//Past//

Photography.

Diya learned that this was another one of Zayn's hobbies as she watched him from afar. He stood at the top of the hill, away from the campsite, taking pictures of the swirl of colors within the sunset with the most endearing smile on his face.

He pulled the camera away from his face, looking down to see how they turned out, completely unaware that Diya was watching with a great amount of fascination.

She'd never seen him so... focused.

Zayn turned around to head back to the campsite and that's when his eyes met Diya's. A smile made its way to his lips when she looked away quickly.

She turned around, her face burning with embarrassment since she's just been caught staring. She took a deep breath, walking towards Jai who was helping Kiara set her tent up.

"Staring is rude you know." A voice husked into her ear and she jumped slightly, not expecting him to come up behind her.

How'd he get over here so fast?

Zayn chuckled, clearly getting the reaction he wanted and Diya felt like hitting him.

"Sneaking up on people is also rude." She retorted, placing a hand on her heart that was beating rapidly.

He just continued to laugh, irking Diya even more.

"You're so... Ugh!" She groaned.

"I wasn't aware that ugh was an adjective."

If he kept talking she would definitely slap him.

"Don't you have a tent to go set up?" She asked him, trying to make him go away so she could think properly.

"I was actually planning on sleeping in your tent." He smirked and her eyes widened in mortification.

She placed her hands on his chest and shoved him which only caused him to laugh even harder.

"I'm kidding Jesus! Learn to take a joke will you?"

"I will kick you in the shin if you make one more of your obnoxious jokes." She threatened, holding up a finger at him.

Zayn was far from threatened. If anything, he was highly amused. But he still held up his hands in surrender. "Noted." He replied, backing away from her slowly.

She huffed, frustrated and annoyed. He could go from being the best company to the worst in the matter of a few seconds. If only he knew how to keep his mouth shut.

"Finally!" Jai shouted and Diya turned to see that he had managed to set up her and Kiara's tent.

"Thank God!" Kiara sighed in relief. "I can now lay down in peace."

"What? I don't get a thank you?" Jai asked. "Your lazy ass just stood there and watched while I did all the work."

Kiara stuck her middle finger up in response.

________

The sun had set and everyone had gathered around a campfire.

Some people had brought their guitars and had begun singing while others were caught up in their own conversations.

Diya put her pencil down and looked up from her textbook (yes she brought her textbook) to glance out of her tent to watch everyone.

A thing about Diya was that she didn't go out too often and she wasn't ever invited to many parties or gatherings. Therefore, she wasn't too social. Especially with strangers. She didn't know how to make new friends. She wanted to be out there, but she knew how awkward it would be.

Which is why she was sitting in her tent trying to study while everyone else was enjoying themselves outside. They were drinking and making s'mores. It wasn't surprising to her that no one had realized she was missing. Maybe she hoped that Zayn, Kiara or even Jai would realize. But once again, she was the outcast.

She let her thoughts get the best of her and let herself think of all the reasons why coming on this trip was a bad idea.

With a sigh, she looked away from the campfire and back down at the textbook in her lap. She grabbed her pencil again and started taking some notes. She might as well take advantage of her free time.

She was suddenly blinded by a light and she put her hand up to shield her eyes.

What the hell?

Zayn was kneeling in front of her tent with a flashlight in his hand.

"Hey, four eyes." He smiled.

"What do you want Zayn?" She sighed.

Zayn knew something was wrong from the tone of her voice.

"I came to get something from my tent and when I was passing by I saw you sitting over here all by yourself. Care to explain why you're not out there with everyone else?"

She held up her textbook as a reply and his mouth fell open.

"You've gotta be kidding me. You brought your textbook with you?" He asked in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just go on back to the campfire and leave me alone?"

He obviously didn't hear her or he chose to ignore her because he was pushing his way into the tent.

He let out a breath as he took a seat next to her. He set his flashlight down and crossed his legs before looking over at her.

Their faces were awfully close and the tent suddenly seemed way too small to Diya.

"How come you aren't coming outside babe?" He asked softly.

As if her heart weren't already beating at an abnormal pace, the sound of the word babe coming from his mouth was enough to send her into cardiac arrest. But still, she acted as if she were unbothered.

"I just don't feel like coming." She shrugged, looking away from him and down at her lap.

She was lying. Zayn could clearly tell she was lying and he couldn't help smiling.

"Oh come on, don't lie to me."

She looked back up at him quickly. "Why would I be lying?"

Zayn was amused by how terrible she was at lying and at hiding her feelings.

He grabbed her pencil from her hand, tossing it behind him with a smug grin.

"What the-"

He then grabbed her notebook and textbook and ran out of the tent before he could see her reaction.

She was clearly pissed because soon after she was also running out of the tent after him.

"Zayn! Give me my things!"

He laughed, holding the books above his head so that she wouldn't be able to reach them. She stood in front of him, her chest touching his.

"Zayn seriously! Give me back my things!" She lifted her arm, standing on her tiptoes to try and grab them.

"On one condition." He said, looking down into her wide brown eyes. "You'll tell me the truth."

"About what?" She practically yelled.

"Do you want to come to the campfire or not?" He asked quietly.

She sighed,"Yes."

"Then why aren't you coming? Why are you sitting over here all alone?"

She shook her head, "you won't understand."

She turned around to walk away from him but he grabbed her arm, causing her to look up at him once more.

"Try me."

"It's just... This is all new to me. Coming on this trip, socializing with new people...." Her voice trembled. "Do you remember how I was in school? I used to be reading quietly in a corner. I didn't have any friends, Zayn. Being outgoing and making friends is something I couldn't do back then and it's something I'm still not able to do. Because I'm not like you guys. I'm... I'm boring. Always have been and always will be." Her voice faded to a mumble and she looked away.

"Hey," he said softly, trying to make her look at him. "You're not boring."

She looked up once more, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You know how brave one has to be to drop everything and come on this trip all alone? You were so scared that you wouldn't be able to do this but today, you were the one walking ahead of everyone else. I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty amazing."

She hadn't thought of it that way.

"Now I'm not letting you go until you give me a proper smile, Diya. Let me see those dimples." He said, poking her cheek.

She giggled and he felt his heart race.

"There they are." He whispered.

Those dimples would be the death of him.

He handed her books back and she silently walked back to her tent to put them away.

Once she came back out, he held out his hand. "Let's go get you some s'mores."

~~~

They're so cute I'm honestly crying! Can they stop being all cute and fluffy please like my heart can't take this 😩

Hope you guys liked this! I know the chapters are short, I'm sorry.

Please don't forget to vote and comment! xx

-E