London Calling

“Is it bed time yet?” Jen whined from her spot on the couch behind the control panel of London Recording Studio. She had been invited by the boys to attend one of their recording sessions when her classes got canceled. “I haven’t even sung anything and I’m exhausted!”

They boys seated at the large control panel, which was the length of the small mixing room, laughed. Even Niall, who could hear her through his headphones in the recording booth, let out his awkward laugh. Jen loved his laugh because it was so odd sounding and slightly obnoxious that she could never refrain from laughing herself when she heard it. “Don’t you write for this long normally?” Zayn asked her as he stood. He walked over to her and lifted her feet so he could sit with her on the red leather couch. He put her short clad legs on his lap when he was settled.

“Yes, but that’s something that I love to do. Don’t get me wrong, you guys sing great but I don’t give a shit about the recording process. If I hear someone say ‘let’s do that again’ I might just punch them in the face.”

“Let’s do that again Niall,” Harry said to which Niall grinned and nodded.

Zayn held her legs to prevent her from harming Harry in anyway but a glare. She loved spending time with the boys because they all had become fast friends. It seemed like if you were okay with one, the others accepted you just as easily which was nice. She didn’t have many friends of her own. She stuck to Jonathan and his teammates like glue, always afraid to spread her wings without her brother there to catch her if she fell.

“Well if you’re tired of listening to us, why don’t you give it a go?” Louis challenged with his arms crossed and a raised brow.

“That’s the worst idea ever Tommo. You guys have the voices of angels and I am straight up terrible. I usually only sing when I am alone or I want to annoy someone,” she told him flatly.

“Oh no, the challenge has been set, you have to sing now,” Harry told her with a smirk.

Jen smirked back and shrugged, if he wanted his ears to bleed then so be it. She had given them fair warning and it was on them now. She was going to embarrass herself completely, but she figured it was worth annoying Harry. She was secure in all their friendships enough to know that though they may tease her about it, but would let it go eventually. She stood and sauntered into the recording room with Niall. He gave her a reassuring smile as he went into the control room with the other boys. She took her phone out of her pocket and put her ear bud in her ears. She scrolled through her phone and resisted smirking when she came across Basket Case by Green Day. She pushed play and then scrunched up her face in mock concentration before belting out, “Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once? I am one of those melodramatic fools, neurotic to the bone no doubt about it!”

By that time her ear buds were ripped from her ears. She looked up and grinned at the amused brown eyes looking down at her. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” Zayn told her with a laugh.

She hit his chest lightly and told him in a very sarcastic tone, “Gee thanks.” She crossed her arms and raised a brow, “Got any requests for this super star?”

“Absolutely not. Sorry love but that was dreadful,” Liam told her.

“I told you it would be,” she told him shrugging.

“Come on. Niall has to finish his part and then we will get food.” Zayn took her hand in his and led her out of the recording room. They sat down on the couch and he faced her. “I have a bet for you,” he told her seriously.

“Oh dear, what is it?”

“We play rock, paper, scissors and if I win I get to read the notebook you write in everyday. If you win then I don’t.”

“No,” Jen told him forcefully. There was no way she was letting it up to chance whether he read her innermost thoughts and stories. That was complete madness and she was growing tired of him constantly asking to read some of her stuff. She didn’t want to show him and she thought that was reason enough now. She had to have a lot of trust in someone for them to read her writing. Hell Jon had been waiting forever to read her work. It came to the point where he took some of her notebooks without her knowing to read them. He told her a while after the fact, so there was no use in crying over spilled milk, so she let him slide. She wasn’t ready to let him all the way in especially when he could leave at the drop of a hat.

“Please Jen, you know everything about me.”

“I doubt that. Zayn just drop it.”

“Fine,” Zayn snapped. Jen wasn't surprised that he was getting agitated. From the minute he told her about being in One Direction, he didn't ever feel the need to hide anything from her. He completely trusted her and Jen admired him for it. She had made a good name for herself in his books, but she couldn't find it in herself to trust him completely yet. They had made fast friends and progress in the trusting area, but for Jen trust took time. The fact that Zayn could trust her so easily and Jen couldn't do the same for him was starting to cause a rift in their friendship. As much as Jen didn't want that to happen, she felt it would be worse if she told him the truth about everything.

She was just beginning to heal and start trusting that all people weren't out to get her. She didn't want to throw herself into the world of human interaction fully until there was not a doubt in her mind that Zayn was the trustworthy man he claimed to be. In time she would see that, but the time wasn't right now. He just had to give her time.

She smiled at him and hugged him, “Thank you. I’ll let you read it when I’m ready.”

“When will that be?”

“Honestly, I don’t know Zayn. We’ve only known each other for a little bit. How do I know you won’t be freaked and leave me alone in London?”

“Love, you’re way too cute for me to just drop,” Zayn joked as he tapped her on her button nose with his index finger. He then returned to the seriousness at hand “Besides these lads who are basically brothers and my real family, you’re the only one I trust. Please learn to trust me like that.”

“I’m trying; I just need a bit more time.”

He kissed her on the forehead, “Then you have it, just don’t wait forever.”

“NANDO’s!” Niall yelled at the top of his lungs, successfully ending the conversation. They got up and walked out the door that Niall had just ran through at top speed as if getting to the car would propel them all to Nando’s.

*****

Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Harry both stared at Niall in shock. He and Jen had been splitting an appetizer because they couldn’t wait to get their main course, they were hungry now. Niall had offered Jen the last mozzarella stick in the basket and none of the boys could believe it. Instead of eating the whole thing, Jen split it in half and gave a half to Niall. When they both had successfully finished their appetizer, they looked up wide eyed at the fact that everyone was staring at them. “What?”

“Niall gave you the last cheese stick,” Louis told her, “He never does that unless he really likes you and sometimes he still doesn’t share his food.”

“He tried to bite my hand when I took his last chip,” Zayn added to solidify Louis’ point. Zayn knew that Niall really had to like a person to share his food with them. If there was one thing that Niall loved more than sleep was food. He still remembered the time when Niall woke up crying because he had a dream that all the food on Earth was gone. Zayn couldn’t believe that Jen was the one that would be able to get Niall away from his food obsession and it made him a little jealous of Niall. Jen was his friend first and that’s just how it had to be for him. Jen was going to open up to him, not Niall. He wouldn’t take anything less.

She looked at Niall for confirmation and he silently nodded. A huge grin took over her fair skinned face. She hugged Niall tightly around his neck and exclaimed, “Nialler! I’m so honored!”

He laughed as he hugged her back, “It was my pleasure Ms. Toews. I haven’t met a woman who loved to eat as much as me, the honor is all mine.”

When she let go of him she told him, “I’ll have to get you to Canada with my family so you can see what I have to compete with and you’ll understand why food is precious to me.”

“Sounds like a date,” Niall said with a wink and Zayn felt his blood start to boil.