Love Again (A Zayn Malik Story)

Chapter 4

He headed to the front door, and I ran to my room. I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my bra, since I didn’t have pockets in my Batman PJ shorts. (Come on, it’s not like you’ve never done it before.)

I hurried outside to the car where Niall was waiting at the passenger door. I clicked the unlock button on the keys, and he got inside. I slid into the passenger seat and started the car.

“Are we seriously going to the store in pajamas?” Niall asked. He looked down at his white t-shirt and plaid flannel pants.

I said, “Dude. Everyone goes to Walmart in pajamas.”

“Okay,” he said laughing. “Americans are crazy.”

“Hey!” I said, offended. “You do know that I’m an American, right?”

“Exactly.” He turned on the radio. The song “One Thing” by One Direction came on, and Niall sang along. He had a really good voice, but it made me jealous. I couldn’t stay on key to save my life.

We got to Walmart, and I hopped out with Niall. We walked inside, and I grabbed a cart.

“What’s that for?” Niall asked. “I thought we were just getting a few things?”

“Well, if you guys are going to be staying at my house for a few days, you’re going to need more than just a ‘few things’,” I said.

He jumped up and cheered, “Woo hoo!”

We went up and down the aisles, piling food into the cart. He literally filled the cart up halfway after just a few aisles. We were in the sixth aisle when I finally built up enough courage to asked, “So. Darcy, huh?”

He couldn’t make eye contact with me and stuttered, “W-what about her?”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “It’s obvious you like her, Niall! Just admit it.”

He sighed, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “Why does it matter? She doesn’t like me anyway.”

I comforted him by patting his shoulder. “She’ll come around,” I said softly. “Once she realizes how great of a guy you are.”

He gave me a weak smile.

We continued to go down the aisles, piling junk food into the cart, along with tons of stuff for s’mores (mostly Hershey bars). We got to the cash register, and the cashier scanned everything (which took a while). The final price came up.

“Are you sure you can pay for all that?” Niall asked.

“Of course.” I handed the cashier my mother’s credit card.

“Is that yours?” he asked, pointing to the credit card.

I smiled. “Nope! Let’s get back home!”

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

By one in the morning, all the boys were almost asleep on the patio.

“Everyone upstairs,” I ordered. “Up, up, up.”

They groaned and slowly found their way inside the house. I waited until they were all upstairs to see the condition of the backyard.

I gasped.

Candy boxes and wrappers were strewn across the yard, the pool cover needed to be put over the pool, and there were marshmallows stuck in a small tree. I pretended to roll up imaginary sleeves, and I set off to clean up.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

When I got back inside from cleaning up, it was some time after two o’clock. I headed to my bathroom, but it was clocked. Damn it! This wasn’t the first time I locked myself out of my bathroom. That’s why we hid a spare key. But I didn’t remember where we hid it last, and I didn’t feel like searching for it for a while since I really had to pee. Instead, I ran upstairs and went into the bathroom the boys were sharing.