brilliant discovery • zauren

16

On the tips of his toes, Zayn cautiously backed out of Lauren's hotel room. The door made nothing but a small click when the latch of the knob snapped into place. He turned to return to his own rightful suite but froze when he saw a figure watching his every move.

"Bloody hell, you fucking scared me!" He squawked at the sight of Normani in the middle of the hall.

She was just as startled, eyes wide.

"Did you-" She couldn't seem to find her words. "What were you doing in Lo's room?" When she did, they resonated how suspicious she was.

Zayn held his hands over his chest, claiming innocence. "I just returned her phone and keycard. I forgot I had them in my pocket when I carried her up here."

After their kiss, he successfully convinced her it was time for bed. The solution? Guilt-tripping her. If she didn't get out before 2am, she'd be too hungover for the the last concert and she'd upset her fans. It worked. Additionally, he may have bribed her with more kisses. He couldn't stop and she wasn't complaining.

Normani eyed him dubiously, but he seemed to be honest. Lauren had a habit of getting too turnt up.

"What time did you manage to get her out of the pool?"

"Around 2am." He slumped onto the parallel wall, the events of the previous night materializing no matter how hard he tried to keep them in the back of his mind. "She's still out cold."

"Did you tire her out?" Normani was joking, but he choked on air. Fortunately, she began knocking on Lauren's door and failed to notice. "Loud noises always wake her up. If not, Mama Clara has a spare keycard."

There was no answer, so Normani lowered her fist in defeat before twisting around when Zayn went to enter his room. "Thanks for taking care of her last night. I guess we all had a little too much fun."

He tossed her a cordial smile. "It's okay, Mani. I didn't mind. Actually, it was my pleasure."

--

Lifelessly, Lauren chewed on her toast. She had an outstanding hangover, which she blamed herself for. She didn't drink much, but the short duration of sleep didn't allot her many hours to recover. Now, she was battling a throbbing migraine and they had a concert in a few hours to prepare for. All she wanted to do was get better. Disappointing her fans was not on her agenda.

"I brought you some pain killers," Clara said as she walked into her daughter's suite, shaking a small bottle of Advil. "Oh, you have some here already." She pointed at the box of a stronger Advil on her bedside table.

However, that wasn't the only thing that caught Clara's eyes. When she picked up the medicine, she noticed a very large, flat square package below it. It was wrapped in pastel pink paper and garnished with a white ribbon.

"You didn't see these?" She questioned her daughter who looked to be in a zombie-like state. Her green eyes were glazed and her bread was still the same size as earlier.

Lauren pivoted her upper body, spotting the pills in her mom's hand and the present afterwards. Her eyes widened, her first reaction of the morning. Followed by her choking on a few crumbs when she flung the slice out of her mouth and onto the breakfast tray.

Clara handed Lauren the present and saw From, Zayn written in cursive on the back.

Her jaw fell. After commanding him to not get her anything, he does the exact opposite. Men... Yet, she couldn't find the energy to be mad at him.

Rather, she was overjoyed—over the moon. Her heart ballooned all thanks to Zayn's thoughtfulness. Not only did he give her a present, but pain relievers for her headache, too. The care—His care made her grin from ear to ear.