Never Land

The setting sun made Zayn even more nervous as he scoured the woods, knowing Gabriella had to be somewhere. The sun was about to set and he knew she would be a goner if she was out here alone, unarmed. He felt sick with himself that he’d left her so completely helpless, and swore he was going to spend the rest of his life making it up to her. He just prayed Tiger Lily’s tribe hadn’t found her and were roasting her on a spit, or she’d fallen to one of the crocodiles or…

He shook his head, knowing he had to focus if he was going to find her. Finally a light in the distance caught his attention. He slowly made his way over, and as he heard Gabriella sniffling, he felt like the worst kind of scum. Every tear, every sigh, all of it had been because he was an idiot and had never seen how perfect she was. Her emerald green eyes that glittered in the sunlight, her plump, pink lips. She was an absolute beauty, and he had made her feel worthless.

He quietly pushed a bush to the side, and as he saw her shaking, trying to start a minuscule fire, his heart shattered. She looked so cold and miserable, her eyes were red from tears as they continued to roll down her face, her small body quivering as she sobbed.

Zayn tried to be quiet, but the snap of a branch beneath his boot gave him away. Her eyes shot towards the sound as she leapt to her feet. “S-stay back.” Zayn swallowed nervously, walking out with his hands raised in surrender. Her green eyes went wide as she just looked at him, but they quickly narrowed as she scowled. “Go away.”

“Gabe-” He started.

“No.” She spat. “I know you’re just going to go be with that stupid blonde girl and marry her and have the most beautiful babies in all of Never Land. And I have no intentions of watching that, so leave me alone.”

“Gabriella.” He murmured. She softened slightly as he used her full name, something he never did. “You’ll die out here.”

“You seemed perfectly content without me.” She whispered. “So just go away and marry that dumb girl, see if she’s half the first mate I am.”

“I don’t want her to be the first mate-”

“Right sorry, she’ll be too busy popping out babies for you-”

“Gabriella, shut the hell up.” He snapped. Her eyes grew wide as he walked towards her, his honey brown eyes still making her knees weak, as much as she tried to fight it. “I don’t want another first mate.”

“Not everything is about what you want Zayn.” She snapped. “You have to be the most selfish, arrogant, self-centered, and blind man that has ever lived in Never Land.” His heart was breaking as he saw the pain in her eyes, how hard it was for her to hurt him. “And I never want to see you again.”

“Gabriella-” But as he started towards her she turned, running off into the forest. He took off after her, knowing that he somehow had to tell her he loved her. But for some reason he just couldn’t make the words leave his mouth. He was terrified that once he’d fallen for her she’d decide she didn’t love him anymore, that she’d run off and be with someone else. But his fear of her getting hurt overpowered it, making his legs push themselves to the limit before heard a scream.

He ran out into the clearing, nearly falling off the sheer, fifty foot cliff there that lead to the caves he and Gabe had explored as children. And when he saw the crocodiles below, having been drawn by Gabriella’s scream, he knew there was no time to lose. He looked frantically for Gabriella, but didn’t see her.

“GABE!” He roared. He looked over at the crocodiles, wondering if he was too late when he heard a small whimper. He looked to the left where Gabe was stuck, a root the only thing keeping her from certain death. Her eyes moved to his, exposing her fear. There was a loud tearing sound as the root began to fall through the dirt, dropping her another ten feet as she screamed.

“ZAYN!” Her eyes met his and she felt tears blur her vision. There was no way he could climb down in time, she was going to die here. She knew she had to tell him, let him know that she loved him more than she even knew she could love someone. She looked up, accepting her fate as he frantically searched for a way to get to her. “Zayn.” He turned to her as she shook her head. “It’s no use.”

“Don’t say that.” He said, looking at her. “Don’t you dare give up on me Gabriella Smee.”

“I won’t let you get yourself killed for nothing.” She said. “But I have to tell you something.” The root tore through the dirt again, dropping her to just ten or so feet above the crocodile’s snapping mouths. She looked back up at him, smiling as she knew that she would at least get to go out seeing his perfect, handsome face. “I love you Zayn.” She said. He pressed his lips together, just looking at her.

“I know.” He whispered. “And that’s why I’m not letting you die today.” He then shot over the cliff, and Gabriella gasped. The thin vine around his waist could snap at any moment, but as he smacked against the dirt beside her, it somehow held. He reached his arm out, the other holding the vine securely. “Come on.” He said. But she shook her head.

“It’ll snap with both of us Zayn, I won’t let you die.”

“The captain goes down with the ship.” He said, trying to grab her, but she kept away.

“Don’t die for me! Go kidnap that stupid blonde girl and have beautiful babies and forget all about me.”

“Dammit Gabriella I don’t want Evelyn!” He roared. She was stunned into silence again as Zayn Malik himself blushed. He then looked over, his eyes meeting hers and making her heart race. “I want you Gabriella. I…” He stopped, pressing his lips together. “I love you. So if we go out, we go out together.”

“But-”

“Let me finish or I’m never going to get this out.” He pleaded. He took another deep breath, looking into those shining eyes. “If we make it up this cliff, and if you’ll have me, I’m going to marry you and spend every day of the rest of my life loving you like you’ve loved me all these years.” He held out his hand to her again, his eyes pleading. She felt tears sting her eyes as she smiled at him, finally moving to let him wrap his arm around her waist. They both took a deep breath as she finally let go of the root, putting her full weight on the vine.

And it didn’t break.

They both smiled at each other as Zayn wrapped her arms around his neck, quickly carrying them up the cliff face before finally they both grabbed the ledge, pulling themselves up and collapsing on the dirt. Zayn was panting like a dog as he looked at the sky, a beaming smile on his face. He then turned his head to see Gabriella beside him and took her hand in his. He laced their fingers together, unable to believe he’d never noticed how perfectly her small hand fit in his. She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

“Zayn?”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” He cocked an eyebrow at her as she moved over, letting her head hover over his, her long hair creating a curtain that cut them off from the rest of the world. She smiled as he finally realized she had agreed to marry him as she beamed, tackling her back to the ground as she giggled. He then beamed, pressing his lips to hers in the most passionate, perfect kiss. And it was only the first of millions to come.