When I Think About You

Chapter 24: The Outer World

"So, you're a druggie now?" Zayn asked chirpily as he entered our room just as I was popping a pill for my headache into my mouth. They must've just gotten back from doing another interview. I decided earlier that I was gonna sit this one out since I was feeling a bit woozy after breakfast.

"Shut up." I answered with a roll of my eyes. He only chuckled before wrapping his arms around my waist and plopping us down on the bed.

"Want me to read to you?" He asked softly as he reached over to my bedside table and grabbed 'Catching Fire' gingerly.

"That would be lovely." I whispered as I snuggled closer to him and buried my face in the crook of his neck.

Zayn kissed my forehead before opening the book where I effortlessly stuffed one of my signature pink post-its.

"My face breaks into a huge smile and I start walking in Peeta's direction. Then, as if I can't stand it another second, I start running. He catches me and spins me around and then he slips — he still isn't entirely in command of his artificial leg—and we fall into the snow, me on top of him, and that's where we have our first kiss in months. It's full of fur and snowflakes and lipstick, but underneath all that, I can feel the steadiness that Peeta brings to everything. And I know I'm not alone. As badly as I have hurt him, he won't expose me in front of the cameras. Won't condemn me with a halfhearted kiss. He's still looking out for me. Just as he did in the arena. Somehow the thought makes me want to cry." Zayn read clearly. His voice resonated in the room, and his Bradford accent shone through which made my heart beat faster in my chest. I placed a hand on top of his chest and gently wrapped my fingers around the thin material of his shirt.

Pulling him down to me by his shirt, I gently parted my lips and closed my eyes before pressing my lips to his in a slow and passionate kiss. He responded by closing the book with one hand and placing it on his nightstand then placing a hand on my waist; all the while not breaking our liplock.

I rolled on top of him and carefully straddled his waist before placing my free hand on the crook of his neck and caressing the spot sensually while my other hand stayed locked on his shirt.

SUPERMAAAAAAN!

Louis' ringtone blared from my phone which made me detach my lips from Zayn's and get off him.

"Damn it." Zayn grumbled which made me giggle. I picked the phone up from the table and couldn't help but smile at Louis' text message that was previewed on my iPhone's lock screen. In two quick motions, I unlocked the phone and read the message.

From: Louis Tommo
Hey, baby sis. How r u feeling? Zayn skipped lunch with us so he could spend the rest of the day with you. Is he there? XX

To: Louis Tommo
I'm fine. My headache's a bit dull now. Yeah, he's here. Maybe we'll go out for lunch. I need the Vitamin D anyway. :3

"You didn't tell me that you skipped lunch with the boys." I said with a small smile on my face as I turned my gaze to Zayn who was sprawled on our bed.

"I was worried about you." he admitted softly before blushing and looking at the curtains which were drawn over the windows. I sat down beside him and placed a hand on his thigh before dragging it up and subtly running it over his crotch before letting it rest on his stomach.

"You're too sweet for your own good." I whispered before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

"And you're just too perfect for me." He whispered before running his fingertips on my cheek and smiling up at me. Laying down beside him, I shook my head before cuddling into his side and placing an arm around him while the other one stayed in between us.

"I love you so much." I said softly as I looked into his eyes. His eyes were the prettiest hazel-brown that I've seen.. and his lashes were thick and long which made me love his eyes even more. My gaze trailed down to his nose then to his lips. It was a dark baby pink since he used to smoke; and it was somewhat swollen right now. But, normally, his lips were the perfect cupid's bow shape which made me envy his lips.

"I love you more." he whispered with a chuckle which made me smile and place my left hand's fingers on top of his lips; gently tracing the outline.

"When we have kids, I want them to have your lips.. And your eyes." I whispered as I connected my gaze with his. He smiled at me and held my hand there before placing a kiss on my palm. I moved that hand to his cheek and caressed it lovingly.

"I want them to have your eyes. They're really beautiful. And they're my most favorite part of your body." He answered quietly. I blushed and bit my bottom lip.

He gently grabbed his phone from his pocket and held it above us. That only meant that this is a camera op. I smiled and looked into the lens. For the next shot, he decided to press a kiss to my cheek. The third one was of us kissing... And many more followed, most of those were goofy pictures; us sporting duck faces, impersonating the 'LOL' meme, being cross-eyed, one was of us being, in Louis' words, 'swagmastas' and many others. But, my most favorite was a simple one of us being cheek to cheek and grinning at the camera.

***

"We should really have these printed out." Zayn stated after half an hour of taking tons of pictures. I giggled and pecked his lips.

"Want to go outside? Then we'll go and grab lunch." I asked softly.

"That sounds great. Come on, Mrs. Malik." He said with a grin as he helped me out of bed. I rolled my eyes an blushed as I looked away. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"I still have trouble getting around." I answered distastefully. My ankle was getting better, but it still hurt to walk really long distances, i.e. from up here to the elevator.. and everywhere else, really.. Bar our rooms.

"Shouldn't we wear disguises?" I asked quietly as Zayn perched me on his back. He turned to our dresser and picked up two pairs of Ray Bans, my straw fedora, and his Obey  flat cap. He handed me my share of the lot and I grinned before pecking his cheek.

We went down to the lobby and exited the hotel without much commotion, thanks to our disguises. Thank God that I wasn't wearing stripes today; I decided to don a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows ad a pair of denim shorts and a pair of navy blue Toms. Stripes would've risked giving me and Zayn away.

"So, we have these printed.. Then we go for lunch?" Zayn clarified as he held his phone up which cause me to wrap my right leg tighter around him since he removed his grip from that leg.

"Yep." I answered simply before snuggling into the crook of his neck and kissing a spot; making Zayn shiver involuntarily. I giggled and kissed it again which triggered the same reaction.

"Lil, if you don't want me to snog you senseless on this sidewalk, you'd stop now." Zayn threatened playfully. I laughed quietly and kissed it one last time before settling for looking around at the shops.

"I think we can have them printed there." I said softly before pointing to an establishment. He checked it first with his 20/20 vision which made me roll my eyes. I only have bad eyesight, I'm not blind.

"How come you don't like wearing glasses?" He asked quietly as he walked to the place I pointed out.

"I prefer just seeing naturally. Though, when I'm really desperate to see something that's far from me, I use my glasses." I answered nonchalantly.

"I guess that's justifiable." Zayn humored me. 

Eventually, we arrived at the place and saw that no one was in there apart from a girl behind the counter. Zayn gently set me down on my feet and wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me as we walked towards the counter.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" The girl asked cheerfully in a typical American accent. Zayn pulled out his phone.

"We wanted some pictures printed. We'll send them via bluetooth. 2 copies each, wallet sized. And, 1 copy each 3R." Zayn looked at me curiously after I said the last bit.

"I'm gonna make a wall collage back home. God knows I need more of you in my room." I answered teasingly which made him grin and kiss my lips.

We passed the pictures to the girl's computer and waited about half an hour for the pictures to develop. 

"You two are pretty famous, yeah?" The girl stated. Zayn and I looked up in shock. The girl never gave an indication that she knew who we were at first. Oh, right, the pictures. Duh.

"Please don't leak our pictures." I said softly before I could stop myself.

"Don't worry. We have a confidentiality agreement here." She answered and smiled at me. I looked at Zayn and we both sighed with relief.

"Thanks." I whispered.

Once it was done, we claimed our purchase and paid for it before exiting the shop quickly.

"Did you see her delete the pictures from their database?" Zayn asked as he perched me up on his back again.

"Yeah. She deleted everything." I answered with a small smile. Thank God she wasn't a crazed fan.

"Where do you want to eat?" My perfect boyfriend asked in a gentlemanly manner which made a blush tint my cheeks. How could I have landed with a guy as perfect as Zayn?

"I really don't know. T.G.I. Fridays?" I answered.

"I haven't seen one here, love. Sorry. Any other restaurant in mind?" Zayn said apologetically. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Pizza Hut?" I suggested.

"I think I saw a Pizza Hut somewhere." He answered enthusiastically as he continued walking.

Eventually, we made it to Pizza Hut. We sat down at a table for two and browse the menu.

"What would you like, love?" He asked softly.

"I... err.. Pasta Carbonara." I answered and Zayn grinned before turning to the waiter.

"One Pasta Carbonara, one Spaghetti Bolognese, and two glasses of iced tea. Oh, and Pepperoni pizza." Zayn ordered. The waiter jotted everything down and repeated our orders before stalking off.

"No dessert?" I asked with a pout which made Zayn chuckle.

"I know you like Starbucks as your dessert, Lil. Caramel frappuccino, to be exact." He stated with a smug grin.

"How'd you know? Stalker!" I accused playfully which made us laugh quietly.

"You mentioned it twice, actually. Now, let's see those pictures." He said before leaning closer to the table to get to me since we were across each other.

I unpacked the pictures on the table and showed them to Zayn. Both of us kept laughing at ourselves in the pictures.

Safe to say, my headache was cured... And I realized that I have what every girl dreams of: a loving, funny, faithful boyfriend. I have Zayn Jawaad Malik.

I looked up from the picture that I was laughing at and discreetly looked at Zayn. His eyes were crinkled at the corners as his lips were turned up in a smile. Only one thing crossed my train of thought as I admired my fantastic boyfriend:

I still can't believe how I ended up with someone so amaZAYN.