Stripped (a Zayn Malik Fanfic)

I Crave You

Cracking open the book, I poured over the pages until at last I reached our year ten photographs, my gaze flitting directly to Leila. I remembered still waiting in line while Leila was having her photo taken. She didn't know I was watching, but I had been. It was the first time I had ever seen her in a dress and wearing make-up, the first time I'd ever seen her looking like...a girl.  

According to most, my life was better now. I was living out my dreams and becoming wealthy for doing it. Yet there I stood, wanting the same feeling Leila's perfume used to give me, the simple and quiet life we lead a lifetime ago in Bradford. 

Shutting the yearbook closed, I replaced it back on Leila's bedside table and slipped quietly out of her room. Retrieving the groceries she had abandoned by the door, I discarded of the carton of broken eggs, put the bread in the bread box, and placed the vegetables and other perishables in the fridge. Shutting the door of the refrigerator, I came face to face with a myriad of colourful magnets and photographs, my eyes drawn to one in particular. My back stiffened. The smiling faces of Leila and her family stared back at me, the sun cascading through the canopy of leaves in their garden. The day was so familiar, her parents, her grandparents, her cousin Sameer and his friend Rahil, Leila's white dress. Carefully, I slid the magnet to the side, and there was my sixteen year-old self, grinning widely at the camera. 

There was a brief but sharp stabbing pain in my heart, and I found myself murmuring to the still image of Leila's parents, their unabashed happiness in that moment frozen. "I'll take care of her." 

******************************************************************************************

After a combination of beer, cigarettes, and poor judgment, I found myself sitting in the audience of Victory Strip Club. When Leila didn't return to her apartment as I hoped she would, I ventured into a run-down pub nearby, slipping into a booth and downing pint after pint of beer. Once my brain was entirely sodden with alcohol, I found myself searching for Leila in the only other place I knew I could find her –her place of employment. 

Hoodie pulled down to my brows, I slipped the bouncer a few hundred Euros and was inside without anyone so much as asking my name. Why was I there? What did I plan on telling Leila if I found her? I didn't have an answer to either of those questions, but all I knew was that I had to see her, desperately. Barreling through the heavy curtains, I had only scanned the club in search of Leila for a moment when the house lights dimmed to signal a new act. Both men and women waited eagerly, those who were the least shy sitting in the seats bordering the half-moon shaped stage. 

A dim crackle came over the speaker, a male voice quietly announcing. "This is Bambi dancing to 'I Crave You'." 

Stepping back into the shadows, I gaped towards the stage, realizing that I wouldn't have to search for Leila for much longer. Rich electronic music began to ooze from the speakers, the lights switching on again to reveal Leila, dressed in a barely there white ensemble, a set of large angel wings strapped onto her back. Her hair was a mess, her brown eyes unfocused and rimmed in black. Without thinking about it I stepped forward, my first and only instinct being to save her. But how could I save her from something that was quite obviously herself? 

Why can't you want me like the other boys do?

They stare at me while I stare at you

Why can't I keep you safe as my own?

One moment I have you the next you are gone. 

Leila approached her pole and delicately circled it, a tuft of feathers from her wings showering the audience. Despite everything, I was completely transfixed, powerless, mesmerized. 

Rehearsed steps on an empty stage

That boy's got my heart in a silver cage

Why can't you want me like the other boys do?

They stare at me while I crave you. 

She lifted herself onto the pole with ease. Upside down, one leg was draped around the cool metal pole while the other extended towards the audience. And then she began to spin, around and around, her eyes shut and her dark hair brushing the floor of the stage. 

I walked into the room dripping in gold.

Yeah dripping in gold. 

Leila slid from the pole, crawling across the stage towards a member of the audience. A coy smile on her pink lips, Leila plucked a feather from her wings, stroking the chin of the middle aged man in front of her. In return, the man hungrily stuffed a wad of bills into the side of her g-s.t.r.i.n.g. I clenched my jaw, ignoring the urge to break the man's grubby fingers when they lingered on Leila's tanned skin for a moment too long. 

It's true I crave you

It's true I crave you 

Leila returned to the center of the stage, accentuating the sway of her hips as she walked. Mouth parched, I wet my parched lips with whatever saliva I still had in my mouth, my gaze travelling down the expanse of Leila's body. 

Why can't you want me like the other boys do?

They stare at me while I stare at you.  

Reaching an arm back, Leila grinned at the audience mischievously, unhooking her bra in one smooth moment. Before I could look away, Leila slid her white bra from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor. My cheeks burned, and I found myself leaning heavily against the wall behind me for support. 

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na.

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na.   

Crave you. 

Squeezing her eyes shut, Leila began to run her fingers through her hair, gyrating her hips as the final notes of the song played. 

Why can't you want me like the other boys do?

They stare at me while I crave you 

Leila blew a kiss to the audience moments before the lights went out. Lifting up my hand weakly, I caught it, placing it on my cheek. Kicking off from against the wall, I dashed towards the hallway where Leila's dressing room was, managing to stay out of the large security guard's line of sight. About to take a sharp left down the hallway, I froze in place when I saw Leila, smiling over her shoulder at the middle aged man from the audience and leading him towards the vacant booths reserved for private dances. My stomach plummeted the same way it did when I saw Leila and Harry with barely an inch of space between them, the same way it did when she walked away from me earlier that day.     

Leila and the man slipped past a beaded curtain and into one of the rooms, Leila none the wiser to my presence. I began to wonder if perhaps, it had been for the best in the end. Fingers twitching for another cigarette, I jumped slightly when my phone went off in my pocket. Retrieving it, I saw that I had one new message from Niall.   

Want to get f.ú.c.k.e.d up tomorrow night? :D 

I replied robotically, a smirk on my lips. I'm in. Anything that would keep my mind off my past, off Bambi, off Leila. 

******************************************************************************************  

A/N: Thank you all so so much for reading! The next update will feature Leila and Harry's date. What will it entail? You'll simply have to stay tuned to find out in the yet to be titled chapter 9! I would love to know how you are all finding 'Stripped' so far. Are you all for Heila? Are you all for Zeila? Are you simply confused? Let me know where your shipping heart stands ;) 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 Leila's outfits, accompanying music, and fanart! xx