//Past//

Days had passed. The higher they went up the mountain, the colder it got. They would reach certain points of the mountain, set up camp, and repeat the process until finally, they were close to the highest point of the mountain. It was only a short while left until they reached that point. Until then, they had to suck it up and march through the snow.

Diya was freezing even with all the layers she was wearing. Her whole face felt numb. She had a scarf covering her mouth and nose so that she wouldn't get sick but at this point, she wasn't sure if it was working. She was not cut out for this at all. Her legs were sore and burning with each step. She wanted to fall face first into the snow and never get up. But did she give up? No. Because she wasn't a quitter. And she wasn't about to become one. That's why she was right behind Zayn who was practically leading everyone else.

It was like Zayn was born to do this. The smile on his face hadn't left these past few days. He was completely content and in his element. It seemed as if he enjoyed it more than anyone else on the trip. He was always ahead of everyone else. Even when he was clearly tired or out of breath, he didn't let it stop him. Instead, it seemed that it motivated him to keep going.

Over the past few days, Diya had gotten a lot closer to Kiara, Jai, and of course Zayn. Well that was when Zayn had time for her. Usually, he would be chatting up Neha. But when he wasn't, he was either with the three of them or he was alone. She learned more about him from observing him when he would isolate himself from everyone. She would watch him as he flipped through this one book. She'd seen it several times over the past days. It was a large, thick, black book and he was always so engrossed in it. It was as if the world around him didn't exist. She wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was a photo album or a scrapbook. She never asked because she felt like she would be invading his privacy if she did. She also observed him as he took pictures and filmed things on his camera. She learned that he loved filming as well as photography.

She was seeing a whole new side of Zayn and she admired it a lot. In school it seemed that he was careless and emotionless. That he only cared about partying, sleeping, and getting girls. Yet here he was with this unexpected adventurous and artistic side to him. No wonder he hated being stuck in school learning math and science for so many hours. He didn't care for any of it. This, right here, is what he enjoyed most.

"Do you guys see that large stone over there?" The trip leader, Sam, said loudly in order to get everyone's attention.

Diya looked up at where he was pointing and she could see a stone just above one of the slope they were near.

"That's it, that's the highest point! Now I want you guys to gather all your energy and run up to it like your lives depend on it on the count of 3."

Diya turned to look at Zayn who was already looking at her with a smile that reached his eyes. "Race you to it."

Diya pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Bring it on, Malik."

"One..." Sam counted down. "Two... Three!"

Diya and Zayn broke into a run. The snow was high and thick. It took everything in them to run through it especially because they were running up hill. Diya mustered up all her strength and got ahead of Zayn successfully.

"Oh come on!" She heard him shout from behind her. He hadn't expected her to actually get ahead of him. She laughed excitedly, her eyes set on the stone in front of her. She finally got to it, her legs practically buried in the snow. She reached over and put her hand on the stone, letting out a shout of victory. She got the thrill she always got when she was first in something. She was buzzing. Adrenaline coursing through her.

Kiara had caught up and she jumped on top of Diya with a squeal, reaching over her to put her hand on the stone as well and they both laughed. Diya turned to look at Zayn who had gotten the flag used mark each point from Sam and was now waving it around and cheering. He then brought it over and stuck it by the stone.

Once the whole group had gathered by the stone, Sam set a timer on one of the cameras and they all posed around the stone for a group picture. Everyone took turns then, taking individual and group pictures with friends. Diya watched as Zayn and Jai picked a laughing Kiara up in their arms for a picture.

Zayn turned to look for her, wanting her to be in the picture too. This was a moment to remember. The trip would be coming to an end soon. He caught sight of her pink jacket, her arms were crossed around her body to get some warmth, a small smile on her face.

"Hey four eyes!" He shouted to her, getting her attention. She rolled her eyes at the name, although she was smiling which clearly only encouraged Zayn to call her it more often. He walked over to her. "Why are you over here looking like a lost puppy huh? Come take a picture with us."

Diya began to protest but Zayn wasn't having it. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where Jai and Kiara were and they took multiple pictures. This was a moment neither Zayn or Diya especially, would forget.

________

Once everyone had set up camp and lit a fire, they gathered around to eat some lunch. Diya was sitting next to Kiara and drinking some hot chocolate as she watched Zayn walk over to Neha and wrap a blanket around her. They both laughed with each other and suddenly Diya felt like being the one Zayn was wrapping up in a blanket as she rubbed her arms to try and get some warmth.

Diya liked how the warmth from the hot chocolate felt in her hands but she no longer had an appetite for it. When she turned to look at Kiara, it seemed she wasn't the only one who had lost her appetite. Kiara was watching Jai who was sitting with one of Neha's obnoxious friends. Diya had noticed over the past few days that Kiara obviously had some sort of feelings for Jai but he was oblivious to it. Diya was practically in the same boat. She had developed a crush on someone she had no chance with. So she just wrapped her arms around Kiara and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Guys suck." Diya told her.

"A lot." Kiara added with a nod.

Diya then got struck with something. "I have an idea." She lifted her head from Kiara's shoulder to look at her face.

Kiara looked at Diya wearily. "What is it?"

"Snowball fight." She smiled mischievously. "We can get our annoyance at them out and also get them away from those brats.

Kiara grinned. "Girl, I like how your mind works." She put a finger up to her head and then pointed at Diya.

They both got up from their spots, making sure Zayn and Jai were still paying attention elsewhere before they bent down and gathered snow up into a ball.

Diya slowly made her way over to where Zayn was standing and she watched as Kiara did the same. They reached a spot near a tree and diya nodded at Kiara as a signal. They both threw their snowballs, Diya's hitting Zayn's back and Kiara's hitting Jai's head.

"What the fuck?" Zayn asked at the same time Jai asked, "Alright, who threw that?"

The two girls covered their mouths to hold their laughter in. Zayn seemed to have heard something because he turned in their direction and they both ducked behind the tree quickly, but not before Zayn could see them.

"Shit!" Kiara hissed.

"Oh it is so on!" Zayn shouted.

Zayn completely disregarded Neha. He was on a mission. Jai joined him, already armed with multiple snow balls.

"They messed with the wrong people." Jai's eyes were narrowed. A snowball was held up in his gloved hand ready to be thrown.

Zayn gathered a large amount of snow in his hands and crept towards the tree where the girls were hiding.

As the guys got closer, Kiara and Diya prepared more snowballs in order to fight back. Once Zayn and Jai got close enough, Diya and Kiara emerged from behind the tree, "Attack!" Kiara yelled.

The looks on Zayn and Jai's faces were priceless. The girls threw their snowballs, only a few actually hitting the guys. They were caught off guard but it took them only a few seconds to get their guard back up before they started attacking back.

Curse words, laughs, and yells were heard all around the camp site as the snowball fight went on for what felt like hours. By the time the fight had died down, once the girls finally surrendered, the sun had started to set.

________

Once the sun had set, the temperature had dropped tremendously causing everyone to go to their tents and bundle up in their blankets. Kiara had joined Diya in her tent tonight.

"Can I ask you something?" Diya spoke up suddenly. The tent was illuminated by a lantern, just enough for them to see each other.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"How come you don't tell Jai how you feel?" She asked.

Kiara was silent for a moment. "Because there's no chance." She said in a small voice. "I know Jai. He'd never like me back in that way. He doesn't see me as anything more than a friend. If I were to tell him, it would ruin our friendship."

"So you're never gonna tell him then?"

She understood where Kiara was coming from. But she hated seeing her in pain whenever Jai was with another girl.

"Some things are better left unsaid. One sided relationships are hard. But I'd rather have him as a friend than lose him altogether."

Diya nodded, conflicted on whether or not she should ask her next question.

"What are you thinking?" Kiara asked.

They'd gotten pretty close over the past few days and Diya felt like she could trust Kiara. The same way that Kiara trusted her.

Diya sighed and moved over so that her head was in Kiara's lap. She looked up at the top of the tent as Kiara began to run her fingers through Diya's hair.

"About Zayn." She finally muttered.

Kiara stopped her movements for a moment. "What about him?"

Diya closed her eyes, her stomach churning. "Tell me about him. What kind of a guy is he?"

"You like him don't you, hon?" Diya was willing to bet that Kiara was smiling.

Her chest started to feel tight as she thought about him. Her stomach feeling like it was being twisted from the inside. "I do. But I barely know him. I just... I know him based off of what I've heard and what I've seen. But you guys are close right?"

Kiara hummed, her fingers now running through Diya's hair again. "We are close, yes. But there are things that he doesn't even tell me or Jai. He's very reserved. He loves being around people but he's also an introvert. He needs his space and he enjoys having some time alone."

Diya listened contentedly to Kiara tell her things about Zayn that she'd picked up on these past few days, such as his introversion. She also told her things Diya didn't know about him that only made her want to get to know him more.

"But there's also the obvious, Diya. I don't want you to get your hopes up, babe. He's not one to settle down or commit to anyone. He has a phobia of marriage. He's very closed off when it comes to relationships. He doesn't let anyone in. He doesn't trust people easily. I guess you could say he tries not to let himself feel or have emotions for anyone. He just likes to have fun, like every other guy."

Diya sighed. How could she forget? Zayn had made it obvious that he was repulsed by the idea of marriage. He thought it was a joke. But Diya was a cultural girl. She grew up loving the idea of marriage and being committed to one person for the rest of your life.

Her and Zayn were completely different people who had completely different views and that would never change.

"I have a proposal," Kiara spoke up. "Forget Jai and Zayn. Why don't the two of us just married?"

Diya started laughing at the ridiculous idea which then caused Kiara to laugh until they were shushed by someone in a nearby tent.

"Oh fuck off!" Kiara hissed which only caused Diya to laugh harder.

She really loved having moments like this with Kiara. Back when they were in school together, no one would've thought that the two of them would ever end up becoming friends.

Yet here they were.

~~~

I'm aware that it's been a while haaa hope people are still going to read this. My writing is a little bit rusty, please bear with me.

My motivation to write has returned from war and I intend to continue this story. Thank you for those who have been patient and have stuck by me.

Let me know what you thought. Comment, vote, etc! I'll try and update again real soon.

Xoxo, E