Zayn pushed Noah on the swing, the small boy laughing with joy despite how low to the ground the swing remained. He was small enough that he could have fit in the baby swing, but he had been insistent That he sit on one of the big kid swings. And despite his small size, he appeared to have a strong grip and an impeccable sense of balance. He was squealing in delight as the swing swing back and forth and Zayn found it adorable. If nothng else, this adorable little kid was distracting him from his problems with Niall.
"Zayn, is that you?!?" Zayn recognized the voice of the paparazzi and immeadiatly pulled up his hood. He grabbed Noah off the swing, making the kid whine in protest. But it was more important to keep Noah safe from the vicious paparazzi than it was to let him have his fun. Carrying the three year old in his arms, Zayn hurried into the first building he found, which happened to be a small bakery. The girl at the counter looked rather confused to see a customer.
"Are you Zayn Malik?" Or maybe she was just confused as to why Zayn Malik was in her shop.
"I am. Ill sign anything and do anything else you want. I just need you to keep me away from them." He gestured outsife to the paparazzi, who was coming closer by the secind. The girl nodded and quickly locked the door, leading Zayn to the back by his arm that wasn't holding Noah. She led him to the back of the bakery, and shut and locked that door too. Finally they stood there rather awkwardly, looking around the room, anywhere but the others face.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I really am. But if there's anything I can do for you, jist let me know." Zayn was hit with the familiar stab of guilt for using a strangers help without helping them in return.
"Its okay. But who's the kid." The girl asked. Zayn bit his lip, not exactly sure what To tell her.
"Just the son of a friend." He said, not sure what else he could tell her. Luckily, Noah saved him from having to say anything more.
"I'm N-Noah." The little kid stuck out a hand. The girl smiled and shook it gently.
"I'm Isabelle." She introduced, and you could tell that from that moment she absolutely loved the little boy. She turned to Zayn. "Please, You two help yourself to anything in the shop. I have to go. Here's the key in case things clear up and you want to go." She handed Zayn the key to the front door. "Sorry there's not more I can do."
And with that, Isabelle left, leaving Zayn to spend the day in a bakery with a three year old boy.
"You want some cookies?" Zayn asked, not sure what else to do with the boy. He nodded enthusiastically, but when Zayn looked around, he didn't see any already made cookies. There were plenty of baking supplies lying about, But no actual cookies. Zayn briefly considered trying to bake some cookies, but cooking had always been more of Harry's thing. It wasn't that Zayn coyldnt bake, but he wasn't very good at it.
"W-where are t-the c-cookies?" Noah sounded heartbroken, and Zayn felt a pang of sadness hit his heart as the boy stuttered out the words.
"Well, we have to make them." Zayn told the boy decidedly. He hadn't been willing to try baking before, but Noah's stutter had changed that. He looked around the kitchen, wondering what you even put in cookies. "Do you want to help?"
Noah nodded. "Y-yeah."
Zayn nodded, biting his lip as he wondered what To put in cookies. Finally he gave up and decided to call Harry. He dialled the number he had memorized and waited as it rang. But it jist kept ringing, before finally going to voicemail.
'Hey, if you called, you probably know who this is. I've got other thibgs to deal with right now. But I'll be sure to call you back when I have time.'
Zayn lowered his phone from his ear, knowing that by the time Harry checked his voicemail, there would be no point. Zayn was going to have to make the cookies all on his own. With a frown, he Googled a recipe, and was quite satisfied to discover one that was supposed to be quick and easy, perfect for little kids learning to bake. Zayn was sure Noah was a little young for that, but between the two of them, maybe they could figure it out.
"Mix 2 cups flour with two eggs." Zayn read aloud. He got the flour and eggs and a bowl, handing Noah The measuring cup. "Can you put two scoops in the bowl?" Noah obliged, scooping the flour in to the bowl. It wasn't the perfect amount, but Zayn was sure it would be fine. He cracked the eggs into the bowl, giving Noah The spoon to stir as he measured out the next ingredients. It went on like this, Zayn measuring and Noah pouring the ingredients in and stirring for a while, until Zayn came to the end of the recipe. He gave the batter a few stirs of his own to make sure it was properly mixed before spreading it on a pan and putting it n the oven.
"And now we wait." Zayn leaned back against the counter.
"W-where are t-the c-cookies." Noah asked with a frown.
Zayn sighed. "We have to wait. Do you wanna do somwthing while we wait?" Noah nodded enthusiastically and Zayn tried to think of something to occupy their time. Finally, he put on somw music, hoping it didn't contain any thibg bad for a three year old to hear. Noah listened, captivated by the music. And that was how they spent the time while the cookies were baking, Noah intently listening to the music that may or may not be appropriate for his young ears and Zayn watching him. After a good 15 minutes of this, the cookies were done and Zayn took them out of the oven. They listened to more music as they waited for them to cool, and once they were a reasonable temperature, Zayn tried one. They tasted okay. Not great, but better than you would expect from a three year old and an inexperienced baker. He handed Noah a cookie, which the three ywar old loved. He gave the kid another cookie before calling Kendall.
"Is everything all right?" Kendall asked the second she picked up the phone.
Zayn chuckled. "Everything is fine. I was just wondering if you could pick Noah up from this bakery. I would bring him to you, but I had some trouble with the paparazzi earlier, and I didn't want to expose him any more."
"Of coirse." Kendall instantly agreed. "What Bakery?"
"Sugar and Spice. Its on the street right across from the little park by town square." Zayn explained, knowing it was unlikely that she had heard of the bakery.
"I'll be there as soon as possible." And with that, Kendall hung up. Zayn turned the music back on so Noah wouldn't get bored and helped himself to another cookie. He felt so bad for letting the paparazzi get so close to Noah. He disnt need that in his life.
"Zayn?" There was a knock at the front door, and Zayn peered out to see Kendall. He unlocked the door and let her in. Unsurprisingly, she walked straight to Noah, who was gnawing on a cookie, entranced by the music. Kendall smiled at the sight before turning her smile on Zayn.
"Thank you so much. He looks like he had a great time." Kendall hugged Zayn tightly, kissing him on the cheek, and Zayn felt butterflies erupt in his stomach. But Kendall didn't say another word to him before she left with Noah, leaving Zayn in an empty bakery.
