A Drop In The Ocean (A Zayn Malik Fan Fiction)

Chapter 16

A/N: Hiya Hedgehogs! How are you? :)

This is dedicated to Pizzaluver, because her story "err...WHY ARE ONE DIRECTION BEHIND THE SOFA?!?! (one direction fanfic)" IS MY FAVORITE ONE DIRECTION FAN FICTION EVER. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. I HAVE READ A PANCAKE LOAD OF FAN FICS, AND HERS IS MY FAVORITE. I also LOVE her story "The Mentor". There's just something about her stories that i LOVE!!!!!!! :D So go read it!!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Grace xx

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                                              ***Elena’s P.O.V.***

I watched Zayn walk over and take a seat next to me. I looked at my lap, and fiddled with the drawstrings on my pajama pants.

Why did I have to get stuck inside a bathroom with Zayn?! I mean, yeah, of course I wanted to spend more time with him, but I'd prefer our time together not be spent with a toilet two feet away us. Not exactly romantic.

Woah, wait a second, romantic?! Urg, Elena, you lunatic! There's nothing romantic going on between you and Zayn! You might like him, but he has no interest in you whatsoever! Getting your hopes up will only make things worse-

"Elena?" Someone’s hand was on my shoulder, shaking me, and cutting off the voices in my head battling with each other.

"Oh, sorry, what?" I turned to Zayn, who had a concerned look in his eyes.

"I said, are you alright? You've just been staring into space..." He trailed off, looking me straight in the eyes, searching for a hint to what I was thinking about.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, must've zoned out for a bit,"

I could see he was about to reply, but I cut him off, saying, "I'm bored,"

I could see he hesitantly dropped the subject, and put a genuine smile on his face, "Me too. What should we do?"

We both thought about this for a moment, when I joked, "Well, I'm pretty sure Hide & Seek is out of the question," I smiled at the sound of his soft chuckle.

"Truth or Dare?" The British boy suggested.

"Naw, I think we should save that one for later," I turned my head to look him in the eyes. His head swiveled towards me at the same time, and I felt the cold tile on my back seeping through my shirt, as we were both leaning against the wall. our eyes met, and I saw something glimmer in his, but it was gone before I could recognise what it was.

"How about 20 questions?: I suggest.

"Sure," Zayn agrees, and we spin on the ground to face each other, with both of our legs crossed.

"You go first," I said.

"Okay." He paused, thinking of a question, "What's your full name?"

"Elena Kacy Gates. Where are you from?" I asked the question I had been wondering about for a while.

"Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. How old are you?" He replied.

"19. Why are you here? In Minnesota?" I responded, not missing a beat.

I saw him hesitate before answering, and it looked like he was racking his brain for a reasonable answer. Giving him time, he looked back up at me, a weary look in his eyes.

"The boys and I are... on a sort of vacation, I guess you could say. Why?" Zayn answered slowly.

"Any sane person would wonder why four British, and one Irish boy would be staying in Minnesota. I was just wondering," I said, half-smiling.

"Alright," He smiled back, "What's the best thing that's ever happened to you?"

Taken off guard by his question, I looked down at the ground to think about it.

What was the best thing that's ever happened to me? I immediately knew the answer. And I knew that was the 100% correct answer, because I had it before I even thought about it. But I couldn't tell him that the best thing ever to happen to me was saving him! He'd think I was mental!

So, I decided it was best to object, "Who's to say I have a best thing?"

"Everyone has one," Zayn smirked a small smirk at me.

"Oh, really?" I asked challengingly, "Then what's yours?"

"Nope, it's not your turn," He refused my attempt to dodge the question, smirking widely.

"Fine," I hesitated, trying to come up with something, "Do you want the best thing that's ever happened to me, or my favorite thing?"

"Favorite," The boy sitting next to me said slowly.

"Okay..." I trailed off.

"When I was about 8," My voice was barely above a whisper, recalling the memory,"my d- m-my da-" I paused, swallowing the large lump in my throat.

"It's alright," Zayn said gently, his attitude changing to one of concern, and laying a comforting hand on my knee, "You don't have to tell me,"

"No, it's fine," I took a deep breath, and rushing out the answer while I had the courage, "When I was 8, my dad woke me up really early in the morning. He said to get on a swimsuit, and follow him. So, I did." I smiled, thinking about that day.

"He drove me out to a little beach, about an hour away from here. When we got there, he got in the water, and made me come in with him. He spent the entire day teaching me how to swim, until we finally got tired at around dinner time. He had brought a picnic with him, and we found this cute little gazebo a little further up the beach. That's the day I fell in love with swimming." I finished, feeling one single tear slide down my face.

I looked over at Zayn, and saw so many emotions swirling around in his eyes, it was impossible to name them all.

"Where's your dad?" He asked, his voice almost inaudible. Normally, I would've thought it was rude to ask such a question. But I could hear the concern in his voice. He wanted to know, because he wanted to help.

"He used to work on a fishing boat. One day, around two years ago, my mom and I got a call telling us the ship had sunk in a large storm. The end." The warm tears I had been trying to hold in, spilled out. I didn't want Zayn to see me like this.

I turned my head away from the boy, hiding, as my eyes glazed with the salty water. He said, "Oh my god," Under his breath, then squeezed my knee for comfort.

"You know what the worst part is?" I said, no emotion in my voice.

I didn't wait for an answer, before turning my head to look him in the eyes, and said, "I never even got to say goodbye," My voice cracked at the end, and Zayn pulled me into his chest.

He cooed calming words into my ears, as he let me sob into his shirt. His hand stroked my hair, and I tried to stop crying, but it just made the tears come faster.

Normally, I never would have just burst out like this. Ever since I knew my dad was gone, I'd become an expert at hiding my emotions. After that awful day, I haven't cried once. I had to stay strong for my mom. I hadn't even realized how much I was hurting inside, until Zayn let me take it out on him.

After a few minutes of sobbing, and Zayn whispering things like, "Shh, it's okay. I'm here, Elena. I'm here," I finally calmed down.

Wiping the wetness from one eye, I looked up at my new found friend, "Sorry to be such a downer," I tried to joke it off.

He smiled genuinely, "Oh, you're not a downer. Although you look slightly like a racoon," He chuckled.

Crap!

Narrowly avoiding hitting my head on the edge of the counter, I scrambled off the floor to look in the mirror. And when I did, I could confirm what Zayn had said. I did, in fact, resemble a racoon.

"Oh, god..." I put my head in my hands, and I heard Zayn giggling as he followed me up off the floor, and laughed at my expression.

"I'M LIKE A PANDA!" I laughed at myself, bringing my hands away from my face.

"Panda's are cute, though," Zayn smirks at me in the mirror. I brush off the compliment, and start searching around for something to wipe the make-up off with.

"Here," Zayn says, handing me a little make-up remover cloth in a small packet, that he had gotten from a small black leather bag laying on the counter. I gave him a questioning look, raising one eyebrow.

"I have sisters," He explained.

"Ahh, okay," I smile a thank you at him, then turn around, and leaning over the sink to get closer to the mirror, I wipe all of the black mascara from my face.

When I'm finished, I toss the wipe in a small waste basket on the floor, and splash water over my entire face to get everything else off of my skin. I grab a towel, and dry my face, then turn around to see Zayn sitting on the edge of the bathtub watching me.

"What?" I laughed a little while I said this to him.

"Nothing..." Zayn replied, trying to look all mysterious. I just laughed at him, and took a seat on the floor.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked him.

"I don't know..."

The room went silent for a bit, then Zayn spoke up, "How about we sing?"

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A/N: Okay, so I have something VERY important to talk to you guys about.

Recently, someone (I'm not going to say who, but one of my friends) on Twitter tried to commit suicide. Luckily, she was okay, and someone got ahold of the police before something awful could happen, but it got me thinking: Everyone has problems; I know that. And I want to make sure EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU have someone you can talk to. If you have any sort of issue, from the smallest of things, to the biggest, I want you to know that I am here. You can comment, message me, DM me on Twitter, whatever you feel most comfortable doing, and tell me about your problems. Sometimes, just having someone to listen can make all the difference. I can help you to the best of my ability, and I can be your friend when you need one.

Alright? So, if you have ANY issues, problems, whatever, TELL ME. I. AM. HERE. And remember, NEVER try to commit. It is a PERMANENT solution to a TEMPORARY problem. Don't take away your awesomeness from this world. You're too amazing to fade away.

Any directioner is part of my family. Even if I don't know you, and you don't know me, you're my family. I'll always be here for you. ALWAYS.

My Twitter is @MusicGleeAnd1D and If I'm not following you already, just mention me and I will, okay?

Never, EVER forget that I am here for you.

Stay Strong, Stay Beautiful, and Stay YOU.

~Grace xoxo