nebula :: [malik]

[ ii :: alphabet ]

"-Once I finish calling roll, grab your lab partners and your books and meet me in the observatory, yeah?"

Cowell turns from the class back to his roll book.

Zayn places his pen between his teeth.

"Yeah, " Cowell says, and he looks up lazily at the students within the laboratory.

"Abner and Abraham?"

She's not in class, today.

"Brooks, Carter."

Zayn realizes this rather immediately due to the fact that he decided to stop and eat with Louis in TISCH before class and so he wasn't his typical fifteen minutes early and showed up just before Cowell entered the door.

Now, he sits.

"Davis, Demirjian, Dillon."

Zayn takes his pen from between his teeth. He stares back and forth between the door and his professor's desk.

"Gershwin, Ifedi."

Maybe she's dropped, he thinks. Maybe she's realized just how stupid this class actually is and maybe she's decided to do the intelligent thing: maybe she's changed her schedule. Maybe she's already switched to Psych. Why didn't he listen to Liam? Why didn't he fucking take Psych?

"So, who's this girl you're obsessed with, again?" Louis'd asked on the steps of the Eisner and Lubin Auditorium.

Zayn had furrowed his dark brow. "What?"

Louis waved impatiently. "That girl," he said, folding his pizza. "That girl you'd been going on about..."

"I dunno what you're talking about," Zayn had said. "Obviously."

Louis had snorted, rolling his bright blue eyes.

He had also hummed impatiently. "So you tell Liam, but not me? You love him more than me, don't you? What does Li have that I don't, Zayn?"

Zayn had rolled his eyes.

"I'll change!" Louis had exclaimed dramatically, causing Zayn to realize yet again why his mate was majoring in theater. "I can change, Zayn. I can be better. I can be the man you need-starting, now, promise. Is it the dishes in the flat? Is it? I told ya I'd get to them...eventually..."

Zayn shook his head, despite the fact that he was laughing.

He'd also taken a bite of his pie.

"I dunno."

"You dunno, what? You've got to elaborate, Malik."

Zayn'd rolled his eyes, at this point.

"I don' know who you mean, Lou."

"Kirkpatrick, Lacinski."

Truth is, he knows her name is Anais and he knows she's friends with Louis (which is why he didn't want to tell him), and he knows that at one point he thinks Harry fancied her, but since his mate has made no mention of her recently Zayn assumes that apparently he's moved on because Harry was very good at that: moving on from girls he'd gone one about as if he were close enough to asking their hand in marriage.

His eyes keep flickering towards the door.

Astronomy?

Like, what was he thinking, anyway, taking Astronomy? He isn't even that great at math. He's much better at English. What's he doing in a class where he'll have to apply calculus and physics?

Why the hell didn't he listen to Liam?

"Liron, MacDougall-"

Shit. Already at the 'M's.

She's not coming.

"Malik-"

Zayn scans the room for his partner.

"-and Mali."

"Yes!"

The whole class looks up, and Anais stands in a leather dress and heels and furs and her makeup is done and her hair's side-swept albeit the few hairs that are sticking up on her head from running, apparently because she's also breathing heavily and the class is all staring at this girl who Zayn thinks looks like she belongs on a billboard somewhere because she's without imperfection, and all the while he's staring at this girl who he doesn't quite know and he's thinking to himself, What an entrance.

"God," she pants, "the design school had a fashion show today and I walked in it and it was supposed to be over with enough time for me to change but it ran over since it started late and-"

"Stop, stop," Cowell interjects, face squinted into a frown, hand raised to silence.

Zayn's smile is hidden; his teeth are on his pen.

"Right. Jesus; I'm here, I'm here-Sorry, sorry..."

"Lab session today," he says, motioning towards the instructions sprawled on the board.

"Okay..."

Cowell shakes his head. "Last name?"

"Mali," she breathes.

"Find your lab partner," he continues. His eyes scan the room. "Malik? Where's Zayn Malik?"

Zayn lifts his pen, and her eyes grow wide once they lock on his.

She flashes a small, breathless smile.

"Thank you, Professor," she replies, to which she receives a nod, and she makes her way towards him in the back of the lab.

Cowell turns back to his list.

"Neil, O'Ryan."

Anais slides into the seat beside Zayn.

"Hi," she says.

He nods.

He shakes his head and mentally berates himself because what the fuck-did he honestly just not speak?

"Zayn, yes?" She continues, unfazed.

He nods again.

What else is there to do at this point?

"Great," she says. "I'm Anais."

"Uh, yeah," he chuckles softly. "Yeah, I know."

-~*~-

Ok chapters are gonna be longer I promise and I'm so sorry I've been slacking on updates all around because I literally have not had time to do anything but school so yeah. I'm back on it now so yay and I think WAB2 is getting updated next for all of you reading that. Love you guys and thanks for bearing with me. xx