lifeguard || zayn malik

chapter two: unexpected photoshoot

alycia debnam-carey otherwise known as lexa!!!!!! is playing delaney

In all of his 18 years of life, Zayn had never really felt so drawn to a woman. But the girl in the white shirt that walked the boulevard the afternoon before had peaked his interest so highly that he could not stop thinking about her. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, not like those girls on the Victoria's Secret runway. Sure, her face was unusually round and her nose was quite pointy, but her spirit and gorgeous blue eyes captivated Zayn, and he knew he had to see her again somehow.

It was 6 in the morning, and Harry was sound asleep across the hall. Zayn snatched his camera bag from the kitchen table and went for the door. The air was abnormally crisp for a Sydney summer's day, so Zayn crept quietly back into his apartment to retrieve his trusty jacket. At precisely 6:45am, the raven-haired boy was on the main strip of Bondi beach, wandering aimlessly, looking for the brunette girl. A few passed him as he walked further down the beach and his excitement grew that one of them could be her. But it plummeted once he saw that they weren't her at all, only beautiful Australian girls with narrow faces and long, tanned legs.

With the $5 note in his pocket, he grabbed a small cup of coffee that was probably too expensive for its taste quality from a pale-faced middle-aged man and continued towards the waves that crashed mercilessly onto the shore. Zayn was right, the coffee tasted like recycled toilet water, but it instantly warmed him up so he brought it to his lips again. Then, in an instant, a head popped up from under the water, a brunette head that Zayn recognised immediately. Even from a distance of about 30 metres, Zayn could still make out her crystal blue eyes and plump face. It was the girl that he had so clumsily spilt his coffee on not even 24 hours before. Her soft-looking hands brushed the untamed forest of hair on her head to one side so it fell somewhat gracefully beside her face. She stood in the water, a bright blue one suit covering her obvious curves. Zane swore he could feel his heart bounce out of his chest. He was so enticed by her beauty that he hadn't noticed she was now out of the water and standing, dripping wet, in front of him.

"You again?" she bit her lip, eyeing him up and down, until they landed on his camera. "You're a photographer?" He nodded, even if he himself wouldn't call himself a photographer, it was more a hobby really. "In some way I guess," his shoulders rose up and then down in a modest gesture. The area seemingly lit up even more when the girl smiled, and crossed her arms over her chest, unknowingly pushing her breasts higher. Zayn scolded himself for looking. "Can I have a look?" Zayn snapped out of his lovesick day dream and noticed she was referring to his camera. And although he rarely let anyone see his camera, he handed it over without a second thought. Honestly, he thought, would I jump off a cliff if she asked me to? The gentle clicking of the forward button on Zayn's camera brought his attention to her 400-watt smile. "These are really great!" For some odd reason, Zayn felt fully satisfied now that he had her approval. But it stopped all too soon when she shoved the camera in his face, a mix between confusion and anger on her face. "What in hell are these?"

Zayn prayed that the sand would somehow swallow him up when he noticed that the photo she was referring to was of her, after she walked off after their incident yesterday. He had simply forgot that that photo was on there. "Are you some sort of stalker or what?" Zayn couldn't find any words to explain himself. What was he supposed to say? 'I think you're gorgeous'? No, of course not. That would only scare her more. "I-I," he just couldn't seem to get the words out. Her eyes rolled so harshly Zayn was convinced that they might roll out of her head. "Are you gonna tell me why you've got photos of me after you spilt coffee on my favourite shirt?" Zayn knew she was angry but he couldn't help but smile at her angry face, it was simply just too adorable. She scowled at him, dropping his camera not so gently into his lap. "Do you mind? That's a $700 camera."

"Why do you have photos of me?" At this point, the girl seemed more curious and less angry by the second. "I wasn't taking a picture of you!" Zayn protested. Wow, what a poor excuse for a, well, excuse. She nodded sarcastically, jutting her left hip out sassily and lazily resting her hand on it. "So that's why I was the main focus of the picture?" Without another moment's hesitation, she turned away and walked back into the water, the lapping waves quickly swallowing her legs. "I know I'm gorgeous, but you shouldn't take photos without someone's consent, Zayn." Wink. She knew his name? How had she managed to find out? When? He jolted up, ready to go out into the waves himself and confront her when the white writing on his camera distracted him. Zayn Malik. Oh, he had forgotten he had written that there.