Stripped (a Zayn Malik Fanfic)

What If

A/N: Thanks for all your lovely comments and votes! xx

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Zayn's P.O.V: 

"F.û.c.k!" I roared, punching the wall swiftly, regretting it as soon as my fist began to throb. I examined it, making sure that I hadn't cut myself. I didn't want to have to explain it to the boys, and most especially to management. The paparazzi speculated about every single thing we did, from where we ate to who we spoke to, so I had to be extremely careful not to give them anything they could exploit. 

I made my way down the deserted hallway, shaking my head as I went. I was still in disbelief at the whole situation. Leila of all people –a stripper! She would never be the type to do that, to taking her clothes off for money. I thought back to the girl from Bradford who I'd been best friends with, the girl who had never kissed a boy. This made me think I wasn't dealing with the same girl at all, this girl was different, a polar opposite to Leila. My mind began to race, and despite not wanting to, I knew something had to have happened to Leila to land her in a place Victory, but what? Awash with a new sense of determination, I was desperate to find out. But most of all, I was eager to...fix things with Leila; to set things right. I owed that much to her, after everything. For a long time, I regretted what had happened between us, for being the reason our friendship ended. Quite steadily, all of it began to fade away; my life in Bradford, my old mates from school, and even Leila managed to as well once I began to progress further and further in the X-Factor. When One Direction blew up however, all Bradford was, and all Leila was, were distant memories from another life. 

I approached the back of the stage cautiously, the music blaring so loudly that it vibrated in my chest. Peeking out from the side of the curtains I could see another stripper moving fluidly on stage, and I found myself thinking back to Leila's performance. It almost seemed like a dream. The lights flickered on and there sat a beautiful girl with her face hidden behind a mask. Suddenly, she was in front of the five of us. While my eyes were locked on her, her eyes were locked on Harry. As she removed the mask from her face and handed it off to Harry, I thought I was hallucinating. All the stress from our back to back tours and album release in America had left me mad and seeing ghosts from my past. I rubbed my eyes and blinked but there she stood in front of me still, completely unaware of my presence. I had to admit that she looked good, better than I ever could have imagined, so different from three years ago. The years had treated her well; she had lost her baby fat and filled out in all the right places. And if seeing her after so long wasn't enough of a shock, she had to go and take her top off. I attempted to push the memory from my mind, sighing in frustration when Leila's golden skin and red lips persisted. If her parents ever got wind of this, they would certainly have my head. 

I slipped away from backstage and made my way back to where the boys were sitting. I slid into my seat silently, sipping on the beer I had left behind to pursue Leila. Everyone was chatting to each other aside for Harry who was notably missing from his seat. 

"Where'd you run off to?" Niall reached over and poked me, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. 

"Took a piss." I replied vaguely, falling silent. 

A man's voice came over the loud-speaker, announcing the appearance of the next stripper, 'Peaches'. Peaches sauntered on stage, grinning widely though it was clear she was struggling to maneuver in her large heels. Peaches was bleached blonde, noticeably older than Leila and wearing a pink boa around her neck. When the music started, she began to unravel the boa from around her neck, revealing a pair of enormous b.r.e.ā.s.t.s. 

"Peaches?" Yelped Louis in astonishment. "She should be going by tyrannosaurus-t.i.t.s!" Niall guffawed at this drunkenly while Liam choked on his sip of beer. 

I stared at the blonde in boredom. Nothing could shake the images of Leila, or 'Bambi' as the announcer had revealed her pseudonym to be out of my head. She moved so confidently and so assuredly, teasing the audience but revealing just enough of herself to make them want more, to make me want more. Leila had always been pretty in her own tomboyish manner when I had known her. We met in primary school and became inseparable almost instantaneously. We would play outside in the woods for hours, and afterwards we would go back to her house and play with our game boys, setting her parent's alarm clock so we were sure not to miss the newest episode of Pokémo.n.

Even as we aged we always managed to have something in common. We would joke and have long conversations about just about everything, but what we bonded over the most was music. Oftentimes, Leila would play on the piano as I sang. She was the only one I sang for, the first person who I revealed my passion for music to. I felt a pang as I realized how well and truly I had f- ù.ć k.e-d up. I had kept telling myself that ending things with Leila was for the best, for her benefit, that I might have been the guy for her, but she wasn't the girl for me. 

A thought flitted through my mind that moment, one that left me horrified. 

What if she always had been the girl for you, Zayn? 

I was drawn from my thoughts at the sound of Liam's voice. 

"Where did Harry go anyways?" He asked, pointing to Harry's vacant seat. 

"He said something about getting a private dance with one of the girls." Louis said distractedly, his eyes not straying from tyrannosaurus-t.i.t-s.  

I clenched my jaw tightly. I had a feeling I knew which girl Harry went to go get a dance from.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Comments and votes = an orgy with Ziam and obviously, myself. Please visit s.t.r.i.p.p.e.d.f.a.n.f.i.c.t.i.o.n.t/u/m/b/l/r.c/o/m (remove slashes and periods) for chapter outfits, accompanying music, and fanart. xx