Shadows//Z.M

vi

Mia's POV:

My eyes flutter open and I am met with the sight of Zayn snoring slightly. I smile, remembering everything we did last night. I sit up, stretching my arms and legs out so I could slowly start to wake up.

Zayn shifts onto his back beside me and I teasingly straddle him, using my fingers to crawl up his chest. He stirs slightly and swats my hands away, before resting again. I smirk as I climb off and sit near his legs. Biting my lip to stop my laughing, I place my hand on his thigh and slowly move it up. This gets him up.

His eyes shoot open as he sees our situation. "God dammit, Mia." He grins, laughing slightly. As I laugh, he rubs his tired eyes.

"Good morning, babe." I say to him, standing up and pulling on some sweats.

"Good morning, love. I'm going to make you breakfast. Is it alright if we stay in today? Just the two of us."

"That sounds better than alright."

Zayn stands up and pulls on some plaid pajama pants that fall loosely around his lips, showing off the waistband of his Calvin Klein underwear.

"Ohhh, Calvin Klein? Sexy." I wink, making him smirk.

"You know all about sexy, baby." I roll my eyes and grin as he leads me into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I am good for anything. I'm just hungry."

"This better not be one of those tests where I ask what you want and you say anything and expect me to know what you want." He tells me, squinting his eyes.

"Anything, Zayn." I reassure him. "No tests."

"Good, then let me get started."

After breakfast, Zayn and I get into our swimsuits and head out into the water.

I take a deep breath of the salty ocean air as I go knee deep into the water. Zayn passes me and heads farther out, going underneath.

I expect him to come up immediately after, but he doesn't. My heart rate increases. "Zayn, this isn't funny. Not funny at all. Stop playing, get out."

Silence is all I get in response.

Without taking another second to think, I run as fast as I can through the water towards where I saw Zayn submerge. I dive under and open my eyes, trying to see if I can see where he is. When my air starts running out, I emerge out of the water.

"Zayn!" I scream, water spewing out of my mouth. "Zayn! Come out, please!"

I spin around, looking for any sight of him but turn out empty handed.

"Oh god, oh god." I say, over and over again, my breathing turning heavier than before.

Before I can even get another word out, I am lifted out of the water by no other than Zayn. He laughs loudly as I glare at him, clenching my jaw tightly.

"That was priceless, Mia." He sets me down next to him.

I smack his chest hard, "You fucking asshole! I thought you were actually in trouble!"

"Oh, Mia. It was just a prank, it's fine."

"Don't tell me it's fine! I thought I lost you!" I rant, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Mia. I went over the top." He agrees, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Yeah, you did."

"Are you mad at me?"

I take a deep breath, my heart beat slowing down. "No. I was just...really worried."

"Alright, I'm sorry." He says again, kissing me to make up for it.

"Let's go back to the beach." I suggest, grabbing his hand and leading him out.

Zayn follows close behind and takes the seat next to me on the beach. I lay back and put my sunglasses on. He does the same thing.

"Zayn?"

"Yes?" He replies, cocking his head towards me.

"What will you do with Harry when he comes for you?" I ask, playing with the water drops on my leg.

There is silence for a minute, until he replies. "I don't know, Mia. I don't know. I surely don't want to hurt him, that's for sure. But then again, I will do everything in my power to protect you. I will do anything I have to, no matter what."

My heart aches at the thought of Harry, "I want the old Harry back."

"I know, darling. But you can't save everybody, sadly. Harry is long gone, and I don't think there is any chance of him coming back."

I nod, "What will we do when this is all over?"

"I personally want us to be together, but if you end up not wanting that, I will respect that. But if you decide to stay with me, we need to first do something about everybody back in Louisiana." He tells me, taking a sip of water.

"There is nothing more I want than to be together, Zayn. And we will figure out what to do with them, I know we will."

After about an hour, we decide to go inside and watch a movie.

"What would you like to watch?" Zayn asks, looking over the movie collection he has.

"Hmmm...I don't know." I shrug, indecisive.

"Well, what genre do you feel like?"

"How about a comedy or romance?" I ask, feeling in the mood for something lighter.

"Alright, how about "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"?" He asks, looking back at me.

"Ohhh!" I grin, sitting up straighter. "Hell to the yes. I loveeee Matthew ?????."

Zayn smirks, "How did I know you would say that?"

"You're insane if you don't love him."

"True." He pops the movie in and grabs a blanket for the two of us to share.

"Zayn?" I whisper, the movie going through the trailers.

"Yes, Mia?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" He asks, laughing. "I've done nothing worthy for a thank you."

"That's where you're wrong." I tell him, going on. "Thank you for everything you have done for me. Thank you for letting me in, for loving me. Thank you for watching out for me."

Zayn looks down at me and smiles, "No...thank you, Mia Clarke. Thank you for opening me up, for making me see what I was blind too. Thank you, for letting me remember what love was."

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who doesn't love a cheesy couple? lmao. mia and zayn are my actual life goals and i don't appreciate it.

thank you so much for reading this! i hope you enjoyed this chapter and i hate to tell you that this book is ALMOST over! i know, it's sad! but if you love my stories, check out my newest one "the box"!

remember to vote and comment! ❤️ love you guys to pieces!