Darling: Zayn/OFC (One Direction)

13.

Business was booming. Well, that was an exaggeration, but it was doing much better than it was before. It was thanks to Bella Hadid. She and I had gotten extremely close. I usually didn't have time for spending time with friends but Bella was so enthusiastic about my cooking that she had returned many times in the past month. She was quickly becoming one of my best friends.

"Elle!" I heard her call out from down the street, just as I was closing up for the night. I flipped the sign to "closed". Maybe she finally brought her boyfriend. I grinned, turning around to greet her. I froze, not fully ready for the full effect of seeing not one, but four famous people approaching my restaurant. I quickly recognized her entourage: Gigi Hadid, the Weeknd and... Zayn. Zayn Malik. My Zayn. I swayed on my feet.

No, I thought viciously to myself. Not your Zayn.

"Hi!" Bella reached forward to hug me quickly. "This is my boyfriend Abel-" She gestured to oh my god, the Weeknd. "And my older sister Gigi-". Gigi looked like a golden goddess and was easily the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen in person. I straightened unconsciously when she smiled at me. "And her boyfriend Zayn."

I had to force myself not to let my jaw drop when I saw Zayn. We made eye contact and for a moment everything else around me blurred. He slowly smiled and reached forward to pull me into a large hug. I simultaneously felt warm all over and wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I was in his arms again. I hated him, I loved him, I... he's with someone else. Gigi. I'm sure he was speaking but I couldn't focus on anything but his body against mine. I'd wondered and wondered what would happen if we saw each other again. And now I knew. He held me closely before I pulled myself back, remembering where we were and who we were with.

"It's good to see you again, Elle." He looked both pleased and guilty.

"You knew each other already?" Gigi asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, we went to high school together." I felt crushed. We were best friends. I wanted to scream. We were more than that.

Gigi put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. She stared at me with calculated green eyes. "Bella says that you are an amazing chef! We had to come in and try." She said sweetly. Her words snapped me out of it and I sprang into action.

"Oh! Bella is too kind. I just love to cook, that's all." I opened the door for them and gestured inside. "Come on in. I just closed for the night so hopefully you won't be bothered by paparazzi."

"My favorite seat is over here." Bella said, moving to the table I'd sat her down at her very first time. Abel pulled out her chair for her and they shared a sweet look. I melted a little. I handed them menus and went to go get them water. When I returned Bella was staring at me with a grin. "I'd like the usual please."

"I'm on it." I said, nodding. "Take your time, guys. I'm the only one back there so I'm going to get started on her food and I'll be out in about five minutes."

"You don't have anyone else working?" Zayn asked, surprised.

I opened my mouth to answer but was interrupted by Abel. "Nah, this little lady just opened this business recently. You own this place right?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm just getting started. I own 90% and my Aunt owns 10%. Hopefully soon I can afford to at least hire a waitress." They all looked at me, impressed. "I'll be back."

Xxx

All too quickly, their time at Darlin' was over. I walked over to bring them the check and I internally laughed. Abel was rubbing his stomach in satisfaction while Gigi, the supermodel, was scraping her plate. Zayn was leaning back in his chair with a slightly glazed over look. Bella looked smug.

"Are you ready for your check?" I asked them. There was silence.

"I think you broke them." Bella commented with a smirk. I blushed. I'd really put in my all, because it wasn't every day that you entertained world famous celebrities.

"Did everyone like it?" I asked kindly, although I already could tell the answer.

"That was amazing." Abel said movingly. "I think there was a point where I became emotional and food doesn't usually do that to me." Gigi nodded in agreement.

"This is incredible," she said genuinely. "You are really talented."

"Thanks, but I learned it all from my... my Mom. She taught me everything that I know."

Zayn startled at that- "Your Mom? Did she ever...?"

I shook my head, my shoulders falling. "No. Not since that day you called me."

"What are you talking about?" Gigi demanded.

"Don't worry about it babe." Zayn said wrapping an arm around the back of her chair. "It's childhood stuff. One good thing I can say about your mom is that she definitely knew how to cook. Can I get the recipe for that chocolate cake?"

I looked at him sheepishly. "That's actually a secret family recipe. I can't pass it on to people not related to me." He looked like someone kicked him. "Sorry."

"So if I married you could I get it?" He asked with a smirk. My heart race and I struggled to keep my expression neutral. Gigi kicked him. "Sorry, that was a dick thing to say. Your cooking has only gotten better, if that's even possible."

I laughed it off. "Come back anytime and eat it. Let me take your plates...and here's your check."

"Elle?" I paused and looked at Abel, who was giving me a very serious look. "Usually when people want me to post something about them on social media I charge them about $30,000. I get about 10 million views on anything I post in seconds. If I were to post about you, you'd never have a slow day again." I blinked slowly, taken aback. "But for you I'm willing to do it for free. On one condition."

"What condition?"

"I need you to have a least one other server. If we all post on here you're going to be overwhelmed." He said with a concerned look.

Bella reached forward and put her hand on my shoulder. "Abel and I talked about this. We want to help you because we think you're incredible, but we don't want you to get sick or anything. Just think about it."

Then they threw their credit cards down onto the table. I left to settle the bill, thoughts stirring.

A/N: Who are your top three favorite One Direction fan fic writers on wattpad?