Hands

Ten.

"Hey Elora. Didn't expect to see you here."

Zayn stood behind the bench that Harry and I were perched on. His dark hair was slicked back, and he wore a white t-shirt. I clutched my chest out of fright and surprise as Zayn had snuck up on us. I silently hoped that he hadn't heard what Harry and I were talking about.

"Shit, you scared me half to death," I complained jokingly, forcing a smile onto my face even though I was beyond anxious from mine and Harry's conversation. Zayn chuckled and walked around to the front of the bench.

"Sorry, Elora, didn't mean to scare ya," Zayn smiled. He reached a hand out to Harry for him to shake. "You're Harry, right," Zayn questioned as him and Harry shook hands. Harry nodded. "I'm Zayn," Zayn greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Zayn," Harry spoke. I could tell he was a bit annoyed at our conversation being interrupted, but he forced a friendly smile. I welcomed the interruption, happy that I wouldn't have to keep talking about difficult stuff with Harry. Zayn sat down next to me and began to chat.

"Which one is your daughter," I questioned, gesturing to the group of kids on the playground, trying to spot a girl that could resemble Zayn.

"Oh, I don't have her this week. I just come here to feed and watch the ducks in the pond back there," Zayn answered, gesturing to a small path that I assume led to a pond.

"Sounds peaceful," I commented. Zayn smiled. We sat and chatted for a solid twenty minutes before Zayn said something that caught me completely off guard.

"I thought I saw you and Clio on the news last night," He spoke in a low voice. My blood ran cold as I scrambled to come up with an excuse or a lie to change the subject. Zayn seemed to notice my sudden panic.

"A guy, I think his name was Derek or Damian or something, he was looking for his wife and kid. She and the girl looked like you and Clio," He continued. I wasn't going to admit that it was, in fact Clio and I on the news. Desperate times called for desperate measures so I blurted out the only thing I could come up with at that moment.

"It couldn't have been us. Probably just a coincidence," I laughed nervously. Zayn's face scrunched up for a moment but returned back to normal shortly after.

"Yeah," Zayn trailed off, studying my face.

"I have a pretty generic face I guess. I get mistaken for a lot of people," I played coolly. I was a decent liar, but this was a pretty big lie, especially considering that our names had been mentioned on the news story. I hoped and prayed that Zayn didn't pay attention when they said our names. It was a dead giveaway and I knew he'd be suspicious. Part of me wanted to just come clean to Zayn and tell him what was going on, but the stubborn and embarrassed and anxious part of me refused. So I kept the lie up.

"I don't think it's generic at all," Zayn stated. "Your face is quite unique and special," He continued, smiling gently. This broke the tension but I still found myself blushing from what I hoped was a compliment.

"Thank you, Zayn. You're very sweet," I blushed.

"Don't mention it, Elora. With a face as pretty as yours, I bet you receive compliments all the time," Zayn smirked. I glanced at Harry who was probably trying his absolute hardest not to roll his eyes. This made me crack a smile.

"You're such a flirt," I teased, chuckling but a bit uncomfortable receiving compliments from Zayn. I was trying my hardest to keep the conversation light and away from that stupid news story.

"Sorry, I probably interrupted your conversation," Zayn apologized. "I'll let you get back to talking," Zayn stated.

"No, you didn't interrupt. It's nice to see you," I corrected.