One Division

Chapter Five - The Moment I Met You

Chapter Five - The Moment I Met You

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From the moment I met you, everything changed.

***

Happy nearly screamed when the phone died in her hand. She could just hear the tail end of the overwhelming concern in all their voices, even Zayn’s… Especially Zayn. He’d made it clear before that he didn’t care two spits about her, so why was he so worried now that she was lost?

A small shake of her head sorted Happy out. She was being ridiculous, reading into things that weren’t there anymore because she wanted to think of him still being the loving boyfriend who constantly protected her from hurt. All Happy had to do was remember that he was causing most of her hurt nowadays.

Curling up into herself in the little nook she was waiting in, she tugged out an older iPod – one that didn’t have apps or touch screens, but just the nostalgic little dial and five primary buttons and brick breaker in the games section. Plugging the headphones into her ears, she closed her eyes and started on the playlist that Paige had just helped her put together. She’d bonded really well with the techy lighting Ingénue and the day of her orientation, she’d found her way in the other girl’s lighting booth, talking with her companionably as she began learning lighting cues and writing them down for her helpers. The other girl really had an ear for music.

She was so lost in the playlist that was full of classics from around 2012 and 2013 – teenage prime years – that she didn’t even hear a guy come up to the foot of the steps or him speaking into a walkie-talkie saying, “I got her.” All she knew was that all of a sudden, in the midst of an unfamiliar, slightly creepy location, suddenly there was a hand on her arm. So Happy did what any logical teenage girl would do: punch the poor guy in the stomach as hard as she could.

“Oof!” He huffed, crumpling to his knees and cradling his middle.

“Oh my God!” Happy cried out, immediately regretful as she took note of the headset on his head and the walkie-talkie strapped to his hip. “I’m so sorry. I don’t… you just… snuck up on me!”

The older boy wheezed, finding his way to his hands and knees as he fought to stabilize his breathing, “Called… your name… couple times… waved too… didn’t… hear…” He flopped helplessly on his back.

Happy flooded him with apologies, helping him to a sitting position, “If I’d have known… I’m really sorry.”

“Christ’s sake, woman, you pack a hell of a punch…” He grumbled when he got his breath back.

Happy winced, “Um… took a couple years… of kickboxing.”

“You don’t say.”

At that Happy had to smile, shaking her head, “I’m really –”

“Sorry? I know, you’ve said a couple times,” The stranger responded with a small twitch of his lips that looked to be the beginnings of a smile. “I’m going to stand up now.”

Happy immediately got under him, arm over her shoulder, as she helped him to his feet. As he caught his breath, Happy got the opportunity to really look at him, and what she found made her lift her eyes in surprise. There was a shocking resemblance to Zayn in this guy’s features, even though it obviously wasn’t him. The guy had the same tan skin and similarly quiffed hair, but his jaw line was stronger and squarer, his body more muscular, and he was half a foot taller, maybe more.

“Hello? Hello, in there?”

Happy blinked twice before blushing brightly, “Sorry.”

The guy shrugged with a slightly goofy smile. “Hey if you wanted to check me out, I don’t have any problems.”