CHAPTER THREE
I walked to the locker rooms after my last class, gym. I went into the back corner and pulled off my shirt. I quickly pulled my t-shirt and jeans on, and I scurried away. I almost ran to my locker, excited yet nervous to go to Zayn's house. I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the school. I saw Zayn in his black car speed past me and I frowned. Why couldn't he just take me to his house in his car? I shrugged and walked in the direction of Zayn's house. A million questions popped up in my head like: Would Zayn be the same as in school? Would he make fun of me? Would he ignore me? Would he treat me better? Would he want to be my friend?
I arrived at Zayn's MASSIVE house and I knocked on the door cautiously. After a minute, a woman opened the door.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Um... Yeah. I'm doing a project with Zayn? Is he here?" I said awkwardly.
"Oh yes! Your Niall? Zayn talks about you ALL the time!" She clapped her hand over her mouth and my eyes widened. I felt a blush creep up on my cheeks and I looked at the floor.
"Don't tell him I told you that!" She whispered. I nodded and smiled, and she led me inside, where Zayn was sprawled out on the floor, sketching a design on a large poster.
"Zayn, Niall's here. Call me if you need me boys!" She said, waltzing out of the room.
I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room and after a few seconds Zayn looked up at me. "Are you gonna help me or what?"
I blinked and walked over to where Zayn was and laid down next to him.
"Okay, so um... I'm working on the waves. I guess you can label them, and then we can color the thing. Okay?" He asked quietly. I've never seen him be this quiet.
I nodded and began writing the names of the waves on the poster board. Radio waves, microwaves... What comes after microwaves? Zayn looked over at my tapping pencil and he leaned over to me.
"It goes radio waves," (he pointed) "microwaves," (he pointed to the next wave) "then infrared waves. Got it?"
"Let's hope." I said sarcastically. He chuckled and I wrote down the other waves. He colored the waves and then we took a break. I sat on the couch and he relaxed on the recliner. My stomach rumbled loudly and I blushed.
"You hungry?" Zayn asked, raising his eyebrows.
I began to nod, but then shook my head quickly. No eating!
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure." My stomach rumbled again.
"I'm getting you food." He stated, standing up.
"NO!" I yelled. He froze and looked at me with a confused expression on his face.
"Why?"
"I'm f-f-f-fat." I stuttered, my face flushing a bright red. His face softened and I looked down at my fingers.
"Who told you that?" He frowned.
"Umm... Uh... No-no one..." I mumbled softly.
"Well." He said, standing up. "You shouldn't be thinking that." He walked over to me. He lifted up my shirt. I pushed it back down.
"No." I said, feeling tears rise up in my eyes.
"Niall. Your so... Thin. Niall that's not healthy you need to eat."
"NO! I'm fat! I can't eat!" I yelled at him. Zayn shook his head and took my hand. He pulled me into the bathroom and he shut the door. He pulled off my shirt and turned my head towards the mirror. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at my body.
"Niall. Niall, open your eyes." Zayn demanded softly, sliding his hands down my arms. I felt goosebumps appearing on my arms and I opened my eyes slowly. I stared at my ribs, clearly visible, and my hips, they were sticking out. I turned towards Zayn, and buried my face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. I let the tears flow and Zayn stood there, holding me. I pulled away from his embrace and sniffed.
"S-sorry." I mumbled.
He shook his head as if to say 'Don't be.' "Are you okay Niall?" he asked.
"I-I-I dunno." My voice cracked and I giggled a little. I turned towards the mirror again and I leaned against Zayn. I cocked my head a little and stared at my body. I nodded a little and then nodded quickly.
"Yeah. I think I'm fine." I smiled and then Zayn leant down and kissed the top of my head, keeping his eyes locked on mine in the mirror. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. "Thanks."
He smiled and nodded.
"Should we get back to work?" I questioned.
"Sure." He said, ruffling my hair. He walked out and I pulled my shirt back on and smiled at myself in the mirror for the first time in a very long time. I felt... Accepted by someone other than Louis. Accepted. Yes, accepted. Finally.