Conflicted

➸seven

Copyright © 2014 Ari W.

I walk out into the dining area, and there he is, seated in my section. He’s the reason Nick and I didn’t get to eat last night. I thought that I’d make it through the day without seeing him but he shows up right before my shift ends.

“Do you purposely come here to piss me off?” I ask.

“I’m shocked you’d even ask that! Do you think you’re that important?” He scoffs, laughing.

“What do you want Zayn?” I sigh, rolling my eyes.

“You’re not to address me by my first name.” He snaps.

“Whatever. What can I get for you?”

“Some manners.”

“Alright well I’ll just find someone else to play your little games.” I say, smiling.

“Wait.” He calls out as I walk away.

“Yes?”

“I get the feeling you don’t like me.” He scowls.

“Well your instincts would be correct.”

“Everyone likes me. I don’t understand.”

“Do I really need to go into detail?” I chuckle.

“I’ll make you a deal, if you agree to stop acting like a child, I’ll be nicer to you.” A smirk plays its way onto his lips.

“You don’t have a nice bone in your body.” I roll my eyes.

“Really because I… um never mind.” He mutters, glancing at his hands. Before I can say anything, he gets up and stalks out of the dining area.

“He hates you, yet he demands to be seated in your section every day. I don’t get it.” Amber frowns, pushing past me.

Me too Amber, me too.

I sigh and grab my stuff, making sure to clock out.

-

It’s finally the weekend and I can relax.

I grab my laptop and a bottle of water, making my way towards my desk.  As I scroll through my current grades for my criminology class, I nearly choke on my water when I see I got a bad grade on my last assignment.

I have never gotten a bad grade in that class ever. I can’t seem to stop coughing. Tears are pooling in my eyes and I’m gasping for air.

I finally catch my breath and stare and my laptop in shock. “Is everything okay?” I hear Nick asking as he knocks on the door.

“Mm.” I mumble.

I send an email to my professor, questioning what I did wrong. To my surprise, he responds not even a minute later, claiming that I should seek getting a tutor to help me pass the class.

Confused, I reply, asking how I am borderline to failing when I have gotten remarkable scores on all of my other assignments.

I wait for his response but it never seems to come. I get up and go into the bathroom, running my fingers through my hair.

A tutor? This is ridiculous.

I heard a ping noise and I darted into my room, opening the email from my professor. He said that he’d found one of his old students who were willing to tutor me. He also said he set up a place and time for me to meet the tutor, all I needed to do was confirm it.

Since I have the day off, I might as well go. I tell him that today is fine and grab my keys. I hope the tutor isn’t a pain in the ass.

I find a piece of paper and write down where I’m headed, just in case Lia or Nick are looking for me.

The coffee shop where we are meeting is right down the street from my apartment so I’ll just walk. I lock the door and place my hands in my pocket as I walk in the direction of the coffee shop.

I hear a jingle when I open the door. Taking in my surroundings, I grab a booth in the back and wait. My professor never even gave me the name of the tutor. How will I know who he or she is? I pull out my phone and scroll through the latest articles.

I glance up when I see someone has taken a seat in front of me.

“Now really isn’t the time.” I sigh, rolling my eyes at Zayn.

“That’s no way to talk to your tutor is it?” He quirks an eyebrow.

“How do you know I need a tutor?” I frown.

“Because I am your tutor.” He scowls.

“That’s not possible.” I stammer.

“It’s very possible.” He smirks.

“You took criminology? Why?” I ask.

“Because I found the subject interesting at the time.” He says curtly.

“I’ll just study more.”

“You’re going to risk failing the class?” He smiles, raising his eyebrows.

“I think I’ll take my chances.” I say, standing.

“You and I both know that you need me so sit.” He gestures.

He’s right, you do need him.

I take a deep breath and sit back down in front of him. “Thought so.” He smiles.

“Can I get you two anything?” A guy asks, smiling at me. I look up at him and feel the heat rise to my cheeks. He’s very attractive. His hair is bleached blonde, brown in the roots. His accent is what caught me off guard.

"Um can I have a mocha latte?” I blush.

“Of course beautiful, and for you?” He smiles at me then looks at Zayn.

His jaw clenched as he inhaled roughly and he fixed his eyes on the guy. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Zayn was jealous, but he hates me just as much as I hate him so it’s not possible.  “I’ll have a chai latte.” Zayn grumbles.

I try to hide the smile that creeps its way onto my face. “Amused?” He rolls his eyes at me.

“You seem upset, what’s wrong?” I giggle.

“Skylar, now is not the time for your childish behavior.” He eyes me.

“Okay, okay. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” I mumble.

Before he can say anything, two cups are being placed in front of us. “Thank you.” I smile.

The guy leans down closer to me and I can feel him breathing. “Is that your boyfriend?” He whispers so only I can hear.

I snicker and shake my head no. Zayn and I dating? Yeah right.

“Well here’s my number, call me sometime.” He whispers.

I nod as he hands me a napkin with blank ink written on it. The look on Zayn’s face is hilarious. He looks both pissed and amused. The waiter—Niall, he wrote on the napkin—smiles and walks away. I focus on Zayn now as he stares out the window.

He reaches for his cup of coffee, and knocks it over, spilling some on the table. “Oops. May I?” He chuckles, grabbing the napkin with the phone number on it, out of my hands. He wipes up the coffee and hands the napkin back to me.

The ink was smudged and stained with the brown liquid. I scowl at him defiantly and he shrugs, acting as if he’s done nothing.

“Well this has been great, but I have to go.” I sigh sarcastically.

“You don’t have to work so where are you going?” He questions.

“I’m minding my business. You should do the same.” I snap, leaving him in the coffee shop alone.

A/n: It's been two days since my last update, I apologize. I slept majority of today and when I woke up,  I was rearranging chapters and writing the chapters that are so far away but anyways, thank you so much for reading! Please vote and comment. Comment please, I would really appreciate it. I'll update tomorrow for sure!