Fire Starter

Chapter Fourteen

It's January 1st, 2015.

Happie New Year ! x

-

I sniffle tears like a three year old robbed of a piece of candy. I can't even remember why such a thing so minuscule was so scary to me. The pain that it inflicts isn't really painful. It's just the thought. Hastily, I rub at my swollen eyes from under my glasses.

When I become in a rush to get out of the medical center, to get away from the linoleum floors, the bright white light, the people sauntering around in weird suites like aliens, I limp into a half run. People like Sara are crazy. Doctors. I'd die before allowing another one of those crazy people insert one of those things into me again. Unless there's the option of sedating me.

When I manage to get out of the hospital, it begins to sprinkle. Just great.

My eyes scan the area outside the parking lot for the sign of some sort of bus stop, but I find nothing. Even then, I wouldn't know where I was going, and had no bus fair.

I about sink into a bench by the entrance until I catch sight of a certain someone staring at me.

Leaning against his car, is Zayn. He doesn't wave me over of any sort, just stares me down.

Without the invitation, I go over to his car, not wasting time to take in his reaction.

Since he's leaning against the passenger door, I can't immediately get into the car without speaking to him as I was hoping for. But I end up speaking the first thing that comes to my mind.

"How did you know I was here." I'm now standing in front of him, in between his car and another. We're fairly close, but he hardly notices while just gazing down at me, taking in my puffy eyes, and distraught hair.

"Well, hello to you too. My day was okay... Thanks for asking." Zayn says bluntly yet sarcastically. Clearly he wants to spark up a conversation, because he does itch out of the way of my door.

Maybe he's okay with standing in the drizzling rain, but I wasn't enjoying it quite so much.

"Hi," I mumble at the same time that the security guard trudges passed the car, greeting Zayn as well. "Hey, Sayn!" He noticed the S as I did, but decided against correcting the man.

Zayn shoots his hand up as if to greet him. He seems to be very well known around here.

"How did it go?" he turns back to me, redirecting the conversation, still not bulging from position against the car door.

We simultaneously glance over at the medical center as if he were trying to picture what had gone on, while in my mind, the memory of what had just taken place a few minutes ago, flooded to the surface. Tears well up again in my eyes, and I see Zayn's hard gaze soften, his caramel eyes seeming much lighter.

He opens his mouth with the words of comfort about to come out, but he doesn't seem to know how to comfort, for it wasn't in the nature of his closed off and reserved personality.

"They were trying to kill me, Zayn." I groan, tears ready to spill.

He now finds my traumatized statement humorous, because of course they weren't trying to kill me when they only wanted to help me, but I was convinced otherwise. "You're silly," he chuckles, pulling my glasses off my face momentarily to wipe them free of rain with his sleeve.

"I'm serious!" I tug at my hair in agitation.

Suddenly he's pulling my trembling body into his, holding onto my glasses. He trembles himself, but with laughter. My heart beat picks up and I know that hugging me had no effect on him. He smells like a mixture of cigarettes and leather which happens to smell very comforting to me regardless my lungs protest. Because the smell of smoke is so prominent on his jacket, it's obvious that it wasn't second hand smoke, but in fact from Zayn smoking himself. I didn't mind, it was kind of attractive to picture. "Relax," he laughs once more at me. The hug was so quick but when he tried to pull away, both of my hands latched onto one another against his back. I pressed my cheek to his chest for comfort. Even the hardnest of his chest, and the cold wet leather of his jacket were comforting. But then again, every detail that I noticed about Zayn was heavenly pleasant.