Blush

I walked down the hall of my brand new school and kept my head down low. There were kids running past me, many of them knocking into me and not even bothering to say sorry. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around my books and was just about to walk into the library went someone ran smack into me.

I groaned as all my books fell down.

“I’m so sorry,” I heard someone say in a thick accent.

Curiosity got the better of me and my mouth almost dropped when I saw the most gorgeous boy ever.

He had smooth tan skin, dreamy black eyes and dark hair that was effortlessly styled. But the thing that I most liked about him was the fact that he genuinely looked concern.

Shaking my head, I soon began blushing as I realized that I had been staring at him. “It’s okay.”

“No, I’m seriously so sorry,” he said as he bent down and gathered my things. “I should have been looking but I saw my best mate Louis out there.” He handed me my things and I flashed a thankful smile. “Are you new around here? I don’t think I could ever forget seeing your pretty face around here.”

My heart began racing; no guy had ever called my pretty. “Umm,” I stuttered out. “I’m new here. My name’s Arizona.”

The boy in front of me lifted an eyebrow and smiled.
“Arizona? Eh, that’s unique. Isn’t that the name of one of the States in America?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m actually from America.”

“I could tell by the lack of an accent,” the boy said with a laugh. “I’m Zayn.”

Zayn. The name was so effortlessly cool and it certainly fit the beautiful boy in front of me. “Nice to meet you Zayn.”

“You too Arizona. You don’t have a friend named California do you?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “No. Why?”

Zayn put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I was just messin’ with ya.”

“Oh.” I felt so stupid. I put a hand over my forehead and silently cussed.

“Oh please don’t feel bad!” Zayn said as he pulled me into a quick hug. I couldn’t help but to notice how great he smelt. “Do you want me to show you around?”

“No, I think I’ve pretty much figured this place around. I’m supposed to be on my lunch period, but I don’t know anyone here and I figured that sitting in the library alone would be better than sitting alone in the huge cafeteria.” I confessed. I was worried about making friends and I just couldn’t be bothered looking like a loser in front of everybody.

Zayn’s expression softened. “You can eat lunch with me and my mates. It’s just four other boys though. I hope you don’t mind being the only girl,” he said with a wink.

“I’m use to it. I grew up with three older brothers.”

“Really? I’m jealous. I have three sisters. I always wanted a brother.”

“Well you have your friends, “ I suggested.

Zayn shrugged. “Yeah, they’re pretty much like family to me. So I take it that you do want to eat with me?” He asked with a hopeful expression.

There was no way that I could deny that pretty face. I sighed and nodded my head. “Of course Zayn, I would love to.”

“Great!” He put an arm around my shoulder and led me through the now almost empty hallways.

“This school is huge.”

“You just have to find your own group of friends and that’ll make this place look small,” he said as he gave me a quick shake. “You’re more than welcome to join my group.”

“Well I’m eating lunch with you all, so hopefully they’ll like me.”

“Aww, they’ll probably love you. You’re cute and your name is cool.”

I looked down at the ground as my cheeks flushed. We walked together side by side until we reached the lunchroom. Zayn must have noticed how nervous I was because he wrapped his arm tighter around me. “Things will be fine,” he whispered.

“What if they don’t like me? What if they think Arizona is a stupid name?”

Zayn stopped and turned me around until I was facing him. With the most serious face, he began talking. “If they say anything mean or hurtful to you, I’ll knee ‘em straight in the balls.”

I giggled. Zayn smiled and ruffled my hair. “Thanks. I really needed that.”

“No problem, bebz. Just be yourself. I’ve only known you for a couple of minutes and I already really like you.”

I looked away. If I kept hanging out with Zayn or if he kept giving me compliments every five seconds, I’m sure I will probably faint soon. “I like you too Zayn,” I said softly. He looked at me and I just wanted to melt in his chocolate brown eyes.

“Come on,” he said. I followed behind him as we walked into the cafeteria. Since Zayn was so handsome, I wasn’t surprised when I saw every head turn to look at him as he walked by. Zayn was much taller than me, so I was able to stand behind him without anyone noticing me. For the first time, I was actually thankful for being on the short side.

We eventually made our way to a table in the corner where four different looking guys were sitting. One had bleached blond hair, another one had the softest hair that I had ever seen with thick fringe, another one had curly hair that was swooped into a messy quiff, and the other one looked quite out of place with a buzzcut. Zayn stood in front of the boys and coughed.

“You need a cough drop mate?” The one with the fringe asked. The other three boys laughed as if on cue. I figured that he was probably the funny one in the group.
Even though I was still standing behind him, I figured that Zayn probably rolled his eyes at the comment. “Thanks for the suggestion Louis, but I don’t think so. There’s actually someone I want you to meet.” Zayn stepped to the left and I stood there awkwardly.

There were four pairs of eyes on me and I felt out of my zone. They looked me up and down, as if I was going to do something extremely random.

“This is Arizona,” Zayn introduced.

“Like the state?” The one with the curly hair asked with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded. “Yeah, I use to live there.” I walked up closer to them as Zayn did. “This is actually my first day here.”

“She’s pretty!” The blond one said with a mouthful of food.

Zayn pinched my cheeks. “She’s cute as a button!”

Zayn sat down and pulled out the empty seat next to him which I took. The boys still kept an eye on me, but their expressions were much more friendlier than before. Feeling a little more confident, I straightened my shoulder and tossed my hair behind my back. “Could you introduce yourself?” I asked with a smile.

“I’m Liam,” the one with the buzzcut answered. “And I like your name. It’s unique.”

“I’m Louis,” the one with the fringe said. “I’m Zayn’s best mate.”

“I’m Harry,” the one with curly hair sad. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at how his name fit him perfectly.

And last but not least, the blond one swallowed his food and smiled, showing off braces. “And I’m ol’ Niall. You can call me Nialler if you want too.”

I let out a sigh of relief. The boys were pretty friendly and it seemed like they would accept me as one of their own. “Nice to meet you all. You guys seem pretty cool.”
“Yeah, they are,” Zayn said fondly. “If they weren’t, then they wouldn’t be my best mates.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “You’re stuck with us for life Zayn, whether or not you like it.”

Zayn stuck his tongue out but I could see how warm his eyes looked as he looked at his friends. It was the kind of warmth that makes you want to know a person better. It made you feel safe and secure.

Gulping, I wondered why I was thinking about Zayn’s eyes so much. I hardly even knew the guy really. Everything in the last ten minutes had happened so fast, that I haven’t had time to wrap my head around the idea that someone as beautiful as Zayn was paying me attention. Suddenly feeling nervous, I twiddled my hair around my finger as I tried to calm myself down.

I couldn’t let myself blow this opportunity.