brilliant discovery • zauren

O7

The tweet Zayn sent a few days ago honestly caught Lauren off guard. She didn't see it coming, nor did she think he was sober enough to remember their conversation prior to whatever else happened that night. The notion was sweet and she may have blushed if her members weren't gushing on her behalf since they were surrounding her to read it.

So, his next friendly gestures also surprised her.

"Isn't it like 3am there, why are you still up?" Lauren questioned when she picked up his call.

They spoke through the phone from time to time—twice. They spoke on the phone twice since it's only been a few days since she arrived in LA. Each time, Zayn initiated it. It was suspicious, but Lauren figured he was really into the faux dating act.

"I'm in LA."

Lauren choked on her iced coffee as she blabbed, "You're where?!"

"In LA. Actually, I'm in your lobby and my connection will cut off because the elevator is here," Zayn explained as if she knew of his arrival.

"Wait, what-" But before she could continue, the line cut off and Lauren panicked.

She didn't know he'd be in town. He never mentioned anything in their phone call yesterday. All they spoke about was the affect his tweet caused. More and more people were converting to Zauren but they still had a truckload of haters. Not that either cared, but at least their scheme was working in their favour; people believed they were together and that's most important.

Lauren thought they'd rarey interact, but Zayn casually informed her that many of their scheduled events—pre-scandal—would be together. Meaning fans would see them and they needed to act like they were together, to some degree. Again, they were private people. Showing off their relationship was not included in their agenda.

Before rushing out the door, Lauren threw on a navy blue hoodie and waited for Zayn by the elevator landing, pacing as she nibbled on the nail of her thumb.

"That's a bad habit, you know," Zayn chastised as he was greeted with such a sight.

Immediately, she threw him a glare. "You know it's impolite to not inform your girlfriend that you'd be visiting her..."

Sensing Lauren was annoyed because it was obvious as day she was because of her dark knitted brows and the scowl she wore on her face, Zayn chuckled in a patronizing manner. He thought it was attractive, her angry facade. Her eyes were sharper but still a vivid green and it was a lovely contrast to her pale skin. Even though, she was shooting daggers at him, he found her beautiful.

Secretly, he always did.

"You're very pretty when you're angry, mami," he confesses to poke fun, throwing in that nickname since he was curious of her reaction. Not once did Zayn ever call her that since the cafe day.

Exhaling sharply, Lauren rose a hand at his ridiculous comments and visibly stretched her frown. It was a tactic many used to fight away a smile. In any case, it worked because she maintained her unhappy disposition.

"Don't make me call you Zaddy," she scowled, not budging as she was still hesitant on bringing him to fifth harmony's unit.

He laughed at her, pleasantly dismayed by how bold she was. "You do know calling me that will only haunt you more than I?"

"You know what-" Lauren bit her lip, holding back her irritation since there were more important matters to discuss, "why are you even here?"

"Can a boyfriend not surprise his girlfriend with a visit?" Zayn teased with a boyish grin she couldn't help but stare at. Anyway, she wasn't buying it and he sighed before spilling the truth, "I have a few recording sessions here."

Lauren figured as much. Why else would he be in LA. It was the land of opportunity. Many top producers were based there. It was one of the major reasons her and her members had a flat in the city. They spent too much time there and repeated hotel stays were costly.

"Well, thank you for fitting me into your schedule." She was sarcastic, but she meant no harm. Humour that everybody understood had never been a strong suit of hers.

Zayn scoffed, "don't degrade yourself to come off as an appointment, Lauren. I wanted to visit you."

Her green eyes widened at that new piece of knowledge. He wanted to visit her. That was surprising. And a bit thrilling, too. Oddly, Lauren's pulse skipped a beat. She blamed his accent and perfectly structured face for the abnormality. But damn, the way he said her name brought her sorts of chills. It was heavily nostalgic of their night in London...

Coughing to get her mind out of the gutter, Lauren pointed to the hall their complex fell under. "Well, I guess it would seem rude on my behalf to not invite you back to our place, huh?" Lauren laughed airily, waving her hand for Zayn to follow her. "Next time you come unannounced, bring food."

He laughed along, saluting, "aye-aye, mami."

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hello, everyone. i just wanted to thank you all so much for taking time to read this story and for supporting it and i. much love to each and every one of you!