Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Twenty

I type out the last paragraph of a research paper that I've been working on for the past week. A sigh visibly leaves my body as I look over my finished work. Of course, now I have to read it over and make sure it's not missing anything, but it's nice to know that the main part is finished.

    College papers have been a good distraction lately, it helps give my mind something to think about rather than all of the other things brewing in the back of my head. In fact, I almost feel eager to see what my next project will be.

    The rest of my day is free as Mr. Payne is busy with the search party tonight and canceled our weekly work session. I'm still deciding if I should go to the search party tonight or the one on Friday.

     Just as I shut my laptop my phone begins to vibrate in my pocket. I gulp, my heart suddenly beating fiercely in my chest. Could it be the call from him? The call I've been waiting for very anxiously for the past few days, making it so that every time the phone rings I feel as if I could faint.

    I bring the phone out of my pocket and feel my body slump as I look at the caller ID. Zayn.

    "Hello?" I answer, trying to keep my tone light.

    It's not that I'm unhappy to hear from him, I'm just weary of continually getting my hopes up for nothing. I try shake these thoughts from my head as his voice comes through the line.

    "Hey, Charlotte? It's Zayn." He says, his voice sounding deep and slow as if he just got up.

    "Yeah, I have caller ID." I giggle.

    "Oh, yeah." He chuckles lightly, "I had fun talking to you yesterday."

    I smile as I play with the hem of my sock. "Me too. Are you feeling any better?"

    There's a pause before I can hear a faint sigh through the line. "No, not really... I think I just need to do something to take my mind off of things." He admits and I can almost see him shrugging his shoulders with the words.

    "Aw, I'm sorry Zayn. You know I'm here if you need anything."

    "Actually, that's why I called. I was wondering if you would come with me to pick out an outfit that I could wear to ThanksGiving with Courtney's parents." He explains.

    "Oh... Isn't that something you'd want to do with Courtney?" I question, my tone unsure.

    "She's a little bit mad at me right now." He says sheepishly with a faint laugh that's muffled through the line. I can hear a fridge door open and bottles clinking in the background as he speaks.

    "She's mad at you too?"

    "Yeah,"

    "I don't want to upset her even more by hanging out with you when she's angry at both of us." I point out.

    "It wouldn't upset her. She knows we're friends." He counters.

    I'm silent for a moment as I think this over. I pick little balls of lint off of my blue, fuzzy, socks and set them next to my foot on my computer chair. I can hear the faint noise of Zayn swallowing something on the other end.

    "Aren't you going to the search party for Niall tonight?" I ask him.

    The line goes silent for a moment, making me wonder if I've upset him.

     "No. I just need time."

    I nod sympathetically even though he can't see me.

    "You're the only thing that's managed to not make me feel like shit these past few days. That's why I wanted you to come with me... So we can just have fun and forget life for a little bit." He exhales.