Broken Beauty (Zustin) [ON HOLD]

Neuf

"Can I switch off the radio? This guy can't sing for shit."

He simply nodded, not daring to turn his head, afraid I would freak out again. I mumbled, "Finally." and reached out the turn off the radio player. The silence was infinity times better than the overly auto tuned song. Heck, I sang better than him.

"How much longer will it take?" I whined. Zayn lets out a laugh.

"Probably twenty minutes." Zayn replied.

"Hey! You didn't stutter!"

He smiled.

Then there were a few moments of awkward silence, well, mostly awkward for me 'cause Zayn was busy driving and I just fiddled with the air vent. I then take out my phone from the pocket of my jeans and type in the password. I then just play with the screen brightness option. 

This was something I only did when I was feeling extremely bored. And right now, I was bored beyond belief.

"How much longer now?" I groaned.

"I think it'll t-take a little l-longer now."

"And why is that?"

"Look ahead."

And when I do, I see a long line of cars, beeping and people shouting. I let out a sound of frustration and bang my head on the headboard.

"It can't be that b-bad, can it?" Zayn asks.

"Oh, but, it is." I reply, my voice filled with boredom.

"Is there a-any way I can h-help?"

I bit my lip at how innocent he sounded, though the words he said weren't.

"Unless you can make the car fly, no."

*~*~*

"Do you want to go home now?" I ask.

"To be h-honest, no." He replies.

"To the lake, then." I grab his hand and pull at it. He intertwines our fingers, making me smile.

"To the l-lake."

Once we reach there, we sit on the edge as usual and talk about everything and nothing. Mostly I did the talking and he just nodded.

"I talk too much." I say, shaking my head.

"It fine! I l-like hearing you t-talk." He replied.

"I never talk a lot but with you, it's different. A good different though."

He blushes and a small smile spreads across his face. Basically, two of my favorite expressions on his face. 

"Why don't you talk? I want to hear you talk." I ask.

"I d-don't know." Zayn whispers.

"Please?"

It was a tiny request, but it was enough to make him nervous. He fiddled with his fingers and shifted and averted his eyes. He looked anywhere but me.

"You know what? That was a bad idea. So, just, ignore it." 

"I'm s-sorry."

"Don't be! I shouldn't have forced you."

But I could tell he was still not okay. 

"Hey, look at me." I place a finger under his chin and and make him look at me. "Don't be ashamed, Z. It's completely fine. Plus, I like watching you hear me out. It makes me feel...good, guess? I don't really know. Just, don't be hard on yourself, alright?"

I remove my finger and wait for his reply but he doesn't. He simply nods.

"Okay." I say.

"Okay." He replies, after some time.

"Maybe okay will be our always."

He shoves my arm, but the blush was evident on his face. I burst out laughing.

I decide to risk it, so I say, "You're so adorable, it hurts." He blushes even more, if that was even possible, considering the amount of redness his cheeks had.

"As I was saying..." I continue from where I left the story. Zayn smiles and rests his head on his hand.

"He was like..."

*~*~*

I open the door of my house and try to enter without making any noise but me being really clumsy, doesn't work.

"Justin? Is that you?" I hear mum call out.

"It is." I reply, removing my shoes.

"Okay." That's when I notice the hitch in her voice.

I narrow my eyebrows. Something was wrong and she wasn't telling me. I look for her and find her in the living room. When I get closer, I notice the dried mascara trails on her cheeks.

"Ma? Why are you crying?" I ask, feeling my own tears well up.

"I am? Oh, it must be just my mood swings. Don't worry about it." She says dismissively and rubs off the tears stains.

I wanted to ask more questions. I wanted to know who made her cry, even though I knew the answer. I wanted her to admit that it was him.

But I didn't. I press my lips into a thin line, swallow hard and nod my head. And then, like the idiot I am, I walk away.

You idiot! Do you not care for her?

I do.

I'm just afraid of the answer.

***

A/N: You're not alone, Justin.