Night Changes~One Direction
Zayns POV
Her laugh.
The sound that just might ruin my existence, I can't stop listening to. Which is why I'm trying so hard to make sure she keeps doing so throughout the day, because there's such a limited amount of them until I won't hear it anymore. As cliche as it sounds, and I know it does, I could listen to it forever.
But I know I won't be able to.
I rest on a nearby bench, as the night falls and the lights of the Granary Square fountain illuminate the ground. The choreographed fountains bounce spurts of water timely, and transition into different colors, capturing Ella's attention immediately.
It doesn't make sense to me, why she would want to play in the fountains when it's miserably cold out here and she's never been one to handle the cold very well. But I let her anyway, and watch as she stands in the middle of one fountain, letting a wave of water bounce by her.
"Zayn, come here!" She calls to me, and I shake my head immediately.
"Fuck no! Are you kidding?!"
"Language, sir!" A woman holding a baby hisses to me, carefully cradling the child in her arms.
"Oh, suck it. That baby should be home right now." I spit back at her, and she stares at me in shock before walking away quickly.
I look back at Ella who's hand is over her mouth, and laughing at me get yelled at by a bitter old mum. "She deserved it!"
"I'm not too sure about that! Seriously, come here!" She reaches her hand out to me, and I roll my eyes at how fucking whipped I am when I stand up.
I stand just outside the boundaries of the fountain, and stare at her already looking at me, waiting for me to step inside.
"All the way in." She sighs, and snaps her head up quickly. "And don't take that the dirty way either."
I cock an eyebrow up, and smirk pervertedly, letting her know she's too late for that. "If you say so."
The water lights up to a vibrant pink, and purple, as it splashes on my jeans and I flinch away in surprise. I stuff my hands in the pockets of my jacket, and tip toe my way through the spontaneous bursts of water splashing all over me. When I finally reach her, she wraps her arms around my waist, and pulls me close.
"You're absolutely mad, you know that right?" I smile down at her, as she tilts her head up to look at me.
"Only the best people are."
"Shit, that's cold!" I grab her waist tightly, and hold her to me as water splashes all around us, rising higher each time.
"Come on!" She takes off running through the fountain, dashing across to the next. I watch as she spins around and glances at me, smiling wide and laughing to herself.
I'm so glad I took her out today. In fact, I think this is the best decision I've made all year, next to probably the worst. Seeing her cry into my pillows, and shield herself from the realities of the harsh world we live in under my blankets, was breaking me down. I even thought about taking her away from here, completely out of London, and living somewhere no one could find us or hurt her.
It's just not realistic.
"Babe, it's freezing out here and you're running through water? Really?" I call to her, and she huffs as she rests her hands on her hips.
"Who gives a fuck?!"
Whoa.
"I need to stop caring Zayn. I need to not care about my health, my life, my thoughts, my feelings for just one night. So what, I get a little sick for playing in cold water? I won't get hypothermia again I can promise you that. So what, it's thirty degrees out? We both have fucking coats on! Baby, I need to stop, caring. Just let me do that for one night, and join me." She holds her hand out to me once again, and I decide to stop caring as well.
Just for one night.
I chase after her and she takes my hand in hers, pulling me through the bouncing fountains of water. Slowly but surely, from my knees to my ankles, my jeans become soaking wet and I start to freeze on my legs. I'm not sure how she's tolerating it when all she has on is boots, leggings, and a red dress under her peacoat.
She doesn't care.
That's the thing.
The fountains shoot up to our shoulders, sprinkling water on our faces when we pull to a stop. Ella lets out a heavy sigh, and pants in exhaustion but can't stop smiling. She laughs out loud, whole heartedly, laughs so anyone within one hundred feet could hear.
And I'm lucky enough to be up close and personal.
"I feel so alive, it's insane." She smiles up at me, and wipes away a spatter of water off my cheek.
"I'm glad." That's all I can say as I stare down at her, glancing around the famous square, at all the colors lightning up the fountains.
Before I can think straight, she turns to me and kisses me with her hands cupping my face tightly. She continues to pull me down as close as she can, and eventually wraps her arms around my neck as she lets the kiss continue. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist and hoist her up off the floor, keeping my lips pressed against hers. Oddly enough, they're warm instead of cold or chapped as they should be. They're warm, and soft, igniting a warm feeling inside me as well, also the need to never break away.
But she's the first to detach, pressing her forehead against mine as I hold her up against me still.
"I am in love with you Zayn. I really am."
My body goes rigid at her confession, and I lightly place her back on her feet.
"What?"
"You heard me. I'm in love with you. Complet-"
"I didn't want you to tell me that!" I step away, probably looking insane but I don't care.
I didn't want her to tell me, because I didn't want to confirm what was already obvious. If I never knew, it'd be just a bit easier to say goodbye. I could tell myself she never felt the same, convince myself that she never really loved me. And move on with life after her.
But now that she's said it, I'm fucked.
"I don't understand." She whispers, frowning at me.
"Nor will you ever. You shouldn't have told me that." I huff in annoyance, and shove my hands in my pockets.
"Okay, I'm lost. Am I not allowed to tell my boyfriend I'm in love with him? The same guy that said he's open to the idea of marriage because I'm an exception?" She folds her arms across her chest, and steps out of the fountain, to be on dry land.
"Not when he told you he didn't want to know! Jesus, couldn't you do me that one thing?!" I unintentionally shout at her, and she flinches away from me subtly. She probably thinks I didn't notice, but I sure as hell did see the fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I was in the moment here, not thinking completely straight. What the fuck is wrong with you Zayn? Why are you lashing out at me?"
I'm thankful that no one is around for this argument, and it's just her and I in the middle of this square. Because the way she asked what the fuck is wrong with me, in such a judgmental tone, is pissing me off now. At first, I was just confused and frustrated. But now, I'm on a whole other level of mad.
"Because you can't listen to me! You never did, you never will! This is a solid example of that actually." I snort at her, and she backs away even further, creating a good ten feet between us. "Can't you just, for once, listen to me Ella?"
"No, clearly I can't." She sighs, and tilts her head up at the moon above us.
"Glad you agr-"
"But I hope you can listen to me very well. Leave me alone for the rest of the night Zayn." She turns to walk away, but I stop her in her tracks.
"Where are you going?"
"Somewhere you're not." She glances back at me one last time, before walking away and fading further, getting smaller in the distance.
My mind is screaming at me to run after her, and at least get her to her dorm safely, but my feet remain solidly planted to the ground. I watch as she turns a corner, and disappears completely, which only heightens my anxiety further. She's not safe on these streets by herself, and I know I should really be beside her, making sure no creep tries to take advantage of her.
But I can't move.
Ella's POV
He's a fucking idiot.
It's beyond me how a man can admit his love for a girl, yet never want to know that she's felt the same way for the last few months. Instead, he yells at her and criticizes her for only following her instinct, aside from what he tells her. I'm so confused, and hurt, that all I want to do is walk.
People eye me as I stuff my hands in the pockets of my coat, and keep my eyes on my boots hitting the pavement of the sidewalk. A piece of paper scratches the back of my hand, and I wince in pain as I pull it from my pocket.
Of course.
It's a photo strip of Zayn and I in a booth we found in an arcade. The top picture I'm kissing his cheek, and his face is wrinkled in disgust playfully. The second, was supposed to be of us smiling normally, but at the last second, he decided to avert his eyes to me for the picture. So now, it looks as if he's gazing at me with a cheesy smile on his face. The third, my least favorite, is of us making ugly faces.
And I dominated that category.
I chuckle to myself as I glance down at the fourth and final photo, of us kissing. My face is squeezed between his hands and pressed firmly against his as our lips collide. I remember this the most, because as dumb as it sounds, this kiss felt different. Recently, it seems that each time he kisses me, there's a hint of love behind them, stronger every time. I'm not sure why, or maybe it's always been like that and I've never noticed. But the more I look at this photo, the stronger I feel the love looking at it.
Suddenly, I hear a rummaging behind me in the shadows. I turn to see if I spot anyone, but it's empty. Bare streets, only a few men carrying garbage bags outside.
"Okay." I sigh, and turn to keep walking when I hear another noise coming from the alley next to me.
"Zayn, if you're following me, stop. I mean that." I roll my eyes and keep walking.
After about five minutes, I think I'm in the clear, and go back to studying the photo. When I hear a bunch of trash can tumble over in the next alley.
"Okay seriously, what the f-"
"Hello, sweet daughter." Michael stands in front of me, practically appearing out of thin air, and smiling down.
"Michael?" I ask, more in shock than confusion.
"I believe the correct term is father. But sure, let's go with that." He shrugs, and leans against the brick wall of an old building. "What are you doing out here all alone?"
"Why the hell do you care? It's a little late to be playing the father role don't you think? Either way, I believe I told you that I don't view you as a father. Not anymore anyway." I take a step back to create a comfortable distance between us.
"Any man would wonder why a young lady, as pretty as you, is out this late."
"Not sick men like you." I spit, and frown up at him. The street light above his head casts out his face, but I caught a glimpse to know when he shifted his stance. "Plus I wasn't alone. Zayn is just being a dick."
"Ahhh, Mr.Malik. Yeah, he can be a difficult twat sometimes." He sighs casually, and throws his hands up. "But what can you do really, right?"
"Don't you dare try to have a casual conversation about my boyfriend with me. Either way, how do you know he can be difficult?"
"Come on Ellana. First you say you don't want to talk about him, now you're asking how I know him. Make up your mind love." He smiles awkwardly, and holds his hand out the side.
"You know what? Never mind. I don't want to know how you know him, nor do I want to talk to you. Do me a favor and stop following me." I push my way past him, bumping shoulders in the process. He grabs my wrist harshly, and spins me around to face him.
"Listen to me though."
I snatch my wrist away, and rub it gently to ease the slight pain he caused.
"Why should I ever listen to anything you say?"
"Because it's one very important detail, about Mr.Zayn Malik."
Night Changes literally wrote this chapter for me lol I have the next chapter all written already... I just don't know if I like the way I ended it so it may take me a minute to decide when to post it xD
Thank you for over 5k reads! That's awesome :)