the bucket list - h.s. (on hiatus)

chapter x

O

51. Get a belly-button piercing

Lately I have been feeling as if there was a gigantic piece of me that was missing; somewhat like a hole in my heart.

Sure, Harry and I were doing extremely well, but there was just that empty space on the couch during a Netflix marathon where Jenna used to be. As for Zayn, he and I were pretty close as well.

"Babe," Harry's raspy voice pulled me from my own thoughts as he rolled over, sprawling his limbs out across the bed, and smiling down at me sleepily.

"Yes?" His green eyes were slightly bloodshot, tired from staying up late studying. I buried my face into his bare chest with a deep sigh.

"What's there to do today? I mean, on the list." The hint of excitement lacing his sweet voice was absolutely adorable.

"Cuddle all day. I don't want to get up." Sleeping last night was quite difficult for me because depressing thoughts of my best friend and her boyfriend kept clouding my thoughts.

"Come on. Be real here, love." His puckered up lips came in contact with my forehead, causing a smile to creep up on my face.

"Well, let's see," I reached over on the nightstand, grabbing the journal. "We could go climb a mountain, go meet Adam Levine, or get my belly-button pierced." Harry's chest vibrated as a laugh bubbled from his throat.

"I'd like the belly-button piercing." A smirk was prominent on his round face. I reached my arm up to pinch his cheek gently.

"Okay, but first, I really have to take care of something."

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Jenna and I hadn't seen each other in far over a month. The feeling in my gut told me that it had to be something bad if she didn't want to see me because of it.

So, forgive me if standing on Zayn's doorstep made me the slightest bit nervous. My foot tapped up and down rapidly, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck.

"Olivia?" His caramel-colored eyes widened in surprise as I came into view.

"Hey." The simple word was all that I could truly say at the moment. Zayn had even changed, a little bit. His dark hair was much longer, and the way he carried himself was slightly different, too.

Tears welled in my eyes at the familiar sight, as he, having noticed this, pulled me into a friendly hug.

After a few moments of silence, we both stared at each other. "I assume that you're here for Jenna," His voice sounded choked up, as if there was something that the mysterious individual was hiding.

"That, and you. Where is she, anyway?" The look in his typically light, gleaming eyes told me that something was terribly wrong.

"Come inside." Nervously, I stepped into the house, picking at my fingernails.

I chewed on my lower lip to keep myself from rambling about how pissed I was at the fact that neither of them had called me, or even sent a text.

"So, judging by your stop over here, Jenna didn't tell you." Tell me what?

The two of us ventured into his tidy, all-white living room. There were several plants in expensive-looking pots, one leather ottoman surrounded by a couch and two chairs, and a large flat screen T.V.

What could Zayn possibly do for a living that created this type of income?

Shaking the random thought from my head, I stopped myself before asking him any random questions.

"Listen, Olivia. I honestly don't know how you're going to take this, but please trust me when I say that it wasn't meant to turn out this way whatsoever." His tone had shifted, not carrying the light sound that it typically did. This time it was more serious, thick like stone.

"Just tell me, please." Our eyes met, but I quickly dropped my gaze to the floor, not having the same confidence that I usually did.

"Jenna and I broke up." He sounded as if he were on the verge of tears, so I looked up and met his gaze. Not surprised at the fact that Zayn was crying, I got up and sat beside him.

Seeing the tears welling up in his brown eyes shocked me, considering the fact that he was typically such a strong individual. I gently rubbed his back, waiting for the continuation of the story.

"She claimed that I didn't have time for her, and I tried to stress how hard I was working on making space in my life, and how much I loved her, but Jenna just wasn't having it." He sighed loudly, then continued. "We shouted at each other a lot, and I slept on the couch that night, made breakfast and went to wake her up, and she was gone." The hurt feeling that was surging through my veins was absolutely nothing compared to what he was feeling at the moment, so I shoved all of my emotions away, and decided to take care of my friend instead.

__________

I returned home to find Harry studying with a pencil between his teeth, and a pair of furrowed brows as his eyes skimmed over the textbook laying open on the kitchen counter.

"It's been a long day." His expression changed once he looked up at me. A soft smile spread across his cheeks as a pair of well-built arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight hug. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"Tell me about it." We each stood there in silence, before he walked off to grab a snack.

"You still up to get that cute belly button of yours pierced, my love?" His Cheeto-covered fingers pinched my cheek as I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "Sure." Shrugging my shoulders, I jammed my feet back inside of my espadrilles and followed Harry out the door.

__________

Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I waited for the stinging sensation that piercings typically bring. Then again, I only have my first two holes in my ears.

Harry chuckled at my expression, most likely taking a picture to upload to his Instagram with a ridiculous caption, as usual.

Then, I felt the sharp object poke through my skin, and a strangled sound erupted from my mouth.

"Okay, you're done." We hurried out of the little shop, because it was sketchy as fuck in there.

Once we were sitting in the car together, while Harry was twiddling with my fingers gently, he spoke up.

"How badly did it hurt?" For some reason, Harry's question brought me to tears. They began to roll down my cheeks as he looked over at me apologetically.

"Did I say something, Liv?" His warm hand caressed the side of my face, gently stroking it with his thumbs.

"No." My answer was honest, but it took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't crying about how badly my belly button stung, but that I was crying over the fact that my best friend left.

It's hard to say goodbye.

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a/n: wow its been almost a month lol my apologies but i came back and the layout on my phone is all diff :/// this chapter actually has an inspiration: zayn leaving the band. it shines a little light on things and the next few chapters will probably switch POV and share everybody's opinions.