brilliant discovery • zauren

O3

"Honey? Baby? Darling-"

"What are you doing?" Zayn questioned Lauren's odd antics, brows arched as they sat privately off in one corner of a cafe.

"Which nickname do you want me to call you?" she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Couples usually call one another an endearing term. We want to seem realistic, right?"

It's been a few days since both their teams reluctantly agreed to Zayn's bright idea. It took a bit of persuading for Lauren to agree, but she finally did. For a few months, they will pretend to be a couple. They hoped that would diminish all the negative press they were getting. After all, a celebrity couple going at it was more socially accepted than a one night stand.

Lauren was more taken back that he actually thought of such a ploy. Then again, she came to the conclusion that he was merely looking after his own career. Though, she was touched by his care.

He remained silent at her words, not having an idea on what to respond with. So, she took it amongst herself to choose the name of her liking.

"I'm going to call you 'Zaddy'." Actually, no. Lauren just wanted to poke fun and make the most of the overbearing atmosphere.

They were meeting a journalist to 'spill the details' of their secretive relationship. The reporter had yet to arrive but they came early to sort out the lies they'd hopefully fool her with: they met December of last year and hit it off, they've been constantly contacting one another and meeting whenever they could, after a few elusive dates Zayn asked her to officially be his on May 14th—a mere month ago.

"Please, don't," Zayn seethed, cleaning up the water he spat out on the table and wiping his chin on the cuff of his sleeve.

"I'm kidding..." she strained out, going back to playing with the napkin before her to distract herself from the pending doom she was embarking on.

"Just stick with my name or I'll call you-" Zayn paused to think, scratching the scruff of hair over his jaw. "Mami-"

"Oh my. Is that what he calls you, Miss Jauregui?" Without even so much of a proper greeting, the journalist they were scheduled to meet stood by their table with a recorder in her hand. She had a broad grin on, showcasing her deep set of wrinkles. However, she looked completely convinced that mami was Zayn's affectionate petname for Lauren.

Zayn almost face palmed, but had to refrain from showcasing any behaviour that could be classified as suspicious.

"Oh, only sometimes when he wants to tease me," Lauren answered, saving his life with an awkward grin on her own two lips. "We usually call each other by names. We're not really into the whole cutesy nicknames..."

The reporter, Lisa, seemed to like the answer, but her smile shrunk a few sizes as she sat opposite of them. She asked the questions they assumed she would and gave her textbook answers, holding hands throughout to make their act more convincing. Actually, Zayn reached for Lauren's hand and fondly brushing this thumb over her knuckles. It was sweet and sweet occurances made her blush easily, which only aided their stories. By the end of if, Lisa was definitely on Team Zauren as she quoted from social media.

To conclude, she had a few more questions in her sleeves. "You two are both really private people. How do you feel about being caught after months of successful discreet dates?"

"It was honestly a huge surprise to the both of us," Zayn took control of the answer, giving Lauren's fist a reaffirming squeeze to stay quiet. "Like 'fuck, we got caught.'" He bitterly laughed because of how accurate his statement was. "It was both out of our norm and comfort zone. Pictures like those will probably be a one time thing," he pointed out confidently because he was sure they weren't ever going to be in a compromising situation again.

Lisa scrunched up her nose, a tad disappointed. "Too bad. They were so hot. I was fanning myself while reading through the articles."

Lauren's mind flashed to the infamous papparazzi candids and she remembers fanning herself, too. Not because she found the shots hot but because she recalls how hot she felt that night.

Sweat dripped from her dark locks and down her temples as his body covered hers. Zayn's groans were blasting in her ears as he thrust with building speed. Her own sounds were muted as she bit into his shoulder, tasting his own dew that was more intoxicating than the alcohol she had earlier.

"You're telling me," Lauren mumbled to herself, but the other two heard perfectly well. Lisa even barked out a laugh as soon as Lauren became flustered and embarrassed.

"I'm sure you're the one who knows how truly heated that night was, Miss. Jauregui, but thank you for confirming with me." Lisa flashed them a wink of jest, clearly poking fun at what she thought was a playful couple. "It was nice meeting you both. Thank you for giving me the honour to interview the new hottest couple this side of the Milky Way."

And that is how Lisa titled her one on one exclusive with Zauren; Lauren confirms hot nights with Zayn.

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First and foremost, happy belated to Lauren. She's twenty now. I still cannot believe.*wipes tears* I hope she enjoyed her birthday in Brazil. I may have lowkey cried reading Normani's letter for her. TT__TT

And odg, the AIMH MV. Daaamn. The girls were on fire. I have no words to express how much I loved it and how much I love them.

Anyway, thank you for all the support. Means the world to me!