Abused and Bullied (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

I return to the boys, who I see had grabbed mostly clothes and put them in the cart. Most of the items were lounge clothes; comfortable sweats, sweatshirts, hoodies, and socks. They had also grabbed some blankets and notebooks; thankfully, they are not the same ones that I just purchased.

As the boys finish round themselves up and start making their way to the checkout, Zayn suggests that he and I go to Bath and Body Works, which is next to the TJ Maxx. I agree and before I can even try to get to the register to help pay for the items, Zayn has his hand on my back and is leading me into the store. 

I immediately go towards the candles, lifting them up to my nose and moving them around a little bit, inhaling the smell. I smile, really liking the smell of the candle. I move it away from my face, rotating it so I can see the logo. 'Frosted Cranberry'

Someone grabs the candle from my hands, placing it into a bag. I look up, seeing Zayn with a bright smile on his face. "I saw your reaction when you smelled the candle. We're definitely getting that one." 

I smile, shaking my head, taking a look around the store. I've never really been one to shop at one of these stores unless it were a gift, but that was a very long time ago. "Let's look at the essential stuff first; shower gel, moisturizer and some fragrances. Then we can pick up some candles and other things," Zayn suggests, seeing the look of confusion on my face. 

I nod my head, letting him lead the way. 

We stop at the far wall, a whole bunch of gels being displayed in an array of different colors and bottle designs. 

"These are the more yearly ones, rather than seasonal. It would be a little weird for someone to go around smelling of a pine tree in the middle of July," Zayn laughs. 

I start to smell the different fragrances, and upon Zayn's suggestion, manage to pick out at least five that smell really nice. We do the same thing with the moisturizer and fragrances. While I'm picking out those, Zayn also picks out some bath bombs and some different bath items. We walk to the checkout and Zayn sets the bag onto the counter, smiling up at the woman behind the register. 

Once being given the total, Zayn hands the woman $100. Once we get the cash back, we walk towards the door and into the area between the stores, seeing the boys still in line at the cash register.

"They must have found some more stuff they wanted to look at," Zayn comments, looking towards the boys. I nod my head, agreeing with him. How much money are they going to spend on me?

"By the way," Zayn whispers, leaning down to rest his chin on my left shoulder, "I saw you buy your own stuff at TJ Maxx. Why didn't you let us buy them? Money isn't a problem for us," he whispers, wrapping his right arm around my torso, holding the bag from Bath and Body in his left hand. 

"I've always been like that . . . I feel horrible when people spend money on me. So, I found the stuff that I wanted and I bought it myself. I just got paid today and have been saving my money for a long time. I figured I would put it to use today rather than have you guys spend the money. I just feel horrible about it." I explain, leaning my head so it's resting against his. 

"So that's why when we were in ShopKo you tried getting to the register." He says, the gears finally starting to move in his head. 

I feel my cheeks heat up, "You saw that?" He nods his head, humming. 

We stand there in a comfortable silence until the boys get out of the store. 

I have never been this comfortable before with someone standing so close to me. Normally when someone is this close, it's either my father or one of the bullies at school, which entails a beating or something a lot worse afterwards. I feel something I've hardly ever felt before; I feel safe.