Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 54 - The Enchanted Forest (Part One)

As I stepped out the back door, with Harry and Niall in close pursuit, I felt the warmth of the beautiful summer's day. I was actually quite surprised by how gorgeous it was outside. The sun was out, the sky was a deep shade of baby blue, fluffy white clouds dotted the horizon, and I could hear birds singing from their homes in the trees. I couldn't think of a more perfect day if I tried.

"So, today must be one of the two days out of the year that sun comes out in London, right?" I teased to Harry and Niall over my shoulder.

"Hardy har har. You're hilarious." Harry said sarcastically back.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." I attempted at an Elvis impression, earning a deep chuckle from Niall.

I stopped for a moment, standing absolutely still. I kicked off my flip flops and smiled at the natural feel of the soft grass between my toes. I looked out over the expansive property, taking in every detail of Zayn's backyard. Before me, there was a gigantic meadow, flowers of all kinds sprouting up out of the ground, their vines growing over some of the old looking pathways that twisted through the landscape. Off to the right, closer to the house, I noticed a small flower garden with a moderately sized fountain at its center. I laughed quietly to myself. I never saw Zayn as a gardener. I looked back up and noticed that the meadow cut off abruptly at a line of tall oak trees that looked like they kept going for miles and miles. Zayn had a literal forest as his backyard.

I held my hand up over my eyes, covering them from the sunlight so it would be easier for my eyes to search. I really hope he's not letting Jack play hide and seek out here. I thought to myself.

"So, how are we supposed to find them? This yard is like the size of the whole state of South Carolina!" I called back behind me, only to receive no answer.

"What? Are we playing the quiet game or something?" I mocked as I turned around. And to my horror, when I turned around, Harry and Niall were gone.

Honestly, I was a little startled to see that they weren't behind me. I didn't know where they could have run off to so quickly without me seeing them, unless they ran back into the house. But Harry and Niall were pranksters by nature, and come to think of it, so was Louis, and he had probably put them up to this.

"Alright you assholes! Where are you?" I laughed nervously, looking all around, from the garden to the forest, but they were nowhere in sight.

"Are you seriously going to make me go into the enchanted forest by myself?" I called out and waited a few seconds, but again got no reply.

"Fine! You win! I'll play your little game!" I gave in, running off towards the oak trees. I don't know why my first inclination was to make off towards the forest, of which I didn't know the size, but I did. I ran and ran across the open meadow, somewhat hoping that at any minute, Harry or Niall would jump out of the tall grass and tackle me or something, but that never happened.

The closer I got to the woods, the more I started to panic a little. If this is supposed to be a fun game, why am I so anxious? I asked myself.

As I reached the line of trees that would cut me off from the meadow and the rest of the backyard, I couldn't help the urge to turn around and look one last time in the hopes that someone would pop up and stop me.

As I disappeared behind the tree line, the sunlight dwindled down considerably. It was almost like I'd run straight through into dusk. I slowed my pace, not wanting to venture too far into the woods, and took a look around. The trees were so much taller up close, dwarfing me in size and giving the illusion that they were the size of redwoods. I could still hear the birds chirping, which was definitely a good sign, but other than that, the only sound I could hear was the wail of the wind blowing through the tree branches.