Near To You (One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter Five

Near to You

05

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We may only have tonight, but ‘til the morning sun you’re mine.

                                                                                    Rhythm of Love – Plain White T’s

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“Do you mind if I…?”

I glanced up from my notebook, shaking my head briefly before continuing on with the paragraph. A spur of the moment decision had changed everything, and now I had some serious back-tracking to do.

The boy lit up a cigarette and took a slow, lazy drag. I watched him as he dipped it into the ashtray. He followed my gaze with his eyes.

“I thought it wasn’t a problem.”

“It isn’t,” I assured him. “I just find it surprising, that’s all.”

His eyebrows shot up as he breathed out, the smoke swirling around us. I silently prayed for immunity against lung cancer with all this second hand smoke.

“I forget sometimes that there’re people who don’t know,” He grinned slightly. “I’m just so used to it that it’s strange to have to explain myself.”

I nodded briefly, staring down at my paper. I still found it odd at times, to be sitting here with Zayn instead of my usual booth, but I did not mind the company. In fact, at times he could be quite charming, which was a little disconcerting. It must have come with the job.

“Well you don’t have to worry about that with me.”

“What?”

“I don’t know anything about you, other than the fact that you probably can’t go out to get your own milk. You’re a perfect mystery to me.”

I bit my lip at the wording, but I couldn’t take it back. Words were some sort of permanent that I sometimes hated.

“Strange,” He shook his head.

“I can research you, if you like,” I suggested teasingly. “I’m sure I can Google all I need to know. Google always has the answers.”

“No,” He said. “I prefer it this way.”

“Good,” I grinned. “I’d hate to waste my night researching your sorry self instead of doing more important things.”

“What are you doing anyway?” He tried to peak between my fingers but I kept my hands firmly on the paper.

“Boring stuff,” I lied. “School things. You wouldn’t understand them obviously.”

“Are you calling me stupid?”

I snorted.

“When was the last time you were in school? You must barely remember anything at all by now.”

“I don’t need school, now do I?”

I shook my head at him pityingly. “Education is important, Malik.”

“Malik?” He replied. “So we’re back to the last names now are we, Lewis?”

“I guess so.”

We exchanged grins before getting back down to work. In the corner of my eye I could see Frank shaking his head at us as he disappeared into the backroom for his break. The shop would be closing soon and then I would have to drag myself back down to the university, counting down the hours until I could go back to the shop.