Long Lost and Refound - A Zayn Malik Story

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Long Lost and Refound

[ A/N There might be some words you don't understand over the course of the story. I'll provide a kind of dictionary at the beginning of each chapter. They will most probably all be Urdu words. Urdu's the language of Pakistan, where Zayn's dad is from in real life and in the story. ]

Bhai: brother

Bhaji: sister

Saturday, January 14, 2009

Zayn's POV

We walked up my driveway, Avery hooked onto my arm and leaning against it. She held the bakery bag in determined fingers which were red and raw from the cold. I smiled to myself.

I spotted the curtain flutter in the window and could barely hear the shrieking. Avery's eyes widened slightly, her grip tightening. I chuckled and rubbed her hand on my arm in reassurance. She relaxed slightly.

We made it to the front door and I turned the knob, stepping in. I was immediately mobbed by a Safaa and Waliyha.

"Zayn bhai!!" they shrieked, hugging my legs. I smiled and looked down at them, putting my hands on their heads. They grinned up at me. Safaa unwrapped an arm from around my leg and pointed to a gap between her teeth.

"Look, Zayn bhai, I lost a tooth today!" she exclaimed proudly. I gasped and crouched down. Both the girls unwrapped their arms from around my legs and Waliyha instead went to climbing my back. I held her in a piggy-back while examining Safaa's smile.

"Whoa! It's reallly gone!"

Safaa nodded proudly. "My first one. The tooth fairy's gonna visit tonight!"

I chuckled. "How many are left?"

Safaa frowned and looked to the ceiling, counting off her fingers. Then she groaned frustratedly and threw her hands in the air, looking back at me.

"I don't know! I just know this is my first!" She grinned again proudly. I pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. Waliyha giggled on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissed the top of my head. I chuckled and pulled her fingers up to my mouth, nipping at them playfully. She shrieked and pulled her fingers away, jumping off my back. I heard her bump into the wall behind me. Safaa pulled away from my hug to go make sure Waliyha was okay.

I looked up at Avery and her mouth was hanging open.

"What?" I asked sheepishly. She closed her mouth, opened it again, closed it, then took a breath and squealed.

"They're so adorable!"

The commotion from behind me paused for a second and I turned to face the girls, smirking.

Waliyha gasped and ran up to me, hiding behind my leg and looking between me and her.

"Is that your girlfriend?" she whispered loudly, looking up at me. My eyes widened and I looked over at Avery, who was turning red, her excitement gone.

"Zayn has a girlfriend?" Doniya asked, coming into the hall with her phone. I bit back a laugh and looked at Avery, who was beyond embarrassed, down at Waliyha, then at Safaa, whose eyes were wide with curiosity. I looked back at Waliyha.

"No, Waliyha, Avery is not my girlfriend. She's my friend," I said, stroking Waliyha's hair absentmindedly.

"Is that her name? That's a pretty name," Waliyha considered, looking at Avery.

"But she's a girl," Safaa contradicted. "So that makes her your girlfriend," she stated matter-of-factly. I laughed and looked down at Waliyha.

"Avery brought you things from the bakery. Are you just going to stand here and get me a girlfriend, or are you going to go say hi?"