Took Me By Surprise [Zayn Malik] ✓

Chapter 21: Slowly Falling

   "Zayn—" Liam started slowly but he was interrupted by the door which was opened powerfully and dashed against the wall. A lurching Harry came in, followed by a more or less sober Louis who steered his friend onto the couch.

   "Hey guys." Louis mumbled and sat down too. "Sorry we're late."

   "Late?" Liam asked displeased. "It's 12 PM!"

   "I know." Louis replied. "But Harry was so drunk he refused to leave the club with me."

   "Elhamdulellah you're more or less sober, otherwise I don't know what might have happened!" I exclaimed. The boys threw a strange look at me and I knew it was because I used the phrase 'elhamdulellah'. I was surprised myself but Jenan's habits slowly seem to rub off on me.

   "Wha..?" it came now from Harry. He blinked for a few times and then straightened his back and sat into an upright position. "Gimme a bottle.."

   "You've had far enough for today." Louis said strictly. "You will have a terrible hangover, believe me." He was right. "But where is Jenan?" he then asked and looked around the room. "We probably should bring him upstairs to his room..?" Harry had charged us to be careful about not ruining his image in Jenan's head. Till now, he was terribly desperate to fix the friendship between the two of them but it wasn't that easy.

   "Don't worry," Liam comforted him. "She's outdoors now. Let's wait till Harry will be able to walk or do you want to carry him upstairs?"

  "Nah." Lou replied and leaned back.

   "Whereisshe?" Harry whipsered. "Je- Jenan?"

   "Outdoors, Haz." Liam said. Harry scratched his head.

   "I take a photo of her." He added in a bad English whilst digging his hands in his pockets, searching. Finally, he took a wrinkly photo out. I snatched it out of his hands and kept staring at it in awe.

   It was a snapshot of her, leaning against Harry's Range Rover, laughing an adorable laugh. Her eyes were glimmering and she seemed utterly happy. "When did you take that?" Liam, who was looking at the photo over my shoulders, asked.

   "Driving lessons." Harry muttered. I gave him the picture back with a strange feeling inside of me. I was upset that it was Harry who was the one teaching her how to drive, not me. But why did I even care?

   "She lovely, right?" Harry said slowly. Lou threw an amused look at him and Liam grinned: "Ya, she is."

   Harry rubbed his forehead, leaned backwards and muttered: "I think I love her." I clenched my fists.  "You're drunk." Louis said with a wide grin and Liam burst into laughter. I just didn't feel like laughing, more than punching Harry for claiming to love Jenan.

   "I love her." Harry only repeated.

   "Shut up." I said to him and stood up to go to the kitchen. Behind me I could hear Louis saying: "Okay, Harry, let's go upstairs."

   "No, wait." He murmured as Louis pulled him onto his feat. "I need to wait for her to tell her I love her."

   "Alright, Haz." Liam said, tapping his back. "You can do that when she gets back." Louis pulled him over to the stairs. "You think she'd want to be ma girlfriend?" was the last thing I could hear from Harry before he and Louis disappeared upstairs. I was still a little furious, so my attempts of making me a cheese sandwhich were quick and harsh.

   "Zayn, what's up?" Liam came over to me. I avoided his gaze and placed some cheese on the sandwhich. "Nothing." I replied.

   "It's not nothing." Liam insisted and looked at me closely. "The whole day long you're down and now you just freaked out because a drunk Harry said he was in love with Jenan." I took a big bite of my sandwhich and waited for Liam to continue. "Do you fancy her?"

   His question caught me off guard and I almost suffocated. After coughing my soul out of me, I looked at Liam and said: "Don't be ridiculous."

   "I'm not ridiculous." He replied. "I'm realistic."

   "Then be realistic somewhere else." I snapped and walked away. From the cocktail table, I snatched the packet of cigarettes and made my way to a balcony.

**

   "You're smoking." A beautiful female voice reached me from behind. My heartbeat became faster and I unwillingly remembered Liam's words.

   "I'm sorry, I just had to." I told her excusingly.

   "You don't have to ask me for pardon." She replied, leaning beside me against the balcony. "I think I will never understand the desire of you people to smoke.. or drink."

   I sighed, thinking about the drunk Harry upstairs. She will be very disappointed of him for he had promised her not to drink too much. I took another deep drag from the cigarette. What if Harry was speaking the truth when he said he loved her? What if he didn't just say it because he was drunk? What if Jenan loved him back?

   "Jen?" I asked her in a low voice.

   "Yes?" she replied in the same tone.

   "Who do you like the most of the five of us?" this question has been on my mind since a few days and I couldn't believe that I had the courage to ask it.

   "This is a stupid question." She replied. I could see her biting her lip. "I like all of you in a completely different way, it's difficult to explain."

   "Okay," I said. "But if we were on a sinking ship and you could save one of us. Who would it be?"

   Jenan laughed. "It would be you of course." My heartbeat raised even more. Does that mean she likes me in another way than the other boys? And even if yes.. should it make a difference to me? "Why?" I asked her.

   "Because you're the only one who can't swim, doofus." She replied with a smirk. At first I was disappointed but then I couldn't hold onto myself and burst into laughter. She chimed in. After our laughter had slowly faded away, she said to me in a serious tone: "Please take care of Harry while you're in LA." Again the strange feeling earlier took place in my stomach. Was I jealous?

   "Why?" I asked her, trying not to sound too harsh.

   "Because," she sighed, " I know he likes to go clubbing a lot and I also know that he usually returns completely drunk. I just don't want him to be harmed." My anger immediately disappeared and was replaced by a warm feeling inside my heart. This girl was just too special.

   "I promise."

   "Thanks Zayn." She said and smiled. "And take care of yourself, too." I nodded whilst thinking about the butterflies in my stomach.

   Was Liam right?