Stripped (a Zayn Malik Fanfic)

The Sea

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm trying to pick up on this again! As I've said before, Stripped is a rewrite of my fanfic, 'I'm in Love with a Stripper' as some of you might remember from one direction fan fiction. I'll be updating much more regularly as I've finally graduated! Thank you for your support!

Leila's P.O.V:

I rose early the following morning, my date with Harry Styles only just on the horizon. A small voice at the back of my mind told me to pack up all my things and run as fast as I could and as far as I could. That I could be in another city by the end of the night, with myself to rely on and no one else. A fresh start. But another louder voice told me to stay, told me that I deserved to go out on a date. This voice also didn't fail to taunt: "If you leave Leila, you may never see him again."

I switched on the shower and stood under the warm stream of water, washing away the previous night's sweat and scent of cigarette smoke. I scrubbed my product filled hair and went over my legs once more as they already felt a bit prickly despite having shaved the previous night. Cutting the flow of hot water, I wrapped a towel around my body and wiped the steam from the mirror. Staring at myself, I studied my face, so much different and harder looking from four years prior. The changes did not stop there –this Leila would not get hurt, this Leila would not get abandoned, this Leila would not get her heart broken. She wouldn't let herself get close enough to anybody to do so.

*

Harry was parked behind the apartment complex, his black Land Rover idling. Through his tinted windows, I could see him passionately chatting on his phone, ending his call abruptly when he saw me approaching. Opening the door, I slid into my seat, switching off the many anxieties that raced through Leila's head and channelling Bambi's wit and resourcefulness. Harry watched me settle into my seat, a sheepish smile on his lips. "I was just leaving you a very pathetic voice mail thinking you'd stood me up. You look great by the way." He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"I really should get rid of this thing. The Queen herself could call me and I wouldn't know it." I told Harry with a shake of my head, displaying my embarrassingly ancient mobile. "And thank you." I added with a smile, happy that Harry seemed to like my choice of a long floral maxi dress and glossy curls.

Harry cleared his throat nervously. "So for tonight, I made reservations for dinner at Le Gavroche. Then perhaps dessert at Smiths of Smithfield, I've heard their créme brulée is excellent..." He shifted his gaze to mine, a funny smile finding his lips. "None of this is impressing you, is it?" He laughed, burying his face in his hands.

My smile had unknowingly transformed into a grimace. A stuffy, fine dining experience had never been my idea of a date. My mind travelled backwards in time for a moment, to a summer night spent at the fun fair, many years ago. I fixed my expression and shook my head in protest. "No, Harry, all of this sounds lovely, truly." I told him. But it was too late, and Harry had caught on.

Harry sighed. "I'm just so used to trying to wine and dine girls who expect that sort of thing. They want to be showered with chocolates and créme brulée which I still don't think I'm pronouncing correctly by the way." He laughed. Of course that was what Harry was used to. What the Kendall Jenners and Gigi Hadids of his world might expect of him. "If that sort of date is the date you want, then it's the one I want to give you, but if there's something else..." He went on.

"Do you want to know what sort of a date I want, Harry?" I said, my lips turning upwards.

Harry watched me from below his lashes. "I would very much like to know." He said quietly.

I paused for a moment. "I want an authentic Harry Styles date. The one that you would have taken me on before all this." I waved my hand, wordlessly referring to the fame and money he had amassed in such a short period of time.

Harry gave me a beautiful, earth shattering grin and for a moment, just a moment, Zayn Malik was gone from both my mind and heart. "One authentic Harry Styles date, coming right up." He said, starting the engine.

*

I could see the ocean approaching. I looked over at Harry, an unabashed grin pulling at my lips.

"I used to come here with my family lots when I was younger, it's not as easy these days but around this time we'll pretty much have free reign over it." Harry said, the car jumping as we turned down a hilly pathway.

I reached into the brown paper bag of chips we had grabbed from the McDonald's drive through to snack on and popped a fry into my mouth. "If I didn't know any better, I would think this was your plan all along. To romance me at the beach and fatten me up in the process."

"I may or may not have a blanket and some champagne tucked away in the boot. And I do believe the fries were your idea, Leila." He raised his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes heavily, Harry laughing when I shoved a cluster of fries into my mouth at once. "I remember no such thing."

Once we had parked, Harry fetched the blanket and champagne from the trunk, helping me down the rocky embankment and onto the beach. The air was cool and smelled of damp sand. It was absolute bliss. Unfolding the blanket and draping it across the sand, Harry and I collapsed onto it, him sprawled out with his green eyes staring upwards and his head resting in his arms and me on my side facing him, my head propped up on my hand.

"So you used to come here with your family?" I began, studying his face.

Harry nodded. "It's a favourite memory of mine. We would come here with a month's worth of fish and chips, my Mum, Dad, and my sister Gemma. My parents split up not long after and then soon enough all this happened." Harry told me, waving his hand around him. Referring to his life as it was now.

"I don't have any siblings, it was just me and my parents growing up..." I began, my heart beginning to race. "They died." I added quietly. "A few years back now."

Harry sat up, cupping my cheek with his palm. "I'm so sorry, Leila." He whispered. "I can't imagine how difficult that must have been, and both of them at that."

I laughed bitterly, tears falling freely from my eyes. "Car accidents are a bitch."

Harry's face softened. "I want to show you something." He said, jumping to his feet and holding his hand out to me.

"What is it?" I inquired, placing my hand into his warm one.

Wordlessly, Harry led me up towards the hillside, and we ventured upwards until finally we had reached a Cliffside. The wind whipped through our hair and the both of us were smiling like children. "This is beautiful!" I yelled over the wind.

"I know." He said, leaning in and gently pressing his lips to mine.

I'm unsure how long we stood like that, our mouths exploring one another's. The familiar sound of a received text message chimed and Harry glanced down at his phone.

"How would you feel about meeting everyone?" Harry said, lifting his green eyes that so closely matched the sea behind him, to mine.

The hair on the back of my neck rose, and it wasn't from the howling winds. Unknown to Harry, I wouldn't be meeting everyone for the first time. "I think that would be excellent." I lied, a smile hiding my silent scream.

A/N: Coming up next is an awkward night to say the least where people who know each other better than most, pretend not to know each other at all.