Long Story Short (Short Stories & Thoughts)

Notice Me (Zarry)

 Title: Notice Me

Pairings: Zayn/Harry

Rating: PG

Word Count: 752 [Drabble]

Summary: Harry notices the things that other people don’t take the time to, and Zayn notices Harry.

Author’s Note: I wrote this a long time ago and just never came back to it. It’s really short and all, but I guess I was feeling the angst and the longing at the time, so here you go.

Also, this by no means has to be Zarry. I just wrote it with that in mind, so that's what I'm calling it. If you like it better thinking of them meeting as friends, go ahead. I really don't care, I just know that either way, I get feels. Let me know if you do too. 

            It all started out with a park bench really.

            Every day, Harry would go for a walk, either in the morning or the evening, and just before the sun would set or rise, he would sit down and watch. He didn’t do anything else beside that. He didn’t listen to music or check his phone; heck, he didn’t even let his thoughts wander- or at least he tried not to.

            He found sunsets and sunrises equally beautiful things, things that were made to be enjoyed, which unfortunately, people didn’t seem to stop and do very often.

            Harry found that there were a lot of things in the world that people didn’t take the time to notice really. Sunsets, the scents of flowers, rainbows, love… Harry knew that if he listened to himself, he would probably laugh because of how much he sounded like a freaking girl, but it was true. There was so much that people missed out on.

            Though sunsets and sunrises were things of beauty, they were also things of sadness, at least for Harry. As mentioned before, he would try excessively to not let his thoughts wander, but it’s not something to really be helped.

            He often found himself wishing that he had someone there with him, someone to actually share the colors of the sky with. He didn’t really know whom he wanted, lover, friend, family, etc, but he did know he just wanted someone.

            Harry was always the boy who the world ignored, and he would ignore it right back. He acted indifferent about it all, but was it really so wrong for him to privately long for something? For someone?

            He didn’t know, but he prayed that one day, he wouldn’t be so alone.

            Harry did this every day for three months and eleven days until he finally shared it with someone.

            It was a chillier day in October, and Harry had just finished his walk. He sat down on his usual bench, checking his watch and seeing that there were about five or ten minutes before the sun was due to explode with colors and light in the sky.

            “You’re so still I thought you were just a statue for a moment,” a thickly accented voice said, smooth in tone yet rough in form.

            Harry frowned slightly as he waited for a response from whoever the second person was, but it never came. Finally, he slowly turned his head to (what he thought was) the empty seat beside him, only to see someone else occupying it.

            The person was a boy who seemed to be his age, maybe a bit older, with dark raven colored hair and a stubble covered jaw. He could see the thick frames of his glasses from the side, and only when he turned to meet his eyes did he see that his eyes were a rich, brown color.

            Something about him was different though, strange. He seemed to have an aura to him that was nearly ancient. It was as if he had seen so much, like he knew the hidden secrets of the world.

            The faintest smile played on his lips, almost taunting Harry, daring him to say something witty in return.

            And Harry wanted to, though he had no idea what to say. He didn’t have enough interaction with people as seemingly daring as this boy to do so. So instead, he just smartly responded with, “Who are you?”

            “Me?” The boy chuckled. “Just another person I suppose, like you. I like to watch and notice the things that other people don’t seem to take the time to.”

            Harry didn’t know how to feel about that, not really. Did that suggest that he noticed Harry himself? Was Harry one of those things that people just didn’t take the time to look at?

            It certainly felt that way sometimes, he had to admit. But no matter what, if that was true, it still meant this boy noticed. Someone noticed and saw, and maybe even cared a little bit.

            “Why haven’t I seen you around here before then?” Harry questioned curiously, thinking back to all the days he’d been there, with no sight of the boy in memory.

            “Because I’m not always right here,” the boy answered. “I move around, see the sun from different angles. I’m not one to like repetition, it gets dull.”

            Harry was silent for a long while, wondering before speaking again. “What’s your name anyways?”

            “Zayn,” he responded, a twinkle in his eye. “Zayn Malik.”