No Matter What // Zayn Malik

Chapter 22

"To be able to block out the whole world with just a flip of your switch?"

I thought long and hard about this question. He made it - my deafness - sound like a blessing. Not a burden, but a gift.

I looked up at Zayn to see his soft, brown eyes. It was a little dark out and we were on the edge of a freeway. Still, the stars had nothing on Zayn's sparkling eyes. They gleamed and glistened till I realized that he was just crying.

My bad boy of a boyfriend was crying.

I turned to Zayn, caressing his cheek as I felt it begin to sprinkle a little.

"I-It's paradise," I whispered with a small smile. "Like you."

He grinned a little, as I squeezed his hand once more.

"What do you want to block out, Zayn? What do you want to switch off?"

"I just want to get away. From the paparazzi, from work, from the studio, just everywhere. You know?"

"I know." I smiled dryly. "Let's escape then."

Rain fell as soon as the words spilt out of my mouth. Zayn pulled me in to him, which I thought was an attempt to keep me dry. I'd gotten something better.

A kiss in the rain with Zayn freaking Malik. Check that off my bucket list.

My hands were running through his now soaking we hair as he kissed me tenderly. My heart skipped a beat as soon as he placed his lips on mine. Our kisses were slow, not too rough, and very passionate. He made me feel like I was on Cloud Nine. Everything was forgottten. He was my sweet escape.

He was intriguing with his bad boy attitude. All his tight leather jackets and style was a massive turn on. But his soft side was even sweeter. His nerdy side was adorable with his reading glasses and the way he might bite his lip if the story was really getting good. Everything was perfect about him.

We pulled away, breathless and merely looking at each other lovingly. We were soaking wet but I felt so warm with him.

"Still stressed?" I asked as we both laughed a little.

"Not when I'm kissing you." He kissed my head as we stood in the pouring rain. He pushed my hair out of my face, making me blush. "You're beautiful, doll."

"You are too." I played with his quiff a little. "Like a Ken doll."

"You're my Barbie doll. Minus the blonde hair."

"I'm orginally blonde you know."

"That's why your mum is blonde!" Zayn suddenly remembered. "Why did you dye it?"

"It's kinda stupid but some kids used to tease me all about it. Saying I wasn't related to Josh and Ben since I was blonde." I shrugged a little. "Really bugged me. They sent me notes and rude papers. I just dyed it this way to look more like them."

Zayn nodded a little till he picked me up and put me in the car as I squealed. He grinned a little as I kept asking why he did that and where we were going.

He stopped in front of what looked like a hair salon after driving a little ways. He took my hand and dragged me inside. We were still soaking wet so it was quite a sight.

"Lou!" He shouted, walking past all the other stations full of hairdressers and their clients.

Lou, their stylist, whipped her head up form her phone.

"Z-Zayn? I can't fit your whole body under a dryer, sweetie," She laughed at her own joke. "You two are soaking wet. Gosh, Livi you're shaking!"

"L-Little cold o-out there." I mumbled, letting out a small cough.

"What do you two crazies need? My shift's almost up."

Zayn whispered something in Lou's ear. Her grin grew wider and wider. I was scared now.

"Take a seat, darling. Won't be long now."

I was glaring at Zayn the entire time as Lou washed, dried, and "beautified" my hair.

Zayn dropped me back off at home after I kissed him once more, thanking him for an eventful night.

I walked in the house to see my mum quietly knitting in her chair as Ben, Josh, and my father were watching the telly. My parents coming out of their rooms and actually acknowledging one anothers presence was a beautiful sight. It made me grin as I quietly shut the door, making everyone's heads snap up.

My mother grinned for the first time in so long.

Josh gave me a thumbs up.

Ben and Dad were surprised, but eventually grinned.

I blushed a little, my all natural blonde locks framing my face now. Zayn insisted I go back to blonde.

"Little change is nice right?" He smiled innocently, flipping through a magzine as I sat under the dryer next to him. He squeezed my hand. "Can't fix anything without a little change."

"You're really determined to help me, aren't you?"

"You're my girlfriend. I'll do whatever it takes. No matter what."

"Maybe that boy does have a good effect on you." My dad smiled.

"Told you." My mom said. "It's very pretty, dear. You thank Zayn for me, all right?"

There was a quiet knock on the door and I turned to get it.

"Guess you can thank him now, Mum." I smiled and turned to face my boyfriend. "Hey."

He was holding a black umbrella with a cute, little smile on his face. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Devine! Hey, guys." He smiled politely as everyone muttered a quick greatting. "You left this." He handed me his leather jacket.

"Malik," I frowned a little. "It's yours."

"Keep it, Devine." He insisted, kissing my cheek. When he pulled away, he tugged on a strand of my hair, making me giggle.

"Why don't you stay a while, Zayn?" Mum offered. "The boys were about to play one of their silly video games."

"They're not silly, Mum!" Josh groaned as she rolled her eyes with a small laugh.

Zayn did stay with my family and I for the night. For once, everything felt right again. All because of Zayn.