Calamity [Zarry Stylik AU]©️

Chapter 7: I BROUGHT YOUR FAVOURITE COOKIES AS A BRIBE

H,

"...Yeah, then I shoved a dildo up my ass and ran naked down the streets screaming that the Government was run by aliens."

I snapped back into reality staring at Olivia with a confused look on my face.

"You what?"

She laughed with her whole body.

"I had to catch your attention. You weren't here."

A wave of relief and embarrassment came down on me. As promised earlier, I met Olivia later to have a pint with her. Olivia had this innate curiosity, where she would ask a lot of questions about any topic; Olivia inquired a lot of Nana, about the town folk and gossip. Left me thinking if it was indeed curiosity or just material for a script.

I was excited about something else, to be honest: having played for Zayn. I didn't see him after I was done playing, though. He had walked away, leaving me to bask in the congratulations and admiration of Dr. Ronan, the nurses, and some patients. At that minute I wasn't his, I belonged to everyone else.

I caught a glimpse of him walking away down the hall and wanted to scream at him to come back, but I needed to play it cool. The only way we would work would be if we lived our friendship in secrecy.

It pained me to see him walk away from me. Funny, how some people can have this impact on us. Here I was, I'd just recently met this bloke and yet seeing him walking away from me squeezed my insides.

Even when I was walking to my car, I was hoping to catch him in one of the windows, but I didn't. I stopped looking back at the building - wanting to see him one last time. Something was pulling me back to him, to that place, but I held my ground.

I replayed our first secret encounter by the river - everything about him had meaning. I noticed how he would breathe in and out constantly, fighting anxiety or how he would rub his palms together hiding his nervousness.

Zayn would do this thing where he would raise his eyebrows, squinting at the same time. I had no idea how he did it. I noticed the way Zayn walked, with long strides and how he stood with his feet apart in opposite directions.

I wanted to count every tattoo, but I couldn't - there were so many: The sunflowers on his neck, the flower pattern on the back of his hand, the boombox on his arm or the squares on his forearm, the ying-yang symbol, the fingers making the peace sign, the lotus flower, or the number nine. I analyzed every move Zayn made, guessed what he was thinking, and picked apart how he smelled and the sounds he made when he moved. I memorized it all, playing it over and over in my head.

"There you go again, leaving me behind."

Olivia sat across from me nursing a pint halfway full. Olivia looked beautiful, with a little bit of make-up, her hair falling down her shoulders and a soft scent of her perfume wafting around us. I knew she was older than me, I could see it now standing this close, but with her, it didn't matter.

"I am sorry," I replied smiling kindly. "I am being rude."

"No, I understand. Maybe, I'm not as interesting as I thought."

"It's not that. I just..." I looked down at the pint in front of me. I needed to share my excitement - or part of it. "I played at the Centre today."

"How was it?"

"Amazing," I replied. It was amazing. "Piano is not my strong suit, I'm more of a guitar guy. They liked it. I enjoyed it. It was nice."

"You're doing a great job playing for them. Music tends to help in the process of healing."