cheap thrills :: [malik #fdc]

five. five days

Mari wakes up the next morning.

In bed.

Alone.

It's about six-thirty AM and Mari slowly pushes herself to a sitting position. Their flight into Cordoba, Argentina left at ten, and after doing all of nothing yesterday, she still had to pack.

Well, she didn't do nothing yesterday.

She just watched movies yesterday.

She threw up and sipped water and watched movies and cuddled.

Zayn probably left her, she figures. He probably went back to his room sometime after she fell asleep, because her iPad is closed and charging on the nightstand beside her water bottle.

And Mari feels exponentially better as she tests motion in bed. She really must have had food poisoning, or something.

Better it happen now than in Buenos Aires, or Rio.

She sits up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She can hear water running in the bathroom, and, figuring it must be Lennon, she starts pulling out clothes for the day so she can shower next. She grabs lingerie, a pair of leggings and a plain white tee to wear with a pair of flats.

And she walks to the closed door, knocking lightly.

"Hi, Lenn," she says. "Is my toiletry bag in there?"

There's a muffled reply.

"Huh?" She leans her head against the door. "I can't hear..." She shakes her head, "I'm coming in, okay? Cover anything you don't want me to see," and she's laughing to herself as she turns the knob and enters the bathroom.

Lennon's in the shower.

"Hurry up," she sings jokingly, as she spots her toiletries and makeup on the counter, "What're you doing, killing whales in here?"

And that's when the water shuts off and shower curtain pulls back and Mari nearly stumbles backwards into the toilet as Zayn sticks his head from behind it.

"Morning, love," he grins, wiping water from his face and revealing that half-smile. He motions across the room. "Mind if you hand me that towel?"

Mari blinks. She does though, handing him a large fluffy white towel from the rack.

His grin stretches. "Thanks, Marjani."

"Yeah, sure," she replies, still blinking. "Uh..." And she backs up as Zayn closes the curtain, tying the towel around his waist and stepping from the shower. Mari can feel the heat radiating from his body the bathroom is so narrow, and Mari thinks she should really leave but at the same time, she really wants to stay.

She shakes her head, blinking herself from her thoughts. "I thought you were...Where's Lennon?"

"Calum and Luke's room," he replies, attempting to squeeze past her, bumping against her to get to the sink. That's when she notices his toothbrush and shit next to her bag of toiletries.

"What? Why?"

"'Cause that's where she slept last night," he replies casually.

"What?" Mari asks, not realizing that Zayn can see her in the mirror as her eyes linger on the tattoos along his back. "Why?"

Zayn shrugs, sticking his toothbrush in his mouth.

"I thought," she shakes her head, "I thought you'd left--"

"How?" He laughs, brushing his teeth. "It was hard as fuck getting from underneath you so I could go get my shit," he pauses, deadpanning, "You snore, y'know."