All is Fair: Zayn Malik Fanfiction

Chapter 42

*Zayn's POV*

A waiter leads us to a booth, and Jessie and I sit down across from each other.

I watch her as she sits down. I am sort of staring, but I can't help it. This is the first time I've seen Jessie in two months.

She is wearing a flowly floral shirt and a cardigan. Her hair pulled up, showing her makeupless face. Her hands come together on the table, and her thumbs circle around each other. She is staring off.

Physically, she has not changed at all. But I notice her demeanor is off. Solely by looking at her, I can tell how sad she is. I can't blame her. Today is the anniversary of probably the worst day of her life.

I have no idea how to lighten the mood. I don't know if I should lighten the mood. Maybe she wants to talk about her father and keep the tone serious. She's given me no clues. It's a touchy subject that I know well, which is why I'm so cautious to get into it.

We aren't talking much in the beginning. I stare at her. She stares at the table. I don't bother her, I know she is thinking. I just try to guess how she is feeling. I imagine depressed. I also guess what she could be thinking, and why she invited me out. Especially the last one. I would never have thought that today would be a day she'd want to see me.

The waiter comes by with great timing, interrupting our speechless date. He drops off our waters, then grabs the pen from behind his ear and pulls out a little notepad from his pocket. "Are you ready to order?" he asks us with his cheerful waiter voice.

I glance at Jess to make sure she's ready, and she nods at me in conformation.

I turn to the waiter. "Could I get a slice of pumpkin pie?" I ask. "With whipped cream."

"And a slice of banana cream for me, please," Jessie adds in. Her voice is emotionless. But it's nice to hear her say anything.

The waiter scribbles our orders. "Alright, thank you." He clicks his pen and turns away.

Suddenly, I get this idea that I consider great. I reach out to the waiter before he can leave. "Also," I say, and the waiter turns to me. "Can we get a couple of kid's menus?"

"Kid's menus?" I hear Jessie question.

Maybe it's because of her confusion, maybe it's because it's the first time I've seen her express an emotion other than distressed today, I smirk. "Yes," I say to her and the waiter.

The waiter gives me a weird look. "Sure..." he responds doubtfully. "I'll get that for you right now."

As the waiter disappears, I lean back against the wall of the booth staring at the confused girl across from me.

"Kid's menus?" Jessie asks again.

"Yeah. So we could play the games," I say, like the reason is completely obvious.

She closes her eyes and chuckles, sliding down a little in her seat.

To be honest, I'm so proud I made her laugh. My heart lifts and drops as I see her smile. It makes me hopeful.

The waiter comes back very soon and places a menu and a box of crayons in front of me and one of each in front of Jessie.

We both open our paper menus to the part with all the connect-the-dots and the word searches. I find a game I like and point at it. "Tic-Tac-Toe," I suggest as I pull the red crayon from my box. "I'll be X."

She smiles. "I guess I'll be O."

I place my menu in the middle of the table so we can play together. I start the game, crossing my X into the middle box.