Tis the Season

It was nearly two in the morning. The street lights were buzzing along the side of the road, each of them doing their part to help light the area. A few cars took to the road, but not many at all.

Zayn lay in his bed. His eyes were shut, and his breathing was deep. He had fallen asleep just moments before, after playing a game of Halo.

On his nightstand, his phone began to vibrate. The loud noise woke Zayn up, and he groaned to himself. Turning over, he pulled the phone from his bedside. Eve’s face filled the screen. Her name shot across her photo, signaling that she was calling him.

“Hello?” Zayn said, his voice soft with the rest he had just been taking.

“Zayn?” Eve’s voice called from the other line. “Are you up?”

Rubbing his eyes, Zayn yawned. “Yeah, I am. What’s up?”

Even though Zayn knew the answer to her question, he still asked every time. It was a Saturday night, well past the hour most people would be awake. There were only a few things someone could need at that hour.

“Can you pick me up?” Eve asked. “I’m too drunk to drive.”

Standing up from his bed, Zayn threw on the nearest pair of shoes. “Of course. Where you at?”

“Corner of Fifth and Filbert.”

Before Zayn could respond, Eve had hung up the phone. Sighing, he pulled on his coat, and stepped quickly out of his flat.

In just a few minutes, he made the short drive from his building, to the place where Eve had said she would be. After pulling his car to the curb, Zayn stepped out and walked into the busy bar on the corner.

Just as he suspected, he spotted Eve towards the back, sharing a drink with a tall guy in a sweater. The two were laughing, as they pulled shots to their lips. Pushing his way through the crowd, Zayn slowly made his way to the back of the bar.

When he approached Eve, he wrapped his arm around her, to help guide her out of the bar. The moment he touched her, she turned to him, a large grin on her face.

“Zayn, you’re here.” Eve wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He hugged her back, enjoying the sweet side of Eve he only got to see when she was drunk. He could tell by her constant giggling that she was much more drunk than he originally thought.

“This is my friend.” Eve pointed to the man she had taken a shot with. “I can’t remember his name though.”

“Fred,” the man said, holding his hand out. Zayn shook it, before turning back to Eve. She smiled sweetly at him, her eyes blinking quickly.

“Alright, Eve,” Zayn said, attempting to pull her from the table. “It’s time to go.”

From the other side of the table, Fred chuckled. “Oh, come on. Let her have another drink.”

Shaking his head, Zayn looked over at the man. “She’s had enough. She needs to get home.”

“I want to have another drink.” Eve looked up at Zayn, her face forming a sad pout. “Please?”

Sighing, Zayn moved his face towards Eve’s. He placed his hand on her cheek, pressing his thumb against it. “Please Eve, it’s time to go.”

On the opposite side of the table, Fred spoke. “Can’t you see she doesn’t want to go? If she wants to stay, let her. I’ll make sure she finds her way to a soft warm bed.”

Zayn pulled away from Eve, and walked around the table, so he was face to face with the man. Fred was a bit taller than he was, but Zayn didn’t care. Throwing his hand in the man’s face, Zayn spoke.

“Listen, mate. You need to back off. Got it?”

The moment Zayn finished speaking, Eve grabbed ahold of his hand. “Let’s just go.”

Zayn could tell Eve was angry, but he was just as angry with her. There were far too many times he had gone out of his way to pick her up, only to have her leave with someone else.

With her hand around his wrist, she pulled him quickly out of the bar. Even though she was drunk, she managed to push through the people more easily than he had. He pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

The two of them hopped into his old Nissan and drove the entire way to Eve’s apartment in silence. When they were a few blocks away from her building, she turned to Zayn and spoke for the first time since they’d left the bar.

“Can I go back to your place?” Eve asked. “My apartment is empty and I really don’t want to sleep alone.”

Biting his lip, Zayn let out a deep breath. As much as he wanted Eve to go stay with him, he was almost too frustrated to deal with her for the rest of the night. She took advantage of him over and over again, and he continued to let her.

Zayn moved his gaze over to Eve. Her face was fixed into a pout, and her eyes looked so deep that he couldn’t say no. When they passed her apartment on the right, Eve’s face lit up.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him.

A few moments later, the car pulled up to Zayn’s building and he threw it in park, before opening Eve’s door for her. He held his arm out, so she could use it for balance. As shaky as she was, she was still able to make her way from the car, to the front door.

When the pair reached the steps, Eve turned to Zayn, flashing him her puppy dog eyes. Her face was soft and sweet, and Zayn knew he wouldn’t be able to say no to whatever she was about to ask.
“Will you carry me?” Eve asked, batting her eyelashes as she spoke.

Sighing, Zayn nodded, before holding his arms out to her. She jumped into them, wrapping her arms around his neck, while he placed one hand under her legs, and the other around her waist.

The girl felt light in his arms, and he was able to carry her up the stairs with relative ease. Zayn tried to pull his thoughts away from how perfect her body felt against his. Eve was drunk, and he was sober. Even though they had slept together hundreds of times, he refused to take advantage of her like that.

When they reached Zayn’s apartment, he placed Eve back to the ground. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck and refused to let go. Her eyes looked into his, as her face formed another small pout.

Zayn turned his doorknob, pushing the door open, before wrapping his arms back around Eve. Holding her in his arms, Zayn stepped through the door and into his messy apartment. He was careful as he stepped, being sure not to trip over anything with Eve in his arms. He hoped to get Eve to sleep before the alcohol caught up to her. Eve always hated when she had to spend the night in the bathroom.

With his arms wrapped around her, Zayn headed straight for his bedroom and set Eve gently on top of his bed. She quickly kicked off her shoes, which landed somewhere in the corner. She still sported her tight blue sweater and black leggings, but they were comfortable enough to sleep in.

Eve was still giggling with every movement. She even laughed when Zayn tried to pull the cover over her.

“It’s too warm for that,” Eve said, pushing the blanket away. She then moved her hands to the edge of her sweater and pulled it over her body. It landed somewhere close to her shoes.

Zayn’s eyes moved immediately to her chest, which was flushed from the alcohol.

Taking a deep breath, Zayn set the blanket back at the foot off his bed. “It’ll be right here if you get cold. Now try to get some sleep.”

Eve smiled, as Zayn placed a soft kiss against her forehead. When he stepped away from the bed, she called to him.

“Aren’t you going to stay with me?”

Shaking his head, Zayn chuckled. “Not tonight, Eve. You’re drunk.”

Eve laughed, sitting up in the bed. “So, we’ve slept together drunk plenty of times.”

“Yes,” Zayn said, “but I was drunk then, too. Now I’m sober, so it’s not going to happen.”

Sighing, Eve plopped back down on his bed. “You and your stupid morals.” She pulled the blanket over her. “Go have a couple shots, then come to bed.”

Zayn glared at her, as she snuggled into the bed. She kept her eyes on him, as if she was trying to use them to will him towards her.

“Not gonna happen.”

“Just cuddle, then?” Eve pouted, and Zayn knew he was powerless to resist whatever she said after that. “I just don’t wanna sleep alone.”

His eyes roved her body, which was tucked gently under the covers. She looked so peaceful that Zayn couldn’t see any harm coming from the two of them snuggling.

“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning if you do.” Eve smiled at him from the beneath the blanket, and he caved.

He let out a sigh, before turning off his bedroom light and walking over to the bed. Eve lifted up the covers, motioning for him to come under them.

When he laid back in his bed, Eve giggled next to him. She pressed her head against his chest and laid her arm over his body. Her fingers began moving against his stomach, running her nails over his abs. He took long, deep breaths.

It would only be a few moments before the alcohol put Eve to sleep. He just had to resist the beautiful, half-naked girl until then.



The bright rays of the winter sun pushed through the window. Landing directly on Zayn’s eyes, the rays stirred him awake. He rubbed his eyes, stretching out his arms as he did so.

The sound of glass crashing to the floor pulled him from his gentle awakening. He smiled to himself, remembering that Eve had promised to cook him breakfast. She was very clumsy and he only wished that his kitchen would still be in tact when she was finished.

Pulling the blanket from his body, Zayn made his way into the kitchen. He moved his gaze around the room, searching for Eve’s blonde hair.

The kitchen was empty, aside from the small mouse that sat happily on his counter. The mouse trotted around the counter top, before knocking over another coffee cup. The mouse looked over at Zayn, and it almost appeared as though it was wearing the same sad expression he was.

Zayn should have expected that Eve would skip out on him. In all the years that he had known her, she very rarely stayed until morning.

Zayn should have expected that he would wake up alone, but his stomach still pained him just the same.