Rebuilding Zerrie

Car Mishap

DAY 11

ZAYN'S P.O.V.

Once I saw that the sun was out that morning for the first time since rainy season started, I knew that this day was going to be a good one. Most likely not for me, but for somebody. Hopefully somebody in our band. The first thing we did that day was go to the hospital to pick up the girl, only to find out that she had already left and went home.

Niall contacted her through his mobile and she explained that Kiefer made her promise to rest that day. We all knew it meant something more but we didn't want to say it out loud. At least, not around Harry.

Our conversation with Magee was not to be spoken aloud in the presence of Harry as well. Besides, he didn't need to know any of the things that we were keeping from him. If destiny be that he wound find out, then let it be that he find out on his own. He needn't to know from our uttered words.

We took it as an opportunity that Harry had volunteered to stay shotgun on our way to the studio.

"Do you really think it's a good idea not to tell him?" Louis asked us, twisting his back almost a full 180 to see Niall and I more clearly at the back seat. "I mean, what's the harm if we do?"

"Are you crazy, mate?" Niall almost forgot to whisper. "I don't want to be the one to tell him he was MIA because he took a day-off on his birthday!"

"Yeah," I agreed on the byline. "Plus, he's so whipped on that girl. I could just smell that this isn't going to be a happy ending for the two of them when we leave for tour."

"Or when she finds out that he's messing with her," Louis added. "As big time as Kendall Schmidt."

"Lads, these girls are screwing us up," Liam was the first to state out what we had all been too afraid to say. It was the truth. The truth wasn't something we could keep running away from. It was too late now to hide from it. We had already been caught. "Not just Kloe but Danielle, Eleanor and..."

Liam stopped abruptly before he was going to say it. Her name. We stared at him, anticipating what he was going to say next. "And Perrie as well," he sighed and looked at me, concern and sorrow visible in his eyes. "I'm sorry Zayn but this is getting way out of hand." I wasn't upset that he had told me. I was relieved, actually, that somebody did and surprised that it was Liam who had the bullocks to do it. "We need to get our heads back in the game."

This time, he wasn't just aiming at me. He was aiming at the two other boys huddled up in a moving vehicle, excluding Harry from the conversation. "Let's promise each other that we won't worry about the lassies anymore," he persuaded the lot of us. "And if we must, we shouldn't allow the others to be affected by our problems." Harsh, mate. "Promise?"

There was a still silence, other than the whirring of the wheels on the pavement. Then there was screeching and screaming. We had stopped abruptly and had almost hit another car but, luckily, we were all safe. Our driver, though, was not too pleased by what had just happened and got out of his car with every intention of telling the other driver off.

To stop him from starting a fight that could cause us trouble once again, I straddled the backrest in front of me to get outside of the van. Who came out of the other car wasn't the driver as I had expected.

It was Perrie.

I had stopped midstep the moment I saw her and froze to an ice cube's capacity. She looked different, not necessarily all that bad. Her hair was perfect, of course, in a loose bun and still pink as cotton candy. She was wearing make up but there were some features that not even the most expensive products can conceal like the circles under her eyes and the lack of brightness in her smile.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, sir," Perrie spoke gently to our driver, trying not to cause a ruckus. I was just thankful that our driver softened up to the effervescent Perrie and loosed up the fists of his sides.

"No, it's alright, miss," our driver actually smiled at her as he shook his head in contentedness. "Nobody was hurt, right?"

"I might be," I cut in, raising my hand. The moment the both of them turned to me, I immediately regretted talking. Repeatedly, I cussed at myself for being such a gob shite. Why didn't I just go back in the car and pretend like I didn't see her? I know I was going to have to deal with this sooner or later, just not now. I wasn't ready.

Her look of shock didn't disappear. "Zayn?" Perrie curled her eyebrows at me as if I had just killed a baby. I was petrified. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe with her looking at me like I aborted her fetus. When she made a step towards me, I did what my first instinct told me to do.

Run.

At first, I didn't know where I was going. I just kept running away from Perrie and, once I was sure I had lost them, I hailed in a taxi. "Just drive," I managed to say in between large pants of breath. I had to go somewhere Perrie wouldn't think of to find me and where I wouldn't get caught by the public.

KLOE'S P.O.V.

As I watched TV in the living room, bored as hell from the lack of action happening in my house, I heard the doorbell ring. It must've been the pizza I ordered. I opened the door, already with my payment and a generous tip for the delivery guy but it wasn't the pizza guy.

Zayn was standing right outside my door.