Stole Their Hearts (One Direction)

Stole Their Hearts - Chapter Two.

A/N; I'm pretty sure when Zayn was this age he spelled his name like Zain...but I'm just going to keep it like Zayn because it's easier. haha #lazy. (x

zayn&belle

Splash.

Splash.

Fuck, I hate rain.

The muddied streets played a dangerous game with Lornabelle Taylor's combat boots as she approached the main entrance to Tong High School in the heart of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. According to the cell phone residing in her right pocket, she was exactly ten minutes late to her first class. Not too early to ruin her reputation, but not too late to miss anything important.

She jogged up the front steps and into the cool, crisp hallways of the building. It was practically empty in there, except for—

"Hey, Belle."

Fixing a bobby pin in her dark brown hair, Belle turned to face Tony, her best mate. Tall and broad shouldered, Tony was what most people would call intimidating. He looked like he was no good an full of trouble, but Belle had never fallen for it. But then again, Belle was never easily intimidated.

"Hey there, Big T. You coming late then, too?" Belle asked, slapping the floor of the hallway with her boots. The stragglers instinctively moved out of their way as they passed—everyone knew Belle Taylor and her gang were bad news. But that's just the way it was: only the strong survived here. And Belle's crew was the most ruthless-appearing bunch at Tong.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. My mom needed help again."

Belle felt her heart sink. Tony was on the poor side, like herself, and his mom was constantly struggling to keep a job. They'd tell each other the same thing every day; that if they had the money, they'd give it to the other's lot.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" Belle asked quietly, on behalf of their entire group.

Tony shook his head and smiled slightly. "You do know that even if there was, I wouldn't let you help me," he said slyly.

Belle laughed. "Yeah, I know."

The twosome approached the English classroom, and slipped through the open door, trying not to be noticed by the teacher. Belle paused in front of her desk as she heard her name.

"Miss Taylor; Mr. Calvin. You're late," Mrs. Willoughby said sternly, crossing her arms.

"Yes, we are," Belle said flatly, taking a seat. "I'd tell you that it wouldn't happen again, but I wouldn't want to lie to you, miss."

The boy next to her snickered quietly.

Mrs. Willoughby, used to Belle's antics, ignored her, and continued her lesson. Belle did the same, sending her other best friend, Lila, a quick text message.

To: Lila Mah Loveey(;

Hey L. how's ditching handling you all? (:

make sure to get me a hoodie from Ian's

place. <3 xx

"Belle."

Quickly, Belle looked up as a petite girl handed her a sheet of paper shyly. Blinking quickly, Belle took the piece of paper, sent the girl a small thank-you smile, and read the heading to herself.

Partner Book Report -- Semester Three.

Belle groaned inwardly. Book reports were absolutely not her thing. Especially when reading was involved.

A boy in the back raised his hand. "Can we pick our partners?"

Belle snickered under her breath. No one picks their partners for a book report in this hellhole of a class, she thought.

As if reading Belle's mind, Willoughby shook her head. "I always pick partners, remember?"

Belle sighed. With her luck, she'd end up with some freak who doesn't do anything, she'd end up doing the project by herself, and fail the only class she hadn't already. Wonderful.

Willoughby began calling out project partners' names in twos. Tony was paired with the smartest girl in the class.

"Lucky," Belle groaned under her breath. Now Tony was going to pass, and she was going to fail. Belle bit her lip until she tasted blood. I can't fail, she thought. I still have to hope.

Her grades were her last hope of getting into college, since her family couldn't afford it. If she could just get good ones...

"Lornabelle Taylor and Zayn Malik."

Belle was thrust out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called. Zayn. Zayn Malik. She tried to put a face to the name, but couldn't. Belle hardly ever associated with people out of her group, mainly because they didn't want to associate with her. But Zayn...

She looked behind her and saw a boy watching her with expectant dark eyes. They were an intense hazel-brown, and his face was expressionless. His cherry-blossom-pink lips flatlined and his dark hair shaded his features. No wonder she didn't know his face: he was one of those people who sat in the back of the class and didn't speak. He was shy and quiet, but Belle could see so much in him just as he looked at her. She couldn't find the strength to look away.

- - - - - - - - - -

The bell rang for the end of the first class, and Belle gathered her things, walking over to the door. As she was about to leave, she felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around, finding herself just centimeters away from Zayn Malik's face. She looked up into his eyes, bit her lip and stepped back a bit.

"Yes?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"For the project," he asked, his voice soft as silk. "What are we going to do for it?"

Belle pretended to think about it. "Just call me later." She pulled out a slip of paper from her bag and scribbled her phone number on it. She handed it to him. "Just warning you, I'm not really the book expert." She smiled weakly, waved good-bye, and headed down the hallway to her next class.

Surely this should be an interesting project.

A/N; I'm actually excited to write this story (: shocker, huh? these first few chapters are going to be pretty short, just warning you; each group of characters are going to have four, maybe five chapters each, not sure yet. after this and YFM is over, I'll be starting my new Louis story! (: song on the side doesn't really have anything to do with the story, I just love it.