badlands // zayn malik

chapter eight

→ hand me the brush and say paint it,
give me your heart and i'll hold it,
show me your soul and i'll mold it.
- the way, kehlani

&&

VIII. Serena

After what seemed like a decade of nagging by Devon and her not-so-secret plan of trying to get Spencer and I together, I finally decided to see him again.

And it wasn't like I had anybody else to hang out with. Whenever I complained to my parents about how Devon was always busy with her new girlfriend, they just responded with the same time every single time - "Serena, if you're so bored all the time, then why don't you get a job?"

Then it was just an endless cycle of me reminding them about my 'gap year' and my father reminding me of how limited my circle of friends were.

So it was either me tagging along as a pathetic third-wheel to Devon and Kayla's dates, or stop lounging about at home and spend more time with Spencer.

I really had no other choice than to chose the latter.

I had texted Spencer to meet me at the usual spot, which was down at the spot of private beach near my house. Whenever we hung out, this was our go-to spot, especially during the early hours of the morning when the rowdy paparazzi was nonexistent. Morning walks along the beach were kind of our thing.

After kissing my parents goodbye, I head out the door, ready to make the five-minute journey to the beach. The atmosphere is a bit chilly and the sky is somehow duller than usual, but it's not like anything I didn't expect at eight in the morning.

My phone chimes twice with a message from my mother sending me a picture of the week's grocery list - I couldn't help but groan - and the other from Spencer indicating that he would be there soon.

The familiar scent of the salty sapphire sea hits me strongly as I approach the waters. I have the urge to dip my fingers into it, but considering the how icy the air around me, I decide against it.

Instead, I pick up one of the many stones beneath my feet and chuck it out into the sea, watching it skid three times before it sinks into the depths of the the oblivion below. I do this for a few minutes, waiting for Spencer to show up.

And he does, after I was beginning to worry about him possibly standing me up for the first time, greeting me from behind. "Hey."

I slowly turn around, careful not to trip on the uneven pebbles below. "Hi, Spencer. Glad you're not busy with work or anything."

"Yeah, it honestly takes up way too much of my time." He replies, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He was working at some sort of cyber security company and making a lot of money out of it. "How are you? How's everything going with the campaign?"

"Not so great." I admit, frowning a little. "My parents, they've been so stressed out lately and I think they're unintentionally shifting all of that stress onto me."

"I know your Dad will win, the people of Roseburgh love him too much. Benjamin's just catching up because he and his team have only been trying to advertise lies."

"I hope he will. He's been working way too hard on this campaign so it'll suck if it doesn't turn out the way he wants it to. Anyway, what about you? You doing okay?"