concealing ➸ tomlinson

xxx

we hit 1.1k so quickly oh my goD I LOVE YOU GUY S

ps; unless stated explicitly otherwise, the photos found in the 'media' are NOT MINE :-)

back at the base, there were still problems to be had.

jacob, now without his regular play thing, began to prowl on the new five. he kept a close eye on them, debating if they were to be an ally or otherwise. but for the most part, they were always a little too close to someone for him to get close and personal. around harry and zayn, specifically.

ashlyn seemed to be the only one not heeding whatever warning they'd been giving them; he'd investigate into her at a later date.

eventually, around three days after kris and louis had left, zayn was at work in his little corner of the ugc. he'd been going through dozens and dozens of designs- all of which had, ultimately, been scraped. he was so intensely focused on his work that he didn't hear the door's soft squeak as it was pushed open; didn't feel watched until something clanged against the metal bars. zayn glanced over his shoulder, saw jacob, and almost fell over.

"scared you?" jacob smirked.

zayn exhaled sharply, brushing paint chips off his jeans and standing up. "can i help you?"

jacob occupied with looking at some of the sketches hanging up. "how've you been?"

zayn uncertainly glanced out into the ugc. he felt unsafe, but not particularly threatened. not at that immediate instant, at least. "good...?"

"come on, relax."

zayn tried to ease the ugly feeling that was growing in his abdomen. he was acting genuinely friendly, but that came off as more confusing than reassuring. zayn kept his hand on his paintbrush; if it came down to the worst, he'd at least have some method of defense.

"so," jacob finally stuck his full attention on zayn. "what are the new kids like?"

"...fine? they seem like good people and everything."

"powers?"

"um, mind reading, telepathy, mimicry, flight, and foresight. as far as i know."

something in jacob's face shifted. zayn tensed up.

"what about kris?" he asked.

zayn tried to shrug innocently. "what about her?"

jacob cocked one eyebrow at him. "as out-of-character as it might seem to you, i'm actually not in the mood to beat the shit out of you. the quicker you give me answers, the quicker i leave you alone and the more likely you're in one piece when i do."

zayn kept waiting for someone- anyone, really- to walk into the ugc and spare him of this. but, after a few seconds of tense hesitation, he exhaled. "she turned invisible. twice, actually."