CHAPTER 17
Zayn's Perspective
I awoke suddenly from my dream, jolting myself awake as I shook violently on the bed. My eyes darted around the room in panic, unsure of what was going on. But a calm soon flowed over me when I felt two small hands on either side of my face, caressing my cheeks.
My eyes landed on two large green orbs that were staring at me, full of concern. "What's wrong Zayn? Are you okay?" Amanda asked worriedly, a small crease apparent between her eyebrows as she continued to stroke me cheeks. I sighed in relief before stretching up and meshing my lips with her perfect pink ones, relishing in their taste.
I pulled away and just laid there with Amanda on top of me, stroking her cheek whilst staring into her eyes. "What happened babe?" She asked softly, her hands still resting on my stubble-sprinkled face. "I dreamt that you had left me...But it's okay now, because you're here with me." I replied, giving her a small smile.
Amanda's features contorted into one of shock and disbelief before she buried her face in my shirt, hugging me to her. "I'd never leave you." She whispered, barely audible. My heart jumped and I swear Amanda felt it, because she looked back up at me with large eyes. Without a word, she crushed her lips onto mine once again and knotted her fingers in my hair.
I smiled into the desperate kiss and slowly rolled us over so that I was covering Amanda's small body, wrapping my arms around her waist. I roughly kissed her perfect lips before trailing my lips down her jaw and across her collarbones, brushing her skin with my stubble and making her giggle.
I felt her shiver beneath me before she softly pulled my head up by my hair so that she could look at me. I pouted slightly at being detached from her but she just grinned and pulled me back down so that she could passionately kiss me. I felt Amanda's tongue run along my bottom lip before she bit it lightly, soothing it with yet another kiss.
I pulled back and smiled down at her, taking in her small, beautiful figure trapped beneath me. She raised her hand to touch the crinkles beside me eye, gently running her fingertips over them. "I love you." She whispered, biting her lip nervously and flashing me a smile. I leant down and brushed my nose against hers sensually. "And I love you. But we really can't do this now because we have a management meeting to attend." I explained, watching as she pushed her bottom lip out and frowned. "Don't give me that look! We have to go! Now come on."
I rolled off the bed and pulled Amanda up with me, ignoring her protests. I stood her on her feet and held her at arms length, taking in her appearance. She had one of my worn AC/DC shirts on and nothing else, the shirt coming down to her upper thigh. She looked beautiful.
I smiled lightly and pushed her hair back off her face, stroking her cheek with my thumb. "Although you look absolutely amazing in my shirt, I think it's best if you change into something more...appropriate." I commented with a smirk, watching her blush.
She screwed up her nose ad pushed my hand away before walking over to her unpacked bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a loose button down. Placing them on the bed, she crossed her arms over her body and grasped her shirt hem. But before she pulled it over her head, she gave me a stern look that literally said; "No looking."
I rolled my eyes sheepishly and walked past her to the dresser, pulling out some jeans and a fresh grey shirt. With my back turned on Amanda, I pulled my jeans on, trying my best not to fall over. I looked up out of chance and my eyes met with Amanda's in the mirror in front of me, her cheeks going red as she was caught watching me change.
I turned to her with a smirk, her cheeks only blushing deeper. "You like what you see?" I asked in a deep voice, advancing with just my jeans on, hanging dangerously low on my hips. She stared at me wide eyed, her signature blush still gracing her cheeks as her mouth hung slightly agape. I stopped in front if her before fingering the buttons on her shirt without popping them open, teasing her subtly.
Amanda batted my hand away with a small frown before retrieving my shirt that I had discarded on the floor and throwing it in my direction. "You're the one who wanted us out fast. No playing games Malik." She grinned before walking away, heading for the bathroom. I shook my head before yanking my shirt down over my body, following Amanda into the bathroom.
I walked in to find Amanda twisting her brown locks into a bun on the top of her head before she picked up a mascara brush and began to apply it. "You don't need that you know." I commented, leaning against the sink and watching her. "Well, I really do need it. So bugger off or I'll put some on you too." She threatened, never ceasing to apply her makeup.
I grinned and stepped in behind Amanda's small figure, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my chin on her shoulder, watching her in the mirror. "You're beautiful." I commented simply, making eye contact with her in the mirror. She smiled lightly, placing the brush down on the sink before turning in my arms so that our bodies were flush with the others. She simply reached up on her tiptoes and kissed my lips ever so slightly before pulling away and looking up into my eyes with her large green ones, biting her lip nervously.
"Absolutely beautiful."
Amanda's Perspective
"Shit. How'd they know?" Zayn cursed under his breath as we pulled into the parking lot of the conference building. Everywhere I looked there were girls screaming, some with cameras and some with signs that said things I didn't expect from such young girls.
Zayn beeped his horn as he slowly drove through the crowd, trying to park without injuring a fan. When we finally parked the car, I found myself nervous. I didn't know what the fans thought of me, and being the person I was, I only concluded that they hated me. And because of that, I found it near impossible to open my door and step outside.
"Don't get out babe, I'll come around and help you out. I'll protect you." Zayn reassured me with a small smile and a brief kiss on the cheek before he got out of the car. I watched as he slowly etched his way around the front of the car, carefully weaving through the crowd of girls with a less-than-amused expression.
He finally had found his was around to my side of the car and with a grin in my direction, he opened my door and held out his hand to me. I smiled wearily and took it, allowing him to pull me out of the safety of the car and into the chaotic crowd of screaming girls.
Zayn managed to get the door closed and lock the car before he tucked me under his arm and acted as a human shield from the advancing girls. He pushed his way through the crowd, trying his best to keep me from getting injured, but I still felt desperate hands grasping at my shirt.
We had gotten half way through the crowd when a bulky man appeared from the throng of the group of girls, pushing them aside and beckoning us to follow him. We followed the security guard through the crowd, keeping our heads down as we tried to avoid the girls, when I felt someone lightly grasp my hand in theirs.
I stopped and looked down to find a little blonde girl grasping onto my hand with tears streaming down her face. I automatically bend down to her level so I could talk to her and ask what was wrong, abandoning Zayn's side. I grasped the little girls hands in mine and looked into her big blue eyes worriedly, asking if she was okay.
"No, I-I lost m-my sister a-and I'm sc-scared!" She cried, tears falling down her cheeks and the sobs shaking her shoulders. I automatically pulled her into me and hugged her tightly, rocking her side to side. "It'll be okay. We'll help you find your sister." I whispered in her ear, rubbing her small back. "What's your name sweetie?" I asked as I continued to sooth her. "Ch-Christie."
I pulled her out at arms length and smiled kindly at her, earning a small smile back. "Well Christie, Do you want to come with me and Zayn? We'll got inside and call your mum or sister." She nodded eagerly and I grinned, stooping to pick her up from the ground and above the crowd of girls. I turned to Zayn with Christie in my arms and he gave me a quizzical look, obviously worried about what I was doing.
I shook me head slightly and he seemed to understand as he smiled at the little girl, giving her a small wave. She giggled and buried her face in my shoulder, shying away from him. I looked over at his grinning face and loved how amazing he was with kids. "Come on, better get inside." Zayn gestured for us to follow him, his warm hand gently holding my arm and pulling me through the hectic crowd.
We finally made it into the large building, safe from the clawing of pubescent teenaged girls. I carried Christie into the sitting room and set her down on her feet. The girls were seated on the plush couches and with the sound of Niall's laugh coming from the conference room, I figured that the boys were inside.
Zayn turned to me and grasped my hand, squeezing it slightly. "Are you going to be alright here?" He asked in a low tone, eyes boring into mine. "Of course! Don't be too long though." I winked before earning a sweet kiss from Zayn. He turned and made his way over to the conference room, knocking briefly before entering and closing the door behind him, disappearing behind the mahogany doors.
"Mandie! How's it been?" Eleanor piped up, standing and rushing over to embrace me. Danielle soon joined in and I was suffocating in their hugs. "Okay girls, get off!" I struggled from their grasp and gave them both a weak smile, taking in their happy appearances. Eleanor looked down and caught sight of Christie, kneeling in front of her with a wide smile. "And who do we have here? Hi! I'm Eleanor." She greeted Christie, holding out her hand.
But instead of shaking Eleanor's hand, she grasped onto mine and buried her face in my arm, trying to hide from Eleanor. I knelt beside her and slowly pried her from my side so that she wasn't squished into my shirt. "It's okay Christie. Eleanor and Danielle want to help you too." I explained to her with a smile, rubbing her arm. She gave me a small smile in return and reached out to shake Eleanor's awaiting hand.
I lead Christie over to the couches and sat her down next to me with Dani and El on the other couch. "So, what we're going to do is get Paul to go outside and find your sister. Then she'll come in and get you and you can go home, yeah?" She nodded eagerly and clapped her hands. I smiled down at her before pulling my phone from my pocket and finding Paul's number.
I pressed the phone to my ear and waited for him to pick up, slightly aware of Eleanor making small talk with Christie. "Hi Amanda, what is it?" Paul's voice rang across the line, filled with worry. "Hey Paul. I need your help. I have a little girl here who lost her sister in the crowd outside and I need your help finding her." I explained, tapping my fingers impatiently on my knee.
"Alright. What does the sister look like?" He asked and I frowned slightly, looking over at Christie. "Hold on Paul, I'll ask her." I quickly replied before pressing the phone into my chest. "Hey Christie, we need to know what your sister looks like so we can find her." I told her and watched as a small frown adorned her face. "She has blonde hair like mine and she's tall and she is 16 and um...she's wearing a grey shirt that has sunglasses and a mustache on it." She gave me a run down, ticking off her sisters features off of her fingers. "Oh! And her name's Lily!"
I nodded before relaying the information to Paul over the phone. "Sure, I'll get straight to it." The line cut and I put my phone away, looking back at Christie. "Paul with find Lily and you're going to be all okay." Christie grinned and clapped her hands once again. "But for now you can sit and chat with us until we find her." I announced sinking into the couch beside her. "Thank you so much Amanda, you're the nicest person in the world." She whispered before cuddling into my side.
As I sat with Christie, I let my mind wander into its deepest thoughts. I wonder if Zayn and I would be together long enough to think about having a child of our own? Or would our relationship end because of me and my broken state? I guess I would just have to wait and see how the story of our love progressed, and I hope that it would be for the best for the both of us.
Zayn's Perspective
"So, we've called you in today to tell you about what will be happening over the next three weeks." Simon announced over our Skype call, earning a frown from me. We hadn't been told of any events that would be happening in the near future, so I had no idea as to what he was talking about.
Simon took a breath before he began to talk. "As you know, the Teens Choice Awards are coming up...along with the release of your new movie. So, due to their clashes, you guys will take off tomorrow for Las Angeles for three weeks. The first week you will be at the 'This Is Us' premier and then two weeks after that you'll have the Teens Choice Awards. We know it's a pain to be in America for three weeks, but we thought it inconvenient for you to go there, fly back and then go over again. So pack what you need and you'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
My mouth hung agape, shocked at what I had just been told. Three weeks?! Can they even do that?! "Hang on! I can't go now! I have things to work out with Amanda and leaving is only going to make it worse!" I exclaimed, panic threaded through my voice. Simons eyebrow raided at my outburst and I would have given anything in that moment to be able to crawl through the screen and punch him.
"Zayn, let us be realistic. You have two choices here; either stay back with your girlfriend that MIGHT not be with you in a years time, or go and pursue your CAREER that will last you a lifetime. I really think that you need to sort out your priorities and put your job ahead of a girl. Otherwise I will sort them out for you, and you know how I'll do it." Simons hard glare bore down on me and I had to contain myself from screaming out at him.
This was so unfair. It was not going to help matters with Amanda and I had literally JUST gotten her back. But I knew that I really didn't have much of a choice in this respect as Simon was the one who pulled the strings, and we were just his puppets. "That would be all boys. A car will be at your houses to pick you up at 8:00 AM and you will be expected to have your things ready. You are dismissed." He concluded before the screen went black.
I dropped my face into my hands and furiously exhaled, trying to remain calm. I could feel four pairs of eyes on me, and with a groan, I looked up to meet Harry's worried gaze. "Can you guys please not say anything in front of her about this? I want to tell her in private. It will soften the blow if she hears it from me and not from one of you." I asked, especially of Louis and Liam.
They nodded understandingly and gave me a sad smile whilst Niall pat my back from my left side. With a sigh, I rose from me seat and headed for the large doors, hearing four other pairs of feet do the same. I pushed through the door to find Amanda, Eleanor and Danielle clapping whilst the little girl from earlier danced in front of them. She finished with a bow, a large grin spread across her face and the girls went wild, clapping and cheering.
I smiled softly at Amanda, seeing how happy she was, how far she and I had come. But now I have to leave her, and I have no idea how that will affect our relationship. The girls still hadn't noticed us standing there, but as the little girl turned around, she caught sight of us, mouth dropping to hit the floor. "Oh my gosh! One direction!" She squealed, running over to us.
She jumped up to Niall, gripping at his waist and burning her head in his stomach. "This is so cool meeting you guys!" She swooned, moving on to hug Harry next. He laughed and pat her head before sending her on her way to hug Liam and Louis. She finally stopped in front if me, but instead of hugging me, she gestured with her little finger to stoop down to her level.
I laughed and knelt in front of her so that we were level with each other, allowing her to talk directly to me. She placed her small hands on my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye with a very serious face. "Amanda is a really nice girl. You have to look after her and if you don't and you break up, I'll stop liking you." She spoke seriously, eyes wide. I smiled and pulled her little body into me so I could cuddle her. "I'll look after her with everything I have." I whispered and she pulled back, giving me a wide smile.
"Miss Christie, your sister is here." I heard Paul announce. We all looked over to him and found a girl around the age of 16 standing beside him. I could tell she was Christie's sister as they looked exactly alike, and how they ran up to each other and hugged only confirmed my claims. "Oh, I was worried sick about you! Don't ever let go of my hand again." She lectured at her little sister, holding her at arms length.
Christie nodded before twisting from her sisters grip and pulling on her hand. "Come meet One Direction Lily, there really nice and so are their girlfriends!" She exclaimed happily, dragging her sister over to us. The next fifteen minutes or so was filled with signing shirts and merchandise, promising follows on twitter and posing for pictures. But for every minute that passed, all I could think about was how I was going to tell Amanda the news in a way that wouldn't break her heart.
"Alright Christie, I thinks it's about time we left the boys and their girlfriends alone and headed home, don't you think?" I heard Lily pipe up, and I literally let out a sigh of relief. "Awe, okay." Christie whined before coming up and giving us each a goodbye cuddle. She finally got to Amanda, and I could help but eavesdrop on what she whispered to her. "You're so amazing and so beautiful Amanda, and Zayn's so lucky to have you. Thank you so much for you're help, you're the nicest person in the world and I want to grow up to be just like you."
I watched as Amanda smiled before grasping the little girl to her, slightly rocking her side to side. "No Christie, I want to be just like you! You're the sweetest little girl and you're going to grow up and be an amazing person. I'm so lucky to have met you. Thank you so much." And with that and a one last small squeeze, Christie and her sister left, leaving a silence to hang above us all.
"I think we should all head on home too. I'm buggered and I guess we need some sleep." Liam announced with the underlying hint of our early trip tomorrow. I nodded and bid the boys goodbye before leaving the building with Amanda by my side. The crowd of fans had cleared from the parking lot and it was easy for us to get to my car and head home.
The ride was quiet with Amanda humming along to the din of the radio. I had a flashback to the first time she had ever been in my car and had also been humming along to the radio, only she was a complete different person back then. She was so much more stronger and confident now, and I think I loved her even more for it.
We finally arrived in front of our house and we silently made our way in. Without a word, we both kicked off our shoes and walked into the lounge room, sinking into the couch pillows. "Ahh, what a day! And it's only 4:00!" Amanda sighed beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder. But I barely paid any attention to her words, instead I was clenching and unclenching my hands, trying to think of the best way to tell her the news of our trip.
Amanda must've sensed my discomfort because she lifted her head to stare into my eyes with a puzzled gaze. "What is it Zayn? You seem very tense." She commented, sitting up so she could have a proper look at me. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath before connecting eyes with Amanda, ready to spill out the news.
"Amanda, today in the meeting, we were told that we have to go to America for our movie premier as well as the TCA's." I explained slowly, watching as she just nodded along with a confused smile. "That's great! Why are you so upset about that?" She asked with a frown, her beautiful smile still gracing her lips. Here we go. I inhaled deeply before twisting my face into one of pain. "I'm upset because...I'm gone for three weeks."
I watched as Amanda's smile dropped off her face and her eyes went wide, shock evident in her features. "Th-three weeks?" She whispered, frown creating deep creases in her forehead. I only nodded and grasped her hands in mine, squeezing them reassuringly. "You know I can't get out of this, but it doesn't mean we won't talk every day. You know I wouldn't do that to you." I spoke softly as she looked down and away from me.
I hooked my finger under her chin and forced her face up so I could look into her shining eyes. "Hey, don't be upset! Three weeks will pass in a blink of an eye!" I reassured her with a smile, earning a sarcastic scoff from her. "I only wish." She mumbled, pushing the ball of her hand into her eye to stop the threatening tears from spilling over. I pulled her hand away and ensured that she was looking into my eyes so could see what I was trying to tell her. "I'll be back before you know it Amanda, and you know that if you need anything, I'd be on the first plane back." I murmured, squeezing her hand that was still in mine.
She nodded and sniffed a little, letting a little laugh slide past her lips. I knew that words would not convey what I was trying to tell her, what I was feeling; they never would. So instead, I leant in and lightly brushed my lips against hers, only enough to leave a faint taste of her on my lips. Without hesitation, Amanda crushed her lips to mine, wrapping her hands in my hair and her legs around my waist.
I gripped her tightly to me, hand roaming her back and sides. As our tongues danced, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. I had just gotten her back and now I had to leave, and I really didn't know how long I would last without her there by my side.
With an aching heart but a happy one at that, I picked Amanda from the couch and carried her to our bedroom, gently placing her down on the bed. I slowly slid on top of her, covering her with my whole body as she continued to softly pull a my hair. I trailed kisses down her jaw before peppering her face with tiny kisses, earning a small giggle from the beautiful girl beneath me. "I'm gonna miss this so bad for those three weeks." She moaned with a pout.
I smiled and leant down to capture the offending lip in my teeth, softly pulling at it before letting it spring back to her mouth. She moaned again, only not in annoyance but in frustration and want. Crashing her mouth onto mine once again, she rolled us over so that she was laying across my chest, allowing me to knot my fingers in her long hair. "Can we just stay like this? Like we are right now?" She asked, pulling away and staring down at me. "I only wish we could. But then we'd miss out on our amazing future that we have ahead of us." I replied with a grin before attaching our lips again.
"Ever the philosophical one Zayn, aren't you babe?" She teased before I shut her up with a kiss. "Be quiet and just kiss me." I mumbled against he lips before she giggled and succumbed to my kisses and touches.
And I wish we could've stayed in that moment forever, because life is a roller coaster...and what goes up must come down.
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AUTHORS NOTE
What happens after Zayn leaves? Will everything remain fine between Amanda and Zayn, or will something tear them apart?
FINALLY UPDATED!! It took me so long, I know, but I had a HEAP of assignments and assessments and I really had to focus on them.
But, rest assured, I'm going on holidays and will be writing like crazy for you guys!
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Thank you so much and I love you loads!!
Catherine
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