Vulnerable (Zayn Malik AU)

Chapter 5

"Hey, shortstack!" Franky greeted me as I walked into advanced ceramics.

"Hey." I laughed and took my seat next to him. Our table was in the front of the class, and other than this creepy kid Paul that no one talks to, we were alone. It was just me until he came to talk to me a few days before. Thankfully he did, because only talking to Ms. Fay was getting old and frankly, I was afraid talk to Paul.

"Why'd you leave the party so early? I barely even got to talk to you."

"You didn't hear...?" I asked.

"Well I know it was cause the smoke bothered you but we could have just chilled in the house." He shrugged as he got our clay out.

"It wasn't the smoke...who told you it was the smoke?"

"Christian?" It was a statement, but because he was confused it sounded like a question.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, but your good pal Christian is the reason I left...nothing else." I didn't want to dive into the details in the middle of class. 

"Oh. Yeah he can be a real douche." He laughed as he pounded his clay into a ball.

"You have no idea..."


•••••


Other than talking to Franky, my day had been completely dull. Zayn ignored me in Econ, and Lilly was too busy working with her partner in class. I waited for Zayn to scoot over and start working with me, but he didn't. He just pulled out his portfolio and worked on a drawing. Which - of course - he wouldn't let me see. He held the cover up to block my vision. No matter what way I leaned I couldn't see a thing. I decided to ignore him after that. It was only bringing me down.

It was lunch time yet again, and I was sitting with the oh-so-lovely Kendall. Gag. She was talking about the party. I ignored her as per usual, until she mentioned a familiar name.

"And then Christian asked me to come outside. I was like 'ew no you're gross', but then I went anyway. We made out on the side of the house and it was so romantic." She gushed. He made out with her in the same spot he had assaulted me in moments before...the thought of that made me sick. "You wouldn't know though. You were too lame and left because of smoke."

"That's not why I left." I said through my teeth.

"Why did you leave? It was weird. And Zayn left like a minute after Christian took you outside. Did you see him? Gosh the things I would do to that boy." I clenched my fists trying to ignore her implication. "Seriously he's smokin. I've made it my goal to get that boy by the end of the year." She giggled. "Oh, there he is! And look. He's looking right at me." She waved. "Hey, Zayn!"  I looked to my right to see Zayn leaning on the same tree as always, holding his portfolio close as he looked up at us. I don't think he was looking up until she called his name. Pathetic.

"I thought you said he was bad news." I reminded her under my breath, but of course she ignored me.

"Come here, silly!" She bat her eyelashes.

What an idiot. That stuff doesn't work on - are you serious? He's getting up. Don't even look at him, Daisy. Just keep pushing your lettuce around.

"Hey, Zayn." Kendall cooed as she twirled a chunk of hair in between her grubby little fingers.

"Hello, Kendall." I looked up to see him smiling at her as he leaned down, resting his hands on the table. He didn't even glance at me.

"So I didn't really get to see you at the party." She giggled. "How come you left so early?" She continued to twirl her hair and smack on bubble gum that I didn't even see her put in her mouth.

"I had to go home and help my mum. She texted me and it was too late to come back when I was done helping." He shrugged. Why is he lying? He was at my house...why doesn't he just tell her? I got too frustrated to listen any longer and grabbed my bag.

I tossed my disgusting salad and stormed off to art class. There was still a good twenty minutes until class started, but sitting there while they purposely flirted in front of me was aggravating. I mean, I know Zayn and I aren't super close....but I thought we had a little something the other night. Maybe I grossed him out. Guys don't date girls that play video games, don't get invited to parties, and spend their time at home. That's boring. They want the girls that are down for anything and everything. I'll never be that girl. I can't be, nor do I want to. My thoughts were running wild.

I walked into art, and of course it was empty. I kind of preferred it. Mr. Morningside seemed like the nosey teacher that butts into your private life too much. I didn't want him picking my brain at that moment. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my portfolio. I had only done three drawings in the week that I'd had it, but you shouldn't rush that sort of thing. Creativity takes time.

As I stared at the blank page, I pulled out my number 2 pencil, and began to scribble. I scratched and created what looked like a very dark room, and pulled out my eraser. In what resembled the corner of a room, I erased a little figure. I erased just enough to where I could draw the silhouette of a person in sharpie. I pulled out my permanent marker, and brought out the image in my head. I scooted the book away, really taking in my drawing.

That's how I feel right now. Alone. In a dark room. With no one,  nothing, to comfort me. It actually sounds pleasant right now. I miss my bed.

"That's a nice drawing." Mr. Morningside startled me. "What's it mean?"

"Does it have to mean something?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs.

"Not technically. But the way you studied it just now...it pretty obvious that it means something to you." I just continued to look down. "Alright, I won't pry. But you may wanna turn the page. The bell just rang and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know the meaning behind that picture." He said and walked to his desk.

How did twenty minutes go by that fast. I mean, yeah I got a whole drawing done, but I scribbled really fast. I was brought from my thoughts yet again when the chair to my right became taken.

"Hey, Daisy." Franky smiled at me.

"Hey." I kept my eyes focused on the front of the class.

"How's the rest of your day been?" He asked, fiddling with his pencil.

"Good I guess." The class had settled, and Mr. M was getting up to lecture. Thank goodness.

"Alright ladies and dudes alike, today we're going to learn about how to portray value. You will study and practice the techniques of stipple, crosshatch, shading, and smudging." He was interrupted by the door opening. "Mr. Malik. Glad you could make it." Ugh. I hadn't noticed he wasn't here. Why couldn't he do me a favor and just skip.

"Sorry." He said and made his way to our table. When he sat down I looked at him, but to him I was nonexistent. No greeting, no smile...not even the simplest glance.

"I'm passing around this worksheet. You will practice the types of value. This board shows generally what it should look like when you've finished. This can be one of the extra pages that you add to your portfolio. If you need help, then holler." Mr. Morningside explained before passing out the worksheets.

I got mine and began to follow the key in the corner. I tackled stippling first because it seemed like it took the longest. I definitely wasn't the first to think so, because the room erupted with the sound of pencils tapping the tables. Stippling is when you shade an object with tons of tiny little dots. I took the more pretentious route, and quietly dotted the cone on my paper. I individually did each dot to perfection, my neurotic tendencies coming to the surface. I couldn't help but notice Zayn doing the same thing, taking his upper lip in between his teeth as he focused. The noise in the room grew irritating as people destroyed the tips of their pencils, so I decided to pull out my headphones. Mr. Morningside instructed on the first day that we can listen to music of our own, as long as he could get our attention when he needed to. Just as I was about to hit play, Franky spoke up.

"Hey, so I was wondering: since we didn't really get to hang at the party, wanna come over?"

"Today?" I asked.

"Yeah, right after school. We can walk together." I couldn't help but notice Zayns pencil had stopped moving. I was going to say no, but thought I should try to get a reaction out of him.

"Sure, I'd love to." I smiled.

Zayns lead snapped, and he got up to go to the sharpener. I don't care what anyone says, that was because of me. If hanging out with Franky is what it takes to get Zayn to acknowledge me, then I'm gonna do it.



•••••



The rest of class was spent with me tediously attending to my worksheet. Everyone else finished within minutes, but it took me the whole hour. I wanted it to be perfect. I went up and sharpened my pencil just as the final bell rang. I walked back to my seat as the other students rushed out, and joined Franky. He handed me my bag, seeing as though I'd already packed the rest of my things away.

"Can I have a minute, Toomey?" My teacher asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said and walked over to his desk.

"I'll wait outside." Franky assured me.

"I just wanna point out your workmanship. I looked at your paper during class, and it looked fantastic." He said admiring my shading techniques.

"Thank you."

"You know, if you'd like, you could easily be in advanced art." He said and I pondered the thought. "You don't have to decide now, but the option is definitely there."

"Ok. Thanks." I smiled and head for the door.

"Oh, and Daisy?" He said and I turned back to him. "Lighten up would ya?" He said and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm a delight." I whipped my hair back with my hand jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah. Run along now." He scooted at me with his hands and I listened, pushing the large metal door open.

I stepped outside to see students all rushing to get off campus, but no Franky. I looked around the corner to see if maybe he was standing there but he wasn't. Then I looked up, and saw familiar boots crossed as the man that wore them was leaned upon the office wall.

Zayn.

He had a smirk on his face that chilled me to the bone. He watched me look for Franky. How embarrassing. Why did Franky leave? He seriously ditched me. I don't even care. I'm still going to his house. I walked past Zayn, bumping him with my shoulder as he stood up off the wall. He still didn't say a word to me, and technically he did nothing wrong, but I was so annoyed with him. How are you just going to ignore me after I invited you into my home. Do you know how many people I allow in my home? One. Lilly. I ranted in my head.

I went to my locker and grabbed my Econ book. Not only did I have the partner project to do with Zayn, which I doubted I would get to finish, but we had vocab due as well. Yay. I didn't even want to think about the fact that I had to work with Zayn. He probably doesn't want to work with me either. He'll just ignore me for the rest of the week and well get nothing done and fail the first project. I'm going to be the first student ever to fail Economics. I can see it now.

As I passed the buses and crowds of students, the annoying chatter amongst teens grew quiet. I honestly couldn't stand the kids of my generation. Or, at least the kids in my town. They all care about the superficial aspects of life. I was trying to look beyond the exterior of everything. I think that's why I preferred to hang out with Franky. He didn't seem to care about much but a good time, and I appreciated that.

I reached Frankys street, and I was thankful he lived so close. Even though I was dressed in a thin shirt and shorts, it was much too hot outside to walk a long distance. I turned the corner and could see his house. Much to my annoyance, the sound of a loud motor grew near me.

I looked to my left and saw a familiar red bike idling at my side. "What do you want." I said it normally, but loud enough to be sure he heard me over the bike.

"Get on." He said, holding an extra helmet out to me.

"No, thank you." I said and sped up my steps. I was only three houses away from Franky. But he obviously wasn't going to give up without a fight as he pulled his bike up onto the sidewalk.

"Get. On." He growled through his face-covering helmet.

"Don't you understand the word 'no'?" I stood there tapping my foot.

"Come on, Dais." He said still holding the helmet out. "Just get on the damn bike, please." I wanted to protest and be strong, but with the use of my nickname, I was putty in his hands. I huffed as I pulled my backpack off and put my Econ book inside as well as my phone. I wasn't going to risk dropping anything. I looked up and he was still holding out the helmet. I took it angrily, trying to come off as annoyed. I couldn't help but picture the large smirk on his face.

I pulled my hair to the side, stalling as long as possible, and began to tie it into a braid. I'm sure he was growing impatient, but if he complained I would've just kept walking.

"Really, Dais?" He said pushing the eye part of his mask up. I tried not to let it distract me and gave him a stern look. He rolled his eyes and shut the helmet closed again. "Stop stalling and get on the bike." He said revving the motor.

I tied off my braid and buckled my helmet. Mine was different from his. His was more professional. The type that completely secures your whole head. Mine was more....girly. The kind that just covers the top of your head. Just a little bowl. And, like Zayns, it was a plain black helmet. Though, mine was shiny where his was matte. 

I adjusted the straps of my backpack, making sure everything on me was secure, and climbed onto the bike. As I kicked my leg over, I couldn't help but grab his shoulder. Embarassed, I released it the second I was on.

"Are you gonna go with option two this time? Or are you gonna hold on so we can go." He said, turning his head back a tad.

"I'd rather die." I said and I meant it. But the second he revved the motor and took off, we moved so fast I flew backwards. If it weren't for him grabbing my right arm, I would've been all over the pavement. He did that on purpose.

He took my arm and held it to his stomach until I wrapped the other one with it.

Angrily, and against my will, I joined my left arm with my right and intertwined my hands. I could still picture that stupid smirk on his face as I tried my best to not actually touch him. My legs and arms were all that made contact as I tried my best not to lean my body forward.

We made our way to the outskirts of town, and he pulled off the road onto a dirt path. Gravel sounded beneath the tires as he pulled along. The path was thin, big enough just for a small car. I'd never been to that part of town, but he seemed to know where he was going.

The trees on the edges of the path were all large and leaning forward, creating a perfect shield from the sun - only small strands of light making their way in. At the foot of each tree was a sea of leaves, bushes, and flowers, obviously never having been tampered with. It all looked perfectly beautiful if I'm being honest. Near what seemed like the end of the path, it curved right, but Zayn turned left. The bike was probably only going maybe 5mph as we trudged along. There was a small trail nearly about a foot wide - just wide enough for his tires. I looked back at the path we were on to see where it led and saw the end of what looked like a car, and more importantly, a 'private property' sign.

"Zayn we shouldn't be here!" I said finally allowing myself to lean on him, but he ignored me and kept driving.

The little trail we were on had obviously been rode and walked upon considering it'd become only dirt, each plant that had been there once was dead. Up ahead was brighter with the trees spreading out more. We reached a small opening of grass and he stopped the bike.

I stepped off the second he took out the key.

"Why are we here. What is this." I asked, still completely annoyed.

He threw his foot back and put the kickstand out before he stood up. He took off his helmet and set it on the bike. "Can't you just enjoy this? Stop being so mad." He stepped toward me and unclipped my helmet, carefully lifting it off of my head. I couldn't help but notice how his hair still looked perfect, despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet. How it stayed up like that, despite being pushed down, the world may never know.

He sat my helmet by his and came back to me, gently sliding my backpack straps off.

"What are you doing." I asked, too frozen to step away.

"You won't be needing this." It fell from my shoulders and he placed it on the grass next to his bike. He turned back around and grabbed my hand, leading me past the little meadow and onto another little path. The path was short, I could see the end past about five trees. Once we reached the end he let go of my hand and I couldn't help but whimper inside. I liked his touch.

He stepped to the side, revealing where we were.

"Oh my gosh." I cupped my mouth at the sight before me. "It's so pretty...."

He stood silently to let me take in the scenery. It was a little creek that I assumed lead out to McCloud River. Just like the road we were on, it was greatly shielded by trees, but all the way down the middle there was a strip of sunlight. The water was flowing lazily, gently brushing the rocks that enclosed it. Toward the left the water flowed, and you could see a large opening of deeper water in the distance - McCloud River if my hunch is correct. To my right, there was an absolutely gorgeous waterfall. It was nothing big, probably only as tall as me, but it was big enough to matter. The water that was falling over the edge was falling much faster and abundantly than the water of the creek.

"So whataya say?" Zayn asked, breaking the silence.

"What do I say about what..."

"You wanna swim?"