The Romantic & the Cynic

Sky sat with Zayn for about half an hour before she finally left, comfortable knowing that she had given him half an hour of peace. They had talked about his family, his first days on X-Factor, anything that brought no memory of Perrie. She saw him hesitate a few times when she asked a question but he seemed to want to talk to anyone about anything other than the situation he currently found himself in.

She began to feel her eyes start to drop, the long day and roller coaster of it making her very tired. She forced herself to push her body up, grabbing her empty beer bottle from beside her and starting to head towards the door.

"Well, I can't stay awake much longer and I still have to drive home," she said as she fought a yawn from escaping her mouth. As she reached the door, she heard him move on his bed and his voice came from over his shoulder.

"Thanks," he said in a soft voice. "I appreciated the short distraction."

Sky turned towards him and smiled. She saw the pain in his eyes and recognized it as something she had seen in the mirror five years earlier. Pain that still clung to the corners of her heart. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to help a little. I'll see you in the morning." Sky lifted her hand in a wave and left the quiet room.

As she stepped from the hall to the living room, all four of the men were by her side with eager and inquisitive looks on their faces. She figured that they had not had much success in getting Zayn to talk so the fact that she had just emerged after half an hour was immediately something to discuss. It was Liam who spoke first, one hand clasped in the other in front of him.

"Is he okay," he asked. Sky knew this was not a general question, one about his overall state of mind and how he was dealing with the harshness that still resided in his mind. This question was specific to the moment. Specific to whether Zayn would survive the next five minutes and not the next two weeks.

Sky nodded. "He's fine for the moment. I think he just needs to sleep tonight and feel miserable about the whole thing. Let him be unless you hear anymore broken glass." All four heads nodded in agreement. She took a quick look down at her clock and yawned as she read the time. It was 9:30 and she was exhausted from the day. She had to get herself home. She dug her keys out of her purse that was beside the chair and jingled them in the air. "I had better head back to the apartment. Thank you for a great dinner and great hospitality but I need to hit the sack. I will see you guys in the morning."

Louis was beside her then, his hands resting on her arms. "Are you going to be okay to drive home? It's dark and you didn't drive here so the way back to the city may be a bit confusing."

"I'll be fine. Jake's car has GPS so it will graciously direct me home." She slid her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her camera bags she had already packed up before heading towards the door. "Nine a.m., I will see you then."

Louis continued to look worried and she saw him pick up a set of keys from the table by the chair. "Let me at least get you back to the main road. You can follow me."

Sky shrugged her shoulders and nodded agreeance as she slid her purse and camera bags over her shoulder and headed towards and out the front door. She heard Louis move behind her and felt his hand on the small of her back when she reached her car. She stopped and turned to face him.

"Thanks," he said as he jingled the keys hanging from his hand. "We all really appreciate you talking to Zayn. It's been hard the last few weeks with none of us being not quite sure what to say to him without feeling like we just got our asses handed to us."

"I'll give you one hint." Sky opened the door of the convertible and slid her body into the contoured seat. "Talk to him. Talk to him about anything and everything, like you used to. Be his friend and let him know you're there. When he is ready to talk, he'll let you know."

Louis nodded and moved away from the car. "Thanks Sky." He turned to head towards the car he would be driving and stopped when he reached the door. "I think I'm glad Jake had to drop the assignment. I don't think he would have been able to do that."

He wouldn't, Sky thought to herself as Louis got in and started his car. She remembered when she had been struggling, when she had been the one locking herself in her room. Jake hadn't known how to handle it and their friendship had been strained for awhile because of it. She understood now what had caused his own fears and didn't hold it against him but at the time it had been very hard.

Sky started her own car and followed Louis onto the road. He drove for about five minutes through curving and dark streets and she was glad he had offered to help her find her way. Even with the GPS, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to make it. Eventually, she found herself turning at the stop sign that led to the road that would guide her home. Louis pulled off to the side and waved goodbye before she turned and headed to her temporary home.

The drive home lasted an hour, shorter due to the decreased amount of traffic. As she pulled the car into the spot and grabbed her belongings, she put the roof up and headed up stairs. When she reached the apartment, she threw her purse down, set her bags on the table and dropped her body on the oversized chair. She saw her laptop out of the corner of her eye and felt a sense of guilt enter her. She knew that she should pull the camera cards out and start to go through the hundreds of pictures that she had taken during the day. Look at the angles, the composition, the coloring and get any flashes of inspiration and fix any mistakes for the next day but she was just too tired. She took a quick look at her phone and saw one voice message from Jessica and a text from Jake. She still felt tired and Jake could wait but after doing the math and seeing it was only nine o'clock at night in Austin, she snuggled herself into the pillows and pressed the button to call her back. She only did so because she knew that her schedule for the next two months was going to be very busy and she wanted to take advantage of the quiet moment if she could. Besides, she had to tell somebody and Jessica was the best/only person to tell.

The phone rang three times before Jessica picked up and lazily answered. "Hello," Jessica said in a voice tinged with alcohol.

"Bit early, isn't it?" Sky forced back a yawn as she let her body relax into the couch. "You usually are sober until at least 11." Sky heard a chuckle come bubbling across the phone, a giggle that told her Jess was at least a few drinks in. She also heard a few voices in the background and assumed that Jessica had a few people over for the night.

"Yes but I also don't have class tomorrow so tonight is just for me, myself and I." A pause and Sky heard another drink slide past Jessica's probably red lips. "So, the other big news tonight is just who in the heck are you shooting for the next two months. I haven't forgotten your future rockstar beau."

Sky hesitated for a moment before speaking. She became unsure of whether or not she should share the information with the girl. They were of similar age physically but maturity wise, there was a large gap. Just what would Jessica's reaction be? Would she decide to blurt it out to the first person she spoke to or would she be calm about it? But Sky had promised to tell her and she decided she had to do so.

"I am shooting a very famous band, although not one that we had guessed." Sky hesitated for dramatic effect and could picture Jessica sitting on the edge of her worn couch, her painted nails tapping against her arm. "I am shooting One Direction."

Jessica was silent for only a moment before she began trying to make Sky deaf in her right ear. "Oh. My. God," she yelled loudly into the phone. "Are you kidding me? Those guys are so hot and so amazing! Way cooler than the old bands you were talking about."

Sky laughed. "While I wouldn't go that far, they are a nice bunch of guys."

"So, you have to tell me who is the hottest. I mean, I think it is definitely Louis but Zayn has that whole mystery thing going on. And Liam rocks the dependable guy. And Niall seems like a goofball. And Harry is just innately sexy." Jessica talked without taking a breath, her voice high with excitement and alcohol. "I mean really, in the end, you can't exactly go wrong with any of them but you must have a favourite."

Sky had been about to deny it, to tell Jessica that they were all just regular guys who laughed, ate pizza and liked to hang out. But then dark, brooding hazel eyes came across her mind, coming back in her memory. Eyes that held mystery and pain and fascination and feeling that seemed to tease her. Eyes that she didn't think she would ever lose from her senses. She shook her head to clear before forcing a sigh from her tight throat and speaking.

"They are all very nice, very good-looking guys. And they are clients that I have a working relationship with and nothing more."

"If you say so." A loud crash came through the line and Jessica's voice became muffled as she probably turned to see what one of her friends had seemingly destroyed. "Crap, Rick! I told you to leave that shit alone." Another shift in position and her voice was clear again. "Look Sky, I expect regular updates about just which one of them you are going to choose as your new guy. Call me soon, okay?"

"Of course." Sky felt her mouth tighten in another yawn and she felt her body cry for sleep. "Look, I am going to get myself to bed. I'll call you in a couple of days."

Jessica agreed and they said goodnight before hanging up the phone. Sky changed into her pyjamas before taking out her contacts. She was about to head to bed when she saw her laptop bag lying on the coffee table, a sense of guilt coming over her. She really should look through the photos before going in the next day, to at least figure out the best angles and lighting if she didn't do any editing. She slid her glasses on, grabbed a blanket off of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders before she sat down and opened up her laptop. The screen came to life and she slid in the memory card from the camera beside her. The computer instantly began to access the photos from the card, the faces of the band popping up in quick succession. Louis and Harry mugging for her, Liam staring intently at the board in front of him, Niall seeming to always be eating.

But it was Zayn who seemed to have intrigued her the most. While he had the least amount of photos since she had felt uncomfortable in shooting him at times, they were the ones that immediately caught her eye. The shadows that seemed to cling to his face, the smile that never quite appeared, the body that seemed to want to collapse in on itself. All of it made an interesting subject matter for her as a photographer and clawed at her heart as a person.

Sky forced herself to move on and review most of the photos, the number of them being too many to look at to see them all. She was happy with the results of the first day's shots, the combination of her ability and the band's experience showing through. She did get a few ideas for the next day on how to get some even better shots before she shut down the computer and crawled her way into bed, desperate for sleep.

And while sleep did come easily, her body eager to retreat to quiet slumber, her mind stayed focused. Focused on one set of hazel eyes. Eyes that hovered around her as she slept. Eyes that didn't scare her but intrigued her with their emotion she wanted to unlock.