A Date With Zayn » Zayn Malik

O N E ♡

C H A P T E R 1 ♡: L A Y L A

                A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I wanted to make it obvious to my older brother that I wasn't enjoying folding expensive napkins into the shape of a bird or placing heavy silverware on fancy dining room tables, on a Saturday night. I had lost interest as soon as I began three hours ago.

I glared at Griffin, watching him become so absorbed into folding the napkins so intently, making sure there were no creases, and aligning the spoons and forks straight to match beside the knives. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him, putting his heart and soul into making tonight go flawlessly.

That was when I had the opportunity to study my brother and see the horrid condition he was in. He was standing weakly and appeared skinner than his usual muscular self. I know he hasn't slept since last month; the purple and swollen bags under his eyes being solid proof. It looked as if he could collapse at any given moment yet he was working through sweat and tears, trying to finish setting up the dining room tables for the event tonight.

"Layla, no complaining,'' He warned, wagging a finger in front of my face. "You wanted to come with me to work tonight and you knew the only way was to help set up for the event and be a server, so I don't want to hear it."

"You didn't warn me that I would be folding napkins and placing spoons and forks, more expensive than the clothes I wear, on tables for three hours straight," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. "This job of yours is horrible. Your boss has you working your ass off to serve rich people all night who aren't even appreciative for everything you have done for them."

"If my job is so horrible then why did you offer to be a server tonight, huh?'' He kept his focus on his work but still managed to look my way as he sent me a sly smirk as my eyes widened at his question. "Your sudden interest in helping the country club's annual event has nothing to do with the special guests participating in the celebrity date auction tonight?"

"Why can't I volunteer to help you out tonight with your job's most busiest night of the year without wanting something out of it?'' I mumbled, looking down at the table to hide my face which was covered in dishonesty. I tried looking interested in the shiny silverware I should've been attending to, trying to avoid Griffin's eyes burning a hole in my face as he stared me down. "I know you'll need all the extra help you can get with the event, so I offered. You're welcome, Griffin."

"Layla, you hate everything about my job. You hate that I have to work 24/7 and never get to see you, you hate my boss with a passion, and you especially hate the date auctions we host every year,'' he hissed back, waving his hands wildly in my face as he tried getting his point across, "Until I told you One Direction would be the bachelors at this year's celebrity date auction...''

He paused to dramatically creep a smile onto his face while raising an eyebrow as he finally made it clear of my real intentions to why I willingly jumped at the chance of being a server tonight at his job. To try to get a member of One Direction to fall in love with me.

Usually on a Saturday night, I would lock myself in my room as I cried over the five of them but tonight I had the chance to actually cry over them in person.

"I knew it,'' Griffin whispered, tauntingly smiling at me while he nudged me in the side with his elbow, "You only volunteered to help out with tonight so you could see One Direction, admit it.''

I gulped nervously as I shook my head in denial, "Who are One Direction?"

That was when my world suddenly stopped. I froze in place automatically when I heard the sound of beautiful accents and laughter coming from the front entrance of the country club, making its way closer to where I was located. I began frantically searching for a place to hide but was interrupted by the impeccable sight of the five young men, now joining me in the large dining room. Each one of them had the ability to stop me from speaking and feel numb; unable to move just by their presence.