Fool For You (Sequel to Awakening) >> z.m ✔

Chapter Five

[ Happy Thanksgiving! ]

~Rachel's POV~

The weeks that followed until Christmas Break were quite bland, but it came quickly. My parents paid for my ticket to fly out to Virginia and I helped Gaby pay for hers. Gaby was only going to stay in Virginia for a week before going down to Florida, where her family was.

The only downside to the trip was it was having to be spent with Zayn, which wouldn't be all that bad if it weren't that the two weeks would be up while we were down there. I still haven't decided on what to tell him yet, but I'm going to try to spend Christmas Break as happily as I can.

By the time we touch down in Virginia, the only people waiting on us were my old best friend, Alayna, and her boyfriend, Niall. By we I meant Gaby, Zayn, and I. I ran towards Alayna and gave her a warm hug, since I never got to give her the proper goodbye.

"Oh my god, Alayna! I've missed you!" I squeal, as she hugs me even tighter. Cheesy as it is, Alayna and I had been best friends for forever. She was always there. I give Niall a friendly hug too, which he returns. Zayn and Gaby now approach, Gaby hiding slightly behind Zayn.

I can see Alayna raise one of her eyebrows, but keeps her attention on me. "It's great to see you too!"

"Oh! Alayna, Niall, this is Gaby. She's my roommate and friend at Berkeley," I tell them, motioning for Gaby to step forward. She shakes Alayna's and Niall's hand, before returning to my side. Zayn gives Niall a friendly hug, but when he tries to do the same for Alayna, she steps away.

We exchange a few more words before Alayna speaks up. "We should probably get back before your parents start to wonder what this "big surprise" is that I told them about."

"Good idea," Zayn says. Alayna and Niall help us grab our luggage and load into Niall's truck. As we board into it, we continue to talk. Alayna and Niall have small plans to stick to the community college, get jobs, then get married and have kids. They did seem a little young, but you do crazy things for love.

"Rachel, did I tell you? Louis' back in town for Christmas Break too. In fact, once I told him you were back, he agreed to stop by tomorrow!" Alayna exclaims. I see Zayn tense up, remembering what Louis once did to scar our relationship.

"You kept his number?" I ask. Alayna shrugs simply, as if having my ex's number programmed into her phone was no big deal. But trying to have fun, I let it slide.

As we pull up to my old house, butterflies gather in my stomach at the memory of my parents. I can't help but throw the door open and run up to door. Before I can even touch the handle, my mother opens the door and I throw my arms around her.

"Rachel? You came back for Christmas?" She asks, bringing my closer. I pull away after a couple of seconds and kiss her cheek. Her smile was going from ear to ear, her eyes crinkling. "I just saw Niall's car pull into the driveway. They come over quite often to lend me some company."

"Of course I came back for Christmas! It's been over a year since I saw you!" I exclaim. I realize I had been acting like a child since I got here, throwing myself into people's arms, but I haven't seen these "people" that I love in over a year.

She brings me back in for another hug, her warm essence making me feel at home again. She sees Alayna, Niall, and Gaby getting out of the car and never raises an eyebrow until Zayn gets out, which I noticed he did quite awkwardly.

"Why's Zayn here? Are you two back together? I heard he went to Berkeley, but I wouldn't have thought it was for you," She says, her voice slightly worried. My mother always cared for me, which I loved, but sometimes she could jump to conclusions.