XXXII. vertigo
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[Zayn's POV]
"Thalia, what the hell are you doing?" I laughed when I woke up to find Thalia doing yoga.
She tilted her head towards me from the downwards dog position, giving me a smile. As I joined her in her morning meditation, I reflected on the events of the night before.
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"I'm gonna miss you, you know?" Thalia told me that night. We were in our overalls and sat outside the French equivalent of a pub, where the curb was cold and the moon hung low in the sky, almost close enough for us to touch it. In between my fingers was a cigarette. Thalia absentmindedly picked daisies from the grass behind us, but recoiled in disgust when her hand brushed a nearby slug. I took a sip of beer and looked her not quite in the eye. I was drunk with the sight of her, but with every sip I could see her a little less clearly.
"I'll miss you too." I responded earnestly, my words slightly slurred. "I don't even want to go back on tour - people know we're dating now and it's so...stressful. Like yeah I'm not engaged to Perrie anymore, 's not your life so piss off and stop making comments about mine."
I'd had several cans tonight because I didn't want to go. In the past few months since our deal, Thalia's hair had grown and mine had been shaven. She said that I looked 'attractive as ever' before proceeding to remove my clothes slowly, almost painfully so.
"You have to go. We need time apart." She wasn't looking at me, continuing to play with the grass more carefully than before.
I sighed, "I just want us to be together without anything holding us back."
Thalia smiled to herself. "Smith said that to me once. I don't think it was those exact words, but he said we were going to be together forever." She grimaced and then began picking petals off a daisy. "He's dead now."
It was the way she whispered it with a ghost of remorse on her face that made my stomach lurch like a ship and I threw up on the pavement, spattering my clothes and maybe even shoes. It was too dark to see, and we were both drunk out of our minds.
Thalia jumped to her feet as quickly as she could and patted my back as I vomited, retching until there was nothing left. "You okay?"
I wiped my mouth. "Sorry." A few moments later, I groaned. "Didn't think our night would end like this."
She smiled at me but grimaced at the sight of my soiled jacket sleeve.
Thalia supported me as we walked home, not caring for the disgusting stench emanating from my clothes. All I could feel was vertigo when I looked at her: the pavement spun.
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"It's past 11 now."
I heard Thalia's voice an hour later when she emerged from the bathroom, having cleaned my jacket and put the rest of my clothes in the washing machine.
She'd turned the library into a spare bedroom for her roommates, who were returning tomorrow morning.
When she next walked in, she wiped her hands on her dressing gown and then undid the bow, letting it fall to the floor.
Watching her with my hazy eyes, every movement seemed magnified. The sashay of her hips as she walked towards the bed, the confidence she emanated as she climbed into bed beside me. Surely this wasn't Thalia.
"I fucking love you." I slurred, my voice emasculated by the sight of her, bare. Skin and skin and skin.
My head was still pounding, of course, but now everywhere seemed to be.
I was glad I had showered when she leaned in to capture my lips with hers tenderly; always so tenderly. Our lips touched and soon became harsher, driving us to become a frenzy of arms and legs climbing each other's bodies until we were almost joined at the hip.
"Love you," I kissed her neck as I began to move within her, feeling everything so deeply.
Her back arched beneath mine and I felt the same dizzying pleasure as it built into more than moans and nails on backs, and it washed over me and Thalia simultaneously.
"Holy shit," she gasped when the intensity faded. I smiled and lifted her chin, kissing her deep into the night.
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Despite the events of last night, my headache had worn off by the time I began driving home. Perhaps Thalia was my antidote.
As we said our goodbyes in the garden I felt some larger part of me stay with her, like a gift, a heartbeat, nestled within her ribcage.
"Just try to enjoy the tour, yeah?" She squeezed my hand.
"Whatever."
Thalia laughed as I lowered her onto the dewy grass, complaining that she could feel the water seep into her skin. We stopped laughing when she cupped my face in her hands and gave me one last kiss, like the romantic shit she was. I guess I was too.
"Till Spring, my lover." She mocked our deal and I laughed.
"Fuck off," I whispered, letting go of her and rising to my feet. I helped her up.
It wasn't long before I left and was on the road again.
From: Thalia - 11:34am
:(
From: Liam - 11:42am
found out that if you open a bag of flour too quickly it'll spill everywhere :(
From: Liam - 11:43am
even worse I'm wearing all black
From: Liam - 11:43am
it's fine I'm making a cake now
With a sigh, I sent a bunch of baking related emojis to Liam and a sad face to Lia.
It was then that our car broke down.
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