Show Me The Way
Chapter 13
EVIE’S POV:
“Just tell me the truth, I know something happened.” Zoey said, standing in my doorway with her hands on her hips.
Its been 2 days since the incident with Will, and we haven’t spoken since. Zoey wasn’t stupid, she could sense that there was something off between us. Will had been doing great lately, I hadn’t been expecting this at all.
“It’s nothing Zoey, we just got into an argument. I’m probably blowing it out of proportion.”
“Fine. Then we can have a different conversation. One about the guy who’s been permanently attached to your hip for weeks. What’s the deal?”
Damn it. The Will conversation is seeming pretty good right now.
“I can wait…” She said, flopping down onto my bed, giving me an amused look. She knew I would cave at some point. I always did.
“Zayn and I are kind of… together.”
“Um. Duh. I’m gonna need details.”
“What kind of details?”
“How did it happen? How long ago? Why the hell didn’t you tell me yet?”
“Um, I guess it sort of happened… naturally, kind of. And uh… it was a couple weeks ago. And, I’m not really sure why I didn’t tell you. I guess I was scared. I mean, you can deny it all you want, but I know you’re judging him.”
“Not judging! Just… concerned. I mean, he’s twenty! He’s famous! He has his own apartment! Can you really blame me?”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“So, what’s happened so far. Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“OH MY GOD!”
“I HAVE TO ASK!”
“NO YOU DON’T!”
“Just tell me, Ev.” She said, looking just as eager to move on from the topic as I was.
“Ugh… There hasn’t been anything to be ‘safe’ about…” Yet.
“Okay. Okay, good. Okay…”
“Please change the subject.” I begged.
“Is he a good kisser?” She giggled, sitting up and looking at me eagerly.
I blushed, toying with the buttons of my shirt instead of looking Zoey in the eye. “Yeah. He is. Very good.”
“Ahh!” She squealed, hopping up and down in her seated position.
“Alright, moving on-”
“Right, back to Will. So, are you gonna tell me what went on yet?”
“Zoe, it’s really not a big deal-”
“You’re a really bad liar. Whenever you’re lying, you blink a lot and play with your hair.” My fingers slipped from the lock I had been playing with.
Damn, she was right. I was a terrible liar.
“It really wasn’t a big deal….”
“Then why can’t you just tell me?”
I sighed, she really wasn’t going to let this go. “He just, had some people over. And they were… I don’t know, I think it was just beer or something-” Another lie, but I tried to move past it quickly so she wouldn’t notice. “- And Zayn and I walked in and tried to get everyone to leave. And Will got pissed at me.”
“That sounds familiar…” Zoey sighed. Will pulled stuff like this all the time when we lived in Boston. It wasn’t abnormal to find him completely stoned in his room, or even at school. But ever since moving here… he’s been doing so well. For a second, I thought we might actually be past that.
“Yeah, well, I’m taking him to Dr. Block tomorrow. I skipped it the last few times, but I think it’s the best thing to do.” She nodded, looking at me sympathetically.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I’m the adult. It’s supposed to be my job.”
“You already have a job, Zoe. It’s fine, seriously. I can handle it.” She leaned over, giving me a tight hug.
“So, tell me more about the guy…”
* * *
ZAYN’S POV:
“Where exactly did you plan for us to go on this double date? I’m hoping somewhere with a bar. Because if you’re gonna force me to do this, there better be a bar.”
“Yeah, um. I was sort of hoping that you would have a suggestion.”
“Are you serious? Niall, this was YOUR idea!”
“I know! But i’m terrible at date stuff!”
“Do you seriously think that i’m any better?! When was the last time you saw me plan a date. Oh, right, NEVER!”
“Okay, fine! Then we can figure this out together.”
“Um, no. How about you figure this out, and then tell me what time we need to meet you there?”
“Well then, if we end up at Nando’s, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”
“I’m putting trust in you, Niall.” I joked, leaving him to plan this thing for tomorrow night alone.
* * *
Walking into Dr. Block’s waiting room, I was actually surprised to see Evie sitting on the couch.
“Haven’t seen you here in a while.” I said, flopping down next to her.
“Yeah, i’ve been a little busy. You know, the whole ‘having a job’ thing.” She said, joking with me. “I just thought it would be smart to start coming with Will to appointments…” She looked down at the book in her hands.
“Are you two doing any better?” Last time I asked, they weren’t even speaking to each other.
She shook her head, “Not really. he’s still mad, I still don’t know what to say to him.”
“I’m sorry, babe… I wish I could help.” Placing my arm around her shoulders, she leaned into me, resting her head on my chest.
She tilted her head so she could look up at me. “We still have some time until Will’s appointment is finished…”
I cocked an eyebrow, “What are you saying exactly?”
“You tell me. If I remember correctly, there is a perfectly nice roof up there…” I grinned, loving the teasing tone in her voice.
“Let’s go.”
- -
“I wanna do something fun…” Evie said, walking aimlessly around the roof while I watched, placing a half-finished cigarette between my lips. She looked perfect; her coat lay dejected on the ground, a loose sweater definitely not keeping her warm in the freezing December weather. But with her long legs in those tight jeans, and her shoulders exposed by the wide neck of her sweater, I could look at her like this all day. She walked over to me, looking out across the vast expanse of London.
“I used to love Christmas time…” She said softly, her eyes traveling across the buildings with twinkling lights, the huge Winter Wonderland festival in Hyde Park.
“Not anymore?” I asked, watching her carefully.
“I don’t know… It hasn’t been the same in, a while.”
If I was being honest, I had almost forgotten that Christmas was just a week and a half away. I should be making plans to go to Bradford to see my family… or buying gifts… or, something. I guess Christmas hasn’t been the same for me in a while either.
“What will the three of you do this year?” I asked, aimlessly running my fingers through the hair that fell down her back.
“I’m not sure. Last year we didn’t even really celebrate. Zoey works so much, we didn’t even have a tree. And Will didn’t really care, so I just, tried not to care too…”
This was terrible. She looked so upset. “You should come with me, home, to my mom's house. For Christmas.” The words left my mouth before I could actually think any of it through.
She turned to me, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we do this big celebration or anything; My mom loves this time of year, so she tends to go all-out on some things. But um, we’ll have a tree… and, I don’t know. It could be fun.”
Her entire face lit up, her hand gripping mine tightly. “Really?”
“Yeah, ‘course.”
“That would be amazing!” Without warming, Evie threw herself at me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. Her arms tugged at my neck, her body pressing itself against mine. I dropped my cigarette to the ground, hugging her back. My left hand tangled into her silky hair, while my right held onto the small of her back, holding her against me. “Thank you, Zayn. You have no idea…” She spoke with her cheek pressed against my shoulder.
I didn’t say anything back. I just pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of having her this close.
* * *
EVIE’S POV:
“I need to get him something perfect. And should I get gifts for his sisters? And his parents? Oh my god, I have like, no time at all…” I whined to Grace, a half-finished to-do list in front of me. Zayn’s offer to let me come with him for Christmas was incredible, I appreciated it more than I could ever show him. And although convincing Zoey to let me go was easier than I thought, ( She had told me to go and enjoy, she knew it would be better than anything she could do for me. And Will hasn’t exactly been in a festive mood…), there was still so much I needed to accomplish before we left next Wednesday.
“What are you wearing tonight?” Grace asked, pouring coffee beans into the machine.
“What’s tonight?” I said absentmindedly, adding ‘Get dress dry cleaned’ to my list.
“Um, our double date! Please do not tell me you forgot.” my head snapped up, looking at a wide-eyed Grace.
“Of course I didn’t forget! I was just.. distracted. Um… I’m not really sure… Why, what did you wanna wear?”
“I don’t know…”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“Nope, Niall hasn’t told me anything.”
“A surprise, from Niall? That has me concerned…” She giggled.
“So are you nervous about going to Zayn’s?”
I just gave her an ‘of course’ look.
“Okay, just thought I’d ask. I can’t believe you’re already at the ‘meet his parents’ stage…”
“I don’t really think we are. I just think it happened to work out this way. I seriously have no idea what to expect…” I was nervous they weren’t going to like me, or that his sisters would think I was a bitch, or that I would say or do something wrong.
“You’ll be fine. You make all this stuff look so easy, they have to love you.” I didn’t know how to respond to Grace. I was shocked that she thought I made “All Of This” look easy, whatever “This” was. In reality, I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Everything with Zayn so far has been done on an impulse, I had thought it was a good idea at the time. But I wasn’t going to correct her, it was a compliment. One I couldn’t help but take.
* * *
Zayn picked me up at my door on Friday night. He looked perfect, as always, in a pair of dark grey jeans, his perfectly tattered black combat boots, a grey thermal shirt, under a plaid shirt, under a navy wool coat. I had promised him an outfit he’d love, and I hoped I lived up to that promise. I mean, I wanted to look good, but it was also late December and so freezing outside that not wearing a few layers was just unacceptable. So, I had opted for a dark maroon velvet dress, a thick-ish black knitted cardigan (hoping to give me at least a little bit of warmth) and black tights.
“Okay, so, since you refuse to tell me where we’re going, it’s become your duty to choose the footwear.” I said, dangling one shoe in each hand in front of him.
“Definitely those.” He said, pointing to a pair of flat black ankle boots.
“Why those? Are you taking me somewhere where I have to walk a lot? Because you may not know this, but I’m not the biggest fan of super long walks in freezing cold weather.”
“Calm down, you’ll be fine.” He chuckled as I put my coat on.
We walked for a while, Zayn’s large hands holding mine, keeping it warm without needing gloves. It was still fairly early, not even 7:30, but it had already been dark since around 5 o’clock, which allowed the twinkling Christmas lights that adorned every store window to light up the city. We talked casually about random things, nothing of much importance.
“When am I going to be allowed to know where we’re going?” I finally asked when we’ve been walking for about 20 minutes.
“Soon, very soon.” He said, smirking. He knew I was hating this. And he loved torturing me.
Just a few minutes later, a ferris wheel and flashing lights and other various rides came into view. There was Christmas music and people; lots of people. Directly in front of us was a huge arch that had a sign reading “Winter Wonderland”. I turned to look at Zayn, a huge boyish smile on his face. He raised his dark eyebrows as if to say ‘So, what do you think?’
“I love this!” I squealed, hopping up and down before pulling him into a hug.
“I hoped you would. I thought it might make you happy, all the Christmas-ey stuff…” I kissed him quickly, wanting more, but also knowing we were in the middle of a very public place.
“Let’s go!” I exclaimed, spotting Niall and Grace right near the entrance.
“Hey guys!” I said, hugging them both. “How excited are you for this?!”
“Not excited as you apparently.” Niall laughed. I punched him on the arm.
“So, what do you wanna do first?” Zayn asked, draping an arm around my shoulder as we walked down the first main area which was lined with tons of stalls selling ornaments, food, clothes, jewelry, and anything that could have the British flag printed on it.
“Hmm… Well, what’s the chance of getting you to go ice skating with me?” I asked, batting my eyelashes in his direction, hoping to guilt him into agreeing.
“Sorry babe, pretty slim.”
“The boy doesn’t even know how to swim, Evie. Ice skating is completely out of the question.” Niall said, laughing hysterically at himself.
So, we didn’t ice skate. But we did play games, and listen to the several different performers, and eat crepes and laugh. A lot. I was feeling so happy and festive, I almost didn’t notice the camera flashes going off around us. That is, until one went off directly in front of me and Zayn as I wiped a bit of chocolate off of his bottom lip.
“What the-” I said, looking around to see where the flash had come from. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized the amount of eyes that were on me. Well, us.
“Dammit” Zayn said under his breath, placing a protective hand on the small of my back.
“I should’ve known…” He mumbled, lowering his head as to not make eye contact with anyone. “Niall?” He said, eyeing the blonde boy. “What do you wanna do about this?” If he was trying to act natural, he was doing a pretty terrible job of it. But I could tell from his clenched jaw and forceful words that now wasn’t really the time for one of my sarcastic jokes.
“Um- I mean…” Niall looked flustered, looking from Zayn, to Grace, to the group of people forming near where the four of us stood.
“Zayn-” I said quietly. He turned to me, the look in his eyes softening, if only a little. “Calm down. It’s okay.” I touched his cheek, not wanting to get too worked up or feel guilty about something that was out of his control.
“Can I PLEASE get a picture?!”
And it was that, those six words, that seemed to set of everyone else. Questions were being thrown at Zayn and Niall from every direction. Actually, some were even being directed towards me. But I couldn’t think straight. The dozens of voices, turning into a shout, turning into a throbbing in my head.
“Is she your girlfriend?!”
“I can’t believe you’re dating her!”
“Can you sign this?!”
We began walking, Zayn’s hand gripping mine so tight I thought I might lose feeling in it altogether. But the crowd only followed, throwing out one question after another. We finally slowed down when Niall was stopped by a large man in a security uniform.
“Bobby here is gonna help us out!” Niall said, trying to lighten the mood with his playful tone.
Thanks to our new friend Bobby, we were ushered through the throngs of people that have formed in a matter of minutes, into a more secluded, closed-off bar area. Zayn’s death grip on my hand finally subsided as he let go to run it through his hair, which he always seemed to do when he was overwhelmed.
“Hey-” I placed my hands on his shoulders, bringing his attention back to me, rather than the screams from outside. “- Zayn, look at me.” I tilted his chin so he was looking me in the eye. “It really is okay. I promise. I’m not upset.” He sighed, placing his hands on my hips.
“What if I am? I wanted this to be, just, fun. No drama. You deserve that. And thanks to me it had to get screwed up.”
“No, it’s not. It’s gonna be fine. I don’t care about any of that. I’m just happy to be here with you.” The left side of his mouth twitched upwards, giving me the perfect smirk I craved to see. He tugged me closer, leaning down to graze his lips across my lips, kissing my neck and then saying, in a much happier tone, “I think we could both use a drink.”
* * *
“I love this song!!” I squealed giddily, jumping off of my barstool and dragging Grace with me over to where a young flamboyant guy was singing karaoke to “Don’t Rain On My Parade”. I didn’t care that he couldn’t hold a single note, I was dancing and singing along as if he were the real deal. Maybe it was the three beers I’d had, but I was feeling good. Better than good. I was feeling happy. As Grace and I laughed and screamed the song along with the rest of the people surrounding the small stage, I could help but look over my shoulder for a quick second and notice Zayn, still perched on his barstool, sipping his beer, and never taking his eyes off of me. We were lucky, no one in here knew or cared who they were. We could just have fun.
Once the song was over, I ran over to where he and Niall sat, bumping into the bar.
“Woah there, careful.” Zayn laughed, holding onto me so I wouldn’t fall over.
“I think you should sing.” I stated simply.
“No way.” I said automatically, shaking his head.
“Why not?” I asked, pouting.
“Don’t give me that face, it’ll never work. There’s not a chance i’m getting up there.”
“Baby, you’re a singer, In case you forgot. There’s like, 30 people over there. And they’re all drunk. Not to hurt your ego, but no one cares who you are.” He continued to shake his head, laughing lightly as I continued to beg.
Finally, I resorted to the only option I had left. Sliding onto Zayn’s lap, he automatically stabilized me by wrapping both arms around my waist. I pressed one of my hands to the back of his neck, pulling him towards me. The kiss was amazing, as every kiss with Zayn is. But just as he was about to deepen it, I pulled away, leaning into him and whispered in his ear; “ If you get up there and sing for me, I’ll do something for you in return. “
“You already used that one. How do you think you got here?” He whispered back, giving me a satisfied look, as if he’s won.
Sorry, not this time Malik.
I placed one hand on his knee, sliding it upwards slowly, watching as he took in a shaky breath.
“Then I guess I’ll have to make it twice as good, won’t I?” Zayn raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth to say something in response. But then he closed it, he had nothing.
I knew it. I beat him.
With that, he lifted me off of his lap, stood up, and placed his drink down on the bar.
“So, What’ll it be?”
- -
“I can’t believe you got him to agree to this!” Niall said loudly.
“I can be very persuasive when I want to be.” I giggled, watching as Zayn walked up onto the stage, grabbing the mic from the last person to sing. He motioned over the guy controlling the tracks, saying something into his ear. The guy nodded, going back to his laptop and typing something in.
“So, Um, Hey everyone. Hope you’re all having a good night. This song is for my lovely girlfriend Evie who owes me big time.” He gave a huge grin as the song began;
“ Say that you'll stay, a little. Don't say bye bye tonight.
Say you'll be mine. Just a little of bit of love, Is worth a moment of your time.
Knocking on your door just a little, So cold outside tonight.
Let's get a fire burning. I know, I keep it burning right. If you stay, Won't you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love. Save room for a moment to be with me.
Save room for my love, save a little. Save a little for me
Won't you save a little? Save a little for me, oh...
As Zayn sang, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He sounded… incredible. Better than I ever knew he could. But it wasn’t just that. It was his… everything. He looked at me, nowhere else, as he sang. The words sounding perfect in his voice. I felt like the rest of the room cleared out, and I was just watching him. Only him, and me.
“- This just might hurt a little. Love hurts sometimes when you do it right.
Don’t be afraid of a little bit of pain, Pleasure is on the other side,
Let down your guard just a little, I’ll keep you safe in these arms of mine.
Hold on to me pretty baby, You will see I can be all you need.
If you stay, Won’t you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me,
Save room for my love save a little
Save a little for me. Won’t you save a little?, Save a little for me, oh
Oh, come on. Make time to live a little.
Don’t let this moment slip by tonight. You’ll never know what you’re missing ‘til you try.
I’ll keep you satisfied, If you stay, Won’t you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me,
Save room for my love save a little, Save a little for me
Won’t you save a little?
Save a little for me, oh
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me
Save room for my love save a little, Save a little for me
Won’t you save a little? Save a little for me.”
The song ended, Zayn handed the mic off to the next person to sing, and the crowd erupted into a drunken cheer. The next girl began butchering some pop song, Niall and Grace went back over to the bar, and everyone was moving on from what had just happened. But I just; couldn’t.
“Are you happy now?” Zayn said, smiling as he sauntered over to me. I just watched. When he was close enough, I took both of his hands, lacing our fingers together, stood up on my toes, and pressed my lips against his with a big more force than earlier. He seemed surprised at first, quickly find his way and kissing me back.
“Yes. So, so happy. Thank you.” I breathed against his lips, not wanted to let go of him.
I pressed my body against him, wanting him closer.
Suddenly, the room was just way too crowded. There were too many people, too much noise, and way too many layers separating me from Zayn. He continued to kiss me his teeth teasing my bottom lip, driving me insane.
We pulled apart, each catching our breath after a pretty big public display of affection, something neither of us were usually very into. You know, other than alleys and the back room of the cafe and stuff… But never like this.
“Do you want to go?” I said breathlessly. He just looked at me for a second, his normally golden brown eyes darkening with something different. Lust?
“Yes.”
“Just tell me the truth, I know something happened.” Zoey said, standing in my doorway with her hands on her hips.
Its been 2 days since the incident with Will, and we haven’t spoken since. Zoey wasn’t stupid, she could sense that there was something off between us. Will had been doing great lately, I hadn’t been expecting this at all.
“It’s nothing Zoey, we just got into an argument. I’m probably blowing it out of proportion.”
“Fine. Then we can have a different conversation. One about the guy who’s been permanently attached to your hip for weeks. What’s the deal?”
Damn it. The Will conversation is seeming pretty good right now.
“I can wait…” She said, flopping down onto my bed, giving me an amused look. She knew I would cave at some point. I always did.
“Zayn and I are kind of… together.”
“Um. Duh. I’m gonna need details.”
“What kind of details?”
“How did it happen? How long ago? Why the hell didn’t you tell me yet?”
“Um, I guess it sort of happened… naturally, kind of. And uh… it was a couple weeks ago. And, I’m not really sure why I didn’t tell you. I guess I was scared. I mean, you can deny it all you want, but I know you’re judging him.”
“Not judging! Just… concerned. I mean, he’s twenty! He’s famous! He has his own apartment! Can you really blame me?”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“So, what’s happened so far. Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“OH MY GOD!”
“I HAVE TO ASK!”
“NO YOU DON’T!”
“Just tell me, Ev.” She said, looking just as eager to move on from the topic as I was.
“Ugh… There hasn’t been anything to be ‘safe’ about…” Yet.
“Okay. Okay, good. Okay…”
“Please change the subject.” I begged.
“Is he a good kisser?” She giggled, sitting up and looking at me eagerly.
I blushed, toying with the buttons of my shirt instead of looking Zoey in the eye. “Yeah. He is. Very good.”
“Ahh!” She squealed, hopping up and down in her seated position.
“Alright, moving on-”
“Right, back to Will. So, are you gonna tell me what went on yet?”
“Zoe, it’s really not a big deal-”
“You’re a really bad liar. Whenever you’re lying, you blink a lot and play with your hair.” My fingers slipped from the lock I had been playing with.
Damn, she was right. I was a terrible liar.
“It really wasn’t a big deal….”
“Then why can’t you just tell me?”
I sighed, she really wasn’t going to let this go. “He just, had some people over. And they were… I don’t know, I think it was just beer or something-” Another lie, but I tried to move past it quickly so she wouldn’t notice. “- And Zayn and I walked in and tried to get everyone to leave. And Will got pissed at me.”
“That sounds familiar…” Zoey sighed. Will pulled stuff like this all the time when we lived in Boston. It wasn’t abnormal to find him completely stoned in his room, or even at school. But ever since moving here… he’s been doing so well. For a second, I thought we might actually be past that.
“Yeah, well, I’m taking him to Dr. Block tomorrow. I skipped it the last few times, but I think it’s the best thing to do.” She nodded, looking at me sympathetically.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I’m the adult. It’s supposed to be my job.”
“You already have a job, Zoe. It’s fine, seriously. I can handle it.” She leaned over, giving me a tight hug.
“So, tell me more about the guy…”
* * *
ZAYN’S POV:
“Where exactly did you plan for us to go on this double date? I’m hoping somewhere with a bar. Because if you’re gonna force me to do this, there better be a bar.”
“Yeah, um. I was sort of hoping that you would have a suggestion.”
“Are you serious? Niall, this was YOUR idea!”
“I know! But i’m terrible at date stuff!”
“Do you seriously think that i’m any better?! When was the last time you saw me plan a date. Oh, right, NEVER!”
“Okay, fine! Then we can figure this out together.”
“Um, no. How about you figure this out, and then tell me what time we need to meet you there?”
“Well then, if we end up at Nando’s, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”
“I’m putting trust in you, Niall.” I joked, leaving him to plan this thing for tomorrow night alone.
* * *
Walking into Dr. Block’s waiting room, I was actually surprised to see Evie sitting on the couch.
“Haven’t seen you here in a while.” I said, flopping down next to her.
“Yeah, i’ve been a little busy. You know, the whole ‘having a job’ thing.” She said, joking with me. “I just thought it would be smart to start coming with Will to appointments…” She looked down at the book in her hands.
“Are you two doing any better?” Last time I asked, they weren’t even speaking to each other.
She shook her head, “Not really. he’s still mad, I still don’t know what to say to him.”
“I’m sorry, babe… I wish I could help.” Placing my arm around her shoulders, she leaned into me, resting her head on my chest.
She tilted her head so she could look up at me. “We still have some time until Will’s appointment is finished…”
I cocked an eyebrow, “What are you saying exactly?”
“You tell me. If I remember correctly, there is a perfectly nice roof up there…” I grinned, loving the teasing tone in her voice.
“Let’s go.”
- -
“I wanna do something fun…” Evie said, walking aimlessly around the roof while I watched, placing a half-finished cigarette between my lips. She looked perfect; her coat lay dejected on the ground, a loose sweater definitely not keeping her warm in the freezing December weather. But with her long legs in those tight jeans, and her shoulders exposed by the wide neck of her sweater, I could look at her like this all day. She walked over to me, looking out across the vast expanse of London.
“I used to love Christmas time…” She said softly, her eyes traveling across the buildings with twinkling lights, the huge Winter Wonderland festival in Hyde Park.
“Not anymore?” I asked, watching her carefully.
“I don’t know… It hasn’t been the same in, a while.”
If I was being honest, I had almost forgotten that Christmas was just a week and a half away. I should be making plans to go to Bradford to see my family… or buying gifts… or, something. I guess Christmas hasn’t been the same for me in a while either.
“What will the three of you do this year?” I asked, aimlessly running my fingers through the hair that fell down her back.
“I’m not sure. Last year we didn’t even really celebrate. Zoey works so much, we didn’t even have a tree. And Will didn’t really care, so I just, tried not to care too…”
This was terrible. She looked so upset. “You should come with me, home, to my mom's house. For Christmas.” The words left my mouth before I could actually think any of it through.
She turned to me, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we do this big celebration or anything; My mom loves this time of year, so she tends to go all-out on some things. But um, we’ll have a tree… and, I don’t know. It could be fun.”
Her entire face lit up, her hand gripping mine tightly. “Really?”
“Yeah, ‘course.”
“That would be amazing!” Without warming, Evie threw herself at me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. Her arms tugged at my neck, her body pressing itself against mine. I dropped my cigarette to the ground, hugging her back. My left hand tangled into her silky hair, while my right held onto the small of her back, holding her against me. “Thank you, Zayn. You have no idea…” She spoke with her cheek pressed against my shoulder.
I didn’t say anything back. I just pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of having her this close.
* * *
EVIE’S POV:
“I need to get him something perfect. And should I get gifts for his sisters? And his parents? Oh my god, I have like, no time at all…” I whined to Grace, a half-finished to-do list in front of me. Zayn’s offer to let me come with him for Christmas was incredible, I appreciated it more than I could ever show him. And although convincing Zoey to let me go was easier than I thought, ( She had told me to go and enjoy, she knew it would be better than anything she could do for me. And Will hasn’t exactly been in a festive mood…), there was still so much I needed to accomplish before we left next Wednesday.
“What are you wearing tonight?” Grace asked, pouring coffee beans into the machine.
“What’s tonight?” I said absentmindedly, adding ‘Get dress dry cleaned’ to my list.
“Um, our double date! Please do not tell me you forgot.” my head snapped up, looking at a wide-eyed Grace.
“Of course I didn’t forget! I was just.. distracted. Um… I’m not really sure… Why, what did you wanna wear?”
“I don’t know…”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“Nope, Niall hasn’t told me anything.”
“A surprise, from Niall? That has me concerned…” She giggled.
“So are you nervous about going to Zayn’s?”
I just gave her an ‘of course’ look.
“Okay, just thought I’d ask. I can’t believe you’re already at the ‘meet his parents’ stage…”
“I don’t really think we are. I just think it happened to work out this way. I seriously have no idea what to expect…” I was nervous they weren’t going to like me, or that his sisters would think I was a bitch, or that I would say or do something wrong.
“You’ll be fine. You make all this stuff look so easy, they have to love you.” I didn’t know how to respond to Grace. I was shocked that she thought I made “All Of This” look easy, whatever “This” was. In reality, I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Everything with Zayn so far has been done on an impulse, I had thought it was a good idea at the time. But I wasn’t going to correct her, it was a compliment. One I couldn’t help but take.
* * *
Zayn picked me up at my door on Friday night. He looked perfect, as always, in a pair of dark grey jeans, his perfectly tattered black combat boots, a grey thermal shirt, under a plaid shirt, under a navy wool coat. I had promised him an outfit he’d love, and I hoped I lived up to that promise. I mean, I wanted to look good, but it was also late December and so freezing outside that not wearing a few layers was just unacceptable. So, I had opted for a dark maroon velvet dress, a thick-ish black knitted cardigan (hoping to give me at least a little bit of warmth) and black tights.
“Okay, so, since you refuse to tell me where we’re going, it’s become your duty to choose the footwear.” I said, dangling one shoe in each hand in front of him.
“Definitely those.” He said, pointing to a pair of flat black ankle boots.
“Why those? Are you taking me somewhere where I have to walk a lot? Because you may not know this, but I’m not the biggest fan of super long walks in freezing cold weather.”
“Calm down, you’ll be fine.” He chuckled as I put my coat on.
We walked for a while, Zayn’s large hands holding mine, keeping it warm without needing gloves. It was still fairly early, not even 7:30, but it had already been dark since around 5 o’clock, which allowed the twinkling Christmas lights that adorned every store window to light up the city. We talked casually about random things, nothing of much importance.
“When am I going to be allowed to know where we’re going?” I finally asked when we’ve been walking for about 20 minutes.
“Soon, very soon.” He said, smirking. He knew I was hating this. And he loved torturing me.
Just a few minutes later, a ferris wheel and flashing lights and other various rides came into view. There was Christmas music and people; lots of people. Directly in front of us was a huge arch that had a sign reading “Winter Wonderland”. I turned to look at Zayn, a huge boyish smile on his face. He raised his dark eyebrows as if to say ‘So, what do you think?’
“I love this!” I squealed, hopping up and down before pulling him into a hug.
“I hoped you would. I thought it might make you happy, all the Christmas-ey stuff…” I kissed him quickly, wanting more, but also knowing we were in the middle of a very public place.
“Let’s go!” I exclaimed, spotting Niall and Grace right near the entrance.
“Hey guys!” I said, hugging them both. “How excited are you for this?!”
“Not excited as you apparently.” Niall laughed. I punched him on the arm.
“So, what do you wanna do first?” Zayn asked, draping an arm around my shoulder as we walked down the first main area which was lined with tons of stalls selling ornaments, food, clothes, jewelry, and anything that could have the British flag printed on it.
“Hmm… Well, what’s the chance of getting you to go ice skating with me?” I asked, batting my eyelashes in his direction, hoping to guilt him into agreeing.
“Sorry babe, pretty slim.”
“The boy doesn’t even know how to swim, Evie. Ice skating is completely out of the question.” Niall said, laughing hysterically at himself.
So, we didn’t ice skate. But we did play games, and listen to the several different performers, and eat crepes and laugh. A lot. I was feeling so happy and festive, I almost didn’t notice the camera flashes going off around us. That is, until one went off directly in front of me and Zayn as I wiped a bit of chocolate off of his bottom lip.
“What the-” I said, looking around to see where the flash had come from. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized the amount of eyes that were on me. Well, us.
“Dammit” Zayn said under his breath, placing a protective hand on the small of my back.
“I should’ve known…” He mumbled, lowering his head as to not make eye contact with anyone. “Niall?” He said, eyeing the blonde boy. “What do you wanna do about this?” If he was trying to act natural, he was doing a pretty terrible job of it. But I could tell from his clenched jaw and forceful words that now wasn’t really the time for one of my sarcastic jokes.
“Um- I mean…” Niall looked flustered, looking from Zayn, to Grace, to the group of people forming near where the four of us stood.
“Zayn-” I said quietly. He turned to me, the look in his eyes softening, if only a little. “Calm down. It’s okay.” I touched his cheek, not wanting to get too worked up or feel guilty about something that was out of his control.
“Can I PLEASE get a picture?!”
And it was that, those six words, that seemed to set of everyone else. Questions were being thrown at Zayn and Niall from every direction. Actually, some were even being directed towards me. But I couldn’t think straight. The dozens of voices, turning into a shout, turning into a throbbing in my head.
“Is she your girlfriend?!”
“I can’t believe you’re dating her!”
“Can you sign this?!”
We began walking, Zayn’s hand gripping mine so tight I thought I might lose feeling in it altogether. But the crowd only followed, throwing out one question after another. We finally slowed down when Niall was stopped by a large man in a security uniform.
“Bobby here is gonna help us out!” Niall said, trying to lighten the mood with his playful tone.
Thanks to our new friend Bobby, we were ushered through the throngs of people that have formed in a matter of minutes, into a more secluded, closed-off bar area. Zayn’s death grip on my hand finally subsided as he let go to run it through his hair, which he always seemed to do when he was overwhelmed.
“Hey-” I placed my hands on his shoulders, bringing his attention back to me, rather than the screams from outside. “- Zayn, look at me.” I tilted his chin so he was looking me in the eye. “It really is okay. I promise. I’m not upset.” He sighed, placing his hands on my hips.
“What if I am? I wanted this to be, just, fun. No drama. You deserve that. And thanks to me it had to get screwed up.”
“No, it’s not. It’s gonna be fine. I don’t care about any of that. I’m just happy to be here with you.” The left side of his mouth twitched upwards, giving me the perfect smirk I craved to see. He tugged me closer, leaning down to graze his lips across my lips, kissing my neck and then saying, in a much happier tone, “I think we could both use a drink.”
* * *
“I love this song!!” I squealed giddily, jumping off of my barstool and dragging Grace with me over to where a young flamboyant guy was singing karaoke to “Don’t Rain On My Parade”. I didn’t care that he couldn’t hold a single note, I was dancing and singing along as if he were the real deal. Maybe it was the three beers I’d had, but I was feeling good. Better than good. I was feeling happy. As Grace and I laughed and screamed the song along with the rest of the people surrounding the small stage, I could help but look over my shoulder for a quick second and notice Zayn, still perched on his barstool, sipping his beer, and never taking his eyes off of me. We were lucky, no one in here knew or cared who they were. We could just have fun.
Once the song was over, I ran over to where he and Niall sat, bumping into the bar.
“Woah there, careful.” Zayn laughed, holding onto me so I wouldn’t fall over.
“I think you should sing.” I stated simply.
“No way.” I said automatically, shaking his head.
“Why not?” I asked, pouting.
“Don’t give me that face, it’ll never work. There’s not a chance i’m getting up there.”
“Baby, you’re a singer, In case you forgot. There’s like, 30 people over there. And they’re all drunk. Not to hurt your ego, but no one cares who you are.” He continued to shake his head, laughing lightly as I continued to beg.
Finally, I resorted to the only option I had left. Sliding onto Zayn’s lap, he automatically stabilized me by wrapping both arms around my waist. I pressed one of my hands to the back of his neck, pulling him towards me. The kiss was amazing, as every kiss with Zayn is. But just as he was about to deepen it, I pulled away, leaning into him and whispered in his ear; “ If you get up there and sing for me, I’ll do something for you in return. “
“You already used that one. How do you think you got here?” He whispered back, giving me a satisfied look, as if he’s won.
Sorry, not this time Malik.
I placed one hand on his knee, sliding it upwards slowly, watching as he took in a shaky breath.
“Then I guess I’ll have to make it twice as good, won’t I?” Zayn raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth to say something in response. But then he closed it, he had nothing.
I knew it. I beat him.
With that, he lifted me off of his lap, stood up, and placed his drink down on the bar.
“So, What’ll it be?”
- -
“I can’t believe you got him to agree to this!” Niall said loudly.
“I can be very persuasive when I want to be.” I giggled, watching as Zayn walked up onto the stage, grabbing the mic from the last person to sing. He motioned over the guy controlling the tracks, saying something into his ear. The guy nodded, going back to his laptop and typing something in.
“So, Um, Hey everyone. Hope you’re all having a good night. This song is for my lovely girlfriend Evie who owes me big time.” He gave a huge grin as the song began;
“ Say that you'll stay, a little. Don't say bye bye tonight.
Say you'll be mine. Just a little of bit of love, Is worth a moment of your time.
Knocking on your door just a little, So cold outside tonight.
Let's get a fire burning. I know, I keep it burning right. If you stay, Won't you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love. Save room for a moment to be with me.
Save room for my love, save a little. Save a little for me
Won't you save a little? Save a little for me, oh...
As Zayn sang, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He sounded… incredible. Better than I ever knew he could. But it wasn’t just that. It was his… everything. He looked at me, nowhere else, as he sang. The words sounding perfect in his voice. I felt like the rest of the room cleared out, and I was just watching him. Only him, and me.
“- This just might hurt a little. Love hurts sometimes when you do it right.
Don’t be afraid of a little bit of pain, Pleasure is on the other side,
Let down your guard just a little, I’ll keep you safe in these arms of mine.
Hold on to me pretty baby, You will see I can be all you need.
If you stay, Won’t you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me,
Save room for my love save a little
Save a little for me. Won’t you save a little?, Save a little for me, oh
Oh, come on. Make time to live a little.
Don’t let this moment slip by tonight. You’ll never know what you’re missing ‘til you try.
I’ll keep you satisfied, If you stay, Won’t you stay?, Stay
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me,
Save room for my love save a little, Save a little for me
Won’t you save a little?
Save a little for me, oh
Save room for my love, Save room for a moment to be with me
Save room for my love save a little, Save a little for me
Won’t you save a little? Save a little for me.”
The song ended, Zayn handed the mic off to the next person to sing, and the crowd erupted into a drunken cheer. The next girl began butchering some pop song, Niall and Grace went back over to the bar, and everyone was moving on from what had just happened. But I just; couldn’t.
“Are you happy now?” Zayn said, smiling as he sauntered over to me. I just watched. When he was close enough, I took both of his hands, lacing our fingers together, stood up on my toes, and pressed my lips against his with a big more force than earlier. He seemed surprised at first, quickly find his way and kissing me back.
“Yes. So, so happy. Thank you.” I breathed against his lips, not wanted to let go of him.
I pressed my body against him, wanting him closer.
Suddenly, the room was just way too crowded. There were too many people, too much noise, and way too many layers separating me from Zayn. He continued to kiss me his teeth teasing my bottom lip, driving me insane.
We pulled apart, each catching our breath after a pretty big public display of affection, something neither of us were usually very into. You know, other than alleys and the back room of the cafe and stuff… But never like this.
“Do you want to go?” I said breathlessly. He just looked at me for a second, his normally golden brown eyes darkening with something different. Lust?
“Yes.”
Notes
I’m really happy with this chapter !! Ahh, I was on such a roll while writing it. I have an english essay and a history quiz tomorrow but I really really wanted ot finish this and get it up and i’m really glad I did :)
So yeah, I really hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think !! I can’t wait to hear your opinions / predictions, you’re all so fun to talk to :)
http://heledis.com/
12/10/13