you walk in, and my strength walks out the door.

Liam sighed happily as he drug his bags behind him into his home, it was so nice to be home. He loved the lads, and he loved the fans, he also really loved being part of One Direction and getting to do what he was doing because this was his dream. But right now he just really needed to be home, because he'd missed it. He'd missed being home and seeing his family, and every once in a while he just needed a break from it all. And he planned to take full advantage of this break from touring for a while by relaxing and trying to avoid any all spotlights that he could.

---

Miley tucked her hair behind her ear and pushed open the door to the Starbucks down the street from her sisters flat. She needed some coffee before she even attempted to start this day. Her phone had already rang at least 50 times since she'd woken up, part of the ringing was texts, and she knew part of this was her sister trying to get in touch with her. But Miley knew that her sister only wanted to get in touch with her because she thought it would be a good idea for Miley to talk to Zayn. Which she should probably explain but she couldn't. How was she supposed to tell him in person that she didn't feel the same about him anymore? Well she did, but she wanted him to get over her because she wasn't sure she was cut out for everything. All the hate some people sent her, and the looks she got from some people when she went out, she'd even seen herself on the front of a magazine once and it was all just a bit overwhelming.

Kerry was walking up the stairs, puffing up her cheeks to blow the hair clinging to her face. The one day she needed to bring her textbooks home, the elevator decided not to work and force her to carry her (rather heavy) things up the stairs. Once she got to the highest level, she struggled again to get to the flat that Kerry shared with a close friend of hers. She was about to let a slew of curses slide out her mouth when her books almost slid out her arms but there was a young man carrying his things down the hall to his own flat, and she figured she'd survive if she held her tongue for just a little longer. She recognized him as the famous Brit kid - Liam - and she figured again that she oughta just stay quiet, even if he was lookin' right fit. She had seen him once or twice before that tour business and he seemed to like his privacy. Kerry took her things into her flat and let out a long sigh. That A on the paper needed to be worth it for all this effort. She hummed a little and ate a banana from the table before she decided she wanted to go to the indoor pool. For a teen going to uni, she had a pretty sweet deal in living arrangements but it was because she'd hit the jackpot in scholarships and she'd been left with paying internships and extra money. The first two years Kerry was on-campus now for her third year, she wasn't. It was still weird bein' 19 and all that but she would be turning 20 soon around New Years time. She grabbed her tote and her sandals and locked the door behind her.

---

Zayn had dreaded coming home. Not only because it meant no more performing really live gigs, adrenaline, fun stunts with the boys every day and parties, but it meant coming home... coming home to a place that wasn't with Miley. He'd been doing a pretty right job of keeping it on the low that the breakup still hurt but he'd done a fair job at keeping it oblivious to the paps. He didn't want to get revenge by sicc'ing them on Miley so he stayed quiet to public and to his close friends on how much it hurt. She was one of the realest girls he'd ever met, and things were better than great.. until she left without a single word. He tried not to dwell on it cause when he did he ended up gettin' all sorts of angry but he couldn't help it. What had he done wrong? He hadn't cheated or been rude or nothing at all. He took her out on dates, they had fun, laughed and he never pressured her. Even when they went public, he fought tooth and nail to keep her out of harms way and she just continued to withdraw from him. Zayn let out a large sigh and rubbed his temples. It was dangerous for him to be left alone with his thoughts. Looking at the apartment, it had been left exactly the way before except now there was a letter atop it. He threw his duffel on the couch and rolled the luggage to a stop by the table. Picking up the paper, Zayn read quicker than anything else - like his life depended it, and when he finished. His phone was already out and dialing Miley's number.

Liam typed a quick message back to Harry as he made his way to his flat with his couple of bags of groceries. One of the many things he liked about being home was he could do whatever the hell he felt like, and he'd didn't have a big problem with people getting into his business here where he lived, so he could walk through the hall with grocery bags and not have to run or hide under any cars. It was nice. He enjoyed being able to come home to a semi-normal life, and he hadn't had to make anyone sign anything saying they wouldn't spy on him or whatever. Hazz, I have no idea what you're talking about he replied again trying to figure out what Harry was getting at while he started to unpack everything deciding he might go outside for a bit and relax when he was done in here. Maybe he'd go to the pool, or they had a gym here he could do that. Liam did like to exercise.

---

Miley thanked the bartista taking her drink and pulled her phone out of her back pocket when she felt it go off again, and with a sigh she hit the ignore button. She wasn't talking to anyone. She didn't have to explain herself to her sister, and she didn't want to explain herself to Zayn. She'd written him a letter, which she could still recite in her head. 'Zayn, I know this is a shitty thing to do, and that you deserve an explaination in person, but I can't give you that. It's hard enough writing a letter, telling you in person would kill us both. I don't think I can do this anymore. Don't get me wrong here you're a great guy, and I've never met anyone quite like you. You're serisouly perfect, I've been trying to think of at least one thing about you that I didn't like for a while now and I'm blank. Doesn't change anything though, I just can't be with you anymore and need you to forget about me.' And even though she knew it was a shit letter and of course he'd want an explaniation from her she didn't have one. Other than that Zayn deserved someone so much better than her, or at least that was how she'd come to feel over the last couple of months while he'd been gone.

Kerry plugged in her earphones to her phone and turned her music up loud, humming to herself as she danced down the hallway like an idiot and got to the elevator. She waited for it to ding like it usually did and continued going on into the elevator before pressing the 5th level where all the recreational parts of the loft were. It was a pretty top notch place - had an in-loft grocery store, a dollar store, indoor pool, and a gym among others. She quickly tied her hair as she exited the elevator and waved at one of the older ladies and her young daughter who were just leaving the pool area. She went in, taking her earphones off as she went to the main entrance and showed her loft ID and membership card and all that good stuff. Once she was in as per usual, she changed in the locker rooms and took a quick shower just to get wet. When she was finished with that, she went to the pool and was surprised to see hardly anyone at all was there. She thought about where to go before deciding she ought to put her time at the pool to use and do some laps or some diving. She stretched, reaching for her toes before she just plopped in and started doing laps around the pool.

---

Zayn frowned, not even getting to the fourth ring before he reached the voicemail. How many times was she really going to reject his calls and refuse to talk to him. She said it herself - this was a shit explanation and if one thing, Zayn wasn't going to stand it. Nope, he was pretty adamant that now he was back in town there was no way she was going to get away with leaving him high and dry after stringing him along so much. If she wanted to break up with him -- she needed to do it straight to his face, and if they got face-to-face, Zayn would be doing his damnedest to make her rethink her decision. He bit down on his lip after sending a text to her number. We need to talk he said briefly before thinking of all the places she liked to go. When they were dating there was a Starbucks she frequented so as long as she still went there, there was the possibility of him catching her there. If she didn't want to make a scene, maybe she would relent and finally fucking talk to him instead of playing all these incessant games that Zayn hated so much. He patted his pocket to make sure his keys were there and started to his car, hoping that he remembered the exact spot where she liked to get her cuppa.

Liam finished unpacking his groceries then changed into better exercise attire and made sure to grab his keys, his ID and and memberships cards and everything else he would need, he checked to make sure he had his phone and his headphones and when he was sure he had everything he headed out to the gym. Now that he wasn't on tour with the lads he needed to find something else to occupy his time, and of course he needed to do something that would keep him in shape, and going to the gym was just that. He'd get to stay in shape and wouldn't end up spending all his time alone at home doing nothing. But if he decide to change his mind and do nothing he could do that too. Which was why being home was so nice, he had free will to do whatever he felt like whenever he felt like it. And he was still honestly a bit shocked to see people so used to him living here and not making a big deal out of it while he passed them on his way to the gym, mostly because people were always stopping him for pictures or autographs, or chasing him down a street until he lost them by hiding under a car and things. So feeling like his life was normal again was nice.

---

Miley had taken a seat in the booth near the window that she liked a lot and pulled her phone out again sighing when she saw the text. Then come find me. She replied knowing sooner or later she'd have to talk to him, this was Zayn after all, he didn't give up on anything unless he knew it was hopeless and even then she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't let that stop him. She didn't want to talk to him though, sure she knew he deserved a better explanation than the one she'd given him in her letter but she didn't have one. If this was what he wanted though then he could come find her and then she'd talk to him just so they wouldn't cause a scene. She wasn't telling him where she was though, because she was kind of hoping he wouldn't find her and she could just hide away while he ran around looking for her until he gave up. That'd be great, because she'd be able to avoid this entire thing. Zayn probably remembered her ever move though from when they were dating, and if that were the case she knew he'd come here and it might be a smart idea to leave if she wanted to avoid him. There was the part of her that just wanted to get this over with though, and that was the part keeping her in her seat for the time being.

When Kerry was finished with her swimming, she took another shower and piled her things into the tote that she’d carried with her downstairs. Since she had forgotten to charge her phone, there was no use of pulling it out to listen to her music. She checked out and all that with her ID and then slung it around her neck as she walked to the elevator, but before she did that she stopped by the little dollar store and bought herself some Arizona Iced Tea because she wanted some sugar in her system after burning all that energy doing laps around the pool. After she was finished, she took her time to get to the elevator, not minding if she wasn’t running home – she wasn’t in a rush to do her college paper any time soon. She wanted to just relax a little and forget about how much homework was threatening to drown her. She drank her iced tea and patiently waited for the elevator to get there.

---

Zayn only got the text back when he was driving and he snorted. All right, now she wanted to play chic and tease him like that? No dice. Zayn was still pissed, and it didn’t matter how much he wanted to just find her, make up, and take her home to watch Disney movies with – he was still hurt. He’d spent the last couple months doubting himself on what was wrong with him and if he’d done anything untowards she hadn’t liked or crossed any boundaries, but without any explanation it was impossible for him to get any closure from the breakup she’d done that wasn’t even face-to-face and he’d only just now gotten the letter this morning. He parked this car and pocketed his car keys, pulling the brim of his hat (or well, Niall’s hat) over his eyes and pulled his hoodie around his shoulders so he could remain as much on the down low as he could, until he got to her. He stepped in the shop, and searched for her – finding her in record breaking seconds before he hurriedly sat down at her table and couldn’t even form words. He’d been planning on getting angry and giving her a piece of his mind but all he could do was suck in his breathe and shake his head. All he wanted to do was hug her close to his body and keep her warm, but of course… she was the one who had run away fast and hard as soon as he’d turned his back and let his defenses down. “No proper goodbye and no proper hello, I’m assuming.”

Liam groaned slightly when he was done exercising and collecting his things. He may have been on tour for while, and while he did get quite a bit of a work out jumping around on stage with the lads and of course running from fans, it was nothing compared to what he'd just done. And now he was just ready to lay on his couch and relax for a while. So he double checked for everything then made his way out of the gym towards the elevator not planning to take the stairs like he probably would had he not just done that workout. "So what floor are you heading too?" He asked the girl who'd he was pretty sure was waiting around for the elevator as well. He was pretty sure that he'd seen her walking around in the hall earlier, but he couldn't sure. He hadn't really been home long enough to get to know anyone who might have moved in while he'd been away on tour.

---

Miley was sitting in the booth staring out the window when she just felt his presence then she heard his voice but didn't speak up. She still wasn't sure what she should say to him. She'd been thinking about this moment a lot more than she should have, it haunted her mind all the time, what she'd say to him, how he'd react, everything. And more often than not her mind would end things with her just going home with him. But in reality she just wasn't sure this life was for her, she wasn't sure she could get use to the things he had to deal with all the time, like paps staking outside his home just to get a good picture they could sell, or start up come scandal. And she then there were the fans, while there were those fans who were happy for him the ones who'd created a cute little ship name for them and would talk to her and were just so nice, there were also the ones who sent her threatening tweets or messages on tumblr. And then when there was an ocean between them because he was gone on tour and she couldn't just drop everything to be with him, everything about being with him was hard and a tad bit overwhelming. Half the time she wanted to just curl up in his arms and just forget the world, but then the other half of the time she felt like he could find someone more cut out for all of this. Someone worthy of his love. And someone not so confused, scared, and totally not good enough for him.

(sorry I'm replying all types of late, things are hectic )

Fiddling with her bag and making sure it was shut so nothing would spill or anything, Kerry looked up when she heard a soft but deep voice speak out besides her. She almost jumped a little bit since she’d been stuck in her thoughts and planning what she was going to do with the mounds and heaps of textbooks she had on her dining room floor, waiting to be read. Luckily, she didn’t jump ten feet in the air from shock and she didn’t faint at the sight of her celebrity neighbor. “Erm, well, I live on the top floor on the 16th level,” she said with a small smile. “I’m Kerry Reed,” she introduced herself politely since she had manners after all. She didn’t expect him to recognize her from earlier since she had heard he’d been on tour and such and she was just a girl down the hall who went to Uni and occasionally carried too many books to her loft.

---

He sighed as she refused to speak to him and sat back in the chair with a mournful expression on his face. He really couldn’t figure out what he had done so wrong that she had felt the need to literally run away with him without looking back or even letting him know as she walked out the door. With a small sigh of sadness he flagged down a waiter and ordered a tall cup of pumpkin spice latte with extra sugar. If she wasn’t going to speak to him, he would at least get something to drink and watch her avoid his gaze and ignore him even though he’d found her fair and square although she was the one who had challenged him to find her. When his drink arrived he sipped it and continued to wait, because he wasn’t going to be leaving or moving out the door unless she did the same.

[ oh you're fine hun. ]

"You live down the hall from me I believe," Liam said with a smile, "I'm Liam, and I just got back from the states and actually finished moving in offically like yesterday so I'm still trying to meet everyone." He knew some of them might freak a bit considering he was famous and all, but Liam really just wanted to meet everyone and try to enjoy this place as much as possible while he was here. "Oh and I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean too." He said realizing he'd just kind of sneaked up behind her and not started talking without a warning, the lads were always telling him not to do that because it was creepy sometimes, but he couldn't help it.

---

Miley messed with her hair some before tucking it behind her ear and finally turning to look at him. She'd expected him to just start talking or doing something to get her to talk but silence, yea not what she was expecting. "So you wanted to talk, and obviously you've found me so let's talk." She said not being able to handle him not speaking. He'd come to talk, and she just wanted to get this over with. She wanted to just answer his questions, feel even more heart broken and like an even bigger bitch now and get it over with. And she wasn't going to break down and let this end up just like her dream. Yes she still loved Zayn, but this had nothing to do with that and everything to do with her not sure she was ready or would ever be ready for a life of fame that just came along with Zayn like some kind of package deal.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would recognize me," she chuckled a little bit shyly, rubbing her arm a little as she tried not to stumble over her words or anything. It wasn't like she met celebrities every single day. "Oh, that's fine, I just get startled is all," she said with a small smile since he was pretty nice and seemed like he thought about others which she liked already. He made for a good neighbor of course. Once the elevator door chimed, she let the doors slide open and she walked in, holding it open by pressing the doors open button before she pressed their level once Liam got in.

---

He watched her mess about with her hair like she always did when she was anxious or thinking of things - just yet another little quirk that he had missed seeing when they saw each other or skyped or anything. "I'm not the one who left without a proper goodbye, lovebug," he laughed a little bit bitterly and sipped at his drink and leaned back in his chair, eyeing her and wondering what had changed so drastically. He suspected that it was because of all the press, tabloids, fans and fame but of course he wanted to hear her admit it herself if that was the case.

Liam followed Kerry into the elevator when it arrived for them, "well I mean clearly I didn't know your name, but I'm pretty good with faces. And I remember seeing you this morning." He told her happy to have met someone else who lived here. It was always nice to meet and know your neighbors, you were living near them after all, and well Liam wouldn't want to live somewhere near people he couldn't get along with. Even if he wasn't going to even be here a lot of times, it would still be nice to get along with everyone. "So how long have you lived here?" He asked wanting keep the nice small talk up.

---

Miley rubbed her neck and sighed, she knew she was giving herself away right now. Zayn knew every little quirk about her, or at least nearly everyone. It was part of what happened you dated for a while like they had, so trying to act relaxed and totally not tense wasn't going to work with him. "You're right, and I'm sorry that I didn't give you a proper goodbye. It was just so hard writing the note I wasn't sure I'd be able to go through with it any other way. I barley made it out the door after I wrote the note." She told him pushing her fingers through her hair, it seemed petty almost to break up with someone over the things she had left him over, and kind of silly since it'd been total hell for her since, but she was trying to stay strong and believe that there was someone else for him.

[ I'm basically despicable but less than 20something days till teen wolf are you ready nope ]

"Not that long, just like 2 years," she said, surprised herself that it had been that long since it didn't feel like that way. She opened her mouth to say more when the elevator doors rattled and shook the elevator, causing her to stumble against Liam. The powering down of the elevator could be heard and Kerry let out a small gasp. "Holy crap, tell me that did not just happen," she said with a small note of disbelief in her voice. "Sorry," she murmured, and moved herself away from the close quarters she had stumbled into with the young pop star. "What are going to do now?" she asked with a small huff, pouting out her bottom lip.

---

Zayn nodded his head and he could understand her - he really did understand, but it didn't change the fact that she hadn't even called or tried to be friends. That hurt, especially after haven gotten so close to each other and always talking late on the phone. "You didn't have to do it, you could've just asked for us to go back to the way things were - I would've done it," he murmured,spinning his drink and not quite looking at it. He felt so hopeless when it came to her, like she couldn't understand how much he cared for her. It wasn't just another star fling for the paps, he had genuinely liked her a lot.

[ oh don't worry hun, I've been working non stop it feels like lately. And I know! I'm so exited ]

"Two years, that could be a long time to some people." Liam told her, it'd been nearly two years since the band had been formed and it felt like a life time ago. Sometimes he forgot that he used to be a normal guy who had a pretty normal life. Two years ago he could have ended up like she was right now. Off at uni trying to make a life for himself, but instead here he was famous. When he felt her fall into him and the elevator shake he freaked out a bit himself. "Are you okay?" He asked, "don't worry about me love," he said looking around for the button he was supposed to press to call for help. "Well we have to remain calm, and call for help. Someone will come and get us out of here." He told her glad he was level headed.

---

"Zayn I'm sorry," Miley said pushing her fingers through his hair. "I don't know what I want right now. All the pressure of being your girlfriend was just getting to me. I mean I still love you, and I want to be with you. It's just hard being in the publics eye and dealing with it when you're not around. And your fans don't seem to like me. Which I know shouldn't matter because they aren't in our relationship but when they can't be happy for us and try to start stuff it just gets overwhelming." She told him with a sigh, "I just need you around more but I can't ask that because I know how important the band is to you, and I don't want you to give you what you love for me."

[ less than a week to season 3b just kill me now, yeah? and I swear I typed up a response to this and everything it must not have sent ::angry: ]

She took a deep breath and only managed to stammer a response. “S-sorry,” she said since she was still pressed up against him. The confies of the large elevator started to shrink and she had to shut her eyes tight – she couldn’t panic. She hadn’t had a panic attack “I-I don’t have my inhaler,” she said and squeezed her eyes again. She just needed to be calm, she hated when she had these attacks. They didn’t come out of the blue but with school stressing her out, not being able to see her family, and some recent friend drama, the last thing she wanted to do was to be stuck in an elevator. She slid against the wall down to her bum and breathed through her hands for a while,furrowing her eyebrows with her eyes still shut tight. She had to be more calm, she should not be doing this. It’s just a damn elevator she thought to herself. After a couple minutes of steady breathing she opened her eyes and hugged herself, her bag having fallen to the floor. Her legs were a little bit too shaky to get up but the clenching of her lungs had faded just a little bit – enough for it to be manageable. She did definitely did not do well with small spaces. “S-sorry,” she stammered again, figuring she was definitely uncool for choosing to hyperventilate and have an attack in an elevator with a celebrity, these things probably never even fazed him.

Zayn had to take a sip of his drink. He just had to. As long as he had the hot liquid floating around in his mouth, probably staining his teeth the way coffee did, maybe the vulgar things he wanted to say wouldn’t come out. He had fought so damn hard for her! He had called, and written, and it was just an inch away from being some kind of tragic and desperate break up. He had done all the work to make sure that no one in the public had caught whiff of the relationship except for Simon and the lads, he hadn’t even told his mum, for bloody sake! And the worst part was that he would take her back in a goddamn heartbeat if she said the word. “You could’ve told me, I could’ve done something – I tried to tell them off, but the label doesn’t like me telling fans to shove off,” he said softly because even now – he still cared. He wasn’t a stranger to bullying, he’d seen it happen if not directly to him and the fact that it was happening to his girl? While they were in a private relationship? It was bloody madness, that’s what it was. "The paps, I can't even begin to control them, they're millions of them," he murmured, but he had lost his angry tone, and it was more gentle, more quiet now. He reached out to her hand, and closed his fingers in the spaces between her knuckles.

[ I know! I'm so fucking ready for 3b. And I honesty could not be happier that I don't have to wait until the summer like usual. I hate when that happens. ]

Liam helped her reach her current sitting position not wanting her to fall and hurt herself. "Shh, it'll be okay." He tried cooing to her. This wasn't his first time in a position like this, he couldn't really say that he'd been stuck in elevators with girls who he had to calm down like this before, but he had known quite a few people who had panic attacks and had learnt pretty well how to do what he could to help. "There's no need for you to apologize love, it can be kind of scary and really overwhelming in situations like this one." He told her, "but luckily you're not alone." He added before he stood up for just a moment to try and get the emergency button to work so he could call whoever was going to help them. He wanted out of this thing, and he wanted to make sure he got Kerry out too because he could tell that she was having a hard time with this, which he totally understood. If he hadn't known any better he'd probably be freaking out right now too, wouldn't be able to think straight and then they'd both be screwed. Luckily that wasn't the case, and not too long after he hit the button someone's voice other than his own or Kerry's rang through the elevator. "Thank God. Look me and my friend are stuck in the elevator, we're in between floors 11 and 12, and my friend doesn't have her inhaler." "Okay, I'm just going to ask that you both remain calm and everything will be taken care of." The lady on the other end said and Liam was just glad he'd reached someone and that hopefully it wouldn't take too long to fix the problem.

---

Miley pursed her lips and looked all around the coffee shop trying to avoid his gaze for the time being. "This isn't about what you could've done, or what you wanted to do, or what you can't do Zayn. This is about me not ready to handle it all." She told him wanting so badly to just lace her fingers with his and be happy again. "I know you want to do all these nice things for me, and I know that you'd do whatever it took to make sure I was safe and I remember on more than one occasion when you got yourself in trouble because of me, and those are just a few reasons that I care about you so much. But it's just different when you're not here. Because that's when I'm all alone and I have to somehow manage everything without you, like being followed by cameras and people I don't know. And those crazy fans who hate me." She said taking a deep breath, "dealing with that alone isn't easy." She added wishing there were some way to fix things. That she could thicken her skin and just let it all roll off her like some people did, or figure out the ways to avoid the paps, but so far she hadn't figured anything out. And the only way she'd figured out how to avoid being harassed by people she didn't know was when she wasn't with Zayn and they had no reason to harass her. Because when she wasn't with Zayn she had nothing for them, she was just another normal girl who did normal things and tried to stay out of the spotlight. When she was with him though his fans were upset because she had taken him off the market for them, though they didn't stand a chance anyways, and the paps thought they could get dirt off him from her. It was just a giant game, and thinking about it like that pissed her off because their stupid game had ruined something special.

She tried to focus as much as she could on staying calm and not freaking out again. She really hated when this happened to her, but she really couldn’t help it at all. She felt really stupid for not having her inhaler, but she hadn’t needed it since secondary school and had gotten used to living without it. Kerry pulled her knees to her chest and slowed her breathing, counting as calm as she could inside her head. When Kerry heard Liam’s soft cooing she relaxed a little against the wall, and felt her muscles gently untense. She could tell why he was a singer – his voice was definitely quality and even from speaking, she could tell it had some kind of golden god complex that made her think his words would turn into velvet or something. She listened, distracting herself by listening to his conversation with the lady on the other side and using her fingers to run through her hair. It calmed her down a lot, even if her hair was a curly tangle of a mess, she just needed to calm down and not visualize the walls caving in around her. "Thank you," she said with a loose breathe out of her lips. She was going to be okay - she knew it, but the first few minutes had been a little difficult. She steadied her breathing, and looked up, making out his tal and broad figure in the dark. At least he had been with her, god knows what would have happened if she had been going upstairs alone.
--
“I-I get it,” he murmured, sighing when she couldn’t even bear to look into his eyes. “I’ve struggled with it too, but I’m being an asshole if I can’t respect your wishes,” he sighed again. It was true – his mum had raised him better, and not to be the spoiled, whiny little brat he was acting like. The fans, as much as he loved them each and all to death, were the definition of obsessive and overbearing. Not all of them, but enough of them to feel like he was trapped in the elevator with no way out at all. It’s why he hardly ever went on social media and didn’t even touch instagram or twitter. He just couldn’t handle it himself, and he had the comfort of having a label to back him up, but Miley didn’t have that comfort, and for that, he had to forgive her. “It’s okay, I mean I understand why you did, and I can get over myself enough to ask if we can still talk, and be friends? At least that Miles,” he asked, looking at his hand over hears, and frowning that she had all but pulled away and refused to curl into his hand like she used to love doing.

"Not a problem." Liam replied happy to see her calm again, and proud of himself for being able to help her out in whatever way he could. It was kind of what he tried to do though, it was the type of person he was. Sure he was famous and people could make what they wanted to of that, but Liam wasn't the type of famous person who just ignored the people who needed help and only cared about himself and his money. He was still himself, the person who did what he could to help those that he could, and didn't care about the money. Yes it was nice, and he enjoyed being able to buy what he wanted, or what he needed, and he liked being able to buy things for his family and know that he could support himself and would be able to support himself in the future and any family he might have of his own one day. Really though he did what he did because he loved it. He loved singing, and being able to make people happy, he liked being able to go on up on stage with his friends and have a good time. Sure it had it's downfalls, but it had it's perks to and he loved it. "So why don't we talk about something and try and forget that we're stuck in here while we wait for someone to come get us out." He suggested thinking it'd be nice to get to know one another while they were in here. And hopefully it would help keep her calm and not revert back into her panic attack, because it was possible to happen if she got to thinking about it or anything again. And surely they could think of something to talk about.

---

Miley slowly laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a small squeeze. "Of course." She told him not wanting to lose him. It was hard enough still having feelings for him but being to worried about what would happen as soon as he left again to even think about what he life would be like without him. These last few weeks without him had felt like hell. Considering she'd gotten on his letters, and his voicemails, and everything. And it just made her heart ache that she couldn't bring herself to just tell him the one thing he wanted to hear. She knew what he wanted, he wanted her to tell him to take her back, they'd figure things out, and that whole shebang. But she couldn't. Not right now. "And you know if there were a way I could keep myself safe from the paps and crazy fan attacks while you were gone we could make this work right?" She asked him, just needing to know that he knew she did want to be with him still. But until she had some way of keeping herself out of harms way when it came to the paps and things while he wasn't here then they could be happy, and she didn't know what the protection would be, but surely there was something that could be done. Because while he was home she was safe, he had his label backing him up and as long as she was with him his label would back her up, but as soon as he was gone on tour that protection was gone too and she was just another easy target to get information from.

She nodded, her finger twisting another curl around her index and breathing deeply. "I have to vacuum when I get home, and I think I'll make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with some garlic bread," she said, her breathe easily paced now. He was a smart one, talking about random things took her mind off the possibility if near death because she remembered that there were more elevator and vending machine deaths than airplanes. "And I have to find a dress for this stupid student body party at uni," she said with a small laugh because she couldn't find a dress she felt comfortable enough in. "Sorry, I'm babbling about my lists of things to do, are you settled in your apartment?" she asked curiously.

---

"I want you to be okay," he said and smiled a little bit when she put her fingers in his palm and held on tightly like they were still the same puppy love couple they were before the tour started and things faded - got progressively worse. "But I've missed you so much, and I'll never be able to think if you just as a friend," he confessed. "I just don't want to drive you away by pushing for a relationship. I wouldn't do that to you and the paps, they're bloody crazy. I'll have to talk to Simon about getting them to learn their place," Zayn assured, his thumb running over the back of her knuckles.

"Spaghetti and meatballs with some nice garlic bread sounds like a pretty good meal. I might just have to crash your dinner." Liam joked with her, though it did sounds nice, and considering he hadn't had a real home cooked meal in forever it tempted him even more. "Uh not really. Right now it's mostly boxes everywhere. Of course I've spent the last week dealing with last minute things that my management decided to throw at us before we officially started our break from touring and all so I haven't really had much time to move in." He told her wishing he'd had more time, and that it wasn't such a mess, but come the end of the week when he was officially on a break and could do as he so pleased he'd be going through everything and fixing it up the way he wanted it. "It sounds like you've got a interesting night ahead of yourself though."

---

"I know," Miley told him softly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. It was obvious that Zayn wanted to make sure she was okay, hell before somehow their relationship had gone public Zayn had did everything he could to stop it from happening. He'd done everything he could to make sure that she was safe, and every time they went out together he usually wound up in trouble for telling someone off. And it was just a big mess. "I feel like if we could've just kept us a secret a little longer then things would still be fine. I mean the whole world doesn't need to know every little thing about your life. Though it would be nice if Simon could pull something together to teach them their place. They just run around ruining peoples lives and don't even care what happens. As long as they get their scoop they're fine. I don't know how they live with themselves." She said sighing, and it was true. She didn't understand how these people could just sit outside peoples houses, or in bushes, and just basically stalk people all so they could get a good story.