Equality Rule (A.U)

Chapter 5

  "Who might you be?" The girl asked with confusion yet her voice was sweet and gentle. She didn't use that upper class tone like most people in Daccron. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she had been spending her entire school year in the capital where she wasn't an upper class or maybe it was her father's feature that she inherited to be kind to all people no matter their social statues, but it sure made her different than most in this city.

Carmen took a second to really look at Zayn. She was intrigued by him. His olive skin didn't qualify him to be white but didn't quite qualify him to be colored either. His greenish hazel eyes that were just too beautiful to look at. They held so much yet revealed nothing. His perfectly defined jawline that most men back in the capital and even here in Daccron wished to have, looked so natural in his perfectly scalped face. Yet one look at his worn out clothes and all his beautiful features would be overlooked to classify him as 'lower class'.

"Zayn, ma'am." Zayn finally answered, voice low in respect and eyes casted down. Even his voice was fascinating to her, it was melodic in its own unique way. But his words only confirmed her doubt, that he was indeed one of the help.

"Zayn. Interesting name." She smiled trying the name out in her mind just to get the feel of it. It was a strange name to her, but it was fascinating. It was exotic. "I'm Carmen." She offered him a smile, baffling him by the simple gesture. Upper class people don't introduce themselves to the help.

Zayn was no idiot. He noticed the undeniable resemblance of the girl, Carmen, to Mrs. Payne. He knew she must somehow relate to her; but her kind and sweet personality made him not believe that two people so different could be related in any way. She must take after all the other Payne's, he thought.

Shaking his thoughts away, Zayn smiled back at the girl in front of him. Silence fell between them as both didn't know what to do next. Both lost in their own astonishment of the current situation.

The door slammed open and a buff built black waiter entered the kitchen making both Zayn and Carmen look at him, "They told me to get you. Some campaign was spelt on the carpet." Zayn nodded immediately mumbling an 'excuse me, ma'am'. Grabbing a rag soaked with soap and a bucket of water, he followed the waiter outside leaving Carmen and young Madison behind, who decided to go rejoin the party.

Carmen thought it was strange that a slightly tanned handsome boy like Zayn was one of the help. He certainly didn't seem filled with hate and envy like most of the help. On the contrary, he was very respectful, if you would overlook his wondering gaze when he first saw Carmen of course. But Carmen didn't mind his look, not one bit. It wasn't the usual look she was used to, his eyes weren't hungry for her body nor were they judgmental for her choice of style which was nothing like the ordinary for Daccron city. They were just gazing at her like she was the most fascinating thing.

If Zayn had given that same look to any other girl in Daccron she might have gave him a disgusted look in return to put him back in his place, but not Carmen Payne she was rather flattered by it really.

"Carmen." A musky voice that Carmen had despised through the years called her name smugly.

"Harry." She faked a smile meeting his hungry eyes.

"So the rumors are true, Daccron's rebel girl had finally returned." Harry twisted his thin lips in a smirk. His eyes held that look Carmen despised most but all she did was reply with a tight lipped smile as she knew her mother was sure to be watching the two talking.

"So it seems." Carmen replied without much attention to Harry making the very egotistic lad care about Carmen that much more. She was the only girl in the whole city that hadn't yet fallen for the Styles charm, and maybe that was part of the reason he had his eye on her.