The Art of Seduction - Zayn Malik AU

Chapter 13: Seductive Smoulders

I haven't said many words to Zayn. To be honest I'm scared to. What if I make him angry or, god forbid, I say something a freshman would say. He's being strangely nice though. It probably has something to do with the whole Liam thing. 

It's quiet between us as we walk down the hall of the lower level. Everyone's in class so we are alone in the hallway. The only sounds to be heard are the thumps of our shoes as we search for more paint-able objects.

"Hey Cora?" My head snaps up in Zayn's direction as he breaks the silence. "Can I ask you something?" I hesitate and take a deep breath before giving him a nod. I already know what it's going to be about. 

"What exactly where you doing out in the clearing with Liam in the first place?" I bite my bottom lip in reaction to his question. It sounds like it has a hint of jealousy in it, but what do I know? Maybe he's just curious.

"I went out there to tell him to stay away from Kenna and then-" I don't finish my sentence but I don't need to, he knows what happened. And then it's silent again.

I hear him let out a huge sigh that even causes me to look up at him. "God I can't believe he did that" Zayn nervously runs his hands through his perfectly quaffed hair. "He shouldn't have done that Cora, I'm so sorry" I don't know why he feels the need to apologize for Liam's actions, I mean it wasn't his fault. 

I still feel offended for how he had treated me this week, how he ignored me every art class, and when he snapped at me Monday. I was pretty convinced that meant "back off". But since yesterday his total demeanor towards be has taken a 180 degree spin. I can't help but feel relieved that the Zayn who gave me a pink rose is still around somewhere. 

"It's fine, it really is" I try to calm him down because he starts to look really stressed out about it. I guess since Liam is his best friend it would be hard to see him do something so horrible to someone. 

"No, it's not fine. I just want you to know that I would never-" He stops mid sentence like he is rethinking his words. I don't know if I'm just crazy but it sounded like he was going to say 'I would never do that to you' but what do I know? He could have finished the sentence with anything! And i'm still waiting for him to. 

"If Liam ever tries that again with you - or anyone - I will literally kick his ass. That's what I should have done yesterday - hit him, punched him, something. I should have done something more" Zayn says. It isn't the ending of the sentence I was expecting to hear but it somehow conveys the same message. 

I'm not sure what to say, so I don't say anything. This whole thing with Liam takes the confidence clean out of me. My eyes are glued to my shoes and I watch every step I take to distract myself. 

"And Cora?" my head slowly raises to look straight into Zayn's gorgeous hazel eyes. God it's so hard to be mad at someone who looks like that. "Yeah?" I sheepishly ask. 

"I'm sorry for what I said Monday and how I've acted this week. I must seem like a pretty huge douche" I'm not surprised that he apologizes, because I assumed he would get there sometime during this walk. But it is nice to hear.

"Yeah, you did" I joke back, hoping to maybe see another flash of his gorgeous smile. At first he doesn't realize I'm joking until he sees me laugh. I think he's happy I used past tense instead of present. 

-

After we choose the three objects we decided to paint, about a half hour of class remains. Neither one of us feel like returning to the art room to have small talk with Mrs. G, so we roam the halls and talk instead. 

I learn more about Zayn's interest in art. He tells me, in full detail, all about his room and how he spray painted the walls. 

"I'd love to see it sometime, I'm sure it looks awesome" a feeling of embarrassment fills my stomach when I realize I basically just invited myself over to his house. Oh my God. 

"Yeah? Come over sometime and I'll show you then" Oh my God, again. I guess it isn't as embarrassing anymore since Zayn technically invited me anyway? I feel my cheeks start to blush as the smile I hate(love) appears on his face. 

I feel his eyes on me, studying my expression. I wonder what he's thinking, but I don't ask. Mostly because I'm still working on regaining my confidence around him. 

"What do ya say we go grab a bite to eat? Huh?" Zayn offers. A bite to eat? It's almost lunch and I still have 5 classes left. "What do you mean?" I ask. 

"What I mean is... skip school with me" he flashes me a seductive smoulder. How the hell am I supposed to say no to that?

"You want me to skip school with you?" I cock an eyebrow and place my hands on my hips. I've barely been in high school two weeks and I'm already considering skipping classes. 

"Yeh, we can go out for lunch, or back to the park, or do something crazy, I dunno" Zayn's arm full of tattoos stretches behind him and he scratches his head. I watch, well almost drool, as his muscles flex. Did he do that on purpose? Who the hell cares! I'm sold. 

"Alright, bring it on" I must admit, I have a pretty seductive smoulder myself. I guess my confidence is coming back faster than I thought. 

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