Kismat Konnection: Forced To Marry Zayn Malik

Chapter 3

He turned around and smirked at me. Damn, I loved that smirk. This was high school all over again. “Hi, I’m Zayn,” he spoke with his thick Bradford accent while sticking his hand out for me to shake. I looked at his hand and back to his face. I wasn’t going to be rude so I shook it. “Hi, Nikki. Nice to meet you.” “You too.” We stood around awkwardly. I tried to leave but Aaroosa didn’t let me. “You two stay and chat while I go see if they need some help,” Aaroosa said. “I’ll come to, please,” I held her hand, practically begging. “No no! I can handle it.” She let go of my hand and did a half run to the kitchen. I rocked back and forth on my feet. “Um, do you…er…wanna sit?” Zayn asked. I nodded towards the couch and took a seat. Zayn came and sat on the opposite couch, across from me. All the Uncles had left so it was just us too. Splendid. There were a few more moments of awkward silence. Like the most awkward silence. “So…you go to school with Aaroosa?” Zayn asked. I looked up from my fingers and nodded. “Yeah, we have all the same classes.” “Why did you want to study biology?” I shrugged,” it’s always been my interest.” “You want to be a doctor?” “That’s that plan.” “Why can’t you think of something else to be besides what your parents want you to be?” he sort of said it like he was disgusted. I was taken back from his question. “Did you ever think that maybe it’s what I wanted?” I snapped at him. Things escalated pretty quickly. “Because it’s obvious your parents said you have to be one so you are,” he snapped back. “Okay, first of all you don’t know ANYTHING. Second of all, you just got lucky.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “I put a lot of hard work into my job.” “I put a lot of hard work too!” “You don’t have a job!” “That’s right because I have a scholarship that I worked hard for! You didn’t even go to college!” We had somehow gotten close. Like less than a foot away close and boy was I angry. I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I didn’t look away though. Then the unthinkable happened. I felt a pair of really soft lips on mine. My eyes were wide open with shock and my body frozen. I heard “oohs” and gasps, excited squeals, and other hollers. Zayn gripped my waist, I think he was enjoying himself and I felt a tingling sense in my tummy. I finally got the strength to push him away. He had that smirk plastered on his face. I was angry, no, I was furious. “Aww, you guys are so cute! I thought you two weren’t getting along but I was wrong. You two are perfect for each other!” Trisha said. I looked at Aaroosa, Nicole, and Waliyah. They were squealing with each other. Is this what they were sharing looks about? Trisha came up to Zayn and me and took our hands. She placed my hand in Zayn’s, making me flinch. It was not an electric, I told myself. I didn’t like this kid. “You two are going to have a great life. Bless you both,” she said. I was confused. “Mum, what are you talking about?” Zayn asked. He looked just as confused as me. “We were going to wait to tell you but what better time could there be?! It’s Eid!” “Tell us what, mum?” Since when are me and Zayn an ‘us’? “We arranged for you two to get married.” “WHAT?!” we both said at the same time. We gave each other a look. I couldn’t stand this kid for 5 minutes how could I live with him for the rest of my life?” “Look, Trisha, my mom-” I started but Trisha cut me off. “Oh, she agreed! She told us that you wouldn’t mind! She just wanted you and Zayn to meet once. Your mum and dad are coming next week to decide on an engagement date.” I was completely shocked now. My mother agreed to this. Did anybody not think I was too young? I was only 22! I was still in college! This was completely insane. “Mum, you should’ve asked me first. This isn’t good for the band. Management-” “I don’t care about what management has to say. I’m your mother. I get to decide what’s best for my son.” Trisha had the ability to win an argument no matter what. It was obvious nothing could be said to change her mind. I would have to try my mother, which was never going to work.

            Soon they left, telling me and Zayn to ‘get to know each other.’ As soon as the last one left, I turned to Zayn. He turned to look at me. Right then, I slapped him. I hadn’t cooled down. If anything, I was madder than before. Zayn now had a nice red mark on his left cheek. “this is all your fault!” I yelled at him. “Will you stop yelling?! It’s not going to make a difference. And how is it my fault?!” “If you hadn’t kissed me, they wouldn’t have thought that we liked each other!” I half-shouted half-whispered. “It was in the moment. It was a temptation. Why are we whispering?” why is he being cute right now? He’s making it really difficult to be mad at. “You should control your temptations then. Now, we’re getting married and we can’t do anything about it.” “Talk to your mum?” “She’s even more stubborn than Trisha.” “Do something. I can’t be stuck with you.” I glared at him. He was getting on my nerves. “I don’t want to be with you either,” I replied back. “Please. I’m Zayn Malik. Who wouldn’t want to be with me?” “Clearly me. You’re so full of yourself.” “I’m-” I slapped him…again. I honestly had no reason to this time but he was pissing me off. I left another mark while walking to the door. I reached the living room and looked at Aaroosa and Nicole. “I’m leaving.” They nodded and got up. I didn’t bother saying bye to the rest of the people. I walked through the front door and to my car. I got in and waited. The other girls came not long after. I drove to Aaroosa’s house in silence. We got inside and went to our rooms, still not saying a word to each other. I debated about whether I should go home or not. I got undressed, changed into my pajamas and got into bed. I laid there just thinking about the future. My life was over. I wasn’t even joking. I haven’t even graduated yet. I don’t understand why my mom agreed to this. She should understand that I’m not ready. All the thinking was making my head hurt and I eventually fell asleep. I hate thinking. I was hoping that I would be in a better mood in the morning.

            I woke up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I ran into Nicole on my way. “Good morning,” she said, unsure if she should speak to me. “Good morning! How are you?” “You’re supposed to be mad. I was keeping a secret from you.” “I know. It was wrong but we can’t do anything about it. Now, it’s up to me to convince my mother.” “Zayn isn’t a bad guy. He really isn’t. “Have you met him?” “Well, not exactly but-” “See. You don’t know him.” “But I do,” Aaroosa joined in. I turned to face her. “He’s not bad. I don’t know the conversation you had with him but I can assure you that he isn’t like that. I know both of you really well. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think you two would be good together. Trust me. This is good.” “Why would you do that?” “Zayn said he wanted to get married. When he said that, I thought of you.” I thought about it. I did practically worship him at one point. “I don’t want to think about it right now. For now, I am still single. Remember we were going to go out and enjoy ourselves? That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” “Okay. That’s fine. But please, think about Zayn,” Aaroosa said. I didn’t want to truly. I nodded my head as I started to walk away. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. I never thought that I would be getting married this early in life. I didn’t even think that I would be marrying Zayn Malik. Well, I did think about it but I was in high school. I took my shower trying to clear my head. I got dressed and went downstairs. I heard voices coming from the living room. I crept up, trying to listen in. I could make out the voices. Aaroosa, Nicole, Waliyah, and Jazade were all talking quietly about a popular subject: me and Zayn. I listened quietly. “I think they’re scared. They don’t know each other.  It’s a scary thought,” I heard Jazade say. Jazade had my back. “We know though. They might not think much of it now but soon they’ll realize that they’re meant to be,” Aaroosa said. “Or it could all end badly for the both of them,” Jazade replied back, smartly. “Are you on our side or not?” Waliyah said. “There are no sides here. I just want the best for the both of them,” my man Jazade said. “Maybe we rushed into this,” Nicole spoke for the first time. “Nikki is strong but she’s not that strong. She needs love and protection. Zayn’s world could possibly destroy her, especially if he doesn’t care for her. She’s insecure and vulnerable at times. It’s easy for her to fall in love and not show it. She’ll be open but she’ll want something in return,” Nicole finished. I smiled at how much my best friend knew me. I decided to walk in then, letting them acknowledge my presence. I didn’t want them to know that I heard so I kept a straight face. “Good…afternoon! I’m starving. What’s there to eat?” I asked no one in particular. “We were just waiting for you. Mum invited you guys to lunch,” Waliyah said. “Oh?” she nodded. Great. Zayn would be there but good food would also be there. “Cool. Let’s get going?” “Sure let’s go,” Jazade said. We walked out and got into my car while Jazade got into his. We drove to the Malik house and got out. Walking to the door, I thought about a scary thought. ‘This is going to be my in laws house.’ I shuttered at the thought. We walked in and the usually crowd was there, including Zayn. We made eye contact for only a split second. Trisha came up and hugged me, wishing me well. I hugged back and murmured a response. You might be wondering why I’m so upset. I’m getting married to Zayn Malik! The reason is because I’m being forced to marry someone who doesn’t like me let alone love me. It’s the worst.

            After saying a few more hellos, I sat down with the Malik kids. All I wanted to do was eat. Zayn came and sat down next to me. I stared off and gave the wall a death glare. His presence made me cringe. After a few moments of talking and ignoring Zayn, Trisha came in to tell us that lunch was ready. Finally! I was starving, like usual. I was walking towards the food when Trisha pulled me aside. “Honey, I just want to apologize for yesterday. I don’t want you to hate me for making this decision but it’s good for both of you,” she said with hope in her eyes. “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you! I’m just a little angry. I know I’m not ready for something as big as marriage. My future is ahead of me and I see it changing. I won’t be able to do what I wanted to do,” I said. Trisha nodded understandingly. “I understand. It’s a big responsibility. The decision was so sudden that I didn’t get a chance to tell you or Zayn. I would have told you. I can’t think of anyone better to be my one and only daughter in law. I love you so much already. Now go ahead and get something to eat and try to get to know Zayn, yeah?” “I’ll try my best.” That was a lie. I had no intentions of getting to know him. I walked into the kitchen. I didn’t want that much to eat anymore. I started feeling sick. I got a little food and headed back to the living room where the sounds of laughter were coming from. I stopped in my tracks though. “Mummy?! Daddy?! I thought you weren’t coming until next week?!”