Liam spent most of the day finishing the last bits of his college work and making a quick journey to the off license, and then decided what to wear on the night, wanting to make a good first impression for Zayn's friends. Technically he had already met two of them, but he didn't really count that as a proper introduction. He had convinced his mom to let him go to the party on the conditions that he would be back before 11pm and that there would be no alcohol/drugs/sexual activity. Of course Liam knew that all three would most definitely be occurring, but his parents didn't need to know that. After showering, he picked out a checked shirt and a pair of blue skinny jeans and got dressed. He was ready half an hour early, and spent the time staring at the clock and occasionally fixing his hair in the mirror. Liam had arranged for Zayn to pick him up round the corner from his house as he wanted to avoid questions about who he was from his parents.

His phone let off a ring as a text from Zayn came through, telling him to leave the house. He reached under his bed and picked up a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka that he had bought earlier; he didn't plan on drinking any of it but he felt it would be rude to turn up to Harry's empty handed. After placing it into a plastic carrier bag he ran down the stairs and quickly put on a pair of converse. He shouted goodbye to his parents and left the house before they had chance to reply, wanting to avoid unnecessary warnings and cautions about the party. He closed the gate behind him and walked the short distance down the road and round a corner to where Zayn was waiting in his car with sunglasses on. Liam smirked at his attempt to look cool while waiting for him. He knocked on the window and waved at Zayn, giving a cute smile. Zayn leant over to unlock the door and opened it for Liam, who got in and placed a brief kiss onto his lips.

"Hey," Liam smiled.

"Hello," Zayn grinned.

They had to make a quick stop at Zayn's so he could get changed out of his work clothes. On the drive there Liam couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked in his shirt and tie, which was now hanging loose around his neck as a few buttons had been undone. He'd be quite happy for Zayn to just wear this all night, but he knew it probably wasn't the most comfortable attire. They pulled up outside and walked up to the house. When they got inside Zayn moved upstairs to his room, leaving Liam downstairs waiting for him. Zayn's mom poked her head round the corner of the living room door to see who was there and, after seeing it was Liam, walked out to greet him with a smile on her face. She embraced him in a quick hug and the two exchanged pleasantries.

"He seems so much happier since he's met you y'know," she started.

"I guess I must be doing something right then," Liam laughed nervously. He still wasn't quite used to talking about having a boyfriend around other people.

"Well whatever it is, keep it up! It makes me happy knowing he's got someone to talk to."

Zayn came rushing down the stairs in dark jeans and a blue varsity jacket. 'Typical outfit…' Liam thought.

"You haven't been saying anything embarrassing have you?" Zayn directed towards his mom.

"Oh don't worry I'll leave you alone now. You two have a nice time!"

"Thanks," Liam said, "It was nice seeing you again."

They said their goodbyes then made their way back to Zayn's car. The two arrived at Harry's house for half seven and were greeted by an already half-drunk harry, who appeared to have started early on the drinks.

"Alright mate!" he greeted, throwing his arm around his shoulder "Liam…" he nodded.

"Hey," Liam replied, trying to appear friendly.

"Come in," Harry motioned, pulling Zayn inside with Liam following close behind. They stopped in the spacious living room where around twenty people were currently chatting and drinking. Two couples were occupying the large sofa, their tongues down each others throats and their hands roaming each others bodies. There was music playing quietly in the background as there were still more people expected to arrive and the party wasn't in full swing yet. This was the first proper house party Liam had been too; all his previous experiences had involved pass the parcel and musical chairs, so he felt more than a little out of place amongst the crowd of noisy teenagers. Harry made his way over to the corner of the room where Louis was flirting with an uncomfortable looking Niall, who was doing his best to reject his advancements. As soon as he saw Zayn approaching however, he stopped and wrapped his arms around Zayn in a hug, patting his back. Liam gave him a glare as Louis grinned back at him and winked at him, seeing he'd gotten the reaction he wanted. Liam looked away and tried to act indifferent but the annoyed look stayed put on his face.

"It's nice to see you again," Zayn said before turning to Liam, "guys you remember Liam right?"

They all nodded and said their greetings, which Liam reciprocated. The group engaged in conversation as more people began to arrive, the whole time Louis giving flirtatious looks and taking all the opportunities he could to touch Zayn; every brush of a hand or touching of arms made Liam more annoyed and uncomfortable with the situation, but he tried his best to keep his cool. Eventually the room was filled with around forty people, with a few more in the kitchen supplying a constant flow of drinks.

Zayn noticed that Liam wasn't looking so happy and so decided to try and lighten the mood. He walked over to the stereo system and scrolled through Harry's song collection on his iPod. He found what he was looking for and a familiar sound began to play throughout the house. The synths of 'Piece Of Me' blasted through the speakers and Zayn slowly made his way over to Liam, looking him straight in the eyes and biting his lip. He stopped before him and started to dance in time with the music. Liam began to laugh at his attempt to entice him but, as he turned away from Liam and began to grind on his crotch, the smile on his face was replace by a look of slight pleasure as he let out a moan at the contact. He instantly felt embarrassed at letting out the noise and checked to see if anyone was looking, but no one in the room seemed to notice, as they were all currently engaged in similar movements with each other. Zayn carried on his dancing, surprising Liam at his ability.

"And where did this come from?" he jokingly asked.

"It's easy, come on, just let your body feel the music." Zayn smiled back.

Liam was just starting to loosen up and enjoy himself when the music suddenly stopped and was replaced by a slow ballad. There were a few groans from people around the room but they eventually dispersed to get more drinks while a few couples stayed and altered their dancing to fit the song. Liam looked towards the stereo to see the person who changed the song was Louis, who was now walking over to Zayn. He was starting to get frustrated at Louis' constant attempts to take Zayn from him but when he heard what he had to say his face let off a look of confusion.

"May I?" Louis asked Zayn, taking hold of Liam's hand.

"Uh, sure," Zayn replied, stepping away from Liam and allowing Louis to move closer, "I'll go get us some drinks."

Liam would have protested but he wanted to see where this was going. Louis wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his head on his shoulder, which made Liam stiffen up slightly.

"What are you doing?" he whispered in annoyance.

"I'm more of a Christina guy if I'm honest, Britney just never did it for me," he smirked, beginning to sway to the music.

"You know what I'm talking about - you haven't been able to keep your eyes off Zayn all night and now you ask to dance with me?"

"What, so I'm not even allowed to share a dance with you? You're not his property you know."

This particular comment made Liam grit his teeth. Of course he wasn't Zayn's property, but that didn't mean he could slow dance with every guy he met. There was a line and Louis was clearly looking to cross it.

"I know I'm not his property. He's not like that."

"Oh come on, I see guys like him all the time, they just want to own their boyfriends. It makes them feel in control. Pretty soon you won't be able to go anywhere without telling him first."

"Well you clearly don't know very much about him if you think that's what he's like."

Liam tried to pull away from him but this only made Louis grip his waist tighter, pushing his crotch into his.

"Oh really? I know enough about his past to tell you that while he's busy controlling your life he wouldn't think twice about cheating on you. I give it a couple of months at most."

"Stop."

"Why? I'm only telling you the truth. You're his property and deep down you know it's true."

"No. I'm not."

Louis looked towards the door and saw Zayn returning with a drink in each hand.

"Oh yeah? Prove it. Kiss me."

"What? You're cra-"

He was cut off by Louis' lips crashing against his own. It was sloppy and uncomfortable, but then it wasn't particularly meant to be romantic. It was enough to get Zayn's attention though, and as Liam quickly pulled away he saw him standing behind Louis, his face a mix of anger and shock. He turned and walked back out of the room as Liam ran after him into the hallway, pushing past Louis.

"Zayn, it wasn't what it looked like!"

"Really? Because to me it looked like you were snogging another guys face off."

"It wasn't my fault, he just sprung it on me, he's been trying to pull us apart all night."

"Oh don't blame this on him, Liam."

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed all the flirting and the touching, I've had to put up with it all night and you haven't even tried to push him away."

"So this is my fault now?"

"No, Zayn, you know that's not what I meant, just please believe me. I didn't mean for that to happen."

Zayn shook his head and turned to walk away when Harry approached the two.

"He's telling the truth Zayn," he started, "Liam tried to push him off but he wouldn't let him go. This is just what Louis does." He gave a sympathetic look towards the two of them, feeling guilty for his friends behaviour, as he was the one who invited him. Zayn appeared to calm down slightly, now knowing Liam hadn't been the cause of the kiss, but began to anger once more when he remembered what Louis had tried to do. He walked past Liam and Harry and back into the living room.

"Zayn?" Liam shouted after him, before a loud gasp of shock was heard from one of the guests. Liam rushed through and saw Louis sitting on the floor holding his nose as blood poured from it, a heavily-breathing Zayn standing above him. Liam ran over to him and stared at him in shock. The music had been turned off and the three of them were now the centre of everyone's attention.

"Zayn what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Harry shouted, moving towards him and pushing him in anger, before bending down next to Louis and helping him up. Zayn began to regret his actions, feeling the disappointed stares of everyone around him. He ran off outside, slamming the door behind him. Liam followed shortly after, the cold air hitting his face as he left the warmth of the house and found Zayn sitting on a wall out the front with his head in his hands. He sat down next to him and placed an arm around his shoulder, comforting him.

"Well that was… unexpected," Liam said with a slight laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just saw his smug face and I couldn't help it. It was like he was asking me to do it."

"I know. It's okay Zayn, but I don't think we should go back in there anytime soon."

The two sat for a few minutes before the door to the house opened and Louis walked out, holding a tissue to his nose. Harry followed him, urging him forwards. Zayn got up to walk off but Liam held him in place, wanting to hear what Louis had to say.

"I uh… I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't have done what I did. Sorry for kissing you Liam, and sorry for trying to make you jealous, Zayn." he said, almost like he was reading from a cue card. It was clear this was Harry's idea and not his.

"What, do you honestly expect me to forgive you?" Zayn laughed at his attempt at an apology.

"Look you two don't have to be best friends all of a sudden but can you at least put up with each other for tonight? I don't want this to ruin the party for everyone." Harry pleaded.

"Fine…" Zayn sighed. The two of them reluctantly shook hands as a sign of peace, and Louis and Harry made their way back inside.

"Thanks Zayn." Liam smiled, "I don't want any more trouble tonight, I just want to enjoy the time we've got."

Zayn smiled back and they followed Harry back into the house, rejoining everyone else who had swiftly forgotten what had happened and had gone back to having a good time. Louis kept to his word and stayed out of their way for the rest of the evening, and they managed to enjoy themselves despite the drama from earlier. It wasn't long before Liam looked at the clock and realised he had to get going. He apologised to Harry for having to leave so early and thanked him for the invite.

"You're welcome. I'll let you guys know when my next one is, although hopefully we can avoid knocking anyone out then yeah?"

Zayn gave a nervous laugh and apologised again as he still felt guilty for his actions. They said goodbye to Niall, who was currently sitting with his arm around a girl on the sofa doing his best to impress her, and even got a nod from Louis on their way out. Zayn dropped Liam off at the same place he picked him up and got out the car, walking round to stand next to him. He had a few minutes before his curfew, so the two leant against the car and made conversation.

"I really am sorry for all this drama I've put you through Liam."

"It's fine."

"But it isn't… you've been so patient with me and I just want things to be perfect for you."

"Well I think it's fair to say I've caused you a few problems too." Liam laughed.

"Do you think we'll ever have one night out where something doesn't go wrong?" Zayn sighed, turning to face him.

"One day. But for now lets just make the most of what we have." He leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, before standing up and checking the time. "I should probably get going…"

"It was good seeing you again tonight. I missed you y'know."

"I missed you too. I'll see you soon yeah?"

"Of course," he smiled, "see ya Liam."

"Bye, Zayn."

He watched Liam walk away, hating every time he had to say goodbye even more than the last, but he was already planning how to make things up to him, and he was sure there wouldn't be anyone there to ruin things this time.

Oh this chapter was so long! The longest one so far. I guess I really got into it haha ^^' also I know this chapter was kinda predictable but I couldn't resist having Louis interfere! Thankyou for the nice reviews, they make me really happy, especially the reviews from familiar faces, it lets me know you're still reading and enjoying the story! :D well my parents seem okay with me being gay now, I even ordered a Liam Payne poster for my room, my mom just rolled her eyes hahaha~ oh well. Review if you have the time please! xx