Stripped (a Zayn Malik Fanfic)

Memories

A/N: This chapter is one of my absolute favourites! It is very close to my heart, so close that you might say it comes from my own life experience! Thank you all so much for your comments, votes, and love! I am beyond amazed! xx

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Leila's P.O.V (cont'd): 

Flashback 

We sat contentedly on the swings of Lower Fields primary, passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth. The night was warm despite it being well into September, and the charcoal black sky was cloudless and littered with more stars than I had ever seen before. I suspected my enthusiasm for sipping whiskey however, was solely due to the fact that I was sipping it with Zayn Malik. 

An hour before, I had been lying in bed, my mind whirring with the two simple words of advice my mother had told me earlier that week. Tell him. It had been vague, but so completely to the point at the same time, the telling smile on her lips making it quite obvious in my mind that she knew –which was strange because I hardly knew myself. 

I found out in the same way that night gradually shifted into day, in the same way that the sun dipped behind the clouds only to bare its face again a few moments later; I was in love with my best friend. 

Deep in thought, it was some time before I finally heard the consistent but soft deflection of pebbles against my window. Thrusting open my window and looking down into my garden, I was met with the sight of none other than Zayn, tauntingly waving about a bottle of whiskey with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. I stared at Zayn incredulously, wondering if he had somehow read my mind. "Are you mad? It's nearly one in the morning, Zayn." I hissed so as not to wake my parents. 

"Fancy a night cap? I had the radio on just now and there's supposed to be a meteor shower." He offered hopefully from below, a boyish grin appearing on his lips. Heart skipping a beat at Zayn's breathtaking smile, I weighed my options in silence. Glancing over my shoulder and towards my bedroom door, I heard nothing but silence resonating from the hallway, my mother's soft, teasing words resolutely drifting into my mind. Tell him. And I figured there was no better time than the present. 

I smiled down at Zayn, etching the vision of how he looked exactly then, standing below my window, into my memory. "Fine, but if I break my neck on the way down you'll have to answer to my parents." I chided him.  

"Deal." Zayn announced with a laugh. In a flash, I had disappeared from my window, throwing on a pair of jeans and brushing out my unruly black hair, glancing determinedly into the mirror and deciding that was the night I would finally take charge of my life. Returning to the window, I swung my legs over the window pane, taking a sallow and hardly satisfying breath before thrusting myself onto the drain pipe. The metal groaned beneath my weight, and slowly I began to edge my way down, praying that I would not fall to my death. Nearing the bottom at last, I felt Zayn's hands tentatively grab hold of my waist, and gently, he guided me to the safety of the grass. In the moment it took me to gather my bearings, I realized that I had unknowingly leaned into Zayn for support, looking up and seeing that his perpetually serious face was only a few inches away from mine. 

Zayn peered down at me in the darkness, the expression in his dark eyes unreadable. Clearing his throat, he dropped his hands from my waist and shoved them into his pockets. "Come on then, we don't want to miss it." He said animatedly, trekking towards the sidewalk. Stomach churning with nerves, I allowed myself to watch Zayn's retreating back for only a moment, and then followed after him dutifully. 

Some time later, we found ourselves on the ancient swings of our old elementary school. Zayn and I frequented the aging brick building and rusting playground on the weekends, playing on the jungle gym as we did when we were children or just simply rotating gently on the merry-go-round until the security guards and their hounds chased us away.