Overboard

Chapter Nine

Authors Note: Thank you guys so much for the support on this fan fiction! It's honestly so amazing and it blows me away every time I come online! Please let me know what you think of this chapter:) Big love to you all xx -Jordan:)

*Liam’s P.O.V*

I woke up the next morning wrapped in Zayn’s arms on the sofa, a blanket draped over us. A smile spread across my lips as I felt Zayn’s lips brush my ear as he breathed deeply. He was the cutest sleeper, even with my back to him I knew his lips would be parted slightly and his hair a mess but in a gorgeous way. It still shocked me so much how everything had turned out between us, he never struck me as the kind of guy to be all mushy and romantic, but then again I never thought I’d be like that and I was, embarrassingly so.

I racked my brain as to why we were on the sofa instead of up in bed, and then I remembered. The phone call, finding out three of our best friends had gone overboard. I couldn’t help but think the worst had happened to them, and Zayn had stayed up all night comforting me and assuring me that they were smart boys and they’d figure something out.

Zayn stirred slightly behind me and his grip around my waist tightened, making me giggle. He made me feel so young and lively, it was one of the many things I loved about him. That and his mysterious vibe, his beautiful features, the way he would drop everything he was doing to help someone else, how he was a great listener no matter what it was you had to say. There was so much to love about Zayn, and every last thing about him had set up home in my heart, making me love him more than anything.

“Liam?” he mumbled, his face nuzzling the back of my neck.

“Yeah?” I whispered, running my fingers lightly up his forearm.

“I love you, I really love you,” he told me.

My heart fumbled a beat at his sleepy words and I felt my eyes prickle.

“I really love you too, Zayn,” I smiled, turning a little awkwardly in his arms so I could face him.

His eyes were closed, but there was a smile on his lips. I ran my index finger along his lower lip before sliding my hand up into his hair and running my fingers through the thick darkness. Slowly his eyes blinked open and they were filled with a warmth and softness that let butterflies loose in my stomach.

“I’m going to make some tea, you want any?” I asked quietly.

“No I’m okay,” Zayn breathed, his eyes closing again.

I pressed my lips gently to his temple before slipping out of his grasp and into the kitchen. I filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove before pulling myself onto the counter and letting my legs dangle off the side. My mind was swimming, impatient for the phone to ring with news saying the boys were actually on the cruise boat the entire time, or that they’d been found safe, but the irritatingly shrill ring didn’t cut into the silence. It was frustrating, beyond frustrating, not being able to do anything.

I poured my tea and padded back into the living room and sat on the floor in front of the sofa where Zayn had gone back to sleep. He was always the one to calm my frazzled nerves, so I stayed as close to him as I could without intruding his personal space.

“Liam,” he muttered.

“Zayn?”

“I love Liam,” he said a little louder, then rolled over to face the back of the sofa.

A smile spread across my lips at his words which had come from an unconscious state. Even when he wasn’t aware of what was going on, he still thought about me and knew how he felt about me, and that made me feel like the most loved person on the planet.

*Kendall’s P.O.V*

It wasn’t long before the four of us began losing track of time. The sun tired us out along with the lack of fresh water, so we took a lot of naps and had no idea how long we’d been out when we woke up. Niall had a raging temperature and Harry was taking two or three trips between sleeps to the fruit trees to bring him back food. He was hardly ever awake and when he was, it was to eat. Louis was trying his best to look after the injured boy, but there was only so much he could do. He wasn’t a doctor, and there were no medical supplies on the island so he had to make do with his memory and a little imagination.

There hadn’t been any rain in the time we’d been on the island, so however long it had been we’d gone without fresh water, although the juice from the apples kept us from complaining too seriously.

I was getting to the point where eating fruit constantly was driving me insane, so I was using a jagged stone I’d found to sharpen the end of a long stick. I’d decided to try my luck with the creatures of the sea, and none of the lads had argued with that idea.

“I found some more sticks we can turn into spears,” Harry sighed, sitting down beside me with a couple of long sticks in his large hands.

“Do you think we’ll catch anything?” I asked, looking up into his burning green eyes.

“We have to,” he told me.

“I’m gonna go try this out, here use this to sharpen the ends,” I said, handing over the stone and gripping my badly made spear.

“Good luck,” Harry smiled as I rose to my feet.

I walked out from the shady spot we’d adopted under the trees and down to the water which was warm as it ran over my bare feet. I waded out until my knees were submerged, then my waist. For a few moments, I just stood and appreciated the feeling of the water swirling around my body.

I’d never used a spear before, and I had no idea how to do it. Sure it seemed easy watching people doing it on TV, but they had proper spears and would have been taught how to handle them correctly. I’d also learnt that if it looks easy, it most likely isn’t, so I thought about it for a while, how I’d hold it, how I’d even know if there was something there in the first place, and eventually I just thrust it into the water.

“How’s it going Kendall?” Harry called out to me.

I pulled my make shift spear out of the sand to find it clear of everything but water.

“I’m not a fisherwoman,” I called back, frowning.

Harry chuckled and waded into the water a good ten feet from me with a spear in each hand and a hopeful grin on his face.

“Good luck,” I said, crossing my arms to watch him.

He reached out his spears and stabbed them into the water, his eyebrows furrowing with concentration, and a few moments later he pulled the right spear up and it had a knot of seaweed wrapped around it. I watched as he shook off the seaweed and carefully put the free spear into the same area as the other one. He wiggled them around for a few moments before lifting them up with a monster of a fish spread between the two sticks.

“No way!” I cried.

Harry looked at me, his eyes wide with shock and we both started laughing, partly because of the fact he’d actually managed to catch a fish and also because we were finally going to be eating something other than fruit.

*Liam’s P.O.V*

The phone rung, interrupting the intimate moment that had arose between Zayn and me as we prepared our lunch in the kitchen. Zayn growled slightly and kissed my nose before snatching the phone of the hook and pressing it to his ear.

“Hello?” he asked.

There was silence for a few moments before his face fell slack.

“I know it’s been three days, but you can’t do that! They’re out there!” he all but screamed into the phone, his eyes frantic.

My stomach lurched as I realised he was talking about Harry, Louis and Niall. It must have been the people in charge of the search and rescue on the other end of the line.

“No, no you can’t please- hello?”

“What is it Zayn?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.

“They’re giving the search up in two days, whether they find them or not.”