Z A Y N J A W A A D M A L I K
"How far does your family live from here?"
"Not too far away," Zayn's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, as the car zoomed forward on the empty highway. "Why?"
Caden faltered, glancing away. "Nothing."
He raised an eyebrow, but decided not to press on the subject. Instead, he picked up his phone and opened the Pandora app, selecting a popular playlist so the songs could come at a random. A upbeat, pop song which Zayn didn't recognize began to play and Caden exlaimed, "I love this song!"
"I've never heard of it, but I'm not surprised," Zayn muttered, but proceeded to listen to it. It was one of the typical popular songs of today, but he had to admit, he sort of liked it. He glanced at Caden in the rearview mirror again, and rolled his eyes when he saw her passionately lip synching to the song, using her cell phone as a microphone.
"I'm feeling drunk and high, so highhh, so high-"
Caden began to sing a little too loudly, but it wasn't all that bad. Zayn watched, amused, as she flicked her hair back and forth, a grin on her lips as the beat dropped. She froze when she saw that he was watching her, and an embarrassed flush crept onto her cheeks.
"Hi," she giggled, before straightening. "Sorry. That song sort of makes me go crazy."
"Yeah, I could tell."
A silence fell between them with only the song playing, and Zayn heard Caden's curious voice break it. "Why do you work so hard?"
Zayn opened his mouth, then shut it. "What do you mean?"
"You finished high school at fifteen, attended Stanford early on a special scholarship program and got a business degree at nineteen, and here you are at twenty, already earning big bucks," Caden said slowly, her gaze fixed on his face, like she was captivated by what she was framing in her mind. Zayn listened closely to every word she said. "I just, don't understand what motivates you to work this hard. Don't you wish for the typical life? Why do you want to miss out on all the best things in life? It must suck."
Zayn tightened his grip on the steering wheel, a little offended. "I think you keep on forgetting that my family never had money growing on trees, Caden. We all can't be spoiled, rich brats, can we?"
As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Caden's expression fell, and she leaned away from him, clearly stung. It wasn't only what he said, it was also the way he said it. Harsh and so brutally cold.
"What I meant was-"
"I know what you meant," she interrupted him, her head turned and eyes fixed on the window. "I get it."
He swallowed guiltily, as their car neared a red light. He slowed down, and drummed his fingers uncomfortably against the wheel. "I'm sorry...?"
She didn't look at him when she responded, her voice sharp. "Please don't just apologize. You're right."
He wanted to tell her that she really wasn't, but he was unsure whether or not he should continue the subject or not. Instead, he very smoothly changed the topic. "I don't get why you want to change your clothes so bad, they look fine."
"I'm a rich, spoiled brat," Caden muttered, still not looking at him. "I can't stay in one outfit for too long."
She wasn't going to let this go, and Zayn knew it. He decided to let the awkward silence engulf them and just drove, until he forgot where they were going.
Did they really have to go to his parent's house so Caden could change her outfit? The thought was so ridiculous to him, and he had no idea why he had suggested it in the first place. Besides, Caden wasn't exactly a spoiled brat, but she definitely needed to be exposed to the not-so-good life too. Zayn took in a breath.
"Change of plans. We're not visiting my parents," he muttered, before violently jerking the steering wheel to the right and the car violently swerved to the right into exit 34. Caden let out a squeal of surprise as she grabbed the dashboard to hold on as the car took a jerky U-turn. "We're going straight to Aaron McCarthy, to your "fiance", so we can finally get out of this mess."
"And who gave you the permission to change plans?" Caden snapped. She seemed to be annoyed at him. For some freaky, messed up reason, Zayn found it kinda hot.
"Nobody gave me permission. I'm doing it for your good," he responded, as the car pulled into a narrow lane which would take them to Manhattan- where Aaron McCarthy lived. Zayn knew this only because he had been to his overrated apartment a couple of times on business parties. It wouldn't be too difficult to just tip the lobby doorman with a couple of bucks and go up there. Caden scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Right, because you know what's good for me and what's not."
"Caden," Zayn said slowly. "I'm sorry about calling you a rich, spoilt brat. You're not one."
She ignored him and decided to stare out the window with a scowl on her face instead. He bit his lip as the car zoomed forward on the highway. This was going to be one awkward car ride.
-x-
Being in Manhattan was a risky idea, because they could have been caught very easily if anyone spotted them. But as Zayn drove into the parking lot of a high five apartment complex which probably costed about a million dollars to rent, he couldn't help but be fascinated by how fancy everything was. Caden, who was still ignoring him, seemed to be used to being in such posh places, as she stared at everything with a bored expression on her face.
Unsurprisingly, the doorman gave the two of them a once over before letting them in, probably recognizing Zayn from before. Zayn gave him a professional nod as they walked into the lobby of the complex and finally, Caden turned towards him. "So we're just going to walk into his house? For someone so smart, you're really stupid."
Zayn rolled her eyes as the elevator doors slid open and they walked into it. Zayn clicked the sixth floor button with a finger before turning to her. "Aaron McCarthy is a cool dude. He'll understand and he'll get you out of this mess."
She slowly nodded, and suddenly Zayn felt very guilty.
-x-
C A D E N L A U R E N S M I T H
As the elevator slowly rose, Caden pressed a hand to her temple to massage it. She suddenly was getting a bad feeling about this.
But then, cause she was stupid and hormonal, her eyes met Zayn's hazel ones and the bad feeling vanished from the pit of her stomach at once. His eyes were so deep and soothing. Believable. Honest. Soulful.
Wait, Caden almost forgot that she was mad at him for calling her a rich, spoilt brat. How dare he.
Annoyance seeped into her as his word repeated themselves in her mind, but she was more annoyed at herself that she was letting him affect her so much. She had heard worse from people she knew much longer than she knew Zayn, but their harsh words didn't sting as much as his did.
God. She was so stupid.
The elevator dinged as it reached the sixth floor, which seemed to be Aaron McCarthy's floor. Her fiancé. The twenty three year old son of McCarthy Investors. The party king. The carefree rich kid. It made more sense if Zayn had called him a spoilt brat, but he decided to call Caden one instead. Wow.
Caden sucked her breath in, almost anticipating it. What if Zayn was right? What if Aaron did help her get out of this mess? She looked at Zayn who was staring at the elevator doors, waiting for them to slide open, and she felt a spark of affection in her chest. She couldn't imagine where she would have been if she hadn't bumped into him. He had saved her freaking life.
Caden exhaled shakily as the doors began to slide open, and Zayn turned to look at her. "It's okay," he whispered. "You're safe now."
As the elevator doors slid completely open, and Caden followed Zayn out of it. He wordlessly walked down the lavish hallway to a specific apartment and knocked twice on the door.
Zayn took a breath in. "Caden, this is for your good," he breathed out. Confused, she blinked at him before the apartment door opened. That was when Caden got the biggest shock of her life as she stared right at the person standing in front of them in Aaron McCarthy's apartment- her mother.
Caden's eyes widened in horror as she took a step back, her heart lurching in her chest. Zayn walked forward, shaking Mrs. Smith's hand. They knew each other? Caden's head was spinning as she watched her mother embrace Zayn. What the hell. This couldn't be happening. A dream. That was it.
"I got your text," said a voice from inside the apartment and a tall, attractive blond stepped out. Caden recognized him from his model features immediately. Aaron. He gave Zayn a fist bump. "Thanks bro. You're the best."
Caden couldn't speak- she just stared at Zayn in horror and he gave her a nod. "For your own good," he repeated and suddenly everything went black.
-x-
I haven't updated in so long cus I'm a shitass human being
Also plot twist??