"I'm so full," Brenden groans as we walk side by side out of the restaurant. The sun is going down at it's a bit chilly but Bren doesn't seem to mind. I pull my jacket tighter and match my steps with his.
"Me too," I say and he wraps his arm through mine, pulling me closer. He must know that I'm cold.
"What ever happened with Zayn?" Brenden glances at me as we continue to walk down the sidewalk.
I look down at my feet and watch them move across the cement. "I don't know, he's just been toying with me and I'm over it."
"Toying with you?"
It's starting to get colder and I'm starting to wish we didn't park so far up the street.
"He'll be nice to me one minute and then turn into the biggest asshole," I sigh. My eyes still gazing down at the ground. "He's given me some severe whiplash."
"Doesn't seem like you'll be recovering anytime soon," Brenden whispers and I look up at him to see his eyes focused on something. I follow his stare and my heart beat quickens.
Zayn.
Was I going to run into him everywhere?
He's leaning against the wall of a brick building. You wouldn't even be able to tell who he is if the gleam of the streetlights didn't light up the left side of his face. He's on the same side of the road as us and he is looking down at he ground with his hands in his pockets.
Brenden and I stop walking and observe as another man walks up to Zayn and they shake hands. Their interaction only lasts a couple of seconds before they both start walking in opposite directions. As if the universe wants me to suffer, Zayn begins walking towards Brenden and I.
"Talk to him!" Brenden whisper-yells and I shake my head vigorously. I watch Brenden as he rolls his eyes dramatically.
"Hey Zayn!" Brenden says loudly and my eyes widen.
Thanks, Bren.
"Uh.. Hey?" Zayn's face twists up in confusion as he stares at Brenden, most likely trying to figure out how he knows him. Brenden's elbow jabs into my side, signaling me to say something.
"Hey," I say quietly and Zayn's eyes immediately meet mine. He doesn't say anything back, he just stares at me intently and I shift under his gaze. It's starting to make my uncomfortable.
"We were just talking about you!" Brenden says cheerfully and I cover my face with my hands.
Maybe if I just stay like this, he'll go away.
"Were you?" Zayn's voice is quiet. I remove my hands from my face and look at him to see that he is smirking at me. I liked moment like these, where his eyes were full of playfulness and his lip was between his teeth.
Pull it together, Alivia. He's an asshole with a handsome disguise.
"Not really," I say bluntly with a shrug of my shoulders.
Zayn's hand reaches up and rubs his chin as he stares at me, his smirk only growing into a full blown smile when he notices me staring at him. Brenden clears his throat awkwardly and Zayn and I snap back to reality.
Zayn looks back and forth as if he is looking for someone, "I've gotta go,"
"Come by and see us later!" Bren yells and I roll my eyes and begin walking in the direction of my car. I've had enough of this awkward encounter.
**
We pull back up in the driveway of Brenden's house and what I notice as I get out of the car is that there's a ton of other cars parked on the street.
"Are you guys having a party tonight?" I ask Brenden as we walk towards the front door.
"Not that I know of." He pushes the front door open and I follow him inside. There's multiple people in the living room, one of those people being Chase and another one of those people being Sophia. She's sitting on Chase's lap and they're talking to a few people that are sitting on the floor in front of them.
I stand still and watch as Chase treats Sophia the way I wish he would've treated me. His hand is on her lower back and her arm is wrapped around his neck. The way he looks up at her makes him look like a completely different guy. He looks happy and so does she.
"Via?" Brenden's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I look at him. His eyes search my brown ones and I try to process my feelings, but I feel as if I have none.
Brenden pulls me into the kitchen and makes me a drink. I bring the cup up to my lips and let the liquid flow through my mouth and down my throat. I seem to start drinking every time I'm in this house and it's not a healthy habit.
Hours later, I've had quite a few drinks and Brenden and I have been sitting on the kitchen counter, laughing and talking. I haven't seen Chase or Sophia the whole time I've been here and I don't even think they know that Brenden and I are here. The house has filled with more people but it's definitely not as many as one of their usually parties.
"Here's to you! We already know your smart ass passed the exam," Brenden yells as he raises up his cup. I giggle while raising mine and accidentally hit his cup a little too hard. The liquid from both cups falls out and spreads across the floor.
"Oops," I mumble and Brenden breaks out into a fit of laughter.
"Alivia," someone says from behind me and I try to turn around without completely falling off the counter.
"Zayn!" I giggle when I finally turn around and he raises both eyebrows.
"I thought this was a party," Zayn asks while leaning against the opposite counter across the kitchen, his eyes focusing on me.
"You really like to party, huh?" Brenden asks while hopping down from the counter. He throws some paper towels down on the mess I made a few minutes before and moves them around with his foot.
"I have some uh.. friends that come to your parties." Zayn says slowly while scratching at the back of his neck.
Brenden nods before turning around and walking away, leaving Zayn, the mess of paper towels and I alone in the kitchen. I move my gaze from the floor to Zayn and our eyes lock. I start giggling as I am overcome with the urge to laugh. His expression changes from his usual straight face to a small smirk.
"Why are you laughing?" He asks with his head cocked to the side. His tongue shows between his teeth as his smile grows. He is so god damn attractive.
"Because you suck," I laugh again and he licks his lips. The lips that I've kissed twice.
"Why's that?" He pushes himself from the counter and takes a step towards me.
"You can't seem to decide if you want to be a nice guy or an asshole." The words leave my mouth before I even have time to think. I bite my lip and search his face for any signs of anger. To my surprise, there are none.
"What if I don't want to be the nice guy?" He's now taken two more steps towards me and is only inches away from standing in between my legs.
"Then don't be but Jesus Christ, just pick one!" The anger inside of be begins to build up and is boiling in my chest as his brown eyes stare into mine. I can't help but lick my lips as my gaze falls from his eyes to his mouth. The small smirk he has is growing the longer I stare and my cheeks begin to heat.
As much as I complain about him treating me like a toy, I realize that I am the one who allows it. Maybe it's time to give home a taste of his own medicine.
I lean forward and press my lips to his, completely catching him off guard. He gasps into my mouth and I take his bottom lip between my teeth. Both of my arms rest on his shoulders, one of my hands still holding my cup and the other is resting on the back of his neck.
His hands grab my thighs as he closes the space between us. I moan into his mouth and his kiss becomes more needy.
I pull away from him and shove at his chest so I can hop down from the counter. The look on his face is priceless as he stares at me utterly confused.
That's what I wanted.
"See you later," I smirk before walking out of the kitchen.
