Azalea ♡ Z.M

♡ Chapter 11 ♡

Through the dark ~ One Direction

Furrowed eyebrows and a dim glow in the eyes was what Zayn found when he saw Azalea the next Friday.

He tried making a conversation to try to maybe make her forget whatever was making her feel sad that day, but nothing seemed to work. A certain comment changed everything, though. Zayn didn't even know why he said it. He just did.

"You're beautiful, though." He sincerely told her, after Azalea implied something among the lines of her being ugly.

Azalea gave out a dry chuckle.

"I mean it, Azalea. You are beautiful." He repeats, hoping she would somehow believe it. Cause it was true.

"No I'm not." She gritted through her teeth as tears formed in her eyes. Zayn's gut tied in knots at her reaction. How can such a nice minimal comment make someone so upset?

"Yes, you are." He insisted. He knew she'd get mad and probably break down. But that meant answers and Zayn wanted some.

"No I'm not Zayn. Look at me. Just look at me." She spoke with pain, pulling at Zayn's heartstrings. "I'm a mess. I'm a horrible mess. Can't you see? I'm weak and dumb and just straight up stupid. I can't hold a conversation, I have no friends, I'm awkward, everybody seems to hate me. Look at me. I'm the petty little girl that lost her mom and her dad didn't freakin want her!"

Azalea broke down in hot wet tears again. It saddened Zayn to hear her talk about herself with so much loathe and disgust. The venom towards herself was clear when she spoke, it was truly heartbreaking. She was letting a storm she created, suffocate her and slowly kill her.

It made Zayn mad. That she treated herself like that when she deserved so much better. He refused to allow her to continue the self destruction.

"No you're not Azalea. You're the girl that helps and loves her brother unconditionally." He began.

"You're the girl that is still standing and prevailing after everything life has thrown her way. You're the girl that admires nature and finds the beauty in the simplest things like water. You're the girl who cares about my family and actually listens to my voice and opinions. You're the girl that makes me smile at three in the morning and that makes my heart burst with her smile. You're the beautiful thief that stole my heart from the moment I met her. That's who you are, Azalea."

Zayn's throat dried after he spilled all those words that had been caught in his throat, out into the open. It had been his turn to pour his heart out by exposing all those vulnerable truths. And it made Azalea cry even harder. She wanted to believe what he said. She wanted to actually feel like she was worth it, good enough. However, there was that nagging feeling in her head telling her Zayn didn't actually mean those words. That he was simply confused. There was no way she could steal a heart like Zayn's.

"Stop it Zayn, that's not true. I'm a burden to Dominic and I hate sunshine and I'm not beautiful. Beauty comes from the inside, from the heart-"

"Exactly, Azalea. And you have a beautiful heart. It's a little broken, but it's still beautiful. You just have to let it heal. You have to stop punching and beating it, babe." Zayn softly spoke to her.

"I can't, Zayn. I can't." She sobbed into her thin hands.

"Yes you can. I know you see yourself and hate what you see. But, Azalea, you are beautiful. And the people around you see it."

"I have no friends, Zayn. I only have my brother." She protested.

"You have me." Zayn breathed out, followed by a racing heart. "I'm your friend. And even if you don't have many people in your life, the ones you do have, love you and care for you endlessly. Cause your heart is beautiful. Cause you are beautiful."

Azalea remained still, crying into her hands. No words came out of her mouth, only sobs and whimpers. Zayn couldn't bare to see her like it. It broke his heart, to see her in pain. It tortured him, to see the beautiful girl that he would give anything for, crumbling and collapsing in front of him like an autumn leaf. He wrapped his tattooed arms around her skinny frame, pulling her in although she stayed still.

His warmth radiated into her body and she wanted to melt into his arms. But it was so hard because she didn't feel worthy. Zayn made her feel beautiful, but her brain told her otherwise. It was so hard to argue with that voice inside her head. She was so exhausted. She wanted it to shut up. She wanted to be special. She wanted to love herself.

"You aren't perfect, Azalea, but you're you, and that's so much freaking better." Zayn whispered in her ear.

And in that moment, Azalea felt that he hugged her so hard, some of her broken pieces began assembling back together.

4 more chapters to go omg 0.0