It was past two in the morning and Bloom laid on her bed wide awake, unable to catch any sleep.

She rolled restlessly from one edge of the bed to the other, her heart won't stop racing and she couldn't stop the stupid smile tugging at her lips.

She stood up and decided to stretch, hoping it will stress her out and make her fall asleep. She sat on the floor after a few minutes of stretching her arms and legs. She grabbed one bottle of water and drank the whole content.
She laid on the floor with a sigh and stared at the ceiling.

"You were never a bait. I hope someday you will remember everything. Goodbye Sunflower "
It replayed in her head numerous times since he left.

"Why did he have to say his goodbye that way?" She groaned throwing her feet in the air.

"Sunflower," She whispered with a stupid smile.
She placed a hand on her chest and sighed softly, she stared at the necklace and smiled again.

"Don't be an idiot, you can't trust him. He wants to kill your Dad and you will be a big fool to fall for all that," she mumbled and brushed her hair back with her hands.

She went back to bed and tried to force herself to sleep, she kicked her comforter off in exasperation.

"Get yourself together, he is probably snoring in his bed right now with his girlfriend," She tried to convince herself.

She pulled the comforter up to her head and stared into space, something clicked in her head.

"....I hope someday you will remember..."

"Remember what?"
She wondered. He behaved as if she knew him but she was certain they first met at the party. She spent the next few minutes mulling over the word and soon she dozed off.

||

Zayn stood under the shower with different thoughts running through his head. The warm water rolled down his taut muscles to the drain. He sighed in frustration and brushed his wet hair back. Did he make the right decision to let her go and forget about everything?

It broke a part of him that everything he expected to happen was the opposite. He punched the tiled wall and hissed at the pain.

He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. He was at the apartment he shared with Taylor which was in the middle of the city and far from his crazy neighborhood. It was quiet and less dangerous here, a little peace from all the frenzy he endured every day.

He only slept at the apartment when he was in a bad mood and didn't want to be around his kid sister.

He dried his body and his damped hair. He slipped on black sweatpants that hung loosely around his waist displaying his prominent v-line. He walked to the small kitchen in the apartment, he opened the cabinet and grabbed the cereals pack and a bottle of milk from the fridge.

He sighed at the curls that fell on his forehead still dripping water. The front door opened and Taylor walked in.

"Bro, where the hell have you been, and what happened to your phone?"

Zayn scooped one spoon of his cereals and put it in his mouth, ignoring Taylor's presence.

"It's midnight and you're taking cereals?" Taylor snickered and came to sit in front of him.

"Are you okay? We were worried about you, man."

"I told you guys I can take care of myself," he grumbled.

"Okay, where were you?"

"Somewhere, " Zayn hissed.

"You were with Bloom, isn't it?" Taylor asked with a smirk but he didn't answer.

"What happened? Speak to me, I got you."

"I ran into her last night..."

"She came to the neighborhood again?" Taylor cut in trying to contain his excitement.

"No, it was outside the mall. She asked me to give her a ride to the beach, she said it was her last time sneaking out."
He stopped talking and swirled his spoon around his bowl of cereal, staring blankly into it.
He decided not to give him more details.

"That was all? "Taylor crinkled his face in confusion

"Yeah."

"So you're pissed off because of that? You can always sneak into her room like you always do."

"I'm sick of that shit, every second I spend with her knowing she remembers nothing about me hurts."

"You're giving up on Zalo?" he tried not to react to the stupid ship name his friends made up.

"I should've done that years ago, I should've never sneaked into her room every night waiting on her. I would've saved myself the heartbreak."

"It's not her fault, bro, and you need to stop blaming yourself for having hope. It's not your fault you fell for her and can't get over your feelings, she will come around."

"She is scared of me, Taylor," he almost raised his voice.

"I see the fear in her eyes every time and I'm nothing but a stranger to her. We are different, very different and I have to let her go and move on."

"Zayn, you stayed a virgin for 19yrs just so she could be your first. At thirteen I couldn't even control myself, she means more to you than you think."

"It doesn't matter, she will always take her father's side anyway."

"You told her?"

"Yeah and I don't regret it. You should see how irritated she looked at me, she only saw me as the bad guy."

"Did you also tell her she is the new target?"

"She figured that one out herself."

"Do you think she's gonna tell?"

"She won't, she wasn't as mad as I expected but at least she has a reason to never wanna see me again."

"I doubt that, do you think she might have developed some feelings during your short encounter?"

"It doesn't matter if she does, it's not gonna change anything."
He said as he walked to the sink.

"So, what did she say about her father?"

"She believes he is a good man and we should forgive him...blah blah blah."
He sneered.

"He is her father what do you expect," Taylor murmured and walked away.

||
The next day, Bloom woke up with a slight headache. She decided to stay in bed and rest more.

"Dollface, are you up?"
Damian asked with a light knock on her door.

"No," She answered dryly. He opened the door and smiled at her.

"You're up late today, are you okay?"

"Headache," She groaned sitting up.

"Should I call for Doctor Lana?"

"No, I will just have some painkillers."

"Okay, Aunt Matilda made some waffles."
Her eyes lit up at the news.

"Let's go."

"Is dad home?" She asked as she got down from the bed.

"He had to attend a meeting in Italy."

"I'm not surprised," she mumbled.

"Are you okay honey? You look like you had a rough night."
Aunt Matilda said when she got to the dining.

She faked a smile and took a seat.

"You have Yoga by 10:30," Damian informed her, checking his wristwatch.

"I'm not well, tell Hilda not to bother coming."

"You sure you wanna skip it?"

"Yes, Damie."

"Okay," He reached for his phone to call her Yoga trainer.

||

Taylor and Zayn decided to visit the girls, they brought takeout from their favorite Japenese restaurant.

"Oh my God, you guys are the best!" Liz exclaimed when she opened the door, she took the bag from them.

"Zayn brought Chicken teriyaki!" Liz announced.

"I paid for it," Taylor said when he got no credit.

Nicole and Tyra rushed to the room to feast on it.

"What's up with you? You've been M.I.A lately," Nicole asked.

"He had a fight with Bloom."
Taylor announced, Lizzie and Nicole turned their gaze on him while Tyra rolled her eyes and grabbed the remote control.

"How? Did she wake up?" Nicole asked eagerly for every detail.

"I am not having this conversation with you two."
Zayn said and gave Taylor the middle finger as walked away to the balcony.

"Oh come on, I have been waiting for this moment!" Nicole grumbled like a child.

"Tell us everything, Taylor." Liz said in an intimidating tone.

"I can't believe he's giving up on Zalo?" Liz grunted as soon as Taylor told them what he knew.

"He is turning nineteen and you guys still want him to be committed to that asshole's daughter?"
Tyra said as she fought the meat with the chopsticks.

"It's okay to feel jealous, Tyra"
Liz and Nicole both said in unison.

"I am not jealous!" She snapped and turned her gaze to the TV.

"I have been rooting for them since I was eleven."
Nicole said with a sad face as she ate the sushi at the corner.

"Me too," Liz frowned.

"This wasn't how I pictured you guys meeting, I expected something erotic and epic," Liz said.

"And magical," Nicole added with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Well wake up, life is not a fairytale!" Tyra screamed.

"Aren't you guys suppose to be at school?" Taylor asked before they could attack his cousin.

"I'm sick." Nicole frowned

"Me too." Liz put on a sick face.

"Me three." Tyra smiled.

Taylor shook his head with a sigh and focused on his cousin more.

"What? Don't give me that look I'm on my period and you know how it gets." Tyra said.

"I might not be a girl Tyra but biology was my favorite subject."

"You wanna take a look?" he crinkled his face in disgust at her offer.

"Aunt Jasmine is gonna kill me if your grades drop, Tyra."

"Don't worry Cousin, I won't end up like you."
She gave him a wink and returned to watching her show.

"Are you really gonna let him give up on Zalo?"
Nicole asked him taking the stool next to him.

"Yeah, he has spent years waiting for her...."

"And she ended up forgetting everything about him, how romantic."
Tyra cut in, they all turned to look at her but she ignored them.

"If she feels anything for him, she's gonna come back, " Taylor added.
They both agreed.

Zayn returned from the balcony and headed for the door.

"You're leaving?" Liz asked.

"I'm going to check on my sister and I have to fix my truck, something broke down last night."

"I'm coming with you, you could use some help."
Taylor stood up and wore his Jacket.

||
Bloom ate half of her food and took some painkillers. She went back to her room and tucked herself under the covers.

She tried to sleep but stayed awake for the next twenty minutes, she knew something was bothering her.
There was a strong urge to sneak out to the neighborhood, she needed to see him.

"No no no, don't do it," she said to herself.

She pushed the covers away and rushed into the bathroom. She brushed and washed her face, she couldn't wait for a shower.

She went to her walk-in closet and picked out black yoga pants, a burgundy crop top with thin straps, and a red flannel jacket. She dressed up and put on her black sock-sneakers and a baseball cap.

She took her phone and left the room. Luckily for her, Damian and the other guards were training downstairs. She left for the basement, it was her first time leaving the house in broad daylight, so she was freaking out.

She knew she couldn't wait till night time, maybe she needed to see him before she could have a good sleep. She pulled the baseball cap down and headed toward the neighborhood, it scared her to be out in the day time.

She smiled and took a peek at the sun under the cap. The neighborhood was less frightening during the day, she saw a few people on the street. She waved at the kids playing in the playground.

She was relieved when she got into the building with no difficulty. She remembered the room number as she walked down the hall. She knocked on door 166 and Rosa answered with a wide smile.

"Bloom?" she sounded surprised.

"Hi, Rosa." She smiled sheepishly.

"Come on in, how are you darling?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Bloom asked as she stepped into the apartment.

"I'm great."

"It's umm...." her eyes searched the room

"No, he is not here," Rosa answered cutting her off. Bloom felt embarrassed for Rosa knowing why she came.

"It's okay, you don't have to feel shy, I was once a teenager, Bloom."
She said with a sweet smile.

"He is fixing his truck at the car park, it's just behind the building."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

She knew where the car park was, she was getting familiar with the neighborhood. She stopped when she saw him and a lean guy laughing as they worked on his blue truck.

Her heartbeat increased and her palms became sweaty. She admired him from where she stood, he was on ripped jeans and a loosed muscle top that was soaked with sweat around his neck and had black stains on it, a red towel was tucked halfway in his back pocket and the tattoos on his arms were on display.

She could only see his side view and it was worth adoring, the way he laughed made her smile.
She tried to understand the foreign feeling growing in her body.

She decided it was a bad idea coming and tried to leave but the lean guy with many pieces of jewelry saw her, their eyes locked and he ceased laughing.

She pulled her cap down to hide her face and turned around quickly to walk away.

"Bloom?"
She stiffened, she got scared when she discovered it wasn't Zayn's voice. He knew her name, the stranger knew her.

She swallowed the dryness in her throat and turned around, the two guys were staring at her. She took slow steps toward them but her heart won't stop beating fast.

"It's really you, I knew you'd come."
She gave Taylor a confused look at his sentence.

"Ohh, I'm Taylor. This jackass's best friend."
She turned to look at Zayn but he had gone back to fixing his truck not acknowledging her presence.

"Nice to meet you, Taylor."
He smiled at her like he just won a lottery.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you here." He said in a low tone.

"I will leave you two to catch up."
He went closer to Zayn and whispered something into his ear.

"Fuck off, " Zayn pushed him away.

"Bye Bloom," He said sweetly and left.

Bloom stood behind Zayn in silence as he used a small screw. The Chainsmokers song blared from the car.

"What are you doing here?"
He asked not looking at her.

"Nothing, just taking a walk."
He dropped his tool and turned to look at her.

He studied her for a while and looked her up and down at what she was wearing.
She crinkled her face in confusion and looked down at what she was wearing, wondering if he found it hideous.

"You're not scared to be out in the day time?" He asked.

"I'm giving it a try." She shrugged.

"Why are you here? Thought you were taking a walk."
He folded his arms, her eyes caught a glimpse of his biceps.

"I'm done taking a walk, I dropped by to say hi."

"What happened to no more sneaking out? And I warned you to stay out of this neighborhood."

"Are you done fixing your truck?" she asked ignoring what he just said.

"No."

"Can I help?"

"I don't think it's your kind of thing."

"You could teach me the simple ones, I don't mind passing the tools."

"Are you that desperate?"
He said and kicked his tool kit to her.

"You should be grateful I'm trying to help."

"I never asked for your help and I don't need it." He uttered.

"You're so full of yourself."
She said, going on her knees next to the box.

He looked down at her with a smile tugging at his lips, he squatted to be on the same eye level with her.

"Please tell me you don't have one of those brains that need to be taught five times before it stores information?"

"I guess you just have to find out."
She smirked.

He reached over and removed her cap.

"You look like a spy, pack your hair up or you'll get dirt in it."

"Yes, Sir."
He shook his head and stood up.
She took a deep breath and tried hard to act casual, his little gesture had so much effect on her.

He watched her as she packed her hair into a ponytail, she looked so beautiful in the daylight.
Her hair was longer and her fair skin was glowing under the sun, his eyes trailed up the three beauty mark on her neck. He wanted to trace it with his tongue and kiss her there.

He looked away and stepped back.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yup," she said raising two thumbs.

"Let's do this."
She stood up and dragged the toolbox closer to the truck. She removed her flannel jacket and tied it around her waist. Her hands were already black from touching the tools.

"You sure you wanna get dirt on your clothes?"
She rubbed her dirty hands on her cheeks and her shirt.

"Is this what you mean?"
He chuckled and turned to the trunk of his truck.

"Cute," He mumbled not intending for her to hear him.

"Awwww you think I'm cute?" She poked him in the rib.

"I was referring to my truck." He denied.
She scoffed and smiled.

"Pass me the biggest screw."
She searched for it in the tool kit and gave it to him.

"Where did you learn how to fix cars?"

"I just do some research and get to work. I wanna be an aeronautic engineer, so it's like a hobby."

"Cool, that's really cool."
She kept bugging him with questions as he worked.

"You're done with high school?"
She gasped when he told her.

"I skipped two grades, so I graduated at sixteen."

"How old are you now?"
He paused and turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked confused.
He leaned on the truck with a smirk decorating his face.

"Okay don't answer."

"I'm turning 19"
Her jaw dropped, he turned away telling her to pass him a tool.

"Wait, so you graduated like three years ago?"
He nodded 'yes'.

"Why aren't you in college? You didn't apply for scholarships?"

"You really like questions, don't you?"
She shrugged.

"We are done."
He faced her and wiped his hands with the towel in his back pocket.

"Glad I could help." She grinned.

"You look like you spent the night in a trash can."
She eyed him and ran her dirty palm down his face.

"Now we're even," she said smiling.
He grunted, his expression changed when he saw some of the guys from the Agency heading to the car park.

"What are you looking at?"

"Don't look?" He said quickly as she tried to look behind her.

"Put on your cap and go to the house, tell Rosa to show you my room so you can clean up."
She obeyed without any question.

Rosa gave her a worried look when she opened the door.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

"I decided to help."

"Come in."
She stepped aside for her to walk in.

"Uhm..where is his room?"

"The door with the 'do not enter ' sign."

"Thanks, I'm just going to clean up."
She said feeling uneasy that Rosa might confound the whole situation.

"It's okay you can do whatever you want."
She nodded and left.

It was easy to find the room, she felt a sudden excitement when her hand touched the doorknob. The room was dim when she opened it, she searched for the switch and flipped it.

His room was far from what she expected, it was very tidy and everything was organized in a certain pattern. The bed looked like no one had touched it, the grey sheets went with the black furniture in the room. There was a small study place at the corner with fat books arranged in order, a poster of Albert Einstein stood above.

A work table stood next to the window, different tools and small equipment occupied the table with papers and sticky notes.
A shelf held his trophies, certificates, and medals.

She shut the door and walked to the table, each paper had long calculations and a rough diagram on it. A large engineering textbook was opened next to the papers, each sticky note had long formula's scribbled on it.
It was like staring at a crazy scientist's desk, the calculations on each paper were complicated.

Her ringtone echoed in the room, she checked the caller ID and saw it was Damian, she knew he already figured she snuck out. She rejected the call and switched off the phone. The door opened and Zayn walked in.

"Why aren't you in the shower?"

"I just got here, nice room by the way," he didn't say anything, he walked to the wardrobe and picked out some clothes.

"You can put this on when you're done."

"Thanks."

"Remove the ones you're wearing, I will give it to Rosa to have it washed."

"Right now? Right here?" She stumbled. He stared at her not uttering a word.

"Uhmm...." She stuttered avoiding his eyes.

"I didn't ask you to get naked for me, hurry up I need to shower too."
He said and left the room.

She smacked her forehead with her palms calling herself an idiot. She rushed into the bathroom and took a quick shower.

She smiled as the cocoa and vanilla scent from his shampoo filled her nostrils, she wiped her hair and wrapped it in a grey towel then wore his navy blue sweatpants and a black t-shirt.
His manly scent invaded her senses, she took a deep breath relishing the smell.

She came out of the bathroom with her dirty clothes in her hands.
Zayn entered the room with a bottle of water.

"You must be dehydrated for doing something like that for the first time."
He threw it at her.

He collected her dirty clothes and dumped them into his hamper.

She emptied the bottle and laid on the bed. She felt so exhausted but she didn't want to admit it.

Her eyes went wide when she saw him take his tank top off, she didn't try to hide how her eyes trailed every tattoo she saw.

He reached for the buttons on his jeans and she found herself not looking away. Her throat turned into a desert when he pulled the zipper down.

Her eyes caught the waistband of his brief, he reached to pull it down.

"Look away, Bloom, look away"

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