fourteen- lambent
song for this chapter: "everybody knows" by Avalanche City
>>><<<
Another week passed, and whilst there was some rain, the start of the week proved to be smouldering hot. Zayn could barely cope with the heat as he worked, and he could tell that Iris wasn't doing too well either.
He was now lying on the floor, Iris splayed out on the couch. On the ground he found some relief, but not much. The wooden floors had been cool when he lay down, but now they were the same temperature as everything else: hot.
"Is it ever this hot in London?" Iris asked, fanning herself with her hands.
"Never." He replied, chuckling slightly.
"I wish it were winter." Iris sighed, and Zayn silently agreed. He wished he could have the rain back, have the cool winds swirling around his face, the sky stormy grey and full of excitement and awe.
There hadn't been any lightening since the first time it rained, though Zayn wished there had. Iris seemed a little uneasy at the mention of it, and when he thought about it logically, he supposed he wouldn't want any lightening either.
Sweat covered him, making his clothes cling to him uncomfortably. Every breath felt like it took way more physical effort than usual, even though he was spread out on the ground.
"We need to do something." Zayn muttered, frowning as he tried to think of something that would give them some temporary relief.
"Why don't we go down to the river?" Iris asked suddenly, and Zayn smacked his forehead.
"Of course! How come I didn't think of that earlier?" He mumbled, and then smiled largely at Iris. "Great idea."
"I will meet you outside." Iris said, giving him a heart-twisting smile.
Zayn tried to calm himself down, but his heart wouldn't stop beating faster than usual. He walked outside, hiding under the shade of the house. The heat was just as unbearable outside, and he could see Lilac laying down underneath the shade of a tree.
He thought of the car, sitting in the sweltering heat. He hadn't walked down to the car in a couple of days now, and it surprised him how much he didn't mind.
If Zayn was being honest with himself, then he was scared to go back. He was scared of the consequences, he was scared of the media and what they would say. He was scared about how his life would turn out, and he was scared for Liam.
"Zayn?"
He snapped out of his reverie, turning to face Iris. She had changed into a black singlet top, with grey shorts. Her hair was tied back, and she was looking worriedly at Zayn.
"Are you alright?" Iris asked.
Zayn smiled at her, trying to dismiss the dark thoughts that clouded his mind. "I just can't wait to get in the water."
A tentative smile came on her face, and they started walking towards the river, a silence enveloping them. Zayn let a long breath escape from his lips, and tried to think of the cool water on his skin.
He began to grin when he saw the river, and before he could even take his top off, he felt Iris brushing past him, and saw her running into the water, a loud laugh escaping her.
Gulping, Zayn tried to not stare at her as she pulled her hair out of her ponytail, her now wet hair splaying over her tanned shoulders. She gracefully dived underneath the water, and he turned away, his heart beating painfully fast in his chest.
Why was it so hard to look at her without wanting to-
"Zayn, don't just stand there, get in here!"
Zayn looked back, and saw Iris swimming, looking at him with wide eyes, her lips pulled up into a brilliant smile. He felt his cheeks go red, and pulled his shirt off, throwing it in the dirt. Suddenly feeling rather self-conscious, he slowly entered the water.
Iris was watching him, her eyes travelling over him unashamedly. The water was up to his waist, and was pleasantly cool. After a moment of hesitation, he plugged his nose with his fingers and slid under the water.
He nearly inhaled a whole heap of water when he went under, but remembered to keep his mouth firmly shut. He opened his eyes and could see Iris' blurry outline close to him.
Gasping as Zayn rose from the water, he shook his head, strands of his hair plastering to his face. A smile was lighting his face, and he immediately looked for Iris.
She had swum a little further down the river, lying on her back, her arms and legs spread out. In the dappled sunlight, her skin held a little glow and even her wet blonde hair seemed to glimmer.
Zayn waded over to her, pushing his hair out of his face. He stopped a little way from Iris, and saw that she was looking at him, her lips turned into a tiny smile.
"It is so much better in here, is it not?" Iris sighed happily, standing up partially, most of her body submersed in the water, droplets of water falling from her face.
"A lot better." He agreed, looking around him. "It's so peaceful out here."
"It's a lot nicer when you have someone to share it with." Iris said, making Zayn look back at her, the warmth spreading through his body at her simple yet heart-attack inducing words.
"Do you know how to swim?" She asked, and Zayn chuckled.
"No, I don't." He said, pushing his wet hair away from his face again. "I was never meant for the water."
"You look like a swimmer." Iris said thoughtfully, once again her eyes looking over his chest, the broad expanse of his shoulders. "Well you're not too tall, but you're strong and have got broad shoulders."
"I'll show you my version of swimming." Zayn said, making Iris smile and move away a little.
What the hell are you doing? his mind said slyly. Trying to impress her, are we?
Impress Iris? No, he wasn't doing that. It was just some silly little game, maybe just a little joke to get her to smile, because seeing Iris smile could make his day.
Zayn did a little dive under the water, and started to paddle his arms, like he had seen when watching the Olympics or other people swim. He kept his mouth shut and eyes wide open, but he could already tell that he'd maybe moved only a measly little metre.
As his lungs were beginning to scream for air, he stuck his head out of the water, panting as did so. That action had made him feel fatigued, which really showed that despite how much his stamina had improved outside the water, it really didn't do any wonders for him in the water.
The sounds of Iris' laughter filled his ears, and he looked around, finally seeing her standing behind him, one hand covering her mouth as she struggled to keep her laughter in.
"Oh Zayn." She said between a fit of laughter. "You are so adorable."
Zayn turned bright red. "It can't have been that bad."
Iris shook her head. "It was so much worse than bad." She giggled.
Zayn chuckled, knowing that he probably looked like somebody drowning instead of someone attempting to swim. "I told you I couldn't swim properly, you must have had some idea."
She was beaming, still laughing slightly to herself. She waded over to him, and threw her arms around his neck, making Zayn nearly fall back into the water.
"You don't know how happy I am that you are here." Iris said softly, and Zayn had the sense to hug her back, his heart palpitating and every part of his body aware that Iris' skin was against his, that she was in his arms.
Iris leant back a little, looking at the array of tattoos inked across his chest and arms. Unhooking one arm from behind his neck, she let her fingers brush over the tattoos, making Zayn shiver slightly, goosebumps rising on his arms.
It was in that moment, with Iris in his arms, her fingers in a way caressing his skin, her naturally pink lips pulled into a smile that never failed to make his heart start to beat erratically, that he realised.
Zayn loved Iris, and no, not just as a friend. He loved her with an intensity that scared him, but he knew that if he could kiss her now, he would do it.
As this realisation rushed over him, he squeezed his eyes shut for one moment, knowing that being this close to her was such a bad idea, and having these types of feelings for her was just as bad. His heart already ached at the thought of leaving her.
"Your heart is beating quickly." Iris said, pressing her ear to his chest, her green eyes looking up at him innocently.
"Uh, well." Zayn said, unable to think of any sane reason why he was close to having cardiac arrest.
Iris flashed him a large smile, and suddenly spun around and dived into the water, leaving Zayn there, unsure what to do with himself, how to continually act normal around Iris now that he knew.
He followed after her, noticing the water slowly getting higher as they got deeper into the middle of the river. Iris was now treading water, some blonde strands of hair stuck to her smiling face.
"Come out here, I'll teach you how to tread water." Iris called, and Zayn hesitated.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"Well, try and tread water where you are." Iris said, swimming over to him, her arms moving smoothly and gracefully.
Zayn stood there, looking at her confusedly. "How?"
Iris laughed slightly, making him die a little. "Just kick your legs, and then move your arms in a circular motion around you."
Zayn started doing what Iris had said, and found to his immense joy that he was actually doing it. For a long time he had refused to go into the water, and now here he was.
All because of Iris he thought, and knew that it was the truth.
They swum around for a couple more hours, leaving the cool waters in the late afternoon. They walked slowly back to the house, and Zayn was grateful that the heat had subsided a little.
They were both still dripping wet, having forgotten to bring any form of towels. Zayn looked up at the clear sky. "Maybe we should lay in the sun to dry off a bit."
"Alright." Iris said, and lay down in the grass, her slightly dry hair sticking out in every direction. Zayn lay close beside her, his breathing hitching when her hand brushed against his.
"Iris?"
"Yes?"
Zayn turned his head to look at her, to find that she was already looking at him. He gulped, Adam's apple bobbing.
"Thank you for everything." He said sincerely.
Iris smiled, looking shyly down at the grass between them. "I have done nothing to be thanked for."
"You've been a friend." Zayn said quietly, grabbing her hand, loving the way that her hand felt in his. "You helped me when I had just lost it all."
Iris squeezed his hand, her cheeks turning pink. They didn't say anything until the sun went down, but that didn't matter to Zayn. He got to stare and admire the girl that he was so irrevocably in love with.
He couldn't stop thinking about her as they ate dinner together, and when they talked for hours until it was in the middle of the night, he savoured her, especially when she laughed or smiled.
Iris had a beautiful smile.
But as he lay in bed, attempting to fall asleep, he wondered what would happen when one day he would go for his morning walk and never come back.
>>><<<
Guess who's back? back again. Chloe's back. Tell a friend.
Hi there :P I'm uploading for Sara because she is at a party and has a life and I don't. (She keeps snapchatting me just to rub it in haha)
Yes so I hope you all didn't die like I did bc feels and leave some love for Sara!
-Chloe
#zayris