zayn's pov
Everyone chats energetically around the bonfire, leaving me alone to sulk by myself, staring into the ashy pit of bonfire remains.
Though if you asked me why I was so upset, I couldn't give you a straight answer. I'm not entirely sure myself. There's just something about Linley's tweet that made my stomach drop. I shouldn't be all that surprised, that's exactly something Linley would say.
It's not like I there's even the slimmest possibility of the two of us ever dating. That just would never happen. So when Linley says that she's never ever going to date someone, I shouldn't even blink an eye.
Unfortunately that's not the case...
From across the bonfire, I catch the eyes of Sable, who seems to have been waiting for me to look in her general direction. After our long conversation last night, I can't help but to feel rather bonded with the girl. She sort of understands me in a way I never expected her to.
Ever-so-slightly the corners of her lips tug downwards as she slowly shakes her head, giving me a complete 'i told you so' look. It takes me a moment to process the meaning behind her expression.
She still believes that Linley's going to break my heart.
Snorting, I roll my eyes, looking away from Sable with a bitter glare, returning my attention to the deceased fire still gently exuding smoke from the pit.
Minutes pass and I'm stuck staring into the fire, caught in my own thoughts. Though I can't help but to notice that Linley isn't even phased. She's laughing loudly as she talks with Niall - whom she seems to be warming up to rather quickly. The two of them joke around as if they're old mates.
The peacefulness among the whole group is shattered as a loud voice booms from across the camping site,
"LINLEY! SABLE!"
Everyone falls silent as our heads snap in the direction of the shout. I catch a glimpse of Linley's face before my gaze follows everyone else's. Linley obviously recognizes the voice, for her face pales immediately.
Storming in our direction is a tall, lanky man with bright ginger hair. I can't help but to furrow my eyebrows together, not recognizing the incredibly angry man in the slightest.
"Oh shit," Linley mutters beneath her breath.
"What the fuck were you two thinking?" He continues to scream at the top of his lungs as he approaches our campsite.
Shock ripples across all of our faces. I twist around to give Linley a concerned look, knowing very well that a girl like her could easily snag the attention of crazy old men.
"It's my manager," She hisses back to me as she gets to her feet, Sable following her lead.
I get to my feet as well - partly because Linley forced me to my feet with her handcuffed wrist, but mostly because I'm not going to let some man shout at her like that. I don't care who he is.
"Did you two drink so much that you gave yourself brain damage? Because that's the only explanation I can come up with to figure out why the hell you thought it would be okay to bring this random idiot on stage with you!" Linley's manager steps towards her, spit flying from his mouth in his fit of rage.
Linley goes to open her mouth, a nervous expression on her face, but I cut her off. I've never met such an asshole before, not in my entire life.
"Excuse me?" I step between the two of them, getting in his face as well.
His expression gets only angrier after the moment of shock of my interruption wears off. He stares me down, as if he could intimidate me enough to get me to cower beneath him. Fat chance.
"I think you've done enough, haven't you, pretty boy?" He spits at me, looking at me as if I were vermin beneath his shoe, "Sable, I'm not sure how you managed to let this happen. I would expect something like this to come from a careless little child like Linley, but from you?" He turns to give Sable a disappointed look.
My eyes widen as I look back at the lads in disbelief. They all wear looks of pure outrage as well, especially Niall - who confirms my suspicion that he's become quite fond of Linley. I can feel the hatred boiling in my chest at this man, making me actually physically warm.
Sable stutters over her words as she stands beside Linley, watching her manager with wide, fearful eyes. Not being able to stand it a moment longer, I step back in front of the two girls, getting further in this prick's face.
"Listen here," I growl, "I don't care who the fuck you are, but you have no right to talk to them like that," I enunciate clearly, just to be sure he hears every fucking word I say.
That definitely takes him by surprise. He blinks stupidly at me, his mouth held wide open, making him appear even more stupid than he did before. No one says a word behind us - all clearly too afraid to even make a sound.
It takes him a moment to process what just happened, but when he does, his face flushes to a deep scarlet as his eyes narrow into deadly slits. I can feel Linley taking a step backwards from behind me; a smart move.
"I don't know how in the hell Linley managed to bring you into this - that's low for even her - but this does not involve you. So if you could just get the hell out of my way so I can talk to my client," He says, raising his voice even louder than it was before, something I didn't think possible.
He stares at me as if I were the biggest idiot in the world, blinking his eyes in a condescending manner, adding insult on top of insult.
Feeling the volcano that was rumbling in my chest erupt, my instincts take over. My brain shuts off and my body works. In a matter of seconds, my fist is connecting with his nose, earning a satisfying crunch before he falls to the ground in a wounded heap.
I've never felt so relieved before.
A chorus of gasps trickles behind me as I slowly float back down to reality. The grown man screams as he holds his nose, blood trickling through his fingertips.
My heart beings to catch up with my actions, pounding at a million miles per hour. I turn around to look at Linley, who stares at me with a wide smile spread across her face.
Quickly I grab hold of her hand and take off running, practically dragging her behind me.
"What are you doing?" She asks, though judging by the tone of her voice, she really doesn't care all that much where I'm dragging her and that gives me an odd feeling of happiness in my gut.
"I'd rather not be handcuffed to him too," I glance over my shoulder to flash her a cheeky smile.
Both of us listen as her manager shouts after us, but we are quick to disappear into the busy bustle that is the festival.
* * * *
Linley and I continue to zoom through the festival grounds, weaving in and out of crowds of people, moving far too quickly for them to recognize us. Laughter bubbles from Linley's chest, causing me to join her.
We race around the stages, trying our best to find a good place to hide out for a few moments until her manager calms down. The backstage area is still as frantic and busy as it had been yesterday before Linley's performance.
Linley's hand feels so soft in my own grip. I don't dare let go of her, even though it would be physically impossible for me to lose her. I can't help but to notice how perfectly her petite little hand feels inside of mine.
Once we get stuck in the middle of all the behind the scenes action, Linley takes control, being the one to drag me around. She continues to sneak glances at me over her shoulder, giving me momentarily glimpses of that beautiful smile of hers.
I'd be lying if I said that her smile didn't affect me deep in the pit of my gut.
"Look over there!" Linley hisses to me, pointing a dainty little finger in the direction of the backstage equipment, an area that looks like a jumbled mess.
Not even giving me a moment to give it a good look, Linley is pulling me behind her as she swiftly darts in between people and boxes of equipment. Me, being not nearly as small and dainty as her, struggles to keep up with her.
I awkwardly bump into things, having to mutter quick apologies to the several people I nearly knock over. Linley doesn't pay attention whatsoever, whatever it is that she has her mind on, she's going for it.
"Perfect," She grins over her shoulder as we approach a small - and when I say small I mean capable of containing a person as small as Linley and that's about it - nook between a large stack of backup speakers and the wall of the entire stage.
Giving my hand a squeeze, she squeezes inside the small little opening. I stare at her with blank eyes, not quite sure if she's joking around of if she's actually serious.
But judging by her impatient stare, it's the latter.
"There's no way in hell we're going to fit," I shake my head.
Linley opens her mouth to say something when we hear in the distance,
"LINLEY!"
Her manager's incredibly distinctive shout echoes in the distance, causing us both to stare at one another in complete shock.
"C'mon!" She hisses, giving my hand a tug, forcing me to squeeze in beside her in the small, cramped little place.
My body presses against Linley's in the tight enclosed space. Her head reaches to my chest, forcing her to strain her neck upwards in order to look me in the eyes. I can feel her hot breath against the bare flesh of my chest that peeks out of my flannel.
The summer's blazing heat is multiplied by a hundred times in this small space, probably due to the body heat we're generating.
That's why I'm not sure if I feel all warm from the inside out because of the sticky summer heat, or if it's because I can literally feel Linley's heart beating against me.
Neither of us move a muscle, instead we stare into each other's eyes, afraid that if we move a muscle it'll blow our cover. The tingle of energy radiating between the two of us makes my knees wobbly. I thank god that there's not enough room for me to faint in here.
"Linley!" Her manager screams, now sounding much further away, in the opposite direction of where we're hiding.
We both let out a sigh of relief, allowing our breath to intermingle with one another's. Letting out a breathy laugh, she momentarily rests her head against my chest as she calms down from that terrifying situation we just lucked out of.
The moment her soft cheek touches the warm, sweaty flesh of my chest, I feel as if the air had been sucked from my lungs. I close my eyes for a second as I try and think clearly, feeling my mind turn to mush with a single touch by her.
I have no idea what the hell Linley is doing to me...
"That was close," She whispers, her voice sounding like a mixture of silk and velvet, smooth and inviting and just the tiniest tone of seduction behind her words.
I can't even form words, not with Linley's body pressed against mine and her breath against my skin and her eyes upon my face. So instead I simply nod, looking like a complete idiot. But at least it causes Linley's smile to grow.
I'd do anything to see that smile spread across that face of hers and I have no idea why...
"Thank you for that, by the way," She says, her eyes falling away from mine, glued to the buttons on my flannel as if they were the most interesting thing the world.
Hearing her say thank you and acting all embarrassed by it causes my smile to shine brightly. I do all I can to keep myself from laughing, knowing that she wouldn't hesitate to take back her thank you.
"Is he always like that?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows together, thanking my lucky stars that our tour managers aren't assholes like that guy.
She looks up to me, crinkling her nose in concentration for a fraction of a moment before meeting my gaze once again.
"Not really, I dunno..." She shrugs her shoulders ever-so-slightly, "He's just very serious about our jobs. He's kind of like me," She frowns, relating it all back to her and her anxiety to make sure her career runs smoothly.
That causes me to frown as well, wanting nothing more than to push her hair off her shoulder and wrap her in my arms, just to let her know that everything will be okay.
But I don't. Instead I promise her,
"You're nothing like him."
Though her face doesn't completely transform out of her saddened state, I see a flicker of appreciation light up her dark eyes. The corner of her lips curves up just in the slightest, giving her this adorable crooked smile.
Once my attention is brought upon her lips, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, to the point that I'm sure Linley can feel it as well. Her lips appear so soft and delicate. I just need to know if it's as soft as the rest of her body. And the only way to know is if I press my own lips to them.
They're such a soft shade of pink and so natural. They're not hidden beneath layers of lipstick or that sticky gloss. They're so warm and inviting.
I try incredibly hard - almost the point of mental exhaustion - to stop thinking about how wonderful Linley's lips would feel against my own. I look up to her dark eyes watching me carefully, but my eyes can't help but to wander back down to her plump lips.
The tension in the air acts as a gravitational force. I can feel Linley and I getting closer and closer with every waking moment. Soon her warm breath isn't heating my chest, but my face as well. I can feel our breathing creating a system.
I inhale as she exhales, allowing all of that air that fills her up to enter inside my own mouth. I've never been so aware of everything happening and yet so blind at the same time. It's as if I have blinders on, but also received super vision at that same instant.
Linley's eyes flicker from my eyes back to my lips as well, assuring me that my thoughts aren't alone in this small space.
I can feel the warmth from her face radiating against mine as the space between us disintegrates. I close my eyes, holding my breath as I wait for the soft silky lips of her's to grace my own.
"I have to pee," Linley blurts instead. My eyes shoot open just in time to see her somehow weaseling her way around me to take off out of the hiding place and back into reality.
Realization hits me, making me feel so, so, so incredibly stupid. I can't believe I nearly just kissed Linley. What in the hell has gotten into me?
But my embarrassment doesn't even compare to the amount of disappointment resting in the pit of my gut.
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an: did i fool any of you guys? sorry i'm such a tease! haha but it appears things are starting to heat up, eh?
this chapter is dedicated to @OnlyGodCanJudgeMe888 bc she always leaves such enthusiastic comments on all the chapters! thank you!
bet you know what's coming next? yep, if you guessed me failing to show my appreciation, you would be correct. ldaskfsda just thanks for the comments guys, keep them coming! <3
love always,
perksofbeingaweirdo