"Ian. I need you over here, these boxes are ridiculously heavy." Niall, Zayn's coworker begged of him.
It took a moment got Zayn to realize that Niall was addressing him. Even after a month of living in Bellingham, Washington, he still wasn't quite used to the name change.
Zayn sauntered over to where Niall was struggling with a box of art supplies.
"Who knew that paint brushes could weigh this much?" Niall mused, grinning sheepishly up at Zayn.
Zayn still had to concentrate before he talked but he was quite good at speaking with an American accent.
"Next time ask before you even try. I don't want you hurting yourself like you did with that paint can last week." Zayn teased and was quite pleased with the sound that came out of his mouth.
He took the box from Niall and the blond just blushed, totally embarrassed.
"That was an honest mistake. I'm usually not that clumsy, I swear!" Niall defended, frowning childishly and crossing his arms to add to the ridiculous effect.
Zayn rolled his eyes and walked away from his stubborn coworker. He brought the box over to the paintbrush section and began to unpack it.
"It's fine, really, I can do that part, Zayn. I hate working the till anyway." Niall assured him, putting his hands into the box after following Zayn halfway across the floor.
"I do too. Talking to people really isn't my thing." Zayn answered.
Agent Leeman, the agent working his case had advised him to avoid social interaction as much as humanly possible. Zayn didn't actually mind because it meant he wouldn't have to talk in his American accent for any length of time.
The problem was that even though there weren't any more than three customers bustling around the store at any given time, Niall was a talker. The blond would get bored with his work duties and constantly start conversation with Zayn.
Zayn liked Niall, that wasn't the problem. He just needed to blend in and make as little connections as possible. He had been forced to delete his Facebook, and all other social networking sites. He essentially didn't exist to the world anymore, at least, not as Zayn Malik. But that's the price he would pay to protect himself and his friends back in the U.K.
Bellingham, Washington was as boring as it got in terms of anywhere Zayn had ever lived. It was generally rainy, quite cold and they only had one shopping mall: Bellis Fair.
Agent Leeman had arranged the job for him at the mall, wanting him to be able to occupy his time somehow. He wasn't allowed to go to university because it could generate too much attention for Zayn.
So, there he was as Ian Daniels working in an art supplies store while back in the United Kingdom he was set to go to university for art studies. How things had changed…
"But, I guess I can do it." Zayn caved, ruffling Niall's hair amicably.
Niall gave him an appreciative toothy smile and said, "Ian! You're kind of the best."
"I know." Zayn joked before walking up behind the till.
About ten minutes went by without anyone coming inside and Zayn's mind began to drift. He usually was better at containing this but this time…
Blood. The smell of crimson. It was everywhere.
There was a hint of gunpowder in the air as well. Zayn couldn't move, he was absolutely frozen to the spot. What the hell had Tanner got them into?
And then there was a scream that he recognized almost better than he recognized his own. It was bloodcurdling cry of pain and protest, but soon there was only a slight moaning and finally… silence.
Zayn looked over the side of the box and saw Tanner, lying with his shaggy dark hair, staring directly at Zayn with a glassy look. Tanner was gone.
The sound of whirring came from behind Zayn as a chainsaw lowered down right beside his left shoulder, clipping it slightly. The bloke wielding it had an utterly mad look in his eyes, and it made Zayn's breath hitch in absolute terror.
He needed to escape but how could he just leave Tanner like that? They were over their heads and it had cost Tanner his life. But now, Zayn had to save his own.
He ducked under the whirring blade of the saw that was stuck in a box and darted out of his hiding spot. He was now in full view. It was time to fight or flee; he went with the latter and ran for his life.
"Ahem-"
Zayn was awoken from his day terror (or day version of a nightmare) and met the eyes of a young and handsome young guy.
"Er-sorry." Zayn muttered, shaking his mind of the terrible memories. His voice showed a little bit of his accent because of the sudden inquiry but he masked it by biting his lip.
The curly haired bloke hesitated for a moment and cocked his head to one side. He looked concerned. "Are you okay?"
Zayn's breath hitched at the question. It always surprised him when someone showed they cared.
"I'm fine, daydreaming is all." Zayn responded, making sure to keep the accent out of his voice completely.
"Oh, ok, good. So, I guess you're Ian then?" The stranger asked.
Zayn looked down at his shirt to check that he didn't have a nametag on. When he didn't, he got a little freaked out and it showed on his face.
"I'm not a mind reader, I'm just Niall's friend. My name's Harry, Harry Styles. He said you're the one to come to if I need some advice on a gift for a beginner painter." Harry answered and Zayn breathed out, completely relieved.
"Then I'm your man! Are you shopping for yourself or…?" Zayn asked, slipping out from behind the counter.
The remnants of his memory still had his stomach in knots but he decided that the guy in front of him would be a sufficient amount of distraction. His hands trembled so he shoved them in his pockets.
Harry looked down at his toes for a moment before saying, "Myself. I think I might try my hand at a creative outlet. My life is sort of boring right now and Niall suggested painting as a distraction."
"…. Can he even paint?" Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow as he led Harry over to the paint section of the store.
Harry chuckled. "He finger paints. He calls it abstract art and he sometimes makes these weird figurines with garbage and stuff. They're awful, but you didn't hear that from me."
Zayn laughed as well, he felt bad taking joy in his coworker's misfortune but he needed a little amusement in his very dull life.
"So…. How do you know Niall?" Zayn wondered, picking up some brushes and handing them to Harry.
"We've been friends for as long as I can remember and now we work here in the mall together. I work at the build a bear and our other best friend, Louis, works at the Lady Footlocker." Harry explained, taking the brushes and dropping them into his shopping basket.
Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Lady foot locker?"
"It's an ongoing joke, but it's the only place that would hire him. He looks pretty girly anyway so he fits the bill." Harry answered, grinning devilishly.
"Oh! And Liam works at the bookstore. I always forget to mention him because he's so darn quiet." Harry added.
Zayn wished he could have as normal of a life as Harry and his friends seemed to lead. They all grew up together and were the best of friends who now worked together, it just all seemed so easy.
"I think this is a good place to start because it's your first time." Zayn explained, putting a couple pieces of canvas into Harry's arms.
The curly haired bloke looked a bit overwhelmed but very excited about his new hobby at the same time.
"Thanks for the help, Ian. Niall says your new in town and don't know many people and you seem like a cool guy. Maybe after you and Niall close up shop here you could swing by our apartment for a drink?" Harry suggested, walking back toward the till.
Niall had disappeared somewhere into the back, so Harry and Zayn were now alone in the shop. Zayn knew that Agent Leeman wasn't going to approve of the socialization but Zayn was going to die of boredom if he never had a social life. He would follow the guidelines that the agent set out for him (basically daily) and would make sure to be as discrete as possible.
"Of course, I'd love to. Where is your flat?" Zayn asked.
Harry gave him an odd look and then Zayn realized his slip of the tongue.
"Flat?" Harry muttered, confused by the word Zayn had used.
"Apartment is what I meant. My dad is British so I grew up with weird words… y'know?" Zayn covered, nervously. He hoped desperately that Harry would believe him and pass the slip up as a simple mistake.
"Oh, cool! Well, I'll get Niall to give you directions. I guess I should pay for these now, right?" Harry said, putting the items down onto the counter.
"I'll give you the employee discount, just don't tell anyway, okay?" Zayn stated, ringing the items in with the scanner.
Harry paid the amount and then said, "Thanks. 'Mum's the word' on the discount, we can keep that between us."
The curly haired guy winked at Zayn before walking out of the store. Zayn smiled brightly as he rest his elbow down on the till.
Niall emerged from the back room and saw that his coworker looked like he was enjoying himself for once. He didn't know much about Ian but he thought he was a pretty cool, even though generally he was broody and sarcastic. The guy was clearly trying to protect himself and Niall was going to respect that for he understood what it was like to have a secret of his own.
"You're smiling! This might be a first!" Niall exclaimed, walking over to where Zayn was perched.
"Good one, Niall. But, actually, your friend Harry just came in and invited me over for some drinks after work. You down?" Zayn wondered, his eyes twinkling slightly.
"That'll be a lot of fun. I've been meaning to introduce you to the boys but I was never sure you'd be interested. You'll fit right in. Only two more hours and then we'll be free from this hell that we call our workplace." Niall responded before walking over to the empty boxes.
He began to fold them down as Zayn continued to attend to the till.
Zayn knew that Leeman wasn't going to be impressed with the friends he was making, but he didn't care. He needed something more than a job, an identity change and a relocation to distract him from what had happened.
This was going to be the start of the new chapter of his life as Ian Daniels; he wasn't going to let his past hold him back from continuing on into the future.