ten- explore
song for this chapter: "portrait 19" by The Paper Kites
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It was only a day since Iris had first smiled, but it seemed like everything changed. The house seemed like it had been filled with this glorious light that made Zayn forget his troubles. He couldn't seem to stop smiling, and it seemed the same with Iris.
He didn't regret telling Iris that she was beautiful: how could he tell himself any different? Zayn knew that she needed to hear it more than anything, but he found some thrill in telling her.
Zayn had just returned from his walk, and was waiting patiently in his room for Iris to come back. Once again he had had no luck with a ride home, but he found that he didn't mind as much as he would've yesterday.
The back door closed, and Zayn suddenly sat up, his hair kind of a mess from constantly twisting and turning in his bed, waiting for the moment when Iris would come back home.
Iris appeared at the doorway, and gave him a small, shy smile. "How long were you waiting?"
Zayn shrugged, and smiled back. "Not long at all."
"I'll go prepare lunch, then." Iris proclaimed suddenly, and Zayn could hear her walking down the hallway. He shook his head, mumbling things about how unusual she was.
He waited a little while before joining her in the kitchen, not wanting to make her feel awkward, which Zayn realised he did often, without meaning to, of course. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair as he walked in, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he watched Iris.
She was cutting up pieces of cucumber, a grin on her face, like cutting cucumber made her the happiest person in the world. Her fingers moved skilfully, and didn't miss a beat.
Iris looked up, and Zayn realised he had been caught in his act of staring. He blushed red and sat down at the table, looking at her through his unusually long eyelashes. Iris had started to hum.
Before long a plate filled with salad was placed before him, and Zayn looked up, giving Iris a still rather embarrassed smile. She sat down, and started to eat, looking at him.
"What?" Zayn asked, feeling uncomfortable.
"Why are you so embarrassed? You were blushing for five minutes." She said, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Was not." Zayn mumbled, moving the lettuce around with his fork.
"Zayn, I was looking right at you." Iris said pointedly.
"I don't know." He said, wishing fervently to divert the conversation away from the fact that he was staring at her. Well, more accurately, admiring her, wanting to never forget her face.
Zayn never wanted to forget her.
They ate in silence, and Zayn could feel Iris still looking at him, but he wasn't going to look up, not yet, anyway-
"I think it's time." Iris said simply.
"Time?" Zayn repeated.
"Yes, it's time."
"Time for what, may I ask?" Zayn said, watching as a smile started to come onto Iris' face.
"It's time for you to work." Iris said, standing up and taking over their empty plates to the counter.
Zayn looked at her, confused. "Uh, what do you mean, work?"
Iris rolled her eyes at him. "Like helping me do things around the farm. I'll start you off with simple things, and then build you up to the heavier tasks."
He never thought that he would have to do work whilst he was here, but he supposed that working could be his way of earning his keep. He had read a lot of books, and working would mean doing something productive, which Zayn was craving.
"You ready to start?"
Zayn followed her out the back, and she grabbed two buckets, handing them to him.
"For today, I just want you to get water from the river, and put it in the tank."
"Where's the tank?" Zayn asked, looking around him in confusion, seeing no tank.
Iris started to walk to the left, and he followed her, the empty buckets hitting his shins and making him wince. They went around the side of the house, and sitting there was a massive steel tank, with a huge lid on the top.
"That's... big." Zayn said weakly.
"It shouldn't take you too long, but take as much time as you need." Iris said, shifting from foot to foot, as if she was eager to be gone.
"Well, I better get started then." Zayn said, smiling slightly.
Iris smiled, and Zayn felt all his reservations about working float away. "You better."
The river was on the other side of the house, the tank inconveniently placed as far away from the river as possible. But Zayn didn't grumble, and trudged down to the river, filling the buckets with as much water as he could carry.
He huffed as he lifted the heavy buckets, and began the long walk back to the tank. He was already sweating horribly when he poured the two buckets into the tank, and groaned as he saw that it was nowhere near full.
He spent half of the afternoon trudging back and forth, his back and arms starting to ache from the intense exercise he was doing. Sometimes he saw Iris, and that made him smile goofily, giving him a little spring in his step.
By the end, Zayn was covered in sweat, and was splayed on the ground, panting as he stared up at the sky. He didn't think that he had done something so gruelling in his life, other than that particular walk up the hill.
"Are you alright, Zayn?"
Zayn grinned, and craned his neck to look at Iris. "I'm dandy."
"I can see." Iris said, making him chuckle. He stood up with some effort, and saw Iris standing there, her arms crossed.
"Have you finished your work?" Zayn asked.
"Yes, there was little to do today." Iris said, shrugging her shoulders. She paused, and looked out to the forest. "Do you want to go exploring?"
"Why not?" Zayn replied, earning him a grateful smile from Iris. They slowly started to walk into the forest, not wanting to rush. Zayn walked close to her, taking every chance to glance at her when she wasn't looking.
"I leave markers on the trees, so I know where I have ventured before. I seldom stray too far from the farm, in the rare case that I get lost. But I've always wanted to know what lies beyond the borders of my knowledge." Iris sighed.
"Trust me, not all the things out there are that great." Zayn said, in a feeble attempt to reassure her.
Iris smiled and shook her head. "There are so many things I don't know, Zayn. I admit it freely with no shame. Sometimes I lie in bed and I just wish that when I woke up I wasn't here, that I could be anywhere else."
He was surprised at how upset she was getting, but he supposed he understood, though for much less understandable reasons than hers. Sometimes he just wanted to get away from the fame that haunted him, rendering him unable to do anything.
"Well," Zayn started nervously, "Maybe one day I'll take you places, I'll show you all that you wish to see."
Zayn knew it was a big promise to make, but he wanted to keep it. He knew that Iris couldn't stay here for the rest of her life, and quite frankly he wouldn't bear leaving her here by herself.
"Really?" She said quietly.
Zayn smiled at her. "Really."
They continued to walk in silence, not really needing to speak. Zayn took in every single detail, noting the beauty that was around him, making him wonder how he was going to survive when he got back. How could he deal with hotel rooms, interiors of planes, long car drives on boring highways, after seeing all of this?
Nothing would be the same when he got back. He realised that his disappearance was probably world news, and could imagine how everyone would be looking for him. The thought bothered him, mainly because of the way that his family would be worrying, and the boys. But he was giving the media exactly what they wanted: a big, juicy story on how Zayn Malik ran away after his fiancée broke up with him for reasons still unknown.
"Here is the edge of what I know."
Zayn snapped out of his reverie, and looked around him. The trees had started to thin out, but other than that it seemed like the part of the forest that they had been walking in before.
"My father once told me that beyond these trees there were wild animals that would kill me if I came close. Even now I am weary to explore them." Iris admitted.
He looked at her, and said seriously. "I'll protect you."
Iris only smiled, not looking at him. "I know you would."
They stepped forward, and for a moment Zayn felt like wrapping his hand around hers, just to make sure that she was there. He gulped and ignored the feeling, though every part of his body was screaming at him.
"What do you think is out there?" Zayn asked, his voice cracking slightly.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it's not something so scary after all. Maybe my father was trying to protect me from the outside world." Iris said quietly.
"Why didn't you leave?" Zayn said, and Iris stopped, looking at him sadly.
"I could never leave."
He sensed that there was something else going on that held her back, because she often talked about what she had read in books, and how she longed to see the city lights, see the bustle of people around her, instead of only seeing trees, sheep and cows.
There were only a few trees surrounding them now, and not too far in the distance Zayn could see a sea of green. It looked off, but Zayn couldn't seem to figure out why it didn't all fit together, it was just-
"Zayn!"
Iris had been walking a step in front of him, and in that moment he could see Iris falling. He thought of nothing else but grabbing her, not thinking of his own safety, only thinking of her.
Zayn grabbed her by the waist and jerked her away from the edge, making them both fall down onto the dirt, Iris lying on top of him. They were both gripping onto each other tightly, Zayn's heart palpitating in the worst way.
"Zayn, you, I-" Iris stuttered, her fingers digging into him, her face buried into his broad chest.
"Shh, it's ok, I've got you." Zayn murmured into her hair, though he could never forget the amount of fear that rushed through his body at that moment. Already he felt the pain of losing her, even when she was not yet lost.
They both were unable to let go of each other for a long time. Zayn could feel Iris shaking in his arms, and he didn't want to let go of her. He just wanted to keep her safe.
Eventually, Zayn helped Iris stand up, and she walked away from the edge, hugging herself tightly. He gulped and cautiously looked over, wondering if they had been overreacting-
He had not. If Iris had fallen, she would have certainly fallen to her death. It seemed unusual to have a cliff here, but he understood why Iris' father would want to keep her away from here. He shivered as he thought about what could have happened.
Zayn turned away, and without saying a word, the pair walked back up to the house. He wanted to hold her again, but she had become distant all of a sudden, keeping a good metre distance between them.
She made dinner for him and after eating her own, she disappeared into her room. Zayn didn't try to talk to her, and instead went to bed early, lying on top of his covers. He stared at the ceiling for a long time.
Zayn figured it was around midnight when he heard a gentle tap at his door. He got up and opened it, squinting slightly as a small light appeared.
"Iris?" Zayn muttered. "What's wrong?"
His eyes had now adjusted to the light, and he could see her standing there, hair let out, eyes wide. She looked almost nervous.
"I never said thank you." She mumbled.
Zayn immediately started shaking his head, opening his mouth to speak, but she cut him off by placing a sweet, lingering kiss on his left cheek.
"Thank you for saving my life, Zayn. I'll never forget it." She whispered, their faces inches apart. "Never."
Iris walked away, the dark returning to the corridor. Zayn could only stare at where Iris had been, wanting to run after her and-
And what, kiss her? his mind scoffed, like the idea was idiotic, insane. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, maybe he was just attracted to her and had no idea what he wanted. Maybe it would be a mistake.
But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, either.
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So, Sara is coming home today so this will be the last time I am updating for her, haha I know you're all cheering because you're getting rid of me ;)
But it has been an honor to upload such well written, beautiful chapters for all you lovely readers. And Sara is my bestfriend, so I want to thank all of you for all your comments and everything you do for Sara, because she really deserves it, and I am so happy that you all love this story as much as Sara loves writing it (and I love editing it hehe). Thankyou so so so much, and ily x
This chapter is dedicated to @Liz101500 for her super sweet comments and support, Thankyou!
Farewell lovelies,
Chloe x