Country Tied || 1D au

Chapter 3

~Chapter 3~

"What do you mean it doesn't count as an internship? But I'll be working! Isn't that the same thing?" I knew that raising my voice at the department secretary wasn't going to win me any favours, but I was at the end of my rope. I still had several hours to go, and summer had that nasty habit of ending before you knew it.

When I finally got her to stop talking about how cute Harry was, Camille suggested that she and I hold cooking classes for kids. She was saying it might even be considered an internship since there were so many ways I could relate it to my course (something I had yet to figure out). I wasn't too hot about it---kids and knives?!---but if it worked, it was better than being under Jasper the Nazi's hateful eye. So here I was in school trying but failing to sweet talk Miss Jeshara, our department secretary, into agreeing and giving me the much-needed credits.

Plastering what I hoped was a winning smile on my face, I tried once more. "Please, Miss Jeshara. The cooking workshop is going to teach me not only how to deal with children and parents, but how to run a business as well. I'm going to do marketing, promotions, accounting! When I was working for my Aunt, I just washed dishes and took out the garbage."

Miss Jeshara shook her head and gave me a stern look. "And why aren't you working for your Aunt anymore? Besides, the rules state that you must be working for a company. There's still time. You can still send out your resume. I need to get back to work, Lauren. Is that all?"

I glanced at the clock. I had been trying to convince her for over thirty minutes. I knew when a battle was lost. "Okay, thanks, Miss Jeshara," I said in a small voice. She wasn't looking at me anymore anyway.

Discouraged, I slunk out of the Humanities department and started walking towards my car, which I had parked right in front of the building, in the Faculty and Staff parking lot.

Hey, it was summer. The guards weren't as strict as they were at the beginning of the school year, right? Wrong. I had a huge red sticker with the word: VIOLATION stuck on my windshield.

"No, no, no! I'm on vacation! They can't slap me with a violation!" I looked wildly around for the guard responsible but couldn't find him. Were they on summer stealth mode?

Just then I heard a loud laugh coming from my right. No way. Not Harry again. Why did he always catch me at the most inopportune moments? When I spun around to tell him that a red violation sticker wasn't funny, I saw that it wasn't Harry but his friend Zayn. Funny how they sounded alike.

"Oh, hi Zayn." I grimaced. "Laughing at my misfortune, I see"

"Oh, Lauren, Lauren, Lauren." He sauntered towards me, eyeing the flaming red sticker. "Don't you ever learn?"

Before I could indignantly protest that his was the first time I had ever parked in an off-limits spot, Zayn took out what looked like a tube of paste and started squeezing out some glop in the edges of the offending sticker. I watched in amazement as he effortlessly peeled it off.

"Viola!" He waved the sticker in front of him and gave me a deep bow. "No need to panic with Zayn Malik to the rescue, fair maiden!"

The corny move would normally have extracted a sarcastic remark from me, but I was too relieved to say anything, let alone anything biting. "Um, thanks," was all I could manage.

"That's it? That's all you have to say?" Zayn gave me an exaggerated pout, at which I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, that was really cool, Zayn," I admitted. "Why do you carry that stuff around in your pocket?"

Chuckling, he tossed the tube to me. "It's just some goo-gone thing. When I got a red sticker, I tried it and worked. They think they're the only ones who have the means to remove it, so they don't even take down your license plate. You're a free woman now."

I looked at the tube and mentally recorded its name in my head. "I owe you one." I smiled. As I was about to jump into my car before a guard could suddenly materialize, Zayn opened the passenger door and got in.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Could you take me to the library? There's this book I need to get for class." He was already looking through my iPod, which I left hooked up to the stereo.

"You have no concept of personal space and property, do you?" I got in and turned to face him as he scrolled through my playlists. I had to admit, he fit right in all slouched and comfy in my passenger seat.

"Hey, I'm not invading your personal space." He looked hurt, but I knew it was an act. "I'm keeping my distance. Besides, I'm not a single guy." He gave me a cocky grin and put down my iPod.

"That's not what I meant!" My eyes widened. I quickly turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the violated parking space. Was he reading my thoughts? And what thoughts? I wasn't even thinking anything. Did you hear me say anything? "I meant---"

"I know what you meant, Lauren, don't get your knickers in a twist." Zayn raised his arms behind his head, rested it in his hands, and closed his eyes. I couldn't understand why he was acting so comfortable around me. Sure, we'd hang out sometimes with Louis, Liam, Niall, Camille and the rest of her party brigade but we weren't buddies. And uh, knickers in a twist? Who talked like that?

Trying to erase the image, I quickly snuck a peek at him as I slowed down for a hump. He was wearing his usual loose jeans and a graphic tee that said something like, "Cool Kids Don't Dance". He dressed nothing like Harry. I'm sure he didn't even buy his own clothes and just threw on whatever his mother or girlfriend gave him. Speaking of which, I distinctly remembered Camille telling me that she ran into Zayn and a girl who looked really young---and they looked too cozy to be siblings. All of a sudden, I just had to know. "So who's your girlfriend, Zayn? Last I heard, you were single."

He didn't even bother to open his eyes when he answered me. I checked. "Last you heard, Lauren, Camille bumped into me and my girlfriend at the mall."

Dang. So much for being discreet. "So, who is she?"

"You wouldn't know her. She's in high school." He finally opened his eyes, sat up, and faced me. He had a naughty look on his face.

Oh God. High School? I was giving a lift to a cradle snatcher!

"Zayn! How old is she? Please tell me she's a senior. But either way, you're still corrupting minors!"

"Yes she is. Stop stressing. You sound like my mum." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, she's hot. And that's what matters."

"Right, because that's the only thing guys look for in girls."

"Yup! Why do you think I helped you out back there?" He grinned at me, looking naughty again. I felt my cheeks slowly start to heat up. Did he actually say what I thought he said? "Here's the lib. Thanks for the ride, Lor. You take care of yourself and don't park in illegal spots anymore."

I gave him a wary look. "I think I've learned my lesson. Especially if I have to put up with you lecturing me about hot high school children again."

"You loved spending time with me and you know it!" He waggled his eyebrows at me, making me laugh against my will, and jumped out of the car. After another exaggerated bow, he leisurely made his way up the library steps.

I wasn't sure how long I sat in my car watching him walk up the stairs because when I finally snapped out of whatever was going through my head, a car was honking its horn behind me. I was so tempted to get out of the car and follow him into the library, but I didn't have a reason to. And it would definitely look like I was stalking him.

I pulled into a parking spot anyway.

What was I thinking?