“Sorry,” the brunette- Eleanor- appeased. “I should have told you. I’m Eleanor and this is my girlfriend Danielle. I suppose it was just too funny of an opportunity to waste, and wow, your reaction definitely didn’t disappoint, love.”
All Niall could do was just stare, and then, blush, hard.
“Holy shit, I just- Oh wow,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair and wondering when the last the he felt this embarrassed was. It had been a while, that’s for sure, because he was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it, but this, this was like a slap in the face.
A rather…interesting slap in the face.
So, he laughed, loudly, and had a hard time stopping, but it was okay because Eleanor and Danielle were laughing too, in the body shaking, stomach hurting kind of way and it felt really good, like totally unboring, elated type of good.
“So,” he began, rethinking his tactics. “Now that we’ve established that you’re dating and completely exclusive, the only question is my place or yours?”
This time all three of them were smirking, and when they answered in unison, “Ours, obviously,” Niall felt triumphant.
He shot an even bigger smirk toward Harry and Louis, only for a second lingering on Zayn, before sauntering out of the club, a gorgeous girl on either arm.
~O~
Meanwhile, still at the club, Harry and Louis were looking at each other with awe in their eyes.
“Did he just-?” Louis asked, shocked.
“How did that-?” Harry replied, both of them ignoring Zayn, who looked completely befuddled.
“Damn, Tommo. Niall just one upped us,” Harry concluded when Louis didn’t answer.
“That wasn’t how it was supposed to go?” Louis spluttered.
“How was it supposed to go?” Zayn finally piped in, bringing both Louis and Harry’s attention to his soft presence.
“Well,” Harry began.
“Eleanor, see, she’s been dating Danielle,” Louis continued.
“For a while, like a long, long while,” Harry added.
“And I figured, since Niall’s so confident,” Louis still looked a little shocked.
“Why not bring his confidence down a notch?” Harry questioned, not sure what Louis had been thinking, but guessing accurately.
“And bring us some humor by watching him fail as he attempted to pick Eleanor up,” Louis stated matter-a-factly.
“But, clearly, Niall has super human mating techniques and managed to pick up both of them,” Harry finished, looking like someone had just killed his puppy, green eyes wide.
“What a shame,” Louis muttered, shaking his head and leaning into Harry’s side.
“What a shame,” Harry repeated, tightening his hold on Louis.
Zayn, however, was still just as confused as before.
“Wait, what about that Josh kid?” he asked, lost and befuddled by the entire night’s events.
“Oh boy,” Harry sighed, pinching his nose.
“You should ask Niall about that, we haven’t even really heard the full story,” Louis agreed, eyes tight.
“Typical Niall fashion,” Harry added, once more, not answering Zayn’s question at all.
Zayn thought about what had just happened and wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or upset, although he didn’t know what he had to be upset about.
~O~

6
“Why is life like this?” Zayn moaned, words obstructed by the carpet.
He was lying pitifully, face-first on the floor of his room, arms and legs splayed out at awkward angles.
“Why is life like what?” Liam asked, poking his head inside Zayn’s room on his way past and then entering when he saw Zayn on the floor.
Zayn just groaned louder, muttering under his breath.
“So mocking,” he cried, throwing his hands up and letting his arms flop back to the ground with a loud thump. “Life mocks me, Liam.”
Liam laughs loudly at Zayn’s melodramaticness, but sticks around to listen to what else Zayn has to say, knowing that when the other lad’s got himself in a state like this, well, it’s best just to wait it out until Zayn decides to bring up what’s really bothering him.
“I just don’t get it. They’re either pricks or taken or I just don’t like them, like that, anyway,” and Liam is really confused with what Zayn’s even talking about because ‘they’ and ‘pricks or taken’ and he honestly has no idea what his best friend is referring to, even after years of friendship.
Zayn sighs, softly this time, and Liam suspects he can see a bit of blue paint on his tanned cheeks.
“Why can’t I like you or, or, Paul, or, god, I dunno, that fit art history TA,” Zayn continues, and he rolls around a little bit before finding another uncomfortable looking position.
Liam still has no idea what he’s talking about, but he suspects it has something to do with the blonde lad who had suddenly been thrust into their lives.
“Who’s Paul?” Liam chooses to ask, knowing that directly asking about Niall would end in simple silence and no answers at all.
Zayn moans again, shooting up to look at Liam with wide brown eyes and yes, he certainly has blue paint on his cheeks, and in his squished quiff, and on the front of his shirt, and wow, he looks like a state…a very blue state- no sad puns intended.
“Paul would be the best boyfriend ever,” Zayn states matter-a-factly, giving Liam no actual clue as to who Paul even is, but Liam thinks he can see where this is sort of going. “He’s in my art class- painting- and he’s so sweet and funny and I love hanging out with him, but…but…”
“He isn’t attractive?” Liam fills in, finishing Zayn’s sentence, and from Zayn’s continued moans he guessed correctly.
See, it was always that.
Someone could be perfect, in many ways, but then, the spark would be missing, or the physical attraction, and well, it just, there was nothing to do about that.
“I mean he’s…cute?” Zayn sighed once more. “But, I just, what’s wrong with me?”
Liam almost laughed because Zayn looked like a puppy who was begging for a treat, but then he felt a little bad for his best friend, because, well, he didn’t have any type of treat, or answer, for that matter.
And Zayn was right, life was mocking.
It created twists and turns in everyone’s lives that no one would ever understand, and did things that made it seem as if whatever higher power existed was just sitting above the clouds doing things to just spite the people on earth for fun or enjoyment.
So, yes, life was very mocking.
And Zayn agreed as much, crying out, “Life mocks me, Liam!”
While Liam had been all patient and whatever with Zayn’s state of being, he now really wanted to know what happened with Niall, because for the past couple of weeks Niall was literally all Zayn spoke of.
Niall this, Niall that, Niall went here, Niall went there.
And then, nothing.
Niall apparently did nothing.
At least, nothing worth Zayn noting.

So, Liam cut right to the chase this time when he asked, “What happened with Niall, Zee?”
Only for Zayn to flop right back on his stomach, and Liam stifled a laugh as his face landed right in a plate of paint- this time a lighter shade of blue- and Liam looked around the room to see that it was covered in different shades of blue.
Azure, blue-grey, periwinkle, sapphire, royal blue, zaffre, teal, indigo, cobalt, etc.
Liam figured, with Zayn’s state of sadness (or whatever state he was currently residing) that he could write a novel- based on Zayn’s current state obviously- and name it Fifty Shades of Blue: The tale of a boy who tried on multiple shades of blue just to satisfy the other boy he liked.
As he laughed silently to himself and patted himself on the back for his humor, Liam quickly realized that Zayn hadn’t even bothered removing his face from the plate of paint.
“Why so many shades of blue?” Liam tried again, figuring that painting was a stable enough topic.
Although apparently not, because Zayn answered, his voice squelching out against the paint.
“Assignment.”
Usually, Zayn was much more enthusiastic about school assignments, and he would talk Liam’s ears off had he had this type of opportunity, but the one word answer made Liam think that something really was wrong.
“School assignment? You usually love school assignments, Zee,” he reasoned, trying to keep his voice light and soothing but apparently it had just the opposite reaction, or perhaps it was the question placed.
“I do love school assignments, but this, just- blue- and all I can think is eyesand how no fucking color of blue is the right fucking shade of blue!” Zayn exclaimed, and when he sat up this time, the plate had semi-dried, so he sat up with the plate stuck to his cheek and he still didn’t bother removing it.
But Liam finally understood.
The right shade of blue was Niall’s eyes.
Kind of cute, really.
~O~

3 months after complaining to Liam about the right shade of blue:
“Thank you,” the blonde kissed his cheek- the left side- and then the other cheek- the right side. “Thank you for being my best friend and brother and helping me through these past three months.”
Zayn sighed into Niall’s touch, relishing the way the blonde’s hands were holding his head so delicately.
It was nice spending time with Niall, even if they were both drunk and at a party with a good twenty eyes on them, especially because the blonde had recently been trying to date a bloke- named Dustin- and it was kind of hard for Zayn to watch or hear about.
Niall kissed his forehead.
“Thank you so much.”
But…brother, and best friend, and he just kept looking into Niall’s bright azure eyes, thinking about how there’s absolutely no mix of paint that could possibly copy or imitate the color of Niall’s eyes.
Brother was okay because that meant he was close to Niall; that meant he meant something to Niall.
Best friend was okay because it was hard to become Niall’s best friend- this was the lad who rarely let anyone inside his world and Zayn had somehow managed to become a part of it.
But brother and best friend really weren’t okay because Zayn just wanted /more/.
And then Niall’s lips were on his and they were still staring into each other’s eyes.
The kiss was forceful, as if they were both trying to prove a point, but their lips slotted together nicely, as if they could have been doing this for years, and Zayn sighed into it.
They kissed for a while, biting and lustful and harshly and caring and softly, until they pulled away.
“Thank you for everything. You’re my best friend, and I know you like me, but Dustin is the only guy I’ve met here that I can see myself being with,” Niall murmured, but then he kissed Zayn again and it was hard to focus on anything else, but-
-I know you like me-
What?
-Dustin-
-the only guy-
-the only one I can see myself being with-
And when the kiss broke he just replied, “I know that.”
Then, Niall kissed him once more- soft, light, a caress- and pulled away from the embrace.
Niall started pulling away and Zayn knew it was time for him to go the other direction, so he let their hands tug until he couldn’t hold on any longer, and when they let go of each other, it was as if a canyon formed between them in the form of empty space.
He wondered where more alcohol was.
And also, why it felt so much like Niall was saying goodbye.
~O~
A week passed.
Niall wouldn’t even reply to his texts.
Two weeks passed.
Niall was put under ‘Don’t Do It’ in Zayn’s phone (Liam’s workings of course).
Three weeks passed.
It was as if the past year or so hadn’t even happened.
But he felt changed.
A month passed.
Everything was just a fleeting memory of did I know you’s and did that really happen’s.
A year passed.
Zayn could have sworn he saw Niall on the street.
Later that day, he created the perfect mix of blue paint.
It looked just like Niall’s eyes.
He hadn’t heard from Niall in a year.
A year.
He threw away the mix of paint.
He threw away the paper on which he had painted with the blue paint mix.
He didn’t want the reminders.
Life was too mocking.
~O~