The Artist (Zayn Malik) AU

Chapter 3

Previously on - The Artist.....

Instantly, I felt relieved.... soon, the light separated the darkness, and the Sun began to shine in its usual glow in the noon sky... I looked around at the people, who were busily walking or talking to others... they seemed so engrossed in what they were doing, while I hopelessly looked at the rare phenomena which was soon to be an indication... an indication that my life was about to change....

I continued walking feeling light and happy for no reason... maybe it was that ray of light....

 .....

I reached the park after a few minutes of slowly walking, having various thoughts in my mind... Once I reached the place, I seated myself on an empty bench, which was the only unoccupied on that busy Sunday morning...

I clumsily covered my hand with the flimsy scarf that I wore, which kept moving with the wind with the same force as a flag on a windy day, I also had to tuck my hair, which was left open, that was messily rubbing my face.

The distant sounds of the joyful screams and shrieks of children filled my ears, as I took a full view of the less- familiar park that surrounded me. The wet smell of grass, and the sweet aroma of flowers made me rest my disturbed mind for a bit.

I opened my eyes, to observe the people around me. Some were couples, who were having their giggle- filled chit- chat, while there were some families, yelling at their children who were running to not go too far away from them....

And then there were people like me, with no one to accompany them, looking into the skies, hopelessly, as if they were trying to find an answer for an age- old mystery. There were some others, who worked on their laptops, typing away hurriedly, trying to finish off their work. Some ate, some drank, a few lied down to listen to music, I assumed.

All of the observations that I'd made out of boredom, made me feel jobless. But I continued looking at people, trying to find someone different... someone new, full of hope in their eyes.

Just then my gaze met with a man seated a few benches away from me. He was away from me by a considerable amount of distance, but what made me stare longer and straight- up insecure was the fact that he was staring at me.

I reflexly covered my hand, trying to look down. I thought there was something wrong with me... was it because of my scars that hadn't completely healed, or my pale face, that flushed red at seeing this man, staring at me with so much of concentration...I didn't know. But as I looked back at him, I saw him, once again, look at me and then at his lap. 

I had a sudden had a feeling of being inferior to him. He was no celebrity, nor was he an angel sent from up above... he wore the most simplest clothes, which was a stained white tee with a hoodie to warm him. 

But my insecurities took the best of me... I got up from the bench. On any other normal day, I would not mind with someone looking at me like that. But now, the situation was totally different... I had to make this pretty lad understand how rude was it to stare at a girl, a girl like me, like that.

As I charged closer to him, his features became more prominent to me, his eyes were set down on his lap, a skinny body, and a face with no amount of healthiness in it... yet he looked well and fine. His hair was as black as an onyx, that didn't budge even with the strong winds. He had a well-defined jawline, I noted as I was only a few steps away from him. Tears of inferiority filled my eyes, threatening to spill.

He lifted his head and searched for me in the place I'd previously sat, but on sensing the presence of an angered seventeen-year-old, he turned his head to see me. He initially gave a sheepish grin, but immediately hid it as I opened my mouth, to speak.... but I was shocked as nothing came out from my mouth...