Zayn tugged the top drawer of his desk open to return his letter opener to it’s place, but paused when his eyes fell on the little box wedged in the corner. He slid the opener into its spot before brushing his fingers over the green felted square. His reaction to the sight had been the same all week-- first, a small smile easing onto his lips, then an excited nervousness pricking in his stomach. The day was getting closer and he couldn’t wait.
With the drawer, he shoved his thoughts back into place and looked up from his desk. “Finished grading those papers?” he called to his intern, who was sat at a smaller desk against the classroom wall.
Her head popped up and she began ruffling the papers. “Oh, um, not quite-- sorry. I just got a little bit distracted-- I, um..” she mumbled and tried to sort through what she’d been doing before her mind had drifted. Unbeknownst to her, Zayn bumped his thumbs together as he looked in her direction and considered her fluster. She’d seemed distracted all day, and he could tell something was bothering her. He wondered if maybe he’d given her too much to handle among her coursework from uni.
He sat down on her desk and nonchalantly thumped a pencil on his hand.
“I’m really sorry, I’ll get them done right now.” she rushed and glanced up at him.
He shook his head in dismissal. “It’s alright, don’t worry about grading them today."
She paused her scribbling and looked up again. “Are you sure? I can just stay a little later than usual and do it. It’s my fault for, uh.. getting distracted.”
Zayn shook his head again, keeping his voice low. “No, no.. don’t worry about it.” He paused for a moment, his eyes drifting slowly from the floor to hers. “‘s everything okay, babe?” he asked carefully, but casually.
She looked down to the papers scattered on her desk. “Umm.. yeah, I mean, yeah.” She shrugged, but her mumbles gave away her uneasiness.
“You’ve been distracted all day.” Zayn raised his eyebrows at her, making her give a small smile in return for his. “Don’t lie to me.”
She brightened just enough to chuckle a tiny laugh before sighing and fidgeting with the corners of the essay in front of her. “It’s really not a big deal, kind of dumb, really,” she shook her head.
“Too much work from me? Or school?” Zayn muttered, trying to encourage her to open up. He wanted to help if he could.
“No, no, that’s all fine. I mean, as fine as it can be this close to the end of the semester anyway.” She gave an ironic laugh, and he joined before she continued. “It’s really nothing, just, um.. just, like, dumb guy stuff.”
“Dumb guy stuff?” he poked, and she glared playfully.
“Well you asked.” she wrinkled her nose. “And I’m really sorry, I won’t let it affect my work anymore.”
Zayn chuckled and nodded. “It’s really fine. Relationships are tough.”
Their voices lulled as she straightened the paper for the third time and Zayn looked up at the clock on the wall. Still fifteen minutes until Louis said he’d be done for the day and ready for drinks.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Zayn suggested with a shrug. She sighed and looked up at him. “I am a dumb guy, after all.” he tipped a sad smile.
She chewed her bottom lip as her mind sorted through the repercussions of her decision. “I don’t know. You might think I’m really dumb.”
“We’ll since we’ve already established that I’m dumb, you’ll be in good company.” Zayn grinned again, but she glared. “Alright, alright. I promise not to think you’re dumb. Come on, babe, it’s okay.”
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Soundtrack
Fanfic5 Guys. 3 Albums. 1 Story. What if in some alternate reality the members of One Direction lived lives determined by the words of their own songs? Read on to find out.
