Chapter Five
Zayn raced through the airport, only to discover his flight was delayed for an hour. The snow in New York fell fast and thick, blanketing the city in a fresh sheet of white stuff. The taxi ride through the crowded streets was terrifying, whiteout conditions. He cursed the fact that he'd had to leave from New York and not Los Angeles like Liam, Harry, Niall and Louis but he'd do anything for his mother, including flying clear across the United States on Christmas Eve to collect a painting she'd admired for years. He could hardly wait to give it to her.
His phone almost jumped out of the plastic bucket going through security at the airline. He grinned at the woman in the uniform. "It's like watching popcorn bouncing around in there," he said.
She didn't so much as acknowledge his existence. Had she not blinked, he may have thought she was dead on her feet. He made it through the security check and grabbed his cell phone and his belt, eager to get away from her. He thought the Grinch was green, not robust and brunette but he'd been proved wrong before.
He swiped his thumb across the phone and smiled at the picture from Liam. Kaitlin was sound asleep on his chest and he'd written something about Christmas coming early. Liam had long sought Kaitlin's affections so Zayn could not help but smile for his friend. He fired off a return text: "Wish Katie a Merry Christmas and bahumbug to you."
Pleased with himself, he pressed 'send' and began to make the journey to his gate. He made it about ten feet before he heard a familiar, earth shattering scream. A fan.
"Zayn!" she hollered. She began to jump up and down in either sheer excitement or disbelief. He was never sure which and had always meant to ask what exactly it was that prompted similar reactions almost everywhere he and his band mates went but one girl usually turned into two and two to three until there were tons and security would ensure an unbreakable barrier was placed in between the five of them and the growing number of fans.
Today was an exception though, he was solo so he quickly turned, bringing a pointer finger to his lips which were upturned into a smile. "Shh," he said, hoping he'd be able to get her to calm down and not create much of a scene.
She was tall with light brown hair and eyes that reminded him of chocolate. She surged forward. "Zayn!" she whispered this time, sensing his desire for some anonymity.
"Hello, how are you?"
"Oh my God! I can't believe this. I can't believe this!" Her eyes filled then spilled over with moisture in quick succession. Her breathing labored, as if she was really working for it.
"You don't need to cry," he said. He held his arms out because it was surely going to be her next question and because she was crying. It was obviously the most polite thing to do.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and squealed. "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Every single part of her body trembled fiercely. He hated when that would happen to a girl because there was nothing he could do to make it stop. That and he doubted uncontrollable shaking was something any person would enjoy, yet it happened almost as much as the jumping up and down and screaming hysterically.
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms like he was trying to warm her up. "Are you alright?"
"I can't believe you're here," she said. Her breaths were sharp and producing an alarming pattern.
He turned to face her, grabbing her shoulders. "What's your name?"
"Madison," she said. "Maddy. Either."
"Can you do something for me, Maddy?"
She nodded and swallowed hard. "Yes. Anything."
"I need to you look at me and just breathe." The last thing he needed to be responsible for is some poor girl passing out on the cold tile floor of the airport on account of him. The way she was going on, it was only a matter of time. He learned this little trick from Harry. Telling a girl to breathe. To look at him and breathe. Cheesy, maybe but it worked like a bloody charm to calm them down and at this point, that was his end goal. To make sure Maddy remained on her feet.
