1 Chapter 1 "Jealous"

Two weeks into filming and the tension between the two male leads is unavoidable. Between scenes of acting like best friends with secret feelings for each other while fighting alongside each other in a war, there has been teasing, hitting, and straight up flirting between them. Zayn, the older of the two, was starting to get fed up with his younger co-star's behavior though, especially after today's ten minute teasing about the fact that Zayn is five years older than him.

As soon as he was out of his costume, hair and makeup, he pushed his way past his manager "I can't keep working with him if he can't have a little bit of respect and some manners with me between takes."

"Zayn! Slow down! He's in a meeting with the director right now about the failed scenes today."

Zayn's turns around, fierce brown eyes and tight lips towards his manager, yet somehow still managing to sound like the gentleman that his parents raised him to be. "Fiona, where is this meeting taking place?"

"Leo's trailer..." Fiona admits with lowered eyes and a slight blush. Having a crush on her client since the day they started working together seven years ago, she had a hard time not giving him whatever he wanted.

"Great. Thank you for your work today." He smiles his famously contagious smile that makes Fiona's heart flutter before turning towards Leo's trailer.

The director is exiting the trailer just as Zayn approaches. "Great job today Zayn. I think after the two of you get some rest and some time to think about the emotions in the scene you two can nail it."

Zayn politely smiles and thanks his director for the compliment before the busy man walks away. The smile fades as soon as the director walked away as Zayn stares at his young co-star just inside his trailer.

Leo had walked the director to the door of his trailer after talking through the scenes that they struggled with today. The last person he thought he'd see outside of his trailer was Zayn and he wasn't really in the mood either so as soon as Zayn's eyes focus on him he walked away from the door and further into his trailer only to hear the door opening and slamming shut.

"Not right now." Leo sighs as he sits down on the couch and lets his head fall back.

"Why not? Is the little baby too tired to talk about his bad behavior?" Zayn was barely holding on to his sanity.

Leo's fists and jaw clench as he slowly stands. "I think you're tired old man. Why don't you turn in early tonight, get some extra beauty sleep."

Zayn fists clench now as he lets out a frustrated growl. "You went too far with you're teasing today. Why? I thought we could be friends."

Leo sighs while running a hand through his dirty blonde hair and closing his eyes. "Please leave Zayn. I don't want to be friends with you."

Zayn's mouth opens a little in shock before he walks up to Leo. "We still have three and half months of filming left... three and a half months Leo. Then there will be a press tour and interviews and a shit ton of promotional events leading up to the release and after. Are you going to continuing being a moody little brat with me the whole time?"

Leo let out a growl this time before opening his emerald green eyes to Zayn with flared nostrils. "Probably."

Zayn takes a deep breath. "Okay, that's what I needed to know. I can find a different project for this summer and they can find someone to replace me in no time." He turns around to exit the trailer and is shocked when his wrist is grasped by Leo and slowly turns to see the sudden fearful look in his eyes. Zayn's brows slightly pull together and he speaks softer than he has since he entered this trailer. "Leo...?" He turns back towards the young man who still holds his wrist. "Why?" He asks softly.

Leo's eyes lowered for a moment as he takes a deep breath, trying to decide how to answer. Trying to decide how much of his heart he is willing to risk. "Jealousy." He manages to get the angry word out.

Zayn huffed. "That's why you're being so horrible? You're jealous— of me?"

"No." Leo answers quickly and bites his lip as Zayn waits for him to explain further. Leo's eyes are still down as he speaks. "You're far too good and beautiful for me to begin being jealous of you... I'm in awe and inspired by you..."

Zayn doesn't allow an awkward silence to fill the air and so still trying to speak calmly with his wrist still firmly grasped by his younger co-star. "Then who are you jealous of?"

Leo lets out a huffed laugh as he realizes that he's put himself in a corner with this conversation and must admit defeat and reveal everything. "It crept in slowly.... I felt the pang in my heart every time you touched me... and then the twist when I saw you touching someone else in a similar way... and then the scene with all of the rain... watching it touch places I haven't..." He closes the distance between them in one steps and stops himself just shy of cupping Zayn's cheek. "I'm jealous of everyone, and everything, that gets to touch you..."

Zayn takes in a sharp breath as Leo speaks, closing his eyes. "You're teasing me again. It's driving me insane Leo."

Leo smiles as some realization hits him. "Because you wish it wasn't a joke?" Zayn's eyes slowly open, revealing the fact that Leo was right without having to say a word. Leo lets his hand touch Zayn's pale skin, cupping his cheek before brushing his thumb along quivering pink lips as he speaks in a husky voice. "What if I told you I wanted the same thing? What if I said none of my teasing and joking were lies? Would you accept how I feel about you?"

Zayn swallows as some of what he thought were Leo's jokes and teasing run through his mind. 'Zayn, you're so beautiful.' 'Someone should kiss you every day.' 'I cannot stop looking at you. My eyes are controlled by my heart.' Hoping that this moment is sincere, he nods his head while whispering. "Yes."

Leo took that whisper as the permission he had been waiting for since the first day they started rehearsing and presses his lips to Zayn's. They were both stunned, but neither of them recoiled and once that brief moment of shock began to dissolve and they simultaneous relaxed into the kiss they closed their eyes. Zayn's hand reached behind Leo's head to pull him deeper into the kiss, causing a pleased hum from the younger one.

Leo's hand finally released Zayn's wrist only to reach for his hip to create more contact and Zayn pulls himself away with a nervous laugh. "Slow down. Slow down." He's catching his breath While Leo looks a bit shy.

"Sorry. I've just wanted to do that for so long..." Leo bashfully admits with his head turned and lowered. Zayn reached out and gently lifted the adorable face back up to see him.

"How long?" Zayn asks with a seriousness that excited Leo.

Leo pretends to think about his answer before speaking. "It must have been-- right around— when we first met." His smile is seductive when he finishes, hoping it will get him more kisses.

Zayn instead steps back, feeling teased again. "Yeah right. That was three years ago on that dance competition... I was engaged to Hailey..." Zayn was trying to come up with a timeline of his and Leo's encounters.

"So?" Leo asks. "I've known what I like since junior high. Just because you were engaged to someone, even a woman, didn't change how attracted I felt to you." His emerald eyes full of honesty.

Zayn felt a sudden panic after Leo's words sank in. "I've never kissed another man before." His voice is a bit elevated.

Leo lightly chuckles as he approaches Zayn again. "Did you like it?" He asks once he is more than close enough to touch.

Zayn drops his eyes now as he speaks softly. "Yes."

Leo brushes Zayn's cheek again. "Would you like to again?"

Zayn's brown eyes slowly look up to Leo's green orbs. "Yes..."

Leo's momentum towards another kiss comes to a halt. "But?"

Zayn sighs in relief and smiles. "Can we have a conversation first, before we end up just kissing ourselves into a complicated mess?"

Leo's heart felt like it might explode. Kissing and being kissed back by his crush was already more than he expected, but now his crush wants to have a conversation about being in a relationship! He wasn't completely sure he wasn't dreaming. "Yes." He smiles gently despite the huge smile in his heart, worried he might scare Zayn off if he sees how eager he is. "Let's sit down."

They sit at the small table inside of the RV trailer, eyes fixed on each other. Zayn speaks in a calm and mature tone. "I need a day or two to figure out what exactly I want this to be..."

Leo pushes any sour feelings he might have away, happy they were speaking about them at all. "Understandable." He says, only smiling in his eyes.

Zayn takes a deep breath. "Thank you. I think if we decide to be together our managers need to know, they'll be able to control what the public sees better than we can. I have too many friends who have lost their entire careers because of relationships like this..."

Leo huffs and rolls his eyes. "I know. Ridiculous that a false relationship with a woman can boost our celebrity status but this could hurt it..."

Zayn smiles kindly before his gaze suddenly goes inward as he thinks while speaking. "Not if we are professional about it. It's not like we can't be together... we just need to be careful who sees and hears, and what people see and hear. The way we've been acting behind scenes could easily be dismissed as friendship by our publicists. It's not impossible, we just need to be discrete."

Leo couldn't help but smile as he watched Zayn thinking it all through. "You're really considering this..."

Zayn's eyes suddenly click back to Leo. "You seem surprised."

Leo smirks. "You came in here mad and ready to quit the show... You also just said you've never kissed another man before and now you are trying to find a way to date one."

Zayn leans back, thinking seriously about what Leo just said. "I guess... if I am being honest with myself.. three years ago when we first met I felt something too..."

Leo leans forward over the table with an open smile. "Really? Did you think I was handsome?" The way his green eyes are lit up and his entire body language reminds Zayn of an excited puppy.

Zayn slowly blinks as a blush rises in his cheeks and he speaks bashfully. "Very."

Leo stays leaned over the table as a sly smile spreads along his full lips. "I'm not as handsome as you though."

Zayn leans forward, eyes half closed, feeling emboldened by compliments, and brings his face close to Leo's. "Agree to disagree."

Leo's heart began to race and hurt a little the closer Zayn's lips get to his own until nearly exploding upon the lightest touch of those firm and sculpted lips. It was a light peck that sparked even more need in Leo as Zayn sat back with a pleasant smile.

Leo smiles. "Are you sure you need two days to sort out what you want?"

Zayn leans his head back with a slight laugh and when he looks back at Leo his smile is sure. "I just want to do this right." Leo bites his bottom lip, doing a horrible job at hiding his smile. Zayn finds himself staring at Leo's mouth and an intense wave of need washes through his body. Leo can sense the change in Zayn and gets up from the table and extends his hand out to help him up.

Once standing Zayn hardly had a second before being pulled by his hips. Despite his own lustful thoughts Zayn pulled his face back. "I want to. Really, I do—" his words cease suddenly when Leo takes the opportunity to kiss Zayn's neck, pressing firmly to the pulse point he knew would get him to shut up for a moment so he could just soak in the fact that his crush was crushing on him, that all this time being enamored was worth the heartache that came with unrequited feelings. When he pulls away from his neck he smiles seductively and speak in an equally alluring tone. "Let's get to know each other better before you make up your mind."

Zayn swallows again, this boy's forwardness is making his mouth go dry but he manages to speak calmly after a moment. "We are not going to sleep together, or kiss again, until we are something more official." Zayn has standards after all. He was still shocked at himself for the little peck he gave at the table, but he felt like he couldn't stop himself.

Leo laughs at Zayn's words though, which irritates Zayn a bit until Leo speaks. "I didn't say let's sleep together Zayn. I said let's get to know each other better! I just meant questions and confessions! But now I know where your mind is!" Zayn's face flushes and heats up before beginning to slap Leo's arms and lightly pushing him until he got him to fall back on to the couch and exclaim. "Okay Zayn! Enough!" Leo is huffing to catch his breath as Zayn calmly sits down next to Leo with a victorious grin.

"What do you want to know that you don't already?" Zayn asks.

Leo rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Let's see, what do I already know about you— you are the most beautiful person." Zayn slaps his arm again and Leo pretends to pout. "And apparently you like to hit people you think are attractive." Zayn lifts his hand to strike again only for Leo to grab it mid strike. "Ah! Why are you punishing me for telling the truth?" Zayn rolls his eyes before pulling his arms away and resting it back down at his sides. Leo speaks cautiously. "You like Greek food. Your favorite color is Red. You're from New York, and that's where your cat lives while you work... You have a pet cat, because cats are easier to leave while away for work, like now... I know a lot about you actually... this could get embarrassing for me... why don't you say a few things..."

Zayn shifts in his seat, clearing his throat before speaking. "Your originally from Italy. Your family moved here when you were barely two. Now you live in L.A. with your family when you aren't away on jobs like this one... although I've heard you talking to your mother on the phone about her coming up to visit soon... You have three siblings, all older than you... by at least six years?" Leo nods. "Like most Italians you say that Italian food is the best, but I notice that most of the time you order Indian food for lunch." Leo smack him. "Ow! What? It's just an observation!"

Leo looks playfully serious. "One you can never tell my mother."

Zayn silently laughs. "Okay, when I meet your mother I won't mention your eating habits on set." Leo blushes and bites his lip again before speaking bashfully. "You'd like to meet my parents?"

Zayn nods before continuing. "I would like to meet them soon— so they know who their son is spending so much time with..." They both blush as Zayn resumes listing things he knows. "Do they know... that you're—" Leo immediately started to nod and speaks boldly. "Gay. They've known for a long time, and they are very supportive as long as it's a healthy relationship." Zayn smiles and nods as he wonders if his parents will be as supportive.

Zayn continues sharing some of what he knows about Leo. "I don't know your favorite color... but you wear a lot of dark blue and black..." Leo nods slowly with a hint of a smile. "You got famous because of a dance competition I happened to be guest judging on three years ago. That dance competition got you noticed by some people that soon found out that you and your two brothers were talented singers and dancers, and formed a band, "Beyond", around the three of you, adding a couple of other vocalists and band members. Why do you look like that? Is this not a topic you're comfortable with?" Zayn couldn't help but notice the way Leo started to hold his own arms and look away when he mentioned the band. Leo shook his head and waved his hand as if to say "move on to the next thing." But Zayn wasn't going to drop it so easily. "There are rumors that say there was a falling out between your older brother and the rest of the band and that's why the band split up and when you started to pursue your own acting and singing career. Okay, seriously, why do you look like you want to run away right now?'

Leo sighs and lifts his face up for a minute. Before speaking "You prefer Fall weather out of all of the other seasons because it is when you feel the most fashionable."

"Leo." Zayn is blinking in some disbelief.

Leo ignores Zayn saying his name. "You're an only child. You're parents both hold positions in the New York Symphony."

"Seriously Leo..."

"You have two BA's; one in Art History and another in design. A year and a half ago you mysteriously broke off your engagement with Hailey Stevens, a month before her album dropped and she soared to the top of the charts and—" Leo was struck silent when Zayn gingerly pulled his face to his and locked eyes.

Zayn spoke calmly. "You don't have to tell me what happened right now, I have things I don't want to talk about at this stage of us too..."

"Us..." Leo whispers back before leaning forward to try and kiss Zayn again, this time not achieving any contact before Zayn could pull away, not far, just not kissing.

"Just tell me you will tell me eventually." Zayn says while searching for Leo's eye contact again.

"Eventually." Leo says softly. "Now can I kiss you?"

Zayn shyly laughs. "We've learned nothing new about each other..."

Leo leans in again. "Not true. You learned that I want you." Zayn's face goes red. "And I learned that you want me too. Is that not enough revelation for this moment?"

Zayn sighs. "I don't want this to just be a physical relationship."

Leo leans in more until Zayn can no longer sit up and falls back onto the couch and laughs until Leo follows to keep them close to kissing and speaks reassuringly to the sighing mess of a man beneath him. "Me neither."

Zayn laughs as they sit back up, getting a little distance.

Leo speaks confidently while maintaining calm eye contact. "I'll try my best to show you this is more than a physical relationship—" he pauses for effect. "Just know that every time I'm near you I am thinking about kissing you though."

Zayn's smiles shyly. "Me too."

There's a moment of silent enjoyment between them that is interrupted by one or both of their phones buzzing. They break eye contact with a sigh before reaching for their phones.

Zayn has six notifications, that all equal one voicemail from his mom and two from his manager.

His mother always sounds so polite, even when leaving a voicemail for her only child. "Hello Zayn, this is your mother. Your father and I were just discussing taking a short vacation to get out of the city... If you're up for it we would like to come visit you. We can finish the conversation we didn't get to this Easter... Anyway. If you could have your assistant send us an updated version of you schedule, we will see if that might be possible. Hope to hear from you soon." There is a tight smile on his face as he texts his assistant, requesting she send his most recent schedule for the next two months to his parents, making sure to make it clear to his parents that that far out things might be a little unstable.

Fiona's first message was basically just a reminder to eat something before going to bed. Her second message was to inform him that he will be appearing on a morning talk show down in LA day after tomorrow to discuss his most recent film that is scheduled to release in a week. When he finished listening to them he briefly texts his assistant to get Leo's family's contact info from Leo's assistant, making it very clear that Leo is not to know about her getting that information for him.

Leo had three text messages. One from his assistant, one from his manager and one from a number he doesn't recognize.

His assistant just wanted to remind him that he needed to eat. She does this a lot, because he forgets to eat a lot. His manager was informing him that he has a Calvin Klein photoshoot in Nevada in three days and that he also just got booked for a Nike photoshoot down there as well, but in two weeks. "Don't worry, your assistant has already added them to your schedule and approved it with the director."

When he opens the text from the unknown number his stomach twists and slowly his fist clench. Zayn notices the shift as he was listening to Fiona's last message.

Leo turns to make sure Zayn doesn't see the video as he lowers the volume to complete silence and clicks play. He can only watch the first couple seconds before feeling like he might cry. Scrolling down he reads the message attached. "Don't forget who owns your ass baby." His nostrils flare as he sends the number and the video, along with screen caps to his manager before blocking and deleting the message and photos. When he's done he waits for Zayn to wrap up whatever he is doing and smiles, trying to focus on this moment and this person right in front of him and not the ghost from his past that haunts him. "Wanna grab something to eat?"

"Sure. Italian?" Zayn teases.

Leo chuckles, feeling some of the stress leave him. "Nothing will be as good as my mama's. Thats why I don't ask for it. How about Greek food."