Spare Change [h.s au]

Ch 5

It was Wednesday, and I was walking to the English department when I first saw him. He was sitting on the benches outside, a cigarette between his lips, and sunglasses hiding his eyes. His leather jacket covered his arms, but i could see the tattoos that adorned his hands. I was intrigued by the mystery of a man that i'd never seen before.

I handed in my essay on the novel we'd just covered, and walked out of the department, still thinking of the man I'd seen outside. I decided to walk the long way back to my residence so I could walk past where I'd seen him. I did not plan to talk to him or have him notice me, I just wanted a closer peek.

"Your shoelace is untied." A voice spoke. I stopped in my tracks and looked around, but the only other person here was the mystery man. I looked down and my shoe lace on my left shoe was, in fact, untied.

"Oh, uh, thanks..." I mumbled awkwardly. I walked to a bench a little further away, and lifted my foot into it, tying my laces. Just as I was about to leave, he spoke again.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" I turned to see the cigarette between his lips as he inhaled the toxic fumes.

"Jordan." I replied simply. I was nervous and slightly excited that such a beautiful creature took interest in me.

Harry took interest in you. I thought to myself. Pushing thoughts of the curly haired man out of my mind, I refocused on the one in front of me, who seemed to be studying my face behind his glasses.

"Jordan," he said, as if he was testing how the word sounded in his mouth. I don't know why I didn't tell him Jordi, that's how I usually introduce myself. "I'm Zayn. Pleasure to meet you, love."

And then, he smiled. It was beautiful. I felt myself blush under his gaze, and I looked anywhere but at him.

"Where are you off to now?" He asked, drawing my attention back to him. It was then that I realised that he was the guy Lexi was talking about. The one Harry didn't seem to like.

"I'm going to find breakfast." I told him. He stood up, and walked the short distance to where I was stood.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, but i was sure he would have come even if i said no. We walked together in silence toward my residence, where I'd meet up with my friends before we went to the dining hall. "This is where you live?" He questioned, looking up at the building that housed my home away from home.

"Yup, this is it." I stated. I don't know why I was showing a guy I had literally just met where I lived, but he seemed nice enough. We chatted a bit about what we were studying and he cracked a joke or two, which had me giggling. Eventually I got a text from Lexi saying her and Candi had a prac, so they were skipping breakfast. I was about to look up at Zayn, and tell him that it seemed like it would be just him and I, when another voice spoke up.

"Jordi Graham." He said, but he was far from friendly. In his left hand was a holder with two Starbucks cups, and his right was bag that I guessed held food.

"Harry!" I smiled, trying not to show my excitement. "Oh, this is great! Harry, this is Zayn, I met him just now. Zayn, this is my friend Harry."

"What are you doing, Malik?" Harry said, his jaw tensed. Zayn just smirked, his hands going into his pockets.

"Nice to see you again too, Hazza. How long has it been? Two years?" His smirk didn't fall from his face, and he looked slightly smug. I was confused as to what was going on, but I was hoping Harry would tell me why he felt such hostility toward Zayn.

"I brought you a muffin, and hot chocolate, Jordi. I know you where working all through last night on that essay." Harry's voice was quieter, gentler, as he addressed me. His eyes shone a brilliant green that had me mesmerised. I smiled at the charming boy, and said thank you.

"Zayn actually asked if he could join me for breakfast, but I didn't realise..." I said, mentioning the man Harry had purposefully ignored.

"That's alright, love. We can have breakfast some other time. It was nice to meet you Jordan. Harry." He winked at me, and nodded at Harry before walking away. I watched his back as he retreated.

"He's bad news Jordi."

"Oh come on, Harry. He seems nice enough." I said, finally turning back to him. He had a look of worry on his face, but didn't say anything else. We walked into my room, and he once again sat on my bed. I took a seat on the opposite end of the bed, folding my legs under myself. "Thanks again... for breakfast I mean."

"Not a problem at all." He replied, showcasing his dimples. We nibbled on our muffins and chatted about meaningless things. Even so, he made me smile, and the fluttering in my stomach returned. "I think I'll call you Jay. J for Jordan." He told me, proud of the nickname he decided to give me.

"That's a new one." I chuckled, looking nice up at him over my cup. "I like it."

"So, Jay, can I ask you a favour?"

"Why of course you may, H." I said with a teasing wink.  He let a breathy laugh escape before becoming serious. His eyes moved away from mine, and he seemed to take a sudden interest in the rips of his jeans.

"Stay away from Malik." he whispered.