Algophobia [ZIALL]

III

==Three==

[Niall’s POV]

I followed Zayn the entire morning, listening to him as he explained what certain things were and what each thing did. If I wanted to touch something I had to ask permission in case it could shock me again. Yesterday after Zayn left I went straight to his room and cried. I wasn’t much of a crier but being terrified by such a little shock showed me just how little I did know about the new world I was entering. And that terrified me more than the little shock. When I was in the laboratory I walked around as if I was on some sort of pedestal because I was the first Hybrid who was nearly perfect, but this human world knocked me off my high horse.

Part of me was glad I had Zayn to teach me about his world. It comforted me to know that he didn’t judge me when I was feeling weak. He accepted me even after I had my small outburst of anger. I just wish I could learn to control my anger around him because whenever I lash out Zayn turns timid and falls for my every need. It was like he was scared of me. And I didn’t want that. I didn’t want that at all. Zayn was the first person, besides Dr. Tomlinson, who actually seemed to care about me. I respected Zayn, I truly did. Even though I’ve known Zayn for only a few days I knew I could trust him. There was a sense of innocence that trickled off of him. Even though he comes across as a punk ass with his many tattoos, the real Zayn, the Zayn I’ve lived with for two days, is a real sweetheart. He wanted the best for me and that made me feel things I’ve never felt before and didn’t know what it meant.

Now, I was sitting in his car as we drove to the lab. I was leaning on my left arm as my elbow rested near the stick thing that had the letters P R N D L written beside it. Zayn told me it was called the ‘gearshift’ and that the P stood for park, the R stood for reverse, the N stood for neutral, the D stood for drive, and he wasn’t sure what the L stood for. I felt a small smile creep its way onto my lips as I remembered that the stick thing was called the gearshift. A very small yet effective accomplishment.

“Niall?” I heard Zayn call out quietly.

“Yes?”

“Since the animal DNA inside of you is that of a cheetah, does that mean you’re fond of cat-like things since a cheetah and cat are part of the same family?” Zayn asked, being completely serious. I let out a small chuckle, completely dumbfounded by his question, unable to conjure an actual answer.

“I – uh… Suppose?”

“Cool.”

“Why?”

“I have a weird desire to scratch your head and behind your ears. I used to have a cat as a boy and he loved it. He’d always purr when I did it. I was wondering if you’d purr, but I’m not entirely sure if cheetahs purr or not.” I kept my position still, grinning like a mad man. Zayn was honestly such a child. It amazed me.

I shifted my weight and pushed my head closer to him, “What are you doing?” I heard him ask through one of his gentle laughs.

“Aren’t you going to try to make me purr like a cat?” I spoke, trying my best to not burst out laughing. Then, I felt Zayn’s hand rest on top of my head as he slowly began to play with my hair. At his touch I felt a weird feeling erupt inside of me. It felt good, but I wasn’t too sure why. His fingers twirled my hair then he moved his hand down to behind my ear. I felt anxious – almost excited. When he started to scratch those feelings inside of me exploded into something I can’t describe. The sensation I felt just by his touch made me giddy.

“Oh…” I mumbled as Zayn continued scratching. I hadn’t a clue why I felt this way but the happy feeling soon melted away into concern. The question as of why I felt like this kept replaying in my head. I made the executive decision to pull away and look out the window. I didn’t want to, but the weird happy feeling had me worried. Was I supposed to feel like this?