Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 55 - The Enchanted Forest (Part Two)

Louis and I stood motionless, feet planted on the ground, and eyes focused forward. We kept absolutely silent, listening to the heavy running footsteps that were coming closer and closer with each passing second. I don't know why we didn't run. If it was out of curiosity or fear. But to be fair, running probably wouldn't do us any good. If it was Zayn, we were as good as caught. Maybe not Louis, because he was a faster runner than Zayn, but I would surely be captured.

As the footsteps drew nearer, Louis and I looked at each other, both housing expressions of panic. In hindsight, it was kind of comical that we were getting so worked up over a game, but I guess that's what made it fun.

We knew that we were caught, and we were trying to come to terms with that. We lost. Soon, Zayn and Jack would be tackling us to ground and rubbing it in our faces, gloating and boasting how much better they were at this than us.

I tore my gaze away from Louis and focused my eyes forward, in the direction of the footsteps, expecting to see Zayn's head over the bushes at any moment. I held my breath in anticipation, causing my face to feel red hot and my cheeks to puff up slightly. I shifted my position a little bit, not even caring anymore about how much noise I might be making. I was just concerned with getting in position to put up some kind of struggle. Just because I was going down, doesn't mean I'd go without a fight.

The bushes directly in front of Louis and I started rustling, and it was like a scene from a horror movie, when they know that the killer is behind the bush, but they stay anyway. It was a stupid decision really, because I think would honestly could have run with how much time it took Zayn to get to us, but we just couldn't make our legs budge.

Suddenly, the bushes stopped moving, and the footsteps ceased. Whoever was out there had just stopped behind the bush. They were watching us. They knew that we were there and they were just prolonging the torture and keeping us in suspense.

"Alright, come out. You know we're here and we know you're here!" Louis suddenly called out, shattering the eerie silence in the woods.

I kept still, listening to the sound of my breathing as my chest steadily rose and fell.

The bushes started rustling again, and Louis and I both watched in utter relief as a head of long, curly hair stepped out from the wilderness. Harry seemed to be just as relieved and surprised as we were, judging by his raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

"Harry?" I uttered his name in confusion.

"Ada? Louis?" he responded, his deep voice rising in pitch with his shock.

We all stood staring at each other, exchanging relieved glances and heavy breaths coming from our lips. All of us stood in defensive positions; shoulders tensed, fists clenched, feet shoulder width apart. By the look of it, we'd all been preparing to challenge Zayn.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing out here? We thought you were Zayn." I said, releasing the tension in my shoulders and sighing.

"You thought I was Zayn?" Harry asked, an amused grin on his face.

"Well, yeah." I said, like it was completely obvious, and I thought it was.

"Sorry to disappoint you." he teased playfully.

I glared at him, as if to say "Shut up", but that didn't stop him from giving me a knowing smile.

"Well, now that we know you're not Zayn, why were you running anyway?" Louis asked, and I could tell by his tone that he was still in game.

Harry shifted his weight onto his right side, and placed his hands on his hips. The grin dropped from his face and was replaced by a twisted expression as he tried to recall why he'd run into us in the way that he did. He brought his fingers to his hair and scratched his head in thought. Finally, a light bulb flickered above his head.