**Omg we're up to chapter 30 already and the story has barely even begun I have so much more planned, way more exciting stuff (; so this story is going to be pretty long; hope you're okay with that? Haha xx**
Violet
"Violet, have you seen my-" Emily bursts into our dorm, pausing in mid sentence as she sees Liam and I sitting on my bed. Her cheeks go a little red, not because Liam and I are doing anything to make her feel uncomfortable - we're studying - but because she's dressed in sweatpants and a jumper, and she hates boys seeing her dressed so casually. "Hello, Liam," she says awkwardly, looking down at herself.
"Hello!" Liam smiles back, as if nothing is wrong. "I think I've only met you once or twice. Emily, isn't it?"
Emily gives a nervous nod, her smile almost cracking her face in two. Her eyes desperately go to me.
"What are you looking for?" I ask her.
She closes our door and enters the room fully, giving a loud sigh. "My phone charger."
"You lost your phone charger?" I repeat.
"No. Just ... misplaced it."
"Where did you last leave it?" Liam gets up from the bed.
Emily looks back at him and I can tell there's some kind of battle going on in her head about whether she should change, or just not even bother. She sighs, choosing the latter. "I don't know. I've just been 'round to Laura's dorm and it's not there, which was my first guess."
"Well, it has to be somewhere," Liam offers helpfully. "We'll help you look."
"'Course," I smile.
Emily looks relieved. "Thank you! I'll die if I can't recharge my phone during the holidays."
We all start searching around the room, Emily heads for the bathroom and Liam and I look around my end of the room. "Hey, have you started packing yet?" I ask Liam, lifting up my pillow.
Liam's head emerges from underneath my bed. He nods. "Started last night. You?"
I open up my drawers. "Not yet. I don't really know what to pack."
"You've never been camping before?"
I just look at him.
He laughs. "Okay, right. Just pack what you'd normally pack for going away somewhere. But more warmer clothes."
"What about bedding? I mean, will there be sheets there?"
Liam gives a confused look. "Um, babe, what do you think camping is?"
I look underneath all my books stacked on my nightstand and then back over at him, wondering if he's quizzing me or something. "Staying in cabins?" I say casually.
He bites his lip, stifling a smile. "Babe," he says again.
I drop all my books, turning to him in total worry. "What? Am I wrong? Where are we staying?!"
"We're staying in tents," he tells me, but he might as well have told me there's nothing funny about the show Friends, or that Christmas isn't the best season.
"Excuse me?"
He just gives a what-are-you-gonna-do shrug.
"Tents?" I repeat. "As in fabric tents, sleeping outside, on the forest floor?"
"Hey, it'll be alright," he soothes, walking over to me and rubbing my arms up and down, and it instantly warms me up. "You'll have me. I'll look after you."
"I don't think I can handle tents, Liam," I admit. "The ground isn't made to be slept on."
"We won't be on the ground," he tells me. "We'll bring futons."
"Futons?" What the hell is a futon?
He laughs. "You are so sheltered," he says. I give a shocked gasp and he silences it by kissing me gently. "Futons are like stretchers. You know, mini pull out beds."
I sigh a bit. Futons sound a little better than the cold, hard, forest floor. "Okay," I say. "But where are we going to get those from?"
He hesitates, looking to my side. "Niall will have them. This camping thing was his idea."
Emily comes out of the bathroom, clearing her throat and making us pull apart. She stands with her hands on her hips. "Joder, dejé por un minuto y ya ustedes dos se besan! El cargador del Móvil Sigue perdido. Bastardos!"
Liam looks from her to me. "Uh, what did she just say?"
Emily storms back into the bathroom and I give him a sheepish look. "I think she told us to get back to work. And that we're bastards."
He laughs and we continue our search.
-----
"Welcome, everyone. Please enter quietly and take a seat." Mrs. Marsh stands on the stage, a wooden podium in front of her. There's a row of teachers sitting behind her, all in their best attire, and I'm just so damn excited because it's finally here. The school awards.
For the awards we're made to sit with our own gender; girls on one side, boys on the other. And so when Liam and I enter the hall, we know we have to split up. But we won't be apart for long; every year I win the top girl award, and Liam wins the top boy. It's what we work for all year. But this time we won't be standing together as friends, but as a couple. And somehow it just makes this award show better; more meaningful.
Liam turns to me, his hand loosening in mine. "See you on the stage," he smiles down at me.
I bite my lip and nod, feeling his lips brush mine. Then, we pull apart and go our separate ways. I take a seat next to Avery, who sits next to-
"Niall?" I peer at the blonde haired, so easy to point out, Irishman. "What are you doing?"
He grins at me. "Hey, Vi!"
"Where's Liam?" Avery asks.
"On the other side. The side the boys are meant to be on," I emphasise, shooting my glare in Niall's direction.
Niall looks casually at me before his eyes widen. "Oh, shit! We are?" He leaps up, but not before giving Avery a kiss. "Okay, say no more. I'm leaving now. Good luck, babe!" He pushes past ten girl students trying to sit down in our row, causing them to let out annoyed shrieks.
"Good luck?" I repeat.
Avery beams. "I'm nominated for an award!"
"Really? Avery, that's great! Which one?"
"Best participation."
My excitement falters. "Wait, what?"
"Isn't it great? My Math teacher told me I never accomplished anything and never succeeded, but that I always did try. And so he was nominating me."
My eyebrows furrow. Since when was there a 'best participation' award? That sounds absolutely horrible; telling students they never succeed, but that they always do try. Nobody likes getting the participation awards, it's like saying 'thanks for trying, but you suck'.
"You mean, you're happy you're getting it?"
"You kiddin'?" Avery cries. "This is the first award I've ever been nominated for. I've never been good enough at anything else to get others. I've never won anything before."
I give a small, sympathetic smile. "Then I'm really happy for you."
She just crinkles her nose and our attention's pulled back to Mrs. Marsh, who's speaking again.
"Hello and welcome to this years award ceremony. As most of you will know, we hold an award ceremony every year to celebrate the successes of our diligent and insightful students. Every award winner should be very proud of themselves, and let this be a lesson to those who don't win one to work harder next year to achieve your goals. I wish you all the best luck, and we shall begin with distinctions for each subject."
"Distinction in year eleven English; Cathy Grace."
About an hour passes and we've finally moved on to the proper awards, I grow more interested. After all, this is the best part. Trophies outshine certificates any day.
We all clap for Peter Smith's distinction in year twelve Geography, and Mrs. Marsh takes the podium again. "Alright, now we move onto the awards. These awards have been won by extra spectacular students and their successes have been recorded and acknowledged. We'll start off with the male sports award. This will be awarded by our school's soccer coach, Mr. Bryce."
Everyone claps as Coach Bryce takes the podium, a squareish trophy in his hands. He clearly didn't dress up for the occasion. He stands in his usual track pants, sneakers, and Arsenal cap. "Good evening, students," he clears his throat. "I'm here to acknowledge the male sports star of the year. This student has shown proficient sportsmanship and initiative whilst being apart of each and every team. They have soared in the sporting world, achieving great results in not only competitions, but in being part of a team. It is with great pleasure that I announce the male sports star of the year ... Louis Tomlinson!"
The crowd erupts into a deafening cheer and Avery and I turn to each other, smiles on our faces. Louis jogs onto the stage and shakes Coach's hand before holding up the trophy like it's a child. He lets out a loud 'yeah!' and the crowd whistles. He's then ushered off stage, Coach whispering something in his ear.
The female sports star goes to this gymnast, Kimberly Holland, who competes in all these international competitions. Mr. O'Neil steps up to the podium next.
"This next award goes to the top achiever for the English subject." He pauses, holding onto our every breath. "Liam Payne!"
I immediately start clapping so hard that my hands go red, a wide smile on my face. I watch as Liam walks smartly up onto the stage and shakes Mr. O'Neil's hand before smiling at the crowd and heading off. He later wins top achiever for Social Sciences, and soccer.
I'm thinking about how he's going to carry all these awards, especially because the top boy and girl awards aren't that small, when Mrs. Marsh speaks again.
"This year we've introduced a new award. The participation award."
There's laughter from the crowd but I can only hear Avery's smile. No kidding, it's so big I can basically hear it.
"This award goes to a student who doesn't necessarily accomplish most things, but always tries." More laughter. "And such consistent courage deserves to be acknowledged, because it's this kind of attitude that is worth having. It's not always about succeeding, but about trying."
"Oh, my god. I really hope I win," Avery says from beside me.
I put my hand to my forehead. This is just so embarrassing. Mrs. Marsh is only making the award sound worse, and everyone knows what this award is really about. But Avery doesn't see it that way, she's practically buzzing with radiance. And you know, I hope she wins, too.
"The best participation award goes to ... Avery Green!"
Avery screams beside me, her hands covering her face. I push her upwards as she can't quite seem to stand on her own.
"You won!" I cry.
"I won!" She cries back, stumbling towards the stage.
My clap seems to be the loudest and I turn to everyone, shooting them daggers. They clap louder.
"YEAH!" Somebody suddenly yells out. My eyes drift to across the aisle and I see none other than Niall standing on his seat, arms waving madly in the air. "YEAH, BABY! THAT'S MY GIRL!"
Oh, god.
Avery stands on the steps and waves back at Niall. "Baby, I won!"
"I KNEW YOU WOULD. I LOVE YOU!"
I have the sudden urge to chuck something at Niall, but I see someone's already trying to get him to shut up. It doesn't take me long to realise that Zayn's sitting beside Niall, and he's pulling on his legs, trying to get him to sit down. They're only a few metres away from me, so I can hear them perfectly.
"Niall, sit down."
"YEAH, AVERY!" Niall continues, trying to kick Zayn away.
"Niall. I swear to god, this is so embarrassing."
The teachers on the stage try and search the crowd for Niall, but it's so dark they probably can't even see. Avery finally grabs her award and grabs the microphone.
"Oh, my god," she squeals, and Niall wolf whistles. "I can't believe I won."
"Honey, you aren't really supposed to make a-"
"I just want to thank my parents," Avery continues, holding her trophy like it's gold. "And to everyone that believed in me. And to my beautiful boyfriend, Niall. This is for you, babe!"
"WOOHOOOO! BABE, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU. I-"
"Niall. Sit. The. Fuck. Down." Zayn gives one last tug on Niall's pant leg and the blonde comes crashing down to the floor. Everyone goes silent and he sits back up, letting out a final scream and then goes quiet.
Avery gets pushed off stage by three teachers and returns to me. I feel a hundred eyes on me and I try to hide. I turn to her and give her a grin as she reads her trophy over and over. It's really cute, I have to admit. She's so happy.
"Okay, thank you, everyone," Mrs. Marsh sighs into the microphone. "Can we all regain our good manners? Right, now we move on to the last awards of the evening."
My body straightens.
"As you'll all most likely know, every year we have two students that excel in every talent and faultlessly achieve the greatest results. Throughout everything, these students are consistent in the marks they score, reaching the top of each subject. These students are to be highly recognised and should be proud of what they have achieved. It's my absolute pleasure to award the top female and male achiever awards of the year."
Everyone claps.
Mrs. Marsh picks up a silver cup and rests it on the podium. "This first student has performed exceptionally this year so far, gaining remarkable results. She has achieved high distinction in English, Maths, History and Chemistry, has been awarded excellent test results of A pluses and currently has the most credits in her gender of her year. Once again, Violet Smith is our top female achiever."
Claps fill my ears and I smile, because each time it's still so exciting. Avery nudges my arm and I laugh as I stand up. I pass Zayn's aisle and I notice he gives me a small nod, his claps small. I walk up to the stage and receive my award, staying still as I wait for Liam.
"Yeah, Violet!" Niall yells out.
I inwardly groan.
"Alright, this next student has done incredibly well considering his time here isn't long. He has achieved high distinction in English, Math and also Chemistry. He has just beaten our other top achiever by one grade."
Liam doesn't take Chemistry?
"It's quite exciting to introduce our top male achiever as Zayn Malik!"
The entire hall goes silent. Nobody claps, nobody yells, Niall doesn't even say anything. I can't believe it. My entire body is numb. Zayn? ZAYN?! There has to be some kind of mistake; everybody knows this award goes to Liam. It's the way it always has been. Zayn isn't smart!
Well, I didn't think he was.
"Zayn? Are you here?"
This doesn't make any sense. How can he be the top male achiever? What the hell does he achieve? Nobody beats Liam. Nobody! And certainly not Zayn!
Everyone's still not clapping; they're as shocked as I am. I can see Zayn from where I'm standing and he's as shocked as I am.
What the hell is happening?
Niall slaps Zayn's arm and the two have a whispered, heated argument before Zayn punches Niall's arm and shakily stands up. Niall rubs his arm and I see him curse. All eyes follow him as he makes his way towards the stage and eventually small claps start.
"Go, Zayn-o!" Niall yells out.
Everyone gets into the spirit now, whistling and screaming and cheering. But I'm frozen to my spot. Zayn walks up the steps and eyes me seriously as he passes to get his trophy.
"Well done, Zayn," Mrs. Marsh smiles. "I knew you had it in you."
Zayn holds the trophy like it's made of sharp and poisonous pins. He stands next to me and I lean into him, talking from the corner of my mouth.
"If this is some kind of sick joke you're playing, it's not funny. That is Liam's trophy, he deserves it," I snap.
Zayn mirrors my actions. "Believe me, Princess, I'm just as shocked as you are."
"High distinctions? Are you serious?"
"Thank you, guys," Mrs. Marsh smiles at us. "You may return to your seats."
The claps start up again and Zayn and I walk side by side off the stage.
He looks at me, and he doesn't look like himself. He's happy and confused and a little scared at the same time. "This is the first thing I've ever won," he tells me, his lips curling a little upwards.
And the way he says it isn't like Avery did, it's different. It's like he's really proud of himself, but he doesn't want to show it. He shakes his head, dismissing the feeling, then hurriedly returns back to his seat. Niall immediately asks to look at the shiny object.
I return to my own seat, a little transfixed by what just happens, when Avery asks to see my shiny object, too. Mrs. Marsh declares our submission and everyone jumps up to leave. I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump about a mile, spinning around in my chair.
It's Liam.
"Hey, congratulations," he smiles, kissing my forehead.
"I'm so sorry," I blurt out. "Liam, you should've won. You deserve that award. That was your award-"
He laughs, silencing me by placing his hands on my cheeks. "Hey," he says slowly, "don't be sorry. It's not my award. I'm really happy for Zayn."
"You are?"
"Sure! Who knew he was so smart, huh?" He smiles. "Plus, I already won enough awards. I don't want to be too greedy."
I sigh, leaning more into his hands. "Why are you such a good person? Seriously."
"Because I'm with you." He pecks my lips and then grabs my hand. "Come on, we need to pack. We're leaving early tomorrow."
I let him pull me off the chair and drag me down the hall to his dorm.
-------
"Man, I am so pumped. I'm just so damn pumped. This whole trip has got me so-"
"Pumped," we all cut Harry off.
He grins and punches the wall. "Hell YEAH!"
"So, what's the plan?" Liam asks.
We all stand in the foyer, our bags and pillows by our feet. It's officially the holidays and all around us students are leaving, or getting ready to leave. They wouldn't shoot us scared glances, though, if Niall just took off his stupid cork hat. I don't even know where he got it, or why he thinks he needs it.
"We're going in Louis' car-"
"Ah, the sexy people mover," Harry chimes in.
Louis shoots him a glare. "Shut up."
"And we're heading to the forest outside of town," Niall continues.
"And then what?" I ask.
"We pick a spot, pitch our tents, and have a good craic until the holidays end."
"Where are the futons?" Liam asks.
Niall bursts out laughing. "Oh, Liam. Precious little chav boy, Liam. There are no futons. Blankets and sleeping bags, bro."
I gasp and Liam and I exchange nervous glances. "Is it too late to back out?" I mumble.
"You'll be fine!" Avery cries. "I'm so excited."
"So, what are we waiting for?" Louis asks, looking around. "Everyone's here."
Niall nibbles his lip. "Not quite."
"What? Who else?" Avery turns to him. "Babe, who else did you invite?"
"Uh, just wait. He'll be here in a second. I told him to meet us here at nine."
Everyone grows worried, wondering who this extra guest is. It's going to be super awkward if it's someone we don't even know. Why would Niall do that? Didn't he say it was just going to be 'the gang'?
Niall whispers something into Avery's ear and she gasps. "Really? Oh, how neat! He'll make it fun."
Suddenly someone comes around the corner, and we all wait in anticipation for their profile to clear. My heart slumps, it's just Zayn. He carries a duffel bag over his shoulder and a pillow under his arm. Like the other students, he'll be going home.
Zayn stops when he reaches us and we all look at him, wondering what he wants. Then, as if a bullet went through my chest, Niall says, "okay, let's go."
"What? But I thought we were waiting for someone else?" Harry asks.
"Everyone's here," Niall replies, heading towards the door with Avery in tow.
I think my stomach just dropped to the floor.
YOU ARE READING
When Worlds Collide - A Zayn Malik Fanfic
Fanfiction"There's no such thing as soul mates. I mean just because someone is perfect for you doesn't mean you're meant to be with them. The thing about love is that it's unexpected - the best kind anyway."
