrade - he was wearing designer sunglasses and a Louis Vuitton backpack that Grant had gotten him for Valentine's day, since the schedule didn't allow for a romantic getaway. But the end of the month sure did, so here they were. In New York, in a fancy suite.

"Oh my god," Zayn's lighter fell through his fingers, and his shock was quickly replaced by happy laughter as he looked at the glory before him. It was exactly like something out of a Youtube video - some gigantic hotel room that was completely unnecessary. I mean, in the tour Grant gave him, there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Bigger than Adam's apartment in Boston! A gigantic bathroom that made Zayn want to lay on the cold tile all day and listen to sad music, and even a little kitchen with a mini fridge. The champagne was already there, and Zayn wasted no time jumping into his lover's arms and pushing him towards the bed.

---

Zayn's gift in return to Grant was a collage of drawings he had been making for the last half of the month - ever since this plan was announced, and he knew he had to have some sort of other gift besides his body. He could hardly get Grant away from him long enough to grab the collage from his backpack, and he appreciated it with the same awe and wonder as the dragon one.

"I love them, Zayn. I love them!" His eyes were practically made of hearts.

Zayn smiled sheepishly, falling back into the mess of pillows. "Well, I love you." Neither of them used the phrase to talk about the other - it was almost unspoken between them. He was married after all, and to mention that one or the other was in love was to almost admit that fact - that they could never be together because she stood in between them, despite the fact that Zayn had never laid eyes on her.

He thought that the reply to that would be the soft smile and cheek pat he always did when Zayn tried to be romantic or do something cute, but this time he looked seriously into his eyes, propped up on an elbow. "I love you too, Zaynie."

They fell into each other's arms.

After another hour or so passed, the two of them went into the city and drove around. This wasn't a touristy getaway - the two of them had dinner and then went looking for a good spot of empty beach. It wasn't hard. There was still snow on the ground up there, and the water was more than likely to be freezing. Zayn wore an ear warmer, and they kept their hands warm by clasping them together. This was one of the only times that they had done this in public - but it was dark and no one would care.

Zayn didn't care about it being cold, despite having no body fat to call his own. He got his feet and the bottom of his jeans wet while Grant sat on the sand and watched his lover had fun. When he was done, he flopped on the sand too, heart racing and laughter coursing through his chest. "This is an amazing day," He said, staring up at the sky. He could not see a single star.

"Ready to go?" Grant ran his fingers through the boy's hair.

The two of them stood, and walked down by the water to pass the distance until they got back to the area where they would find their car. Zayn walked along, holding his shoes in his hands, until he noticed that Grant was not behind him. Stopping and turning, he saw that the man he loved was standing quite a ways back, and ran to him. "You good?"

"Close your eyes," Grant said, putting his hand over Zayn's eyes to make sure they were closed.

"Another surprise? This was enough!" But he kept his eyes closed and fidgeted until he heard Grant clear his throat, and then he saw the professor down on one knee in the sand, awkwardly trying to keep his balance while holding a ring box up to Zayn. It was the biggest diamond he had ever seen, and he ran.

"Zayn!" Grant yelled, and then started running after the teenager who was not that good at cardio. "Zayn! Stop it!"

When Grant started to catch up, Zayn threw his shoes at him and then broke into a sprint, almost to the road, where he could disappear into the dark streets. Grant tackled him, causing Zayn to land on the sand with a loud groan. "Let me go!" He yelled. And then he screamed - not in fear or anger, but in pain.

"What happened?" Grant's eyes were wide in the darkness as he rolled away from Zayn.

"I think my ankle is broken," Every time he goes to New York someone gets hurt. There was a look of pain and calmness on his face. "We have to go to the hospital. Grab my shoes, will you?" Once Zayn had his shoes in his hand, Grant picked him up and carried him back to the car. His ankle hanging there, he whimpered in pain and pressed himself to Grant, not thinking about the proposal for a moment.

---

By the time they had spent an hour in the emergency room, another two hours getting scans and talking to the doctor, they were waiting for the brace and discharge papers, and Grant couldn't not talk any longer. Zayn was completely fine mentally, and hadn't had any pain meds yet. He was still running on adrenaline, and Grant had not stopped apologizing in three hours.

He was almost glad for the sudden change when the ring box got pulled back out, but tears quickly clouded his vision and he looked away. "Please, Hunter."

"Let me talk, okay? Let me talk. Hey!" He briefly tried to change the top of conversation. "I sent a gift to your dorm room. It'll be there soon. Shipping said eight to ten days!"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say!" Zayn whisper-yelled.

"Zaynie, babe." Grant kissed his forehead. "I love you. And nothing is optimal right now - I'm married, and you go to the college that I work at, but I think it'll all work out."

That was not the best thing to say. "All work out? Hunter, you're married! That doesn't just work itself out!"

"I'm going to tell her. I don't know when or how, but I'll tell her that we're done, this is over, because I'm in love with someone else. It's you, Zayn. Every since I met you, my life has been all about you. Making you happy."

Zayn wasn't good at arguing, and he didn't have the most rational brain either. "You haven't asked me yet."

Hunter Grant smiled and opened the ring box. "Zayn Malik, will you, sometime in the future when everything is perfect, marry me?"

He didn't directly answer the question. "Well, maybe I should see if it fits," He said, and tears rolled down his face. Grant smiled as he slid it on Zayn's finger. Of course it fit. Like the best pair of jeans you've ever tried on, but were far too expensive for you to wear. Like falling into the divot in your bed when you've been gone on vacation for a couple of days. The best feeling in the world. It fit.