The More I Try (An One Direction Fan Fiction)

Perfectly Usual (Chapter Twenty)

Mumbling a quick thank you to the waitress, Thalia followed Zayn as she took a bite out of her grilled cheese- instantly realizing it was a mistake as it started burning her mouth.

"Hot, hot." She muttered as she fanned at her mouth with her hand- Zayn only laughing at her as he picked up his pace, glancing over his shoulder at the following fans and paparazzi. He actually found it more creepy how the were keeping their distance, rather than the normal sprinting after him while screaming their heads off.

"Zayn, what's going on?" Thalia asked again, taking another bite of her sandwich as it got cooler. By then they were back to where they'd parked the canoe, and a still confused Thalia started climbing down the later when Zayn gestured for her to.

"Just some crazy fans." Zayn decided to answer, and below him Thalia laughed as she settled into her seat.

"Crazy stalker fans? You have crazy stalker fans?" She chuckled, setting her sandwich on her lap as she got out her paddle. Zayn had already gotten in his seat and had untied the boat- pushing off the wall with his foot as they paddled away from the growing crowd at the edge of the boardwalk.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Zayn asked, looking over his shoulder at a still smiling Thalia.

"It's not exactly hard to believe, it's just- how does that feel?" She asked as she looked back at the crowd. They were all just cheering and calling Zayn's name, but he was just ignoring them.

Raising a hand to wave at the crowd, Thalia smiled at them- frowning when she heard a boo. They started calling things, but Thalia was to far away to hear exactly what they were saying.

Looking at Zayn in silent question, she found he looked rather upset too.

"I think they're just angry I'm not with the band right now. They hate seeing us apart." He answered softly, making Thalia feel somewhat relieved. They weren't angry with her, they weren't booing her.

"Well, that's kind of stupid." Thalia answered, as she set her paddle back inside the canoe- going back to eating her grilled cheese. Zayn turned in his seat so he faced her, also eating his sandwich.

By then they were both ignoring the fans and paparazzi, who were just taking pictures and making white noise.

"So, what do you do? What are you plans for the future?" Zayn asked, looking up at Thalia with a meaningful look.

Biting her lip, Thalia thought for a moment. "Well, I graduated two months ago- so I'm not really doing anything until I turn 18 in March. I graduated a year early since I'm home schooled, so I'm waiting a year and then I guess I'm going to university. Or college- I don't know." Thalia answered, shrugging at the end. 

"What were you going to do, before you became part of a mega hot boy band?" Thalia asked in a Valley Girl voice, making Zayn laugh before he answered.

"I was studying to become a English teacher." He said simply, furrowing his eyes in confusion when Thalia started laughing. Did she think that was a mediocre job or something?

"It's 'I was studying to become, an, English teacher." She corrected, still laughing at how ironic it was. Once he understood the joke, Zayn was laughing too. By then they'd floated out of range of the stalking fan girls and photographers- who were probably trying to figure out where they were going next.

Just remembering how they could be followed, Zayn quickly suggested going through the different little rivers again before eating back up at their site. Thalia agreed, saying she knew the perfect path from past canoeing trips.

By then they'd finished their sandwiches, and Thalia's arms started burning after ten minutes.

"Ok, stop." She said, very carefully kneeling forward so that she was directly behind Zayn. Grabbing his arm, she held it up for him to see.