The trees were a brilliant emerald green, a beautiful color that Zayn couldn't help but notice. He was at the same park he had been at that night, but it was midday and the play equipment was shining and new as opposed to the dull metal he was so accustomed to seeing.
"Zayn!" Zayn turned around to see Niall running towards him, and the Irish lad jumped into his open arms.
"Hey Niall," Zayn found himself speaking as he hugged Niall back, spinning him around slightly. It was fun to be taller than Niall. But after a moment, he set the younger lad down on the ground. "What's up?"
"Does somwthing have to be going on for me to cone see my boyfriend?" Niall pouted. It took Zayn a moment to process Nialls words, and even once he did, he figured that Niall was jist referring to their brief stint of fake dating.
"No. But this was always Kendall and I's park." Zayn found himself saying. He didn't know why he said that. He had oh oh cone their woth Kendall once.
Nialls face softened and he pulled Zayn in for another hug. "I know it's hard Zayn. But think about it. If it hadn't happened, We wouldn't be together."
Zayn s mind didn't know how to react to that statement, he was wondering what had happened to Kendall that would have gotten him and Niall together. But his body seemed to know what it was doing as he gave Niall a small smile. "That's true I suppose."
He felt Niall grasp his hand and they walked around the park. It was nice, being there with Niall, acting like boyfriends. But at the same time it was odd. It's like when you look at something through a window. You see it, and you want it so badly, you wish you could have it. And then when you finally do, it isn't half as good as you imagined. Somehow being here with Niall, actually together, was like that. It wasn't quite what he had expected.
"Hey Niall," Harry greeted them. He had a small child in his arms, and Zayn instantly knew the kid belonged to Harry. The girls were unmistakable, even from the back. But when the kid turned around, he was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Hi Noah!" He found himself greeting the kid with a smile. Noah climbed out of Harry's arms and into Zayn s. Zayn loved holding the kid, and he found that His dream self shared the sentiment. "How are you bud?"
"I'm good." Noah grinned. "My birthday is tomorrow."
Zayn s dream self continued the conversation, but all Zayn could think about was the way the kid talked. Where had the stutter, the one that had made Kendall so sad gone? That had been a part of Noah, just as much as his curls.
"And how old are you turning?" Zayns dream self smiled as he asked the question.
"I'll be six." Noah grinned. Zayn disnt know what To think. Noah didn't look six. But I guess the stutter going away would only make sense. If it had bee. Three years, He had probably outgrown it.
"Thays super old." Zayn commented.
"Yeah, he's gonna be an old man." Zayn turned to see Louis, wrinkling his nose. Noah laughed and pulled homself from Zayn's arms to go see Louis. Zayn found himself missing the boys presence.
Zayn turned to look at Niall, who was watching him with sad eyes. "What's wring Niall?"
Niall frowned. "Its just that you live Noah so much. Sometimes I think you've always loved Kendall more than me."
Zayn s dream self gave Niall a hug and a small smile. He assured Niall that it would never be the case. But Zayn coyld feel that His dream self was lying. He didn't know how he knew that, but deep down He knew that his dream self loved Kendall very deeply and wasn't near as strongly in love with Niall. Why then, was his dream self dating Niall and not Kendall? And why was Harry the one holding Noah? He had been sure that the child Harry had been holding had been Harry's own, not Kendalls. And he knew that His dream self thought this. So why wasn't he commenting on it?
