Zayn
The day of the fashion show.
Back when Zayn had trouble dealing with his anxiety, walking the runway was nearly a nightmare. He always felt like he was going to throw up, and sometimes, he actually would throw up after the show. Over the years, though, he has learned how to deal with his anxiety and nerves.
Today, however, for the first time in years he feels nervous. Despite the number of cigarettes he's smoked, he's still tense. It's because he wants things to be perfect for Liana. She trusts him with this. He's the face of her upcoming line. One that he knows is important to her, because she's showcasing her culture for the very first time. He's always taken his job seriously – being the face of many brands and companies. Yet, none hold as much gravity as this does. He doesn't quite understand why he feels this way. All he knows was that he wants Liana to be pleased.
After one of his many smoke breaks, Zayn returns inside and heads over to the makeup and hair area. He's caught glimpses of Liana, who is in a full no-bullshit boss mode. As a model, he knows and is acquainted with many designers. But, he's never really paid attention to how much work they do before a show. There's always so much going on backstage and he's usually busy focusing on himself. Seeing how hard Liana has been working is making his admiration for her grow.
There are about two hours before the show starts. Zayn is sitting in the hair and makeup chair, letting the artist do her work. As always, he tries to make conversation with whoever is working with him. He likes to make both his and their time worthwhile. The young woman is named Tamina. As she puts a little bit of makeup on him, she tells him about her husband and how they met each other at a wedding. He was the photographer and she was the bride's makeup artist. She then completely focuses on doing Zayn's hair and he stays silent as to not distract her. When his phone vibrates, he looks down to see a good luck message from his mum. There's never been a show where his mum hasn't said good luck. It makes him smile every time.
"She's staring at you again." Tamina suddenly says. Zayn looks up from his phone and she makes a swatting motion at him. "Oy! No sudden movements when I'm doing hair, man."
"Shit, sorry. Who are you talking about?"
"Liana, who you've also been looking at every chance you get. I might not look like I'm paying attention to stuff around me. But trust me, I am."
Zayn slowly looks to his right and he sees her standing there. Still dressed in black from head to toe, her hair in a ponytail, a clipboard in one hand and her phone in the other. He's only seen her walking around all day. This is the first time he's seen her standing still. He wants to smile at her, but he's not sure if he should.
When Liana turns away, he looks up at Tamina. "What do you mean by again?"
"You've been sitting here for almost an hour, and I've seen her look over here at least four times. You wanna tell me what's up with that?"
"And you're just now telling me this, why?"
"Oh quit whining and tell me what's up with you two. Give me the tea. The chai."
"Nothing is up." He tells her, even though he knows it's far from the truth. There is definitely something up. Especially after that button incident where he sucked on her finger. Something he very much wanted to do again. Although they haven't talked much since, he knows it affected her.
"I'm her client and the face of her campaign. She's probably just checking on my getting ready process." He shrugs.
"Oh don't give me that crap. I've worked for Liana's shows before. When she's in preparation mode, she doesn't stop for anyone. She seems pretty distracted today, though." She wriggles her eyebrows.
Tamina's actions make Zayn's poker face break and he laughs. He'd been distracted ever since their little interaction as well. "Fine. Honestly, I don't even know what's going on between us. I mean, there's definitely something there. But we haven't really had time for anything other than business. It's been weeks and I've still barely talked to her."
"Well, once the show is over you'll have all the time you need. Right now though, your time is up. I'm all done with you, boo." She pats his shoulder.
He looks at himself in the mirror and then gives her a high five. "Thanks, T."
She wishes him luck and then he goes to grab himself a cup of water. He looks around for Liana and realizes that she's disappeared somewhere amidst the chaos of models, stylists, makeup artists, hair dressers, seamstresses, photographers, and the various other people backstage. The thought of her being distracted by him when she's at her busiest, makes him smile smugly.
He's taking a sip of water when he feels a hand on his shoulder. His gaze follows the hand up to the person it belongs to.
"Sana, hey." Zayn greets the fellow model with a polite smile.
"Hey." She smiles back. "Just wanted to come over and wish you luck before the show."
"Appreciate it. Good luck to you too, babe."
Sana is one of the models walking for the show. She's a fair-skinned, dark-haired, green-blue eyed Pakistani girl. Any sane person would admit that she's quite gorgeous. She and Zayn have been talking here and there since rehearsals. More so her than him.
"Are you going to the after-party?" She asks him while filling up her own cup of water.
'"Course. You?"
"Well if you're going..." she places her hand on his forearm. "How could I miss it?"
Zayn chuckles. That is until his eye catches sight of someone familiar. There she is again, Liana. And she's looking at him and Sana, who's standing awfully close to him.
One thing about Liana is that she's got a great poker face. You can't quite tell what she's thinking, and Zayn wishes he could at this moment. He expects her to react in some way, but she doesn't. She just looks away and carries on working. But he really hopes she didn't get the wrong impression from that.
Zayn doesn't want to sound like an arrogant prick. But it's just a fact. As a model, you get a lot of attention whether it's from fellow models or non-models. Among some models, there is usually this natural and effortless friendliness and sometimes flirting. Zayn is a friendly, easy-going person. He doesn't mind reciprocating a little bit of flirting. It's normal for him. But ever since he's met Liana, he actually cares what someone may think of him. He's serious about getting to know her and he needs to tell her that. He hopes he can do so after the show.
As the time for the show to begin approaches, the energy backstage becomes hectic. Everyone is now dressed, thanks to the stylists, and they grow anxious as they wait. It takes skill to be free of any anxiety before a show, and such models do exist. Zayn had thought of himself as such, until this moment. He's opening the show and he will practically be carrying the whole show since he's the face of the line. Everything relies on that first impression and with Liana depending on him his anxiety is making a return.
He sees Liana talking to some of the models while he stands in position near the entrance to the stage. He can hear the loud voices of the audience. A makeup artists does last minute touch-ups to his makeup as he sips on some water to ease his nerves. He doesn't really have an pre-show ritual or mantra. Of course, when his anxiety was prevalent he would do breathing exercises. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them, he sees Liana.
She's not wearing heels, again, making her shorter than him. She has a soft smile on her face as she looks up at him. "Is the Zayn Malik having pre-show jitters?"
"Please," Zayn scoffs. "I don't get pre-show jitters. I'm not a child."
"Whatever you say." She shrugs, still smiling. "Clearly, you don't need it. But I came over here to wish you good luck."
It had never held any importance unless it came from his Mother or family members. But today, hearing it come from the person whose opinion he cared about the most held more importance than anything else.
"You're wrong." He tells her, honestly.
Her smile falters and confusion fills her features.
"I did need it. So, thank you."
She smiles one of those big smiles, the one that reaches the eyes. "Well, then you're welcome."
He hears the announcer finishing up and then the lighting changes and the music starts playing.
"That's my cue. Hope I make you proud." He winks at her.
He doesn't give her a chance to reply. He fixes his posture and composes himself, getting into the zone. Then he enters onto the stage. Zayn sees the familiar lights. As the music grows louder he can feel the vibrations. The audience comes into his line of vision and he lets the music guide him from there. He's focused. He isn't thinking about anything in this moment except the fact that he's walking. With each step, he takes he feels the adrenaline kicking in and his worries and nerves vanish. All he's thinking about now is how fucking great this feels. He resembles the grace of a King as he walks down the runway. The cameras are flashing. The audience is silent and although he doesn't look at them, he can sense the shock and awe. He reaches the end of the runway and turns around. A female model passes by him as he heads back for his next outfit.
Liana turns away from the TV screen that is displaying the show in time to see Zayn approaching. He doesn't even get a chance to see her facial expression before she's suddenly hugging him. All of his fears and doubts are gone the moment she wraps her arms around him and engulfs him in her warmth.
"That was amazing." She says to him, her voice wavering. Is she crying?
He doesn't say anything. He just hugs her back until she decides to pull away.
When he finally sees her face which is damp from tears, and he hears her sniffle, his question is answered. She is indeed crying. But the way her smile seems to keep getting bigger and the gleam in her eyes gets brighter makes him realize that she's proud of him. He did it. He left the impression that he wanted to not only on the audience but on Liana. For someone who has never needed reassurance before, the feeling is foreign. But, it's not unwelcome because he feels so fucking incredible that he'd do just about anything to keep seeing her smile like this.
***
A/N:
Hello to my two readers. I always say this but I'm hoping I get the next chapter done faster since it's supposed to be a good one. 😜
Ok bye nowwww. x
-E