the one that got away, zayn malik

chapter twenty six

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
11th of august 2016

ZAYN malik was not expecting to wake up to the news that olive green, the girl who once played such a pivotal role in his life, had been spotted leaving a club in new york city with dylan o'brien. he'd been sipping his coffee, still half-asleep, when the headline flashed across his phone: olive and dylan spotted together, kissing in hotel elevator.

his stomach dropped.

he wasn't jealous—at least, he told himself he wasn't. after all, he was in a committed relationship with gigi hadid, and things between them were solid, despite the ups and downs of the past. but there was something about the way olive and dylan looked last night, the way the world suddenly seemed to pay attention to her, that gnawed at him. the footage, the chemistry—it was hard to ignore.

gigi was sitting beside him, her focus on the magazine in her lap. it was a quiet morning. for a moment, he just stared at it, his thumb frozen over the screen. olive?

he tried to ignore it, but the curiosity gnawed at him, pulling him in like a trainwreck. his mind was telling him to stop, but his hand didn't listen. he clicked the link.

the video loaded, and there she was— olive. laughing, clearly having a great time, leaning into dylan o'brien, of all people. they were so close, practically stuck to each other in that cozy little elevator. and then... they kissed. very passionately.

zayn felt a sting in his chest. the connection was undeniable. it wasn't supposed to be like this, he thought. she's not supposed to be with him.

his fingers tightened around the phone as he replayed the kiss, that damn kiss. why did this hurt more than it should?

just then, gigi looked over, noticing his silence. "hey, are you okay?" her voice was soft, concerned, but he barely heard it at first, too lost in his own head.

he quickly swiped the phone away, locking the screen and flashing her a half-hearted smile. "yeah. yeah, i'm fine."

but gigi wasn't convinced. "are you sure?"

zayn nodded, forcing a nonchalant shrug. "yeah, just... tired, i guess."

she didn't press, but as she turned back to her magazine, zayn's thoughts kept spiraling. he couldn't shake that feeling—something about dylan just didn't sit right with him. maybe it was just the jealousy, maybe it was the fact that he felt like he'd been replaced so quickly, but a tiny part of him needed to know more. needed to understand what this new guy had that he didn't.

after a long beat of silence, zayn's voice cut through the stillness, almost to his own surprise. "hey, uh, do you know dylan o'brien?" he tried to sound casual, but it came out a little more curious than he intended.

gigi looked up, slightly taken aback. "dylan? you mean, the actor?"

"yeah," zayn replied, his tone flat. "just curious."

gigi raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "i mean, who doesn't know him? he's been in a ton of stuff—movies, tv shows. i think i've met him a couple of times at events. heard good things about him. why?"

zayn hesitated, unsure how to answer. his mind was still reeling from the video, from the sight of olive with dylan. it wasn't just curiosity anymore. it was something deeper. he didn't like how this felt. didn't like the idea of someone else taking his place in her life so easily.

"good things?" zayn repeated, trying to keep his voice even, but the bite of sarcasm slipped out before he could stop it. "like what?"

gigi looked up from her magazine, noticing the edge in his tone. "i mean, people like him. he's nice, down to earth, apparently really cool to hang out with." she shrugged, still sounding casual. "what's up?"