London Calling

Jen sat at a table in a restaurant in inner city London. They sat in a round booth in the back of the room and talked over their lunch. Jen sat between Zayn and Harry, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off Niall. The usual content smile was not on his face and he seemed very fidgety. What was more mind blowing was that he didn’t even touch his food yet, he had just moved his French fries around his plate. He held his head up with one hand as he stared down at his food while in deep thought. She was worried about him. She liked that he never was unhappy and seeing him unhappy was putting her on edge. She wanted to be vicariously happy through him. She had never seen him down before and as long as he was happy, she felt there was hope that she could be happy as well. He had made it his mission to make her smile at least once a day. She leaned into Zayn’s shoulder and tilted her face to whisper in his ear, “What’s wrong with Niall?”

He met her worried eyes with his and he simply shrugged before going back and eating his sandwich to which she rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. Was she seriously the only one that had picked up on his strange mood? Maybe he was just having an off day and the boys knew he would rebound before they had to ask about it. She went back to watching Niall worriedly while she moved the lettuce of her salad around, taking a bite here or there. She was lost in thought of how to cheer him up when he slammed his fist down on the table and making her jump in her seat. She looked up at the blond with her brown eyes wide.

Niall’s blue eyes connected with hers and she tried to get him to speak to her with an imploring look on her face. It must have worked because he was soon addressing her, “Would you go to the Brit Awards with me?”

Jen’s went wider if that was possible and she stuttered out, “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“I need a date for the Brit Awards because all these lads have dates and I don’t need to be a ninth wheel. I wanted to ask you because you know all of us and it would be nice to go with someone I can be myself with,” he said sheepishly as his cheeks got a bit red.

Jen’s first instinct was to look at Zayn for what he thought about this, but she fought it back. He had a girlfriend and it wasn’t like Niall was asking her on a date. At least, she didn’t think so, no, she knew Niall and he wouldn’t let a girl’s first date be a boring award show. She didn’t have anything else to do, let’s face it. She didn’t need a job because Jon supported her and she really didn’t have any motivation to work except on her writing career. Jon wanted her to focus on her school and what she loved and that was what she was doing. It wasn’t like she had any other friends in London to make plans with either. There was no legitimate reason to skip out on Niall. “Niall, I would love to save you from being the ninth wheel, but on one condition,” she told him with a pleasant smile. She was relieved that he was going to be happy again with this worry off his mind.

He raised an eyebrow with a grin and asked, “What would that be?”

“You have to help me pick out my dress,” she told him as she quickly told him, “It won’t be painful I promise.”

“Of course I’ll come,” he smiled.

“Let’s all go now,” Liam offered. “We will make you the prettiest date on the red carpet.”

She smiled and tried to push Harry out of the booth, “Come on Hazza! We have a mission to accomplish!”

Jen slipped on the light blue dress and zipped it up as much as she could before she went out with the boys who were waiting outside for her. She stuck her head out of the entrance without revealing her dress and asked, “Can someone zip me up again?” Zayn stepped forward and she turned around while moving her long hair out of his way. His warm hands felt good on the bare skin of her shoulder blades as he finished with the zipper. She turned around and smiled at him. However, he was merely staring at her with a pained expression. She was instantly concerned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You look so bloody beautiful,” he told her softly.

Jen blushed and looked down, “Thank you.”

They walked out to the rest of the boys and they all had wide grins on their faces and made catcalls at her to which she buried her fire engine red face in Zayn’s shoulder. She felt him shake with laughter as he comforted her with an arm around her shoulders.

That was when she felt her happiness dissipate as she knew this was where she really wanted to be. She wanted to go as Zayn’s date and be in his arms for the night. She just wanted one night in Zayn’s arms, knowing that she was his and he was hers. No one else would matter to her. Zayn was the most gentlemanly guy she had ever met. She had met some respectful people when attending Blackhawks events and they had treated her well, but she could tell it was an act. Zayn was just genuinely respectful to women. It may have been because he had three sisters, but he presented his manners so unconsciously that she knew it was just how he was raised and just how he acted now, he and his band mates were all like that.

She didn’t miss how attractive he was either. She was constantly battling herself to stop staring at him. She loved his soft raven hair whether it was styled or not. She loved how expressive his amber eyes could be. She loved that he chose to walk around without a shirt some days when they just woke up because it gave her a view of his chest and all the tattoos that seemed to make her more attracted to him. She didn’t know why, but she loved all his tattoos. They each told a little story about him and not to mention gave him that bad boy look that every nerdy girl like Jen secretly dreamed about. Perhaps she was a little crazy too because she would rather stay in Zayn's arms knowing there was nothing more than friendship in store for them rather than be out of his arms permanently.

That wasn’t what had won her over; it was how easy their friendship was. They just seemed to be totally in sync with each other. They had been quick to figure out each other’s quirks and dislikes and that made getting on each other’s nerves incredibly easy to do or avoid. They had spent hours talking to each other and pretty much had to go to sleep at the same time so they would both actually try to go to sleep instead of talking to the other. It was incredibly common for them to fall asleep talking to each other in one of their apartments. She had proved finally gotten proof that no matter what Zayn was going to be there for her and that made her feelings for him stronger.

“Are you sure you want to go with Nialler? I think we would be better suited for each other,” Harry said with a smirk.

She slapped his arm and rolled her eyes, “Hazza, there is absolutely no shot in hell for us. I hate to inform you of this but you have been friend zoned harder than anyone else you cheeky bastard.”

“Fuck off Harry, she’s all mine and if I play my cards right, it’ll be for more than one night at a stupid award show,” Niall said as he winked at Jen.

Jen’s cheeks turned crimson again. “Niall, you know all you have to do is ask,” she told him softly as she went from Zayn’s arms to Niall’s. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck. She breathed in his minty scent. Maybe Jonathan was right; Niall was a nice man and was pleasantly unattached. Hell, even both Patricks of the Blackhawks had been filled in on the situation. They both loved Jen like a sister and wanted what was best for them and all three hockey players were convinced that the right choice for what was best for her. She had been encouraged to give Niall a chance every day since spring break by one of the boys. They eventually got the entire team to text her daily telling her to grow some lady parts and ask him out.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’d ask if I knew I had a chance in hell of convincing you that I was the better chance. You and I both know the right choice is Zayn. Now act like I just flirted with you because I am trying to make Zayn choose you instead of Perrie.” She nodded against his chest and leaned up to kiss his cheek purposely lingering for a bit longer than normal. As her eyes were closed she silently hoped that Niall knew what he was doing and that his plan would work.

“I’m going to change; I’ll be out in a minute. Niall can you unzip me a bit?” He did as she asked, making it a deliberately slow gesture. Jen could feel Zayn's eyes burning into her skin, but she made no attempt to look at him. She thanked Niall before going back into the dressing room and changing. She was back in the huddle in her jeans and Blackhawks wind breaker that all the employees received every year. She chose to wear her black moccasins on her feet before she knew they were going to go on an epic shopping trip. Her feet weren’t sore yet, but she knew they would be eventually.

Niall took the dress from her and made his way to the counter before she even registered that he did so. Once it did click, she ran after him and jumped on his back and tried to take his debit card from him, but he shook off her hand and handed the card to the cashier. “Niall James Horan I can afford my own dress.”

“I’m sure you can,” he agreed, “But I wanted to get it for you since you are coming for me,” he told her simply.

“I think you’re only responsible for like flowers or something. This is above and beyond the call of duty.”

“I don’t agree,” he said flatly.

“Fine,” she said. She turned her head to see the rest of the boys and told them, “We will call a cab. I am going to get Niall a new suit.”

They promptly left, knowing full well that they weren’t throwing and opinion into this argument. Jen grabbed Niall’s hand and they walked to a tuxedo shop that was conveniently right next door to the dress shop. They quickly found him a black suit and a white shirt after a very heated argument about matching. Niall was all about it and Jen wanted nothing to do with it. Jen won with much threatening of violence to him. They both agreed that he would pull off the no tie look.
Jen ran to the door and opened it in her jeans and a black Victoria Secrets chain link halter top under a camo jacket. Zayn was standing outside with two brunettes by his side. They were both extremely beautiful and had a long and lean frame. Jen immediately felt insecure about her appearance. These three belonged on a runway somewhere and she was just some random Canadian girl. She wasn’t used to being bothered by fans unless she was with her brothers. At least she looked like her brothers, now she was in a completely different class of celebrity and she wasn’t sure this was where she belonged.

“Hello love!” he exclaimed while giving her a big bear hug that lifted her feet off the ground.
She giggled and put her face into the crook of his neck and hugged him back while inhaling the familiar smell of cigarettes and cologne. “Hi Zayn, what are you doing here?”

He set her back to her feet and motioned to the two smiling females, “I came over to introduce the girls to you. This is Danielle Peazer,” he said as he pointed to the curly haired woman. “And this is Eleanor Calder,” he said as he pointed to the woman with wavy hair.

She shook hands with the two women. “So nice to meet you we wanted to put a name to the face since the boys talk about you so much,” Eleanor greeted her.

She smiled at them in return, “Nice to meet you as well. The boys adore you both.”

“Well come on then!” Eleanor exclaimed as she tugged on Jen’s hand, “We have loads to talk about to get to know each other!”

As a sheer instinct, she grabbed on to Zayn’s hand as well. She was looking for something familiar as she went off with two girls she didn’t know. He wasted no time in debating whether to keep in step with her or go back to his apartment. With a gentle squeeze of her hand he walked with her to the elevator. They all rode silently to the parking garage. The pair let Eleanor and Danielle out of the elevator first and followed them to the car. Eleanor got in the driver’s side while Danielle got into the passenger seat. When the doors to the sleek black car closed, Jen turned back to face Zayn. He put his hands on her waist and kissed her nose with a grin on his face and she let out a breathy laugh. “I’ll see you tonight Zayn. Now I seem to have to be inducted into the girls’ circle as well.”

Zayn knit his eyebrows together, “They are just trying to get to know you. If you don’t want to get ready with them, you don’t have to. I just thought it would be nice for you to get to know them since you spend a lot of time with me and I spend a lot of time with the boys and naturally their girlfriends will be around. I just want you to be comfortable around everyone in my life.”

“It’s fine Zayn. I want to get to know your friends; it’s just a little nerve wracking. I’ve lost touch with my friends other than Jon’s teammates since…well you know.”

Zayn looked down into her eyes with concern apparent in his chocolate eyes. “Do you want me to come with you? I can help you.”

She hugged him and put the side of her face into his soft black shirt, “Thanks, but it’s time I figured out my own way through life after all that’s the whole point of my London trip.”

“Okay, have fun love.” With one last squeeze Zayn released her and opened the car door for her. She thanked him and got in. When he shut the door with a metal clank, Eleanor drove in the direction of the day spa they were heading to. On the other side of the back seat hung the girls’ dresses for them to change into when they were finished getting their massages, makeup, and nails done.

At a red light the two girls in front looked at each other before looking back at Jen, each had a goofy grin on their faces. She looked at them confused and began to wring her hands together, “What?” she asked.

“You two are so adorable that it is sickening,” Danielle told her.

“What do you mean?” Jen asked them confused.

“You and Zayn are the cutest couple we have had the pleasure of seeing in a long time,” Eleanor explained with a soft smile.

Jen’s eyes widened and she looked back and forth between the girls. The sincere looks on their faces confirmed that none of the boys had bothered to inform them that she was just friends with the boys and didn’t consider herself girlfriend material for any of them even if she wanted to be with Zayn. “We’re not together! Zayn and I aren’t even going to the awards together. He’s going with Perrie and Niall and I are going together!”

The girls looked at each other with confused expressions. While Eleanor concentrated on getting them to their destination safely, Danielle took charge of the conversation, “So you and Niall are dating then?”

“No!” Jen sighed, clearly their boyfriends told them nothing and it would be a long car ride that included straightening some things out with them.

*****

Zayn walked through the hall of the building, but instead of going to his apartment, he let himself into Liam’s apartment where he knew Louis would be since both of their girlfriends were busy. He didn’t bother knocking because he knew it was pointless since the boys spent most of their days together in someone’s apartment and usually came and went as they pleased. He found them in the neatly furnished living room sitting on Liam’s black couch and intensely staring at the TV where they were in a virtual Halo battle. Each had a controller in their hands and were frantically pushing buttons and occasionally swearing when something bad happened.

Zayn didn’t bother them, lest he be beaten up so he sat down on the matching recliner; put his feet up and his hands behind his head. He would shout out commands for one of the boys to do when it was necessary to save their fake lives, but stayed silent otherwise. He started to drift off to sleep after a while, growing bored of watching their battle. But before he could successfully drift off he groaned as a pillow hit him in the face. He cracked open an eye to see Louis grinning brightly at him. “Are we boring you mate?” he asked sarcastically, “Just because your bird isn’t here to keep you company doesn’t mean you should fall asleep when we are having bro time.” Zayn shook his head; the boys had made him quite aware of how much time he and Jen spent together. Perrie was being civil about it, but he knew she didn’t like that he spent more time with his best friend than he did with his girlfriend. He knew he would eventually have to chose one or the other, but he didn’t think that day would come so soon. Niall was forcing his hand and he would have to choose or let Jen enter into a relationship with Niall. Zayn loved Niall like a brother, but the thought of Jen with anyone but him was painful to even consider. He had been relieved that Jen had been comfortable with their small friend group of the band.

Truth was, he didn’t even notice the time pass when he was with Jen. He was completely comfortable around her and didn’t have to worry about what she would do if he said the wrong thing to her; she would just make fun of him for a little bit and move on. She rarely made a big deal out of anything. He really enjoyed and hated this quality about her. She was very good masking things she didn’t want him to know. He had a hard time telling what upset her and what made her truly happy. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if she appreciated his constant presence in her life until she voiced how glad she was that he was there. He didn’t really know if she enjoyed being around him as much as he enjoyed being around her. Mostly he was dying to know if she felt the same for him as he did for her. He knew one thing was for certain, he was definitely on his way to falling for the Canadian woman.

“Louis she’s not my bird.”

“Well she may not be, but that doesn’t stop you from wanting her to be. Why are you with Perrie when it’s so obvious that you want to be with your better half?”

That was a question that Zayn didn’t have an answer to. He wanted to be with Jen, there was no doubt in his mind. He was just selfish and wanted to spend his time with someone while he waited around for Jen he supposed. He didn’t want Jen to rush into something she wasn’t sure about and to be honest he wasn’t even sure that he was prepared to have her leave when the semester at the university ended. There were a lot of uncertainties surrounding the potential relationship that Zayn didn’t know whether to make a move or not. Some days he would be all for it and others he would think it was the worst thing he could ever do. “I don’t know Louis. I’m not sure if we could withstand the long distance relationship thing and I don’t want her to be a fling that I forget when she goes home. She’s more important to me than that.”

“She’s not going to have a problem with the distance as long as you’re the one she’s waiting for. She’s head over heels for you and you don’t even notice!” Louis exclaimed while smacking the back of Zayn’s head.

“Ow!” Zayn exclaimed before diving on Louis. They wrestled on the couch for a few minutes before Zayn managed to throw Louis off the couch and fell on top of him again.

“Oi! What’s going on?” Liam asked as he came back from the kitchen with some plates with sandwiches for them.

“Zayn’s undies are in a bunch because he can’t get the right bird.”

Liam glanced down at Zayn who was laying on the carpeted floor while Louis took a plate from him and began to scarf down his food. “You had better get a move on it Zayn. Niall the chronic single who would rather sleep than find himself a bird is going to ask her on a date if all goes well at the Brit Awards.”

“What?” Zayn yelled indignantly.

“He likes her and she deserves to be happy like you are with Perrie, right?”

“No!”

“No what?” the dreaded Irish accent asked as he strolled into the apartment with Harry following behind him. The blond haired blue eyed man looked between his friends and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Zayn said with a biting edge to his voice. He didn’t need Niall involved especially if he was planning on making a move on his best friend. He hadn’t decided if it was a protective reaction or a jealousy one. All that he knew was that Niall wasn’t going near Jen if Zayn had a say in it. She was his best friend and not the other boys’. She had trusted him with her notebooks that were hidden under his bed, not Niall. Niall was just an acquaintance to her; she hadn’t spent nearly as much time with Niall as he had spent with her.

“Oh no, we aren’t letting this slide. Niall, Zayn is pissed at you because I told him that you were planning on asking Jen out after the Brit Awards. He really likes her and wants you to give up on her. He, however, isn’t completely sure if he wants to dump Perrie for Jen at this point,” Liam informed everyone.

Niall merely shrugged, “If you want her make your move, otherwise I am going to ask her out. This is me helping you choose.”

Zayn glared at him, “Gee thanks mate. I’m glad you’re helping me out.”

“It’s tough love dude.”