Disturb the Peace

Barn dance was a tradition that had been around long before I was born. It was one of the best parts of being in a sorority, no doubt, and I looked forward to it every year. It gave us all a chance to wear Daisy Duke shorts, cowboy boots and plaid button ups tied above our belly buttons while we danced with all the fraternity boys who seemed to know just what to wear to look good.

Grace and I were curling the tips of our hair, having finished everything but, and I was pretty zoned out when she spoke up over the music we were playing.

“So what happened the other night?” She asked while she twisted one of her blonde locks. “I went upstairs with Liam and when I came back down Zayn said you were already in bed.”

I shook my head, not at all wanting to talk about that terrible night. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to forget all about Zayn coming to my rescue and carrying me to the safety of my bed.

“It was nothing, really. Just had a little too much to drink.”

Grace seemed to accept that answer and the two of us finished adding our final curls before picking up our phones and meeting the other girls downstairs.

A few of us when to barn dance as a group, because we knew there would be a few people there already coupled up, and when we stepped into the barn, we split up so it was just Grace and I.

The center of the barn was filled with people who were already a little drunk and swinging their hips to the beat of the music. For the most part, everyone was dancing, but there were a few people hanging out by the edges of the barn drinking and chatting.

Grace and I made our way to a table in the corner, where we found a large bowl of the signature barn dance punch, which everyone always claimed was moonshine. I didn’t know for sure. All I knew was that it tasted delicious.

After Grace and I each filled up a cup, we turned back to look at the dance floor, where lights were flashing and people were moving. I should have known better than to look around, because I knew Zayn would be there somewhere, but it was like I had radar that was always fixated on finding him.

I spotted him almost immediately, not too far away from me, with his hands on some girl’s hips, her ass rubbing against him rhythmically. My eyes tightened as I watched them dancing, and I couldn’t even imagine how my face must have looked to anyone else.

“Hey, Grace.”

I looked over to find Liam smiling down at Grace, his hands shoved in his pockets while he looked at her with a light in his eyes. She smiled back at him so gently while she said hello.

“Would you like to dance?”

Grace looked at me, as though she was asking for permission, and I chuckled at her while waving my hands forward. “Go on.”

She gave me a big smile back before Liam took her hand and guided her out towards the dance floor. The two of them find the perfect place to dance beneath the lights, and Liam put his hands on Grace so gently it looked like he thought he might break her, even though she was waving her hands in the air like a maniac.

Left alone at the punch bowl, I knew the only thing left for me to do was find someone to dance with, whom I could eventually take back to my room. My eyes were scanning across the dance floor, careful to avoid the place I had seen Zayn last, when I heard him beside me.

“Hey, Lyds,” he said as though we were the most casual of friends. “How are you feeling?”

I thought about simply not responding and walking away, maybe throwing up some excuse about how I couldn’t hear him over the music, but I folded my arms across my chest instead.

“Fine, thanks.”

He nodded his head, though I could tell by the look on his face that he was expecting more of an answer than that.

“I’m surprised you’re out,” he continued, and it amazed me how he just wouldn’t let the conversation drop. “I thought you’d be pretty sick after last night.”

“Guess my liver’s working well.”

“Guess so.” Zayn chuckled, letting out a small snort. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that drunk before.”

“I was fine.”

“I don’t think having to be carried home classifies as you being fine.”

“I was fine,” I repeated quickly, rolling my eyes at him before looking away. I turned back to look at the dance floor, determined to find anyone that could be my way out of the situation.

“You looking for someone?” he asked as he stepped in my view, standing between me and the dance floor.

“Yeah,” I replied, stepping around him. “Anyone but you.”

I began walking towards the dance floor, but he grabbed my wrist, spinning me around to look at him.

“Why don’t you dance with me?”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, while I folded my arms across my chest. “Why on earth would I want to do that?”

“Lyds,” he said simply, holding his hand out to me.

He and I just looked at each other for a moment, with his hand held out and me with my arms folded.

“I’m not dancing with you.”

“You’d have fun.”

I shook my head quickly, letting out a small laugh. “I wouldn’t.”

“You would.”

“I hate you, Zayn,” I said simply, shaking my head a bit. “Nothing about that is fun.”

“You don’t hate me, Lyds.”

“Guess again.”

Zayn opened his mouth to respond, but before he could respond, Grace and Liam came up, nothing but smiles on their faces. I don’t think I’d seen Grace that happy in a long time.

“Are you guys going to dance?” Grace asked, while Liam’s hand fell to hers and wrapped around it. She smiled even wider at that.

“No,” I said, shaking my head quickly, and with the same breath, Zayn told her yes.

Grace chuckled at the two of us, fixing her eyes on me. “Come on, Lydia. It’ll be fun.”

I shook my head again, pressing my lips together. “What is up with you two and thinking torture is fun?”

Grace simply chuckled before looking back at Liam and pulling him back to the dance floor, leaving Zayn and I alone again. He turned to me, shoving his hands in his pockets while he looked down into my eyes.

“Last chance,” he almost whispered, his eyes blinking gently while he looked at me.

I froze while I stared at him, suddenly unable to make much sense of anything. It should have been an easy answer. I should have been able to just tell him no and walk away, but instead I was frozen, just looking into his eyes.

“Fine,” I said under my breath. “Just once, and if my eyes start to bleed, then I get to stop.

Zayn chuckled, while his lips turned up into a smile. “And if you like it, then I’ll dance with you again.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “That won’t happen.”

Zayn just shrugged, smirking a bit as he held his hand out to me. I froze for a moment, so scared of what would happen next. It felt like taking his hand would bring the entire female population back twelve steps of progress, though I had no clue why.

After letting out a long, deep breath, I finally grabbed onto his fingers, which he then wrapped beneath his own. He used his grip to pull me out to the dance floor, just a few feet away from where Grace and Liam stood.

His hands fell onto my hips slowly, as though he thought I still might tell him to stop. When I didn’t he pressed his fingers against them a little more tightly, using them to pull me a bit closer to him.

My heart was pounding in my chest, like everything rested on this one moment and it was like I couldn’t breathe. My mind was battling over whether to dance well that he’d regret ever leaving that morning or to collapse to the floor under all that pressure.

I let out another breath and shut my eyes, letting myself focus only on the music because I didn’t think I could handle thinking about much else anymore.

Zayn’s body was moving behind mine, and just his touch felt like it was lighting me on fire from the inside out. I didn’t know what was happening and I absolutely hated myself for it, but I didn’t ever want it to stop.

I turned around slowly, Zayn’s hands gliding across my hips the whole time, so that I was facing him. His eyes were locked on mine, and he used his hands to pull me closer, so that our entire bodies were touching while we moved to the sound of the music.

The lights flashing and the music playing were such a hypnotizing combination that those things added together with the perfect honey color of Zayn’s eyes had me completely lost. All I could do was look at him while he leaned slowly forward until I could feel his warm breath hitting my lips.

My eyes shut on their own, as if only by instinct, and my breathing completely stopped when I felt the gentle touch of Zayn’s lips against mine. He felt so soft and sweet, so unlike the way I remembered him from freshman year. His kiss tasted like sugar and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back.

His arms were wrapped completely around me, pulling me as close as he could get, and I held mine arms against his arms, feeling the muscles wrapped around me.

I don’t know how long we were kissing before the memories began flooding back, but the second I remembered the night he had left me, all the nights I had seen him leave with other girls, and all the times I had hated him, I pulled away as quickly as I could.

My eyes were wide as I looked at him, while I wiped the back of my hand against my lips, hoping to wash him away. I walked away from him as fast I could, pushing through all the groups of people to get as far away from him as I could.

His voice was calling behind me - that stupid little nickname that no one said but him - and I had to get away.