all but you || h.s. || a.u.

t r é s

Nixie Cage

"Nixie."

His words were so hurtful. They cut like knives directly to my heart, and he didn't look like they caused him any guilt. He was unaffected, of course. I just met this guy, but that doesn't give him the right to say things to a complete stranger. "Nixie, where are you?"

Zayn's voice was like a lullaby that I felt like hearing. He would probably come over to me as I was huddled in a mini tunnel, tell me that he didn't mean it, and try to comfort me but that doesn't take away the pain. He doesn't know the countless times I was picked on at my old high school for being the heaviest in my group of friends, or the one who couldn't run two laps. I was always the one to be picked last.

"Nixie... I know you are out there," Louis' voice mumbled through the bushes. I ducked back behind the bench onto the floor. "Nixie, what are you doing on the floor in the snow?"

I turned over to Zayn standing there with his hands stuffed in his ripped skinny jeans pockets. His breath steamed out of his mouth in a fog, before he tucked his neck in his scarf. "Nothing," I dusted off my knees bum moving to the bench as I sat down against the freezing wood.

"I know that hurt you," he confessed, taking a seat down beside me with a long sigh. "He can be pretty aggressive when it comes to girls our age,"

"No kidding," I snapped back. "How come he isn't saying this now?"

"He went home," He started, leaning back slowly. "The coffee you poured burned his stomach a little,"

My heart sank lightly, feeling that I shouldn't of poured it on his head. That was a bit much...

"Don't feel bad. He said, that he deserved it,"

"Hmm," I mumbled, hands stuffing into my petticoat's warm pockets as my face relaxed against the cold, winter breeze. "I think I'll go home for the day. See you tomorrow at school,"

"Can I come?" Zayn's question made me stop dead in my tracks and shift my attention to his face. "Can I come to your place, I mean,"

I was about to counter him before I remembered. He had to come over to see my artwork. "Oh, yeah, you have to come to look at my work right?"

Zayn's face tightened as if he was thinking about something. "R-Right. I'll come over for that too,"

A sigh parted from my lips before I took a few steps down the sidewalk path of the nearby park. The birds chirped into a melody, the water fountain splashed into the pond below, and his footsteps trailed behind me. All these things together created a soft song as they harmonized together. The air was a bit heavy, due to the lack of conversation between the two. To be honest, I didn't want to speak. I liked hearing the songs of nature.

"Hey, Zayn, Nixie!" Louis. He was looking for me as well. I wonder if Tyler was too... "Wait up," He pressed his hands to his knees, breathing heavily through his mouth, trying to catch his breath. "I want to come too," he finally stood up, pushing back his hair.

"Sure, that's fine," I proceeded to walk down the pavement now hearing both of their footsteps follow behind me. "Where do you live?" Louis asked, sticking one of his hands into his jacket before biting one of his nails.

"On the corner of York and English," My footsteps moved faster hands fixing my beanie hat on my head with a release of fog coming from my mouth. "We are almost there,"

"York and English... that's not far from where Harr-" Zayn elbowed Louis' stomach preventing him from speaking any further. I didn't want to hear his name anymore, since he didn't want to be seen with me. "I mean, that's a nice area,"