Bittersweet (Zayn Malik AU)

Chapter Three.

I stood up slowly, clutching my head. My headache was starting to fade away so I didn't want to ruin that prospect. I walked towards the window, wanting to see if I could escape through the window. Grabbing the latch, I used all my might to try and lift it up, but to no avail. It was sticky; dirt and grime was covered all over it. I wiped my hands on my ridiculously long skirt and sighed. That probably wasn't my smartest idea anyway.

If I escaped to my parents house or something, there's no telling what Tyler would do. He could hurt my parents for all I knew.

He was capable of anything.

Feeling hot, I slipped my skirt off, leaving me in black leggings and my shirt. In all honesty, it was itchy and I was pissed off enough as it is. Throwing it frustratedly at the window, I cursed under my breath when I heard the sound of my phone clattering against the window.

I picked my phone up and gently ran my finger down the crack. I switched my phone on, and raised my eyebrows when I saw the time. It was one o'clock. Tyler and I left to go to the shops around noon, we were gone for roughly thirty minutes. I must have been out for a while then.

I selected the gallery and flicked through, smiling at the pictures of myself with Mum and Dad. Oh, how I missed them. They still lived back in Bradford, whilst I moved to London with Tyler.

I carried on flicking through, until I found a picture that made my breath catch in my throat.

It was none other than Zayn Malik; Tyler's best friend. He was pouting into the front camera, batting his beautiful eyelashes. That day he was going on and on about how much he despised it when girls pouted for pictures.

"Why not just smile? Smiles are prettier than looking like a fish," He had said.

I remember how after a while I stopped listening, and just watched the way his lips moved; the way he smiled with his tongue between his teet- sorry fangs.

I carried on staring at the picture, memorizing every detail on his handsome face. The dark stubble that sprinkled his cheeks, the hazel eyes framed by those long eyelas-

I snapped out of those thoughts once I heard the door slam. My heart began to race in fear, my stomach in knots. I quickly stored my phone away, wiping my sweaty hands on my leggings in fear.

'He'sbackHe'sbackHe'sback." A voice chanted in my head as the footsteps moved closer to the door.

But I could have cried with relief once I heard him.

"Tyler! Your door's wide open man, what the fuck?" Zayn Malik's deep voice boomed. I sighed in relief, and I couldn't stop the tears filling my tears. I slapped a hand tightly over my mouth, trying to muffle any sounds that may come out. With his vampire hearing, he'd probably hear a sniff.

"Hello? Ty? Lilah?" Zayn said uncertainly. He was also the only person in my life to call me Lilah.

"Zayn!" I cried, quickly realising he was my only chance of getting out.

"Lilah? Is that you down there?" He said; he was just outside the door.

"Zayn! I'm down here, help me!"

"Stand back Lilah. I'm going to kick the door down OK?"

I scurried away to behind the sofa, heart thumping.

"Are you away from the door?" He shouted.

"Yes." I confirmed.

Suddenly, at an alarming speed, the door flew across the room, crashing violently against the wall. I gasped as the door smashed into a million pieces; his strength never ceased to amaze me. I moved away from the sofa, eager to see him.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs, in simple black jeans and a grey sweatshirt. His dark hair was swept up messily and he looked perfect, except for the small frown on his face.

"Zayn," I breathed and he engulfed me into a hug. It took everything in me not to burst into tears. He smelt of cologne, cigarette smoke and just him. It was the most comforting scent in the world. I wrapped my hands around his neck, having to get up onto my tip-toes. His arms were around my waist, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes briefly. I could feel his breath on my neck, and it was causing tingles to erupt over my entire body.

After a minute or maybe an hour -hell, I don't know; time simply froze when I was in his arms- he pulled away. He studied my face intently, and that was when I remembered the bruise on my nose. I looked down at my feet, noticing that the black nail varnish on my big toe was very slightly chipp-

His index finger found my chin, lifting my head up to meet his eyes. Oh, those eyes.

"Who did this to you?" He whispered.

"N-Nobody," My eyes fluttered back to my feet, not able to lie straight to his face.

"Tell me the truth Delilah, I'm not an idiot." He said, almost angrily. Actually, he called me Delilah, so he was definitely angry.

I stepped away from him. "Nothing happened.. I fell down the stairs and hit my nose on the banister, the door looked automatically b-behind me." I said as firmly as I could, despite the stutter at the end.

"You hit your nose only?" He said in that smooth voice of his. I nodded.

"Then why is your head bleeding?!" He shouted. I jumped as he kicked the sofa.

He turned back around to me, his expression softening.

"I don't know why you're lying to me." He said gently, looking deep into my eyes. I couldn't look away; I was transfixed my those big, brown eyes of his. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I hated lying to one of the only people I cared about, but he wouldn't understand.

Nobody ever did.

He took my hand and led me up the stairs silently. Once we were in the kitchen, he took the first-aid kit out of the cupboard, again in silence. I sat on the kitchen counter, listening to the clock on the wall tick.

Zayn moved between my legs. "I'm going to ask you one last time Lilah," Zayn finally broke the suffocating silence. His hand moved up to cup my jaw, his thumb tracing circles on my cheek. My eyes fluttered close at the feeling of his hand caressing my cheek.

"What happened?" He murmured. I opened my eyes and saw that his eyes were full of concern and worry.

"He threw me down... down the stairs." I breathed, barely recognising my voice. All I could concentrate on was the feeling of him so close, the way my heart was racing and my stomach leaping at his soft hand on my face. I allowed my eyes to shut again.

But I suddenly couldn't feel him anymore. When I opened my eyes again, he was at the other side of the room. A look of.. Disgust? Disbelief? was evident in his eyes. But why- oh. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

"Tyler did this to you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"No?" I squeaked.

"I'll kill him! I'll fucking kill him!" He fumed, racing towards the door. I ran to catch up with him and grabbed his hand.

"No! He's not worth it Zayn." I I told him, ignoring the tingles shooting up my arm.

Zayn stayed quiet, eyeing our laced hands. I blushed and released his hand.

"Fine, but on one condition," He began. I nodded.

"You tell me everything."

[ALL DAY. ALL NIGHT. DJ MALIK.]