The door was slightly open as Bloom approached, she stopped and took a peek from the open space.

Bloom recognized the girl with him. It was the girl with the shaved hair she saw on his phone that night at the beach, she felt bile in her throat.
They were standing extremely close to each other and he was looking down at her with a playful smile, he never smiled at her like that.

"Nicole, no."
Zayn said, trying to hold her hand.

"Oh come on, you know how much I love you," Nicole said like a child begging for candy.
Bloom felt a tightness in her chest as she watched them.

"I love you too but no."
The tightness in her chest intensified hearing Zayn say that; he was never open about his feelings with her.

Bloom clenched her hand and walked away. Rosa looked worried when she saw her picking up her bag to leave.

"Is everything okay, honey?"
Rosa asked. Bloom nodded, not trusting herself to hold her tears back.

"Please don't tell him I was here."
Bloom said to Rosa with a fake smile.

"Okay."

"Bye, Mika."
Bloom said quickly and headed for the door.

Damian wasn't at the residence when she arrived. She rushed to her room avoiding the looks from the guards.

She locked the door and slid slowly to the floor, she didn't hold her tears back anymore.

I love you too
She felt so hurt, the feeling was worse than when she felt rejected. She moved to the bed and laid down, she hugged her pillow and cried till she dozed off.

||

Zayn sat at his work table engrossed with what he was doing on his laptop. Nicole laid on his bed singing along to the rap song from her phone.

"Seriously, keep your voice down," he growled.

"How long is it gonna take to fix it?" Nicole asked sitting up on the bed.

"I told you three days, I'm not an expert in hacking Nicole."

"Says the genius," she scoffed.

"So, when are we going to meet her?" Nicole asked smiling ear to ear.

"Maybe never," he said typing noisily on the laptop.

"You don't believe she will ever be free from her Dad's clutches?" Nicole asked.

"That's if she wanna be free, " Zayn said.

He picked up his phone and saw her text, he promised himself to reply when he was done.

||

When Bloom woke up it was dark outside, it was past eleven. She got down from the bed and checked her phone for any text or missed calls but found none, he was too busy to call anyway.

She moved her hair back and walked to her window, she looked outside for a while before closing the window and locking it. She dragged the drapes and walked back to her bed.

She went to take a shower and left the room to the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of ice cream, sat at the marble island, and ate the ice cream with a miserable look.

Damian walked to the kitchen and sat in front of her. "Dollface?" He called.

"Yes?" She replied dryly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine and you don't sound fine either."

"I said I'm fine, can I have my ice cream in peace?" She sought out.

"Okay, if you're ready to talk about it, you know where to find me."

She didn't say anything, Damian stood up and left.

She stood up after taking more spoon of ice cream and left the kitchen. Damian was at the door, he tried to talk to her but she walked past him into her room and shut the door.

Her phone started ringing as soon as she laid on her bed. She checked the caller ID and ignored the call. Now she felt like a bait, maybe he was using her all along to get to her father while he had a girlfriend all along.

The days went by quickly, she didn't open her window or the drapes. She ignored his calls and refused to read his texts.

Damian gave her some space. He stayed at his normal spot outside the door, knocking when he had something to tell her.

She could barely focus on any of her classes. Her dad came to see her after her tutors complained.

"Are you okay? I was told you have been acting weird."
He put his arm around her and stroke her hair with the other.

"I'm not feeling too well," She lied.

"Should I send for Doctor Lana?" Her Dad asked.

"No, I just need some rest."

"You sure?"
She nodded with a smile.

"Okay, your classes for the next three days will be canceled."

"Thanks, daddy."
She hugged him tightly

"Anything for my princess."
He kissed her head and left the room.

||
Zayn stared at his phone screen for the third time, he groaned and put it away.

"She still hasn't replied to your texts?"
Taylor asked.

"Yeah," He grunted.

"I don't think things are going well in the Valley house or maybe she is sick."
Nicole said.

"Or she is on a phone retreat."
Liz added, Tyra rolled her eyes at their excuses and bit her gum noisily but no one complained.

"How do people survive that? I will go crazy within an hour," Nicole said.

"It doesn't make any sense, she rejected all his calls, she hasn't replied to any of his texts and she locked the window."

Taylor pointed out.

"So what are you trying to say?"
Liz asked not taking her eyes off him.

"She doesn't wanna see him again, sorry man," Taylor said and shrugged.

"I agree." Tyra raised her hand.

Nicole and Liz stared at Zayn, waiting for him to say something but he was quiet and acted like he didn't hear a word they said.

"I'm going to check on my sister."
Zayn stood and left.

"Why the hell did you say that?"
Nicole glared at Taylor, he shrugged in return.

||
Laura came to see her on Thursday, they watched a movie before catching up.

"Don't you miss me at all?"
Laura suddenly asked.

"Of course I do, what's with the question?"

"You don't text me often like before, I can't remember the last time you asked me to come over. Did I do something wrong? Do you have a new bestie?"
Laura pouted.

"No, I have been busy," Bloom explained

"Are you fighting with Damian again? There is just this awkwardness between you two." Laura asked.

Bloom looked away, playing with the popcorn in front of her.

"Whatever it is, try and work things out."
Laura entreated.

"Okay," Bloom mumbled.

"Anyway there's a party tomorrow night, I need to go to the saloon and get some highlights on my hair."
Laura said bursting in excitement.

"A party? Can I come?" Bloom asked facing her on the bed.

"Hell no, I'm not putting your life at risk again."
Laura refused.

She needed a distraction, she needed the loud music, maybe some alcohol too, and stare at hot guys from one corner.

"Please," Bloom frowned.

"No, I won't let you get beaten again by that lunatic. He is going to be at the party. Maybe he told his circle of weird friends about you, sorry I'm not taking that risk."

Just knowing he would be there made her more interested in going for the party.

"You said you wanted me to have fun, this is it."
Bloom pointed out.

"Not like this," Laura said.

"I have pepper spray and a taser."

"What are you doing with a pepper spray?" Laura asked.

"Just in case of an emergency and none of the guards are close by."
Bloom said with an innocent smile.

"And I don't mind taking the risk, I want to have fun and forget about who I am for one night, you don't know if it's the last party I'm ever going to attend."
Bloom tried to persuade her.

"If anything happens to you, I will be held responsible."
Laura tried to make her understand.

"Don't worry I will be fine."

"You're sure?"

"100%"

"Okay, I still think this is a bad idea."

"Thank you."
Bloom trudged to her and hugged her.

"Are you sure about this Bloom? I don't think Damian will be a fan of this."
Bloom pretended not to hear her.

"Pick me up tomorrow. I will meet you outside the tunnel."
Bloom said.

"You sound like using the tunnel is now a normal thing."
Bloom gave her a smile and changed the topic.

||
Bloom packed her hair into a neat ponytail. She curled some hair at the front leaving it to fall at both sides of her face. She applied a strawberry lipgloss and black mascara giving herself cat eyes.

She smiled in the mirror and blew a kiss. She put on a jet black jeans and yellow criss-cross bralette. She walked to her closet and picked a black jacket and wore her combat boots.

She checked her phone when it beeped, she smiled and left the room.
Damian stared at her when she opened the door.

"I'm going with Laura so don't worry about me."
She said before Damian could let out a word.

"She told me, stay safe." He smiled at her.

Bloom nodded, not making eye contact. She met Laura immediately she came out of the tunnel.

The ride was short, Laura turned to look at her when she packed the car in front of the large house.

"Don't leave my side, if it means holding my hand throughout the party then I'm cool with it."

Laura told her looking worried already.

"It's okay, I will be fine on my own tonight."
Bloom smiled and got down from the car while Laura stared at her with her jaw slightly down.

"Are you coming?" Bloom asked Laura who was still staring at her like she couldn't recognize her.

"Yeah."
Laura said picking up her phone. She pulled out her keys and came down. They walked toward the house arm-in-arm, it was a full house party.
Bloom felt more at ease, not terrified like last time.

A guy leaning next to the door opened the door for them, they smiled at him and walked it. Sweat and alcohol filled the air, it was hot and loud inside the crowded house.

"Boy, it's hot in here."
Laura groaned fanning herself with her hand.

"Remember, don't take drinks from anyone except me, avoid guys that wink your way and don't join any game especially T or D."
Laura warned her like a senior advising a freshman about college parties.

"I get it," Bloom rolled her eyes.

"Laura!"
Someone screamed from upstairs, they both looked up and saw a tall guy with sandy hair and a sharp jaw.

He waved and made his way downstairs, he walked to where they were.

"Hey, Randy," Laura said dryly.

"Hey."
He said but his eyes were on Bloom who was too busy looking around to notice him.

"Bloom, this is Randy, Randy this is my best friend, Bloom."

"Hi."
Bloom waved.

"Hey," Randy smiled, not taking his eyes off her.
Laura feigned a cough.

"Well, see you later. We have friends to see."
Laura said quickly.

"You don't mind me showing her around right? It's my party after all."
Randy shrugged coolly.

"I don't think she wants..." Laura started to say.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Bloom cut in.

"You sure about this?"
Laura whispered.

"Yeah." Bloom smiled.

"Okay, call me if anything goes wrong."
Laura told her still hesitating to let her out of her sight.

"Scream as loud as you can if he tries anything stupid."
Laura added.

"I'm right here you know?"
Randy said.

"Yeah, I know."
She eyed him before walking away.

"First party?"
Randy asked as they walked side-by-side.

"No, second," Bloom replied looking around once in a while for Zayn.

"You don't go to our school right?"

"Yeah." She replied plainly.

"I knew it, I wouldn't miss such beauty in the hallway. Want a drink?"

"No, I'm good," Bloom said shaking her head at the offer.

"I won't spike your drink I promise."
Randy said with a laugh.

"I know, I'm not much of a drinker."

"Ohh, you'll change your mind in college."
Randy started the tour, a game was going on in the pool when they got there.

They watched for a few minutes before they left.

"Hey, Ran."
Someone called from behind, they both turned around at the voice.

"There's a problem, some dude broke the artifact in your parent's room."
The skinny boy with the e-boy style reported.

"I will be right back, wait here."
He told her and left with the blue-haired guy.

Bloom looked around as she waited, there was a room beside her. She could hear people laughing, she recognized one of the voices from the room.

She walked toward the room, it had no door and it seemed to be a small living room. She stayed close to the wall as she looked inside.

Few people were in the room but her eyes were on the group at the corner. She recognized Taylor who was backing her with two other girls who were laughing so hard.

Her heart sank when she saw Nicole's legs on Zayn's lap while he laughed at something on his phone. Like he felt someone watching him, he looked up and met her eyes. His expression didn't change, he looked away and took a gulp from his drink, and joined the conversation, acting like she was invisible.

Bloom turned away and searched for the kitchen. She was happy to find it empty, she leaned on the marble island and took a deep breath.

She stopped when a guy walked in, he took a glance at her and grabbed three drinks from a cooler and left.

She walked to the cooler and looked for a less alcoholic drink, she got frustrated and picked a random drink.
She grabbed one solo cup and poured a small amount and abandoned the rest.

She was about taking a sip when someone grabbed the cup from behind, she turned around ready to fight.

She got angrier when she saw Zayn, he looked into the cup and moved it close to his nose, he sniffed it and took a sip.

"Excuse me, that's my drink."
Bloom said.
He took another sip and leaned on the countertop.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I should be asking you that?" Zayn retorted.

"You can have the drink, I'm leaving."
He grabbed her wrist when she was about to walk past him.

Zayn tightened his grip on her and left the kitchen dragging her with him.

"Where are you taking me?"
Bloom asked as they climbed the set of stairs.

"West?"
She called when he didn't answer, they walked past a few rooms. Zayn stopped at the last door and opened the door.

"Where are we going?"
She thought of screaming but a part of her still trusted him.

Zayn opened a door and walked out. She pulled her hand away when she saw where they were. It was her first time on a rooftop.

"Come on."
Zayn urged, tapping a spot next to him on the roof. Bloom hesitated for a while before taking slow steps, she exhaled in relief after she sat beside him.

There was a long silence between them. He sipped the drink as if he owned it while she looked at the street.

"If you didn't want to see me again you should've told me."
Zayn said breaking the silence.

"You think I did all that because I didn't want to see you again?" Bloom asked.

"What other reason do you have? Or did you suddenly realize you're being stupid for liking me."

"Yes West, I realized I was being stupid."
Bloom retorted.

"Of course, you will always be on your dad's side," Zayn mumbled, looking away.

"This is not because of my dad!"
Bloom snapped.

"Then what, Bloom? What other reason do you have cause I'm going crazy here!"
Zayn snapped back. He mumbled a curse and brushed his fingers through his curls.

"I saw you with her and you told her you loved her," Bloom admitted sounding hurt at the memory.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Zayn stared at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"I came to your place last week to see Mika and I was told you were home, I decided to check on you only to see you with that girl..."

"Nicole?" He asked.

She was starting to hate the name and the owner.

"I believe that's her name."
Bloom said grudgingly and he broke into a laugh.

"That sounded funny?" She got furious.
Zayn got a grip on himself, he took a sip before talking.

"Nicole is my closest female best friend. She stole $100 from me and was trying to sweet-talk me and yeah, we love each other but as best friends. She has a thing for Taylor but they're still pretending to be fuck buddies."

He turned to look at her when he was done talking, she was staring at the dark sky with its grey clouds that spread across the sky.

"If you're still having doubts I can call her, she has been dying to meet you."
Zayn told her.

"No."
Bloom said quickly. She still didn't like her even after his explanation.

Bloom bit the inside of her cheeks not knowing what to say but she didn't feel bad for misunderstanding the situation.

"I'm not apologizing if you're expecting me to." She told him.

"Why not?" He asked with a small smile.

"How is this my fault?" Bloom asked.
Zayn raised an eyebrow at her question.

"You've never told me how you feel about me, I don't know if you even like me. How was I supposed to feel when I heard you say those words to her?"
She pointed out.

"You know how I feel about you, Bloom."
Zayn said and looked away.

"No, I don't. Sometimes is like you care about me and other times it's like you despise me. I feel like this is a one-sided thing."

She told him. She waited for him to say something but he was quiet, she looked away and tried not to let her emotions control her.

"You wanna hear me say it?"
He whispered drawing closer till their arms brushed against each other.

"You wanna how I really feel?" he asked taking her hand.

"Yes." She said looking at him.

The moon gave his light brown skin a nice glow and his brown eyes looked down at her with an unknown promise.

"You smell nice."
He said against her neck and kissed a spot below her ear. She bit on her lower lip and tried to control her blush.

"You look more beautiful with your hair down." He told her brushing the curls she created.

"You don't like the way I styled it?"
She moved her head up to meet his eyes.

"It's cute," he said with a different smile.
She frowned and looked away.

"I like you a lot Bloom Nolan, more than you can ever imagine."
He said softly, there was no holding back anymore.

Bloom turned her head to look at him after he confessed, her heart felt at ease at his words. Their faces were just an inch away from each other. She looked into his brown eyes with a smile.

"Okay, thank you?" She said trying to mimic what he did to her after her confession. He chuckled and leaned down to her lips and kissed her softly, she moved her hand to his cheek and kissed him back.

Zayn moved his hand to her hip and pulled closer till she was halfway on him, their lips molded together moving in sync. He bit on her lower lip and pulled it between his teeth slowly and withdrew.

"Strawberry," he whispered against her lips with a groan.

"It's my lipgloss," she giggled.

"Wanna leave this boring party?" he asked caressing her chin.

"Hell yeah." She screamed.
He stood up and helped her up on her feet.

"Let's go."
Bloom turned to walk to the door but he was walking to the edge of the roof.

"What are you doing?"
She asked. He smirked and jumped.

"West!"
She screamed, she moved closer and looked down, he was standing there smiling at her.
She puffed out in relief.

"Your turn," Zayn said to her.

"No, there's no way I'm jumping down from here."

"Don't worry I will catch you." He assured her.

"No."

"I'm waiting." He said opening his arms.

Bloom closed her eyes and took a deep breath then tried to jump but stopped.

"I can't, " she laughed.
Someone pushed her from behind after she spoke.