Hidden Beneath Brown Eyes (A Zayn Malik Fanfiction)

Chapter 56 - We're Not In Neverland

I stood with my back still pressed hard up against the tree, staring at Zayn with a dazed expression on my face. My lips and neck still burned from where he had kissed them, and I could feel our hearts as they beat against each other, completely out of sync.

He still held me at my hips, his fingers starting to tighten their grip again and dig into me. Meanwhile, my hands moved from his jaw up into his hair, twirling one of his jet black locks around my finger. My eyes wandered to and fro across his face, drinking in all of his features, trying to grasp the fact that this was all real.

I could feel the pull of my lips as a big smile made its way onto my face, revealing my slightly crooked teeth, but the fact that I didn't even care was proof that I was genuinely, undeniably happy. I wanted this moment to last forever, to go on and on. I wanted time to pause, even for just a little bit, so we could stay like this.

Being here with Zayn, just like this, is what I had always wanted. It's what I had been dreaming of for the last five years.

"Why now?" I asked, my voice as calm as it could be, gliding smoothly through the silence that surrounded us.

He didn't respond immediately. He just continued to stand there, only, he removed his hands from my hips and proceeded to wrap them around my body, pulling me into his chest.

He let out a light sigh, while gently rubbing my back. He was thinking. He was planning every word out carefully, making absolutely sure that he ended up saying exactly what was on his mind.

I shifted slightly in his arms, and he took the opportunity to release me and once again take hold of my face. His fingers were rough against my delicate skin. It was an exquisite contrast that tempted me to once again bring his lips to mine, but I resisted.

He wanted to speak, that much I was sure of. he traced circles across my cheeks lightly with his fingernails, while his eyes roamed my face, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

"Because..." he began. "I should have done it last night. I should have done it on the plane. I should have done it every time I had the chance."

His words struck me and took me by surprise. I knew that he had thought about it, just like I had, but to know that he was thinking about it at the same moments as I was, made me feel even more of a connection with him.

I felt a sense of comfort in his words, and in knowing that we shared the same thoughts. It made me feel sure and confident. I knew that we still had something, and this was a confirmation; one that I so desperately needed.

His eyes fell, and he hung his head in regret and shame. It never failed to amaze me, how many times he'd let me see the man behind the mask, the terrified little boy begging for someone to hold him, the misunderstood bad boy who was anything but bad.

I wanted to reach out to him, to let him know that I was listening, and that he wasn't the only one who had everything to lose.

I brought my hand up and rested it upon his cheek, splaying my fingers out as they ran through the thickness of his beard. Within seconds, my hand had been engulfed by his as he held it in place. His lips slightly parted and the breaths coming out of them were long and deep as he relaxed into me.

"Zayn, I-I"

"Ada?! Ada! Where are you love?" All the serenity and peace of that beautiful moment, was shattered like fragile glass as Louis' voice echoed off the trees.

It was like we had been violently yanked back into reality, and the blow felt more crushing than I could have ever expected. It was almost as if this beautiful moment had never even existed, because once reality set in, so did all of the weight it carried with it.