Lost

Chapter 34: The Game's On Now

"Are you okay?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah," Claire winced, "I just hit the floor a bit hard but I'm fine."

For a second, Zayn almost forgot about staying hidden and stepped out to help her. Claire noticed and looked at him sharply. She jerked her head towards the door, then winced again dramatically keeping their attention. It took Zayn a second or two to realize his way ahead was clear of Asim's back. Without wasting an instant, he slipped out of the room.

"Help me up, please," he heard Claire as he rushed down the corridor.

Keeping his head down, Zayn headed straight for the elevators. As he passed an old couple on wheelchairs, he caught sight of the crazy group of fangirls that attacked him and Niall earlier. Zayn cursed and whipped around sharply when one of them looked in his direction. On a sudden inspiration, he crouched beside the old man in the wheelchair.

"Hey gramps," Zayn smiled, "Can I help you?"

"What?" The bewildered man wheezed. "No, the nurses are --"

"Your leg looks bad," he continued, "So what do the doctors say?"

"The doctors?" The old man blinked.

"No, not the doctors, I said donkey riders," Zayn smiled at him sarcastically.

Seriously!

Zayn shook his head when the old man exchanged confused glances with his wife. The infuriating group of girls were still rooted near the elevators, eyeing him suspiciously. To make matters worse, the old couple kept questioning him, and a pair of nurses were headed their way.

"Kid, what are you doing?" The old woman asked.

"Avoiding demons," Zayn muttered to himself, ducking lower to hide behind her chair. "Good thing you aren't one."

"What son? You have to speak louder! My ears are bad." The old woman almost yelled, making Zayn wince, "Did you say Ailing Lemons?!"

Zayn resisted the urge to facepalm as he continued to spy on the girls.

"Sir, what are you doing?" A new voice asked. Zayn looked up to see the two nurses eyeing him weirdly.

"He's smelling morons," The old man replied matter of factly.

Great!

"Yeah," Zayn made a face, standing up. "Just that."

Before anyone could make head of tail of what just happened, he rushed towards the opposite side. The girls seemed to have glued their feet to the space in front of the elevators, so Zayn decided to use the stairs. A floor below, he saw the nurse up ahead. She was leaning against the reception desk with her head resting in her hands.

Fishing out a few hundred dollar bills, he slipped them into her coat pocket as he walked by.

"Lost your job, did you?" Zayn asked in the passing.

"No, I was just . . ."

Zayn turned around to see her taking the bills out of her pocket, staring at them wide eyed. Her eyes snapped from the bills to him. Zayn winked, before giving her his back, earning a smile from her.

***

Stepping onto the crowded main hall, Zayn felt a mix of emotions. He was relieved none of them were caught, glad that he finally saw Bee, but extremely frustrated that he did not get enough time with her. The fact that he actually felt her respond only made it worse. If only he had had a few minutes more, maybe he could have --