Long Lost and Refound - A Zayn Malik Story

Chapter 10

 Chapter 10 - Long Lost and Refound

Friday, January 27, 2009

Avery's POV

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. I grabbed my books and raced out of my biology classroom, past the chaos of my classmates, and into the hall. I rushed straight to my locker where, as usual, Zayn waited for me. He was talking to someone and noticed me when I drew close. "Hey," I said, opening my locker and dumping my books in.

"Hey," he said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and pushing off the other lockers, glancing at his friend.

"Hey, Will," I said, smiling at the taller, blond boy. He pulled his hood down.

"Hey, Avery. What's up?"

"Don't you have to get to football?" I asked, grabbing my bag and slamming my locker shut. Will's green eyes widened and he started to back away.

"Right, see you!" he called, turning and running down the hall through the throng of teenagers. Taking Zayn's hand, I moved down the hall. We got a couple of glances, but not as many as two weeks ago.

When we were out in the chilly January air, I hooked my arm into Zayn's. We crossed the schoolyard and stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the light to signal that it was safe to cross.

"Where to?" I asked, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"Same old?" he offered, putting his hands in his pockets while being careful that my arm was still linked in his.

"Awe, but it's a Friday! We shouldn't go there."

"Fine, let's go to Henrietta's."

"But all my coworkers..." I faded, biting my lip. The light changed and I dug my hands in my pockets, moving forward with Zayn.

"So?"

I shrugged. "Then let's go."

We dropped by Zayn's house first so he could drop in with his mum. We entered and the warm, familiar air of Zayn's house enveloped me. I sighed as we stepped in. "Zayn bhai and Avery bhaji are home!" I heard a small voice shriek from the living room. A second later, both me and Zayn were bombarded with Safaa and Waliyha hugging us.

"Guess what, Avery bhaji?" Waliyha asked slightly timidly as me and Zayn walked into the living room, still arm-in-arm.

"What, Waliyha?" I asked back, looking down at her delicate figure walking beside us.

"I got 100 on my spelling test today!" she exclaimed proudly. I held up my hand and she high-fived it.

"Good job! Can you spell 'tomorrow'?" I asked, letting go of Zayn's arm so I could look down at Waliyha. He went ahead and chatted with Safaa, picking her up and propping her on his hip.

"Um... T-O-M-O-R... R-O-W?" she offered, sheepishly looking up at me. I bent to her level and held up my hand again. She high-fived it, her face glowing.

"Good job! I always mispelled that until I was at least ten," I said. Her chest slightly puffed out as her confidence swelled.

I quickly found out that Waliyha wasn't immediately visibly affectionate towards anyone except her family or someone she'd known a while. She could like someone, but she'd keep it to herself, being a shy girl. For the first couple of days, she was a timid girl, mostly speaking when spoken to. She had this gentle calmness which I was sure most people came to witness. Within a week, though, I'd gotten her to open up to me. She told me stories about her day at school and even helped me make hot chocolate for the family. She didn't play with me the way she did with Zayn, but I felt as though she was my little sister.