//Past//

You made it!" Kiara squealed as she pulled Diya into a hug.

Zayn and Kiara both were excited to see Diya which was strange to her. They never even properly talked to her in school and here they were going on a trip together.

"The amount of trouble I'm going to get in because of you guys." Diya laughed.

"Oh come on." Kiara shook her by her shoulders. "We got your back."

This made her smile. "Thank you."

Zayn placed her luggage on the racks before taking a seat.

Jai looked up from his phone, noticing Diya and smiling widely. "Hey you're here!"

She laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm here."

"They told me that you might be coming with us. I'm glad you could come. It's so nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you as well. How have you been?"

"Fantastic." He grinned.

The thing Diya loved about Jai, even in school, was that he was always smiling and making others happy.

"That's good." Diya smiled before taking a seat next to Zayn and closing her eyes with a sigh.

"Tired?" Zayn asked suddenly.

She opened her eyes, looking over at him. She couldn't get used to being around him like this. It was so strange.

"A little." She shrugged.

"Are you hungry?" He asked softly and Diya could feel her heart fluttering.

Why was he being so nice?

"Yeah, we have loads of food." Jai added.

This broke Diya away from her trance and she felt heat rushing to her cheeks for having stared at Zayn for far too long.

"No I'm good." She muttered. "Thank you."

Diya was feeling anxious and didn't feel like eating at the moment. Mostly because of the fact that she had left home so abruptly and her parents were probably freaking out. And because this was her first time doing something like this and she was scared. She was scared that it wouldn't be everything she'd imagined.

But then there was another part of her anxiety which was the unrealistically beautiful boy sitting next to her. She had already embarrassed herself in front of him many times and she was praying that she could keep it together for the rest of the trip.

"Well, I'm hungry," Zayn said. "So hand me some food you arse."

Jai childishly stuck his tongue out at Zayn before finally handing him a sandwich.

Zayn dug into his sandwich and Kiara's eyes widened as if she had just gotten an idea.

"You know what? We should play a game!" She exclaimed.

"Oh God no... I hate your games." Zayn said through a mouth full of food. Normally... Diya would find that disgusting but everything Zayn did was so darn cute.

Kiara narrowed her eyes at him. "Rude. Jai likes my games. Don't you Jai?"

He hummed in thought. "Some of them."

"You guys suck." She scoffed. "Come on please? One game and I'll leave you guys alone for the rest of the train ride."

"Alright fine." Zayn groaned. "What do you want to play?"

"Never have I ever?" She suggested.

Jai nodded and Zayn just shrugged.

Diya was wondering if it was bad that she had no clue what this game was.

As if reading her thoughts, Zayn turned to look at her. "Do you know how to play?"

She bit her lip, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear as she shook her head.

Good lord, she made the most innocent gestures look extremely sinful and Zayn wasn't sure how he could remain calm around her for the duration of this trip.

"We can teach you how." Kiara told her. "It's really simple. Basically, someone is going to say something they've never done and if anyone else has done it, they take a sip of a drink."

"Okay." She replied, understanding the point of the game.

"Great. Now we need drinks. Jai, let's see what you've got in that bag of yours."

"Why do you assume that I'm the one with the drinks? Zayn could have them too." Jai muttered, clearly pretending to be offended.

"Shut your ass up. I don't drink as much as you do." Zayn shot back.

"You," Kiara pointed to Zayn. "Shut up. And you." She pointed to Jai. "Drinks. Now."

"Alright, alright." Jai began to rummage through his bag and pulled out two flasks which clearly contained alcohol. He handed one to Zayn and the other to Kiara.

"Kay I'll start," Kiara said. "Never have I ever... Done drugs."

Zayn looked over at Jai with a mischievous smile on his face before both of them were taking a sip out of their flasks. He then looked over at Diya who had been watching him in awe.

"What?" He asked her. "Is it that surprising?"

"No... I was just... It's nothing." She mumbled.

She knew the kind of things he was into when they were in school together. It wasn't surprising at all. It was just kind of... disappointing in a way.

"Okay, my turn," Jai said loudly. "Never have I ever been arrested."

Kiara started laughing as she took the flask from Jai. "I beat this kid's ass at school once."

"Oh my God I remember that!" Jai laughed.

Zayn pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment before taking a sip of alcohol.

"Cops showed up to some stupid party." He explained. "My turn. Um... Never have I ever fallen in love."

He said it so simply and in a way that sounded like he was hopeful that one day he would. Diya was shocked by the fact. He had plenty of girlfriends back in school... He'd never loved any of them?

"That's because you only love yourself." Kiara laughed.

Zayn held up a finger in agreement. "True."

"I fall in love literally every day." Jai said as he took a sip, followed by Kiara who hit him upside the head.

"What about you, Diya?" Kiara asked. "You've never fallen in love?"

Diya shook her head, feeling uncomfortable with the focus being moved to her. "No."

She hadn't done any of the things that they had done. She hadn't experienced the things that they had and she felt like an outcast.

She wished she could disappear into the seat.

Zayn watched her closely, noticing that something was wrong.

"Zayn?" she asked softly, turning to look at him. "Can I use the bunk for a bit. I'm tired."

"Yeah, sure." He nodded, giving her a smile in hopes that it would comfort her.

She got up from the seat and walked over to the bunk. With a shaky breath, she laid down and listened to the group of friends continue their game, talking about all of the things they'd done.

She suddenly felt tearful. She was never one to care about what people thought about her but for the first time, she felt like a misfit.

Maybe she shouldn't have come on this trip after all.

_____

When Diya woke it was the middle of the night. She sat up, sliding her glasses back on and looking around the now dark train.

She and Zayn were meant to share the bunk. She felt bad, having been on it for too long and got up to look for him.

She noticed a light coming from straight ahead and she walked towards that area. A cool breeze surrounded her and she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold.

She looked down, seeing Zayn sitting by one of the exits with a blanket over his legs. He was lost in thought as he took a drag from his cigarette, blowing smoke into the darkness.

"Hey," she said, trying to gather his attention.

He looked up from his spot on the ground and a smile formed on his lips once he realized that it was her.

"Hey." He replied back, his accent thicker which was a sign that he was tired. "What are you doing awake? It's late."

"I know. I'm not tired anymore so I just came to tell you that you can go and sleep now."

"No, it's okay. I don't feel like sleeping right now."

Diya nodded and turned around to go back to the bunk.

"Wait." He stopped her and she turned back around, her eyebrows raised questioningly. "Since you're not really doing anything... You wanna maybe sit with me for a bit?"

"Sure." She smiled.

He took one last drag of the cigarette before throwing it out of the train.

"Smoking isn't good for you, you know?" Diya scolded as she sat down next to him.

He chuckled. "Is that so, Dr. Patel?"

She nodded, grinning at the name. "It's bad for your lungs."

"You know, my lungs actually feel great. But if I ever do start having problems... I know who to call."

"It better be a lung specialist and not me." She laughed. "I'm becoming a gynecologist, Zayn. Not a lung specialist."

He laughed as well. "Wow, that failed. I never knew you wanted to become a gynecologist."

"Well, I've always loved kids and the thought of helping bring another life into the world is just... It's amazing you know?"

He nodded, watching her in awe as she spoke so fondly about what she loved.

"What about you?" She asked, turning to look at him. "What do you want to do?"

Zayn noticed her shiver and the way she had her arms wrapped around herself. "You cold, babe?"

She felt her breath hitch at the fact that he'd called her babe. She shouldn't feel special. He called everyone babe, it was his thing. But it made her heart flutter for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Kind of, yeah." She lied and her chattering teeth gave it away.

She probably should've dressed warmer. She looked down at her appearance of a sundress and a denim jacket.

"Aw, come in the blanket with me then. There's room for both of us."

He lifted up the blanket and she hesitantly slid closer to him until their legs were touching. He then laid the blanket over her, making sure she was warm.

"You good now?" He asked.

Diya couldn't help staring at him, amazed by his kind actions. He had barely even known she existed before yesterday and now here he was.

"Yeah, thank you." She smiled. "You didn't answer my question." She told him.

"What do I want to do?" He repeated and she nodded, watching him curiously.

He was silent for a moment. He had never told anyone what it was that he loved most. No one except his Dad knew, not even his best friends.

"It's a secret." He said quietly, his gaze never leaving hers. "But if you stick around, maybe I'll tell you."

~~~

Just reminding those of you who haven't seen this movie that this is still a flashback that takes place 8 years ago and that the next few chapters will also be taking place in the past.

I'm very excited for what's to come and I hope you guys are as well! I will try to update more frequently now that I'm on break.

Vote and comment if you love Zaypika :) -E