Darling: Zayn/OFC (One Direction)

11.

A/N: This is a short one so I'm posting again tomorrow! 

I look around at my restaurant, Darlin'.

It's a little hole in the wall, but it's my hole in the wall.

There are only eight tables and all of them are empty. Big, sweeping windows shed light onto the brown tabletops, spilling onto the daisies I'd carefully placed on each table. I had a large screen TV on one the walls that way playing a loop of my cooking videos. I'd been there six hours today, but no one had come in. I was stuck on a street far from other stores and at a location without any foot traffic. People would only be able to find me via word of mouth. I knew that the location we picked wasn't the best-- setting up in West Hollywood would've been better than the Valley, but my funds had been limited.

I stepped forward and adjusted a slouching flower on one of the tables.

If we could just push past these first few years, maybe we could move to a better location. Researching online, I'd read that the first few years were always the worst part about starting a business. I agreed because I felt like I was drowning in debt. I'd used all of the money that my Father had left me. I had to take out a loan.

"Hi." I jumped, startled. There was a fantastically beautiful girl standing in the doorway. She was tall and slender with porcelain skin and pouty lips. Her brown hair was slicked back and her eyes were hiding behind a pair of sunglasses.

"Oh, HELLO!" I said too loudly.

"Are you open?" She asked uncertainly, but calmly, glancing around at the otherwise empty room.

"O-Of c-course." I stuttered. I made a sweeping gesture, internally coaching myself to be suave as opposed to the mess I'm sure I appeared. "Pick a seat and I'll get you a menu." I dashed in the back, stopping in front of the mirror on the way. "Alright Elle, it's show time." I whispered to my reflection. I grabbed a menu before hightailing it back out to my mysterious customer.

She was sitting at the table furthest from the window, perfectly poised and staring straight ahead. "Here you go," I said, sliding the menu over to her. She gave a tiny, closed-lipped smile. "Can I get you anything? Water?"

"Water is fine, thank you." She said, not lifting her gaze from the menu.

"I'll give you some time," I said, giving an awkward little bow before disappearing into the kitchen. Luckily, I'd had the foresight to install a small window into the kitchen door. I discreetly stared at her from my place in the kitchen. She sat, legs crossed, reading the menu.

God, her complexion is flawless. I thought wonderingly. She looks like a model. I gasped. What if she is a model? My first celebrity customer! Man, I've got to start paying attention to celebrity news again. I pulled out my phone and opened the internet app.

Girl, celebrity, dark brown hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin, tall, model. Millions of results. Obviously. So I wouldn't be able to find out if she was famous or not without straight out asking her, which wasn't really the appropriate behavior for a restaurant owner.

She closed her menu and began to sip her water. After giving her a minute, I cheerfully walked back out. "My name is Elle by the way. Elle Darling."

"Elle Darling." She repeated, before slowly raising an eyebrow. "Darling, as in 'Darlin'"?"

"That's right," I confirmed, pulling out my order pad. "I own this place." Now she looked incredulous.

"You look so young!" She exclaimed.

I nodded. "I am. I'm 22."

"And you own this business."

"Yes." I said firmly. "I have a vlog channel with some of my recipes if you want."

"Oh." She said suddenly looking down at the menu. "Interesting." A pause. "I would like the Bruschetta and the Pesto Chicken please." I jotted it down.

"I'm the only one back there today. The Bruschetta will be out in 7 minutes and the Pesto in twenty. Is that ok?" She gave a swift nod and pulled out her phone.

"I can keep myself occupied." She said flatly, staring down at the screen. I dashed to the kitchen.

A/N: Do you prefer "slash" One Direction fanfic or "het"? Which is more popular on Wattpad? 

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