Soft Spot (Zayn Malik)

XII

Chapter Twelve: Tattoos, Questions, and Misconceptions

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"Let's go before you get sick." Zayn offered his hand to me, wrapping his blazer over my shoulders tighter as he helps me get inside his car.

 "So are you here to stay?" I looked at up at him when I was seated, gently fiddling with the seatbelt to buckle myself.

He didn't say anything about my question, he just watched my fingers play with the belt and when he was finally annoyed, he furiously shook his head and took the metal from my hands, buckling me himself. I mouthed him a 'thank you' and he just smiled at me, nodding before closing the door and jogging to the driver's seat.

"I'm here to stay," he turned the engine on and pressed his feet on the pedal, "I don't think I'd be able to take being away from you ever again."

"What were you doing in Paris?" I asked, trying to hide my blush from the last part of the answer he'd just given me.

"School." He coughed, reversing out of the parking space, "and I had to take care of some stuff for my dad."

"Wow, five months of school isn't that long."

"It is when you're far from people you want to be with." He turned on the heat of the car before driving away from the school.

I suddenly remembered going to summer camp in second grade. Aeanne and I were supposed to go but she'd been terribly sick the day before the camp started, so I had to by myself. Two weeks of camp immediately felt like two months without Aeanne there, because I really wanted to be able to be with her and share new experiences with her. That would have been fun.

"How was your school in Paris?" I looked at him, fidgeting with my thumbs underneath his blazer.

"French."

"Well, no, shit. Nice observation, Sherlock." I rolled my eyes.

He glanced at me with a tint of amusement painted on his eyes, that stupid smug smile plastered on his lips. He just shrugged, trying hard not to laugh at my annoyance towards his sarcastic remarks. He focused on the road in front of us again before speaking again:

"How was Rosewood when I was gone?"

"That's kinda impossible to answer, since nothing in Rosewood will ever change." I shook my head, trying to remember the course of events that had happened during the five months that he was gone.

"Anything interesting could've happened." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, there was a rumor that a certain Zayn Malik had a disagreement with his blonde best mate, followed by a break up with a certain Alizia Greene." I looked at him seriously, one eyebrow arching.

"Alizia and I were never together," he sighed, "that bitch is deluded."

"I figured." I laughed sarcastically.

"About Niall, though...we're fine now."

"What happened between you two?" I frowned.

 "He was pissed as a shit when he found out I'd be going on a date with you instead of hanging out with him before I left for Paris." He laughed enthusiastically, like it was such a funny thing to him.

"I don't think that's funny, Zayn," I rolled my eyes, looking at the road ahead of us.

"What's funny is, he's gay for me and he was jealous." He shrugged.

"Is he really?" I gasped sarcastically before facing him again.

"Would it really be believable if I said Niall is gay?" He frowned.