A Fateful Encounter (Zayn Malik fanfic)

Chapter 21

After a while, the buzz started to die down, and in the shadowed areas of the VIP booth, Ariella and Eleanor were in deep discussion while Niall, Louis and Zayn sat together and discussed the bombshell they were going to drop on their loved ones.

Midway through the evening, the boys had each gotten an e-mail from management releasing the finalised tour dates. As they were cutting it fine this year, they only had a month before they had to leave for their upcoming tour. Zayn was inwardly fuming that it had taken him to finally find his meaning in life, Ariella, before he had to get up and hit the road.

But he was torn. He loved touring with his boys though it got lonely sometimes and he missed home and his family. Sneaking peeks over at Ariella, he returned his attention to his friends.

‘Don’t think we didn’t see that’ Niall drawled, winking decidedly unsubtly.

Louis just laughed before a wistful look glazed his eyes when he looked at Eleanor.

‘You as well, prince charming’ Niall teased.

‘What the hell are you on about?’ Zayn asked, losing his patience. He grabbed another shot – he had lost count how many he had- and threw it back.

‘Well aside from the obvious fact that you’re in L-O-V-E’ he chanted.

Zayn just shrugged. He wasn’t like the guys who thought their reputation was ruined if they showed affection for a girl.

‘Ariella’s important to me. Really important. It’s just, sometimes I get this feeling…’ he stopped. Since when did he talk to the guys about this stuff? Especially the two jokers of the group.

Meeting their unwavering stares, it was evident they were taking this seriously.

‘Well, y’know how she has that ex-boyfriend of hers stalking her and her best friend has also turned on her’

‘Yeah, uh I think so. The details are pretty vague though’ Louis answered. Niall nodded along with him.

‘I get scared thinking I’ll lose her.’ The alcohol had clearly loosened his tongue and he found himself babbling about his emotions. However, he was unwilling to delve further into them, and smacked Niall’s shoulder heartily.

‘Mate, we need to find you a girl.’ He joked.

‘If this’ he gestured to his lovesick friends, ‘is part of the deal then no. thank. you.’

‘It isn’t all bad. Trust me.’ Louis muttered staring into the crowd. Zayn noticed he was being quieter than usual. Following the direction of his gaze, his stare was met with hostility. Two ice cold eyes. And they were zoned on Ariella.

Jumping out of his seat, he fought the urge to march over and beat him to a bloody pulp. Fucking Drew Matthews was looking at his girl. His eyes would be the first to get punched. The threats he handed Ariella made it hard for Zayn to stand still. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and whilst it was known he got a little violent when he was drunk, he hadn’t even drank that much. He was simply out for revenge. Or blood. Whichever came first.

‘Whoa calm down mate. It’s just the interviewer’s’ Louis said. Zayn started at the use of the plural word. Scanning the crowd, he saw Lucy hovering behind Drew. Interviewer’s my ass. Obviously they had used that as a cover to get information about his relationship with El.

Zayn made a beeline to Ariella who was laughing at something Eleanor had said.

‘Sweetheart, can I talk to you for a sec? Sorry Eleanor.’ He excused himself and tugged on Ariella’s hand.