Hired For Malik (Completed)

Chapter 22: Thoughts

Zayn's POV.

She left me back in that room, getting mad at me for talking to Perrie. Why was that so bad? The bigger question, why did it matter to Lindsay? Perrie was just a friend. That's all I can see her as, since she practically broke my heart. But it was nice to catch up with her.

Now, Lindsay was mad at me. And that thought gave the cue for my tears to come. Only a few slipped out, but I knew they would be noticeable. Especially to Liam. He always caught everything.

I walked, looking for my friends, when Perrie came running up to me. She touched my cheek lightly and pouted.

"What happened?" For some reason, I thought she liked me. But I knew it was false. Even saying it in my mind was silly.

I sucked in a sharp breath,"Nothing." She didn't seem to buy it and I sighed,"It's Lindsay."

She nodded her head, probably pretending she knew everything,"Zaynie, I don't think she's right for you." Her arm crept up my own and I automatically knew what she was doing. She wanted Lindsay to get out of the picture and it was working.

I took a step back,"No, she is right for me. Cause I know she actually likes me." I had to lie, to get rid of her,"Now I think it's time you leave." She looked shocked that such words came out if my mouth. And believe me, I was too.

I left her there, standing like an idiot, walking over to Liam. Today wasn't as god as I'd thought it would be. To tell you the truth, I was going to finally spill my feelings for Lindsay. But I knew the way he was feeling, she wasn't going to give me the time of day.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. Once he turned his head, he knew that something was wrong. So much for trying.

"What's wrong?" He whispered down into my ear.

"Lindsay and I are fighting again. I just wish she knew that I like her." He was like a brother to me, so I knew I could spill every little secret I knew.

Liam looked left and right and grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side away from people,"Mate, you're my best friend and I care about you. But I think it's best if you don't like her." What he said was true. It would be a whole my easier if I didn't like her. But she meant a lot to me, for the short amount of time that I knew her.

We went back to the group, Louis and Eleanor joining us. It was hard to pay attention to the conversation they were having, because I was looking for Lindsay. She ran off, and I didn't know where she was.

A small, fragile voice is what I heard. Snapping my head to the direction where it came from, I saw Lindsay and Liam hugging; also talking. It hurt me, a lot.

'No Zayn, you don't like her.'

I focused on that thought until he came my way. Still acting for the crowd, we out our hands together and Egan walking, greeting people as we went. But our hands? They just felt... Right. Like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.

Shaking my head, I tugged on her hand to pull her to the other side of the room. Just as I was about to say hello again, we stopped. I yanked Lindsay's arm to come forward but she wouldn't budge. What now?

"Can we please go back to the other side of the room? Please?" I kept my eyes forward, not bothering to look at her.

"What's wrong with saying hello?" I grumbled. I kept my thought trained on Liam's words.

"Zayn, look at me." I gave up, glancing over at her. Pure terror filled her eyes. Her shoulders were shaking. Something was up,"Can we please leave? Please, Zayn. Please." I knew she wasn't fooling around with me and I nodded.

"I'll take you away if you promise to tell me why." She nodded, a few seconds after, and I guided her to the front exit of the building. Her hands were clenched tightly on my forearm. Something was definitely wrong.

It took a good five minutes before we got into my car. She had my glasses on, and I liked her in them. She looked pretty good.

She wasn't talking, and it was best to give her time to decide what she was going to tell me. We were almost close to her neighborhood when I was about to blow.

But that's when she explained,"I wanted to leave because..."She hesitated before going on,"Because my old boyfriend was there." You're kidding me, right?

I stopped the car and pulled it to the side of the road, turning on her,"Are you serious? That's ridiculous. And you have some nerve getting mad at me for talking to Perrie. Wow."

She ripped the sun glasses off, exposing her glassy eyes,"No, you don't understand. He abused me, Zayn. He abused me. You don't understand what it was like to be in the same room as him all over again!"

Well, I misjudged that a lot.

A beautiful girl like her was abused? That was just wrong. That guy was sick if he did that.

I immediately wrapped her in a hug. It was out of instinct. And soon, I was crying to. No girl, who ever she was, deserved that.

But first off, what was he doing at that show? I would look into that after.

She asked to stay at my house, and I told her yes. There was no way I was going to leave her alone, now.

Once we got to my flat, I carried her inside bridal style. She needed as much comforting as she could get and I would be the one to give it to her. Bringing her up to my room, she was about to fall asleep. It was only 7 but I couldn't imagine what she was feeling right now.

I helped her strip her clothes, and far her one of my shirts for her to sleep in. Wrapping the blankets around her, I headed down stairs to make us tea.

The phone has been ringing nonstop but I didn't have the guts to answer it. Now her secret, I could not tell Liam. No matter how much I trusted him. This was between me and her.

The water started boiling and I poured the bit liquid into our mugs, going back up the steps.

Coming through the door, her eyes were open and I knew she would appreciate this. Sitting on the side of her, I handed her the cup. She wrapped her hands around it, humming while sipping it.

And one hour later, she was in my arms fast asleep. The whole Perrie thing was past us and we had moved on.

But playing with her hair, it made me realize something.

There was no way I could not like her.

Ever.

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~A/N~

Sorry about all the spelling. I do some of the writing on my phone and because of stupid spell check, it mixes up my words.

Anyways, please vote and comment! It would mean a lot!

-Taylor xx