Networked ➳ z.m [au]

Prologue

"You really need a boyfriend!" Paige, my best friend of seven years, wails on the other end of the phone line while I try my hardest to focus on my English homework. This was senior year of high school and I really had to quit the slacking and step it up an entire notch so that I will be able to be accepted into a decent enough college.

"No, I don't, Paige." I whine, scanning my eyes over a few words in my thick English book.

"Aw," I hear her pouting through the phone, "What about Zayn?"

"What about him?" I ask, widening my eyes at the mention of his name. We had been neighbors for as long as I can remember and we had only spoken a couple of times throughout the year. He was a very nice and sweet guy, I had just never had the correct amount of time to actually sit and have a long conversation with him.

"Ask him out,"

"Are you crazy? I hardly know him!"

"Oh come on, Claire! Live a little! He's hot and I think you should go for it, I mean it is pretty damn obvious that you have had a crush on him since freshman year,"

"No I haven't!" Have I? When I think back to all those times in the classrooms and remember myself staring at him from afar, I realize that Paige is probably not the only one who notices me gazing at the colorful tattoos on his arms while he draws in that mysterious notebook of his. I had always wanted to know what he hid inside, but I was too afraid to come off as nosy.

"Sure," she scoffs

"Anyway, I need to finish my homework and you are distracting me," I tell her, trying to skim over the few paragraphs I had left to go over and she laughs on the other end.

"Fine, fine! But we aren't through with this convo. I am getting you a boyfriend,"

"Whatever, whatever," I say, not paying attention to her as I hear the line click and I set my phone on the bed. What if she's right, though? Do I really need a boyfriend? The thought had never actually crossed my mind because most of my time was either spent staring at Zayn's colorful tattoos at school, or doing my schoolwork.

I could hear my mothers small footsteps near the hallway as I close my text book to the sound of her lightly knocking at the door. She had always been this way since I could remember, with her small and quiet self, and yet I am the exact opposite of her, in every way. Sometimes I genuinely think that I am adopted, but if I was, she would have told me already.

"Claire, honey?"

"Yes?" I rise to my feet and open the door.

"Do you mind taking out the trash? I don't want your brother doing it this late at night,"

"Sure, mom," I tell her and walk past her to gather the trash bag in the bin. This was normally my little brother's chore to do, but since it was nearly eleven in the evening, my mother had asked me to do it for him.

When I step outside, I shiver at the December air and hug my robe closer to my chest. I want to make this as quick as a trip to the garbage bin as I can so I will be able to hurry up in this weather. I wasn't very fond of the cold weather and I hate how it makes the goosebumps on your skin rise.

Just as I reach the bin and drop the bag inside, I notice a familiar figure slouching on his porch, pencil in hand, and face focused intensely on what ever he was drawing in his notebook.

I walk up to the gate and he looks up at me with a small smile.

"Oh hey, Claire. I, um...I didn't see you there," he stutters in that beautiful accent of his, setting the pencil down beside him as he stands to his feet.

I feel giddy that he even remembers my name.

"Hey, yeah sorry, Zayn. I don't mean to bother you, I was just dropping the trash off."

"Why are you apologizing? I could always enjoy some company," he looks down at his feet, "I-i mean, if that's alright with you?"

What? Zayn wanting my company? Never would I ever say no to him, even though I will be freezing my ass off and I hate this weather with a passion. But if it's Zayn, I was honestly willing to do anything.

"Of course it's alright with me," I smile to him as he opens the gate for me to cross to his side. We both sit at the same place I had seen him drawing and I try and look at the notebook quickly before he sits down but the pages look like they have been flipped over. Just my luck.

"I like to express my feelings through drawings, you know?" he brings up as my hands wrap the robe tighter around my body. It feels strange that i'm sitting here with Zayn in nothing but a robe with PJ's underneath in the cold December windy air. Zayn and I had hardly spoken full conversations recently, so this was definitely something new.

I nod, not sure what else to do.

"You are probably wondering, why the hell are you telling me this, Zayn?" he chuckles and my heart leaps at the sound of his small laugh.

"I'm sorry, nevermind. This was incredibly odd for me to do this to you after not talking to you for so long. To complain about my life story," he stands up and I do the same.

"Y-you can talk to me, i'm fine with it," I shiver, struggling to get the words out as I see my golden hair whip around my face in front of me.

"No, don't wanna catch a flu do you?" he smiles in that beautiful, adoring way.

"G-guess not," I shrug as he leads me back to open the gate to my side.

"See you around, Claire," he calls to me as I walk up the front porch steps to my house, slightly disappointed.

"See you, too, Zayn,"

I had thought we would have an actual conversation today but I can see that I was wrong and maybe Paige was completely right.

Maybe I do need a boyfriend.

And since Zayn didn't seem interested in me at all, maybe I should consider online dating.

Little did I know that online dating would be a life changing experience, that would diversify my life forever.

_________________________________________________________________________________

(Hey! How did you like the Prologue? Don't worry there will be way more exciting things to come so stay tuned and don't forget to

comment, vote, and share!

love you all so very much! x -kiana)