You leave these marks up on my neck,

And it's still there... I know but I still check.

And thump, thump, the thumping in my chest,

As I lose the feeling in my fingertips

When you are close to me I shiver ...

- "Shiver, Shiver" || Walk The Moon

_______

So when are you taking me out for drinks? :) x

When you stop signing texts with kisses

Tell me how you really feel xxxxx

Anais laughs aloud. She's sitting in her apartment, laptop on her lap, attempting to finish a paper and Zayn won't leave her alone. Sure, he and Louis might have won bowling. Sure, she and Soo might've lost the bet, but damn it, he was rubbing it in her face and she had a paper that needed a conclusion.

You're impossible, she types back, although she must admit, she rather likes that they've been texting, lately.

He sends her a, :)

Then, he shoots off, Where are you?

Anais types back: Home.

Want company? x

She'd love company. Soo's gone off to work on some project and so the house is quiet. Too quiet.

And Anais would love to hang out with Zayn.

But, it's Sunday afternoon and she's in leggings and an oversized t-shirt and she's got a fucking paper to finish.

I'm writing a paper. :(

Perfect. I'll bring food :) x

_____

"Ooh, Indian? Yum," exclaims Anais as she follows Zayn into he tiny kitchen.

He turns, nose wrinkled as he sets the bags of food upon her counter. "How'd you know?" He laughs. "Could you like, smell it, or something?"

"Very funny," she quips, pointing to the name of the restaurant on the bag. "I love this place, okay?"

He grins. "Me too. That's why, y'know," he attempts to hide a laugh as she rolls her eyes, "I bought it."

"Stop teasing me," she grins, pulling out plates for the two of them. "Can't you tell I'm hungry and sleep deprived?"

He takes on look at her oversized tee, leggings and fuzzy socks. "Sleep deprived?"

She turns away, fishing for silverware. "Okay, and also don't look at me, because I'm a mess and this is, unfortunately what I look like most of the time."

"You look cute," he says quickly, suddenly finding a greater interest in the food on the table.

"Sure, if 'cute' means 'lazy,' today," Anais snorts.

He shrugs, "Can't mean 'lazy,' if you've been hard at work."

"True," and Anais sets the tiny table for the two of them, each of them helping themselves to rice and curry and naan. "See, my brain cells are crying."

Zayn laughs aloud, shaking his head. "Anais..."

"What?" She exclaims, giggling because his laugh is contagious. "It's the truth."

"Uh huh. Right."

"I'm just not great with words."

"That's a lie," he says at once, pointing his fork at her for emphasis. "You're great with words, you just don't want to write this essay, so you're not thinking about it."

"Maybe..."

"I know, I'm right," he grins. She laughs. "Look, I'll help you, yeah?"

"Zayn, you don't have to-"

"C'mon," he smiles. "It'll be fun. I quite like English."

"But do you like Beowulf? Because if I had to guess, I'd say nobody cares."

He chokes on a laugh and some bread. "Someone cares."

"Someone cared. When it was written. Past tense."

"Oh, so you're one of those people, huh? They're called 'classics' for a reason."

"What? I'm a Design Major, Zayn. What the hell am I going to apply Beowulf to in any form or setting of my intended career?"

"Fair enough," he shrugs.

"Thank you, thank you."

"So, let me help you, then," he replies, eyes shining. "I happen to appreciate the past, y'know."

She seems unconvinced, but it's mostly because she really doesn't want Zayn to read whatever shit she's pulled from her ass to write this dumb essay.

"C'mon," he sighs. "I've seen you in the library, Ana. I'm here, now. You don't have to struggle anymore, love."

Anais laughs aloud, noting at once how he not only called her 'love,' but also, 'Ana.'

"Fine, fine," she sighs.

He grins triumphantly.

"Be warned, though," she says. "It's complete and utter shit."

"This is not shit," says Zayn, after the five most nerve-wracking minutes of Anais' life.

"But, it's close," she replies, setting mugs of tea before the both of them as she slides beside him on the couch.

Zayn hands her laptop back. "It's not close. It's amazing, really."

"You're saying that because you're a nice guy who doesn't want me to cry today," she jokes.

"Right," he shakes his head with a laugh. "Whatever. Now, you've got to summarize what you've written and pose some type of new question to leave the reader."

"Ugh," she groans over her tea. "Writing is hard. Just...Want...Netflix..."

"C'mon, love. We can watch Netflix after you're done," he says, and Anais grins over her mug.

"What'll we watch, then?"

Zayn reaches for his mug, eyes widening as he realizes what he's just said. "I mean..." He clears his throat as Anais' smile grows, "It's whatever you want, really."

"So it's my choice to decide what we watch?" She sips her tea. "Doesn't quite seem fair, y'know. Doesn't quite seem Democratic."

"Shut up and write, would you?" Zayn laughs, blushing a bit. "I know what you're doing."

"And that is?"

Zayn rolls his eyes. "Finish your paper, Anais."

"Kidding, kidding," she sighs, and she places her tea before her on the coffee table, leaning into the couch and picking up her laptop from between them.

Zayn closes the space, head tilted towards. He throws his arm over the back of the couch, leaning into her as he reads her words and she types.

"Say something like," he pauses, Anais catching her breath because they're so close to each other.

He smells good. Like, cologne and cigarettes, and he explains to her about the plot and importance of the epic as she barely listens to him because she's admiring him, instead.

Zayn Malik is really, really damn attractive.

It's really unfair, actually.

She stares at Zayn, watching his caramel-colored eyes skim over the words upon the screen, brow furrowed. He rubs his ring-clad knuckles over the beard on his face, long hair hidden beneath a beanie, today. And for the first time, Anais stares at Zayn for Zayn. She's not kissing him in front of his ex to cheer him up. She's not sitting beside him on the roof in the dark. Today, Anais is listening to Zayn come up with some ingenious conclusion to an essay about some Old English shit that she doesn't quite care about but has come to appreciate because it's brought Zayn to her couch. It's brought Zayn with Indian food-Zayn who won the bet. This Zayn who's crept into her life and wedged himself somewhere she can't quite reach.

Anais is realizing quickly how enamored she is with this Zayn from her Astronomy 001.

"How about that, yeah? Did you get that?" He asks, eyes darting to hers.

She blinks rapidly. "Umm..." Holy shit she didn't hear a word he just said.

He sighs, smirking. "You didn't catch any of that, did you?"

"I mean..."

"Damn it, Ana!" He laughs aloud, and Anais really likes how her nickname sounds on his lips.

"I love it when you laugh," she says at once.

His smile falters. "Wh-what?"

"Your laugh," Anais continues. "It's so great. It's the one thing about you that's just so genuine, y'know? Like, when you laugh hard I can tell you think something is actually funny and it's not out of pity. Your whole face transforms and it's just really nice, I guess," she shrugs, because she's coming across as super creepy and the brutal honesty thing often backfires. "I don't know," she shrugs, turning back to her screen, not meeting his gaze. "I just...I don't know."

And Anais begins to type.

That was a lot and she feels kind of stupid and she's upset because she thinks her tea is probably starting to get cold and what the hell does her breath smell like after eating Indian-?

"Can I kiss you?"

Her head snaps up. "S'cuse me?"

"Um," Zayn gulps, cheeks pink, hands running through his hair. "I asked," he tries again, slower, "if I could kiss you."

Her eyes are wide. "You want to?"

A small smile plays on his lips. "Like, a lot, actually."

"Oh."

His smile falls a bit. "Oh?"

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, then."

"Is that a 'yes' to the kiss, or...?"

Anais giggles. "That is a 'yes' to the kiss, Zayn."

"Good," he sighs. and this time, he's gentle. This kiss is different than the ones from before. It's slow, as he leans in and cups her face. It's sweet, because there is no rush, no audience.

It's just Zayn and Anais, on the couch in her tiny apartment. His lips are soft as they meet hers. His breath is cool and fresh from the mints complimentarily added to the food. This kiss is nice and chaste and slow and sweet, until Zayn scoots closer. He moves towards her, moving with Anais as she lays backwards, head on the arm of the couch. He's practically laying on top of her, and that sweet, innocent kiss becomes faster and more aggressive. There is tongue and teeth and emotion as Anais' hands wind their way through his hair. Her laptop gets moved from her lap to her floor, and Zayn pulls her hips against his, hands raking up and down the sides of her tiny waist. This kiss has Anais losing her voice and breath as his lips move from her mouth to her jaw and down the side of her neck.

Her fingernails graze his skin, fingers hooking around the collar of his shirt.

He nips at the skin above her collarbone, licking and sucking upon her veins in a way that has her eyelids fluttering and fingers grasping at the fabric on his back. She moans, her voice breathy and soft.

"Zayn-"

His hips buck, and Zayn's lips attach back to hers, her lithe fingers trailing down his jaw to his chest. Her hands find their way beneath his shirt. His hands find their way up and lock in her hair. His lips suck hungrily upon her own. When they break apart, Anais takes his bottom lip between her teeth and Zayn leans back for more. He slips his tongue back into her mouth and moans with her. Zayn kisses her back as if this is a forever goodbye and they'll never taste the other again. He kisses her back like he did in the bowling alley, pleased by the feel of her heartbeat and heavy breathing and pleased by the taste of her without interruption.

When they finally break apart, they're both out of breath and they're both staring at each other with dilated pupils and they're both thinking that that was probably a 10 as far as kisses go.

They're staring at each other.

Anais reaches for her computer.

"I need to-"

Zayn nods. "Yeah..."

They're breathing is labored, hearts beating loudly.

"It's like, due tomorrow, so..."

"Still need help?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Zayn grins, lips swollen as his eyes flicker from her eyes to her own.

"Okay," nods Anais.

Zayn takes more air into his lungs. "Good."

-~*~-

Whaaaaaaaa?

Again, guys?

Jk I love them.

P.s. ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS ON THE LAST CHAPTER MADE ME LAUGH AND SCREAM I LOVED THEM SO MUCH OMG. HONESTLY I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS BOOK ALREADY HAS 4K READS THAT'S LIKE PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR ME, AND I LOVE YOUR RESPONSES THEY'VE BEEN AMAZING. IT MAKES ME WANT TO UPDATE SUPER FAST FOR YOU GUYS. <3

Love ya! Comment and vote! What do you want to see happen next with these two? It's like they like each other but they aren't coming out and admitting it lolz.