The night was a great success- everyone headed back to the flat for Zak to prepare some DELISH turkey sandwiches with a side salad and home-squeezed lemonade. Okay, so I was used to being spoiled but Niall was incredibly appreciative about the whole thing. Even Zayn gestured a thumbs up to Zak in between bites. Liam, of course, kept the rest of us company while we held up a conversation about topics other than the meal. It was the perfect picture of friendship and we loved every second of it until the sky grew gray.
I woke up early while Zak was still sleeping. This was such an uncommon occurrence I knew I had to take advantage of it, so I slipped out the door and ran to the market. When Zak stepped out into the kitchen he was greeted with a smile and a plate-full of breakfast biscuits with gravy and sausage and eggs on the side. After his brief sweep of the food Zak ran straight into my arms for a long bear hug. I felt a tear form in the corner of my eye so I let go before I could think anymore. This was the last day and it was going to be perfect. I would not let any negativity into it. I could tell by some unspoken bond that Zak had made the same vow to himself and in that moment I loved my best friend even more than I thought was possible.
After breakfast I told him to get pretty while I cleaned up the kitchen. It took him a little while to shower, beautify and dress but the finished product was flawless. Zak sported a dark denim Oxford button-down with black straight jeans cuffed at the bottom around gray hiking boot look-alikes with his hair messily gelled and contacts in. The final touch was the best present Grandma Kathy ever gave him- a silver Rollex on his left wrist. “Oh. My. God. You are dressed to kill, sweetie.” I wasn’t sure how to dress myself now that the bar had been set so high. The look was put together yet hipster enough that I knew I had my work cut out for me in the bedroom. Zak told me he’d Tumblr creep while I got ready so I headed back to the closet after leaving my straightener to heat up. I had straight hair as it was but I didn’t want to take the time to shower so it needed to be fixed up a little. After going through my entire wardrobe I decided on my floral print Keds, medium wash jeggings from the Gap with a thin rose-gold belt and a black crocheted AE crop top tank. Belatedly, I decided against the straightener and unplugged it, instead reaching for some mousse and scrunching it up in my hair for a tousled look before pulling it all up into a loose pony tail with my bangs and some hair tastefully sticking out. I rushed out of the room, grabbing Zak’s hand so we could leave and didn’t give him a chance to comment. We had places to go, things to do and people to see.
I didn’t think it was appropriate to blind my best friend seeing as I was/am sort of clumsy… hey, at least I can admit it. So I just trusted him to keep his eyes closed as I dragged him out the door and out to the street where a car was waiting. At this point there was no danger of me running him into dangerous obstacles so I threw the scarf in my purse around his face as he uttered many nervous yet excited comments and questions. I told him my lips were sealed so all resistance was futile. I take it he sort of liked living in anticipation so I didn’t guilt trip myself too much about keeping secrets. We pulled up the curb and I thanked and paid our driver before walking Zak up to the door. I pulled off the scarf and smiled expectantly. Harry and Louis stood beside me dressed comfortably but painstakingly handsome as ever, it didn’t matter. I saw Zak tear up a little and we both knew that wouldn’t do so I pushed Louis towards him and said we had to hurry or we’d miss the big showing. Very late in the game, Zak looked up and read the name on the brick building before us. We’d arrived at an old, closed and run-down movie theater where we could be alone to have fun without fear of paps running into us. As we walked in there were four bags of popcorn and drinks waiting on the counter. Contrary to the exterior, the inside of the cinema was breathtakingly well-kept. Red velvet and gold accents were the only colors to be found. I grabbed Zak’s hand in my own and skipped into the only open door across from us. As we walked in and took a seat with our refreshments I heard Zak nervously chattering to Louis who couldn’t talk for fear of losing the wide grin he wore so nicely. Harry squeezed my hand and whispered in my ear, “Bear in mind, the cinema is the perfect place for a snog.” I’d never get over how sexy the combination of his deep voice and Cheshire accent was.
Mere moments later the screen counted down from ten to one and the opening credits began. I kept my eyes on Zak the entire time. When his eyes widened and shone with tears I knew the title had been revealed. The three of us had rented out the old building for a private showing of Zak’s favorite, The Little Mermaid. From the look in his eyes I knew we’d gotten through to him that he wasn’t just leaving me behind when he returned to Ohio.
Harry angled his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder to nestle in for the movie. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Louis and Zak’s fingers fold together and they leaned in infinitesimally towards each other- not a great difference but enough for me to notice the apparent magnetism between them. He mouthed “I love you so much” to me before his attention went to the screen.
We didn’t even grow frustrated at the constant crooning of the pair beside us to the entire movie’s soundtrack. Harry bent over and kissed my nose, leaving me feeling positively tingly all over. That gesture somehow meant the world to me. I guess it’s true that it’s the little things that matter most anyhow. When the film was through we piled into Louis’ waiting car around back. He drove some flashy red sports car I didn’t recognize… of course.
The ride to the wax museum was a long one and I could see Zak was growing antsy when he heard our suppressed giggles and mouthed exchanges due to the fact that he was 1) unable to see 2) out of the loop and 3) not the cause of our laughter. I’d made myself a promise to introduce Zak to the woman who pulled him through his darkest days and today that promise would be fulfilled to the best of my ability. Harry and Louis wandered off a ways to leave us alone for this private moment. I chose the location of reveal right next to the stunning Cher statue clad in all silver. When he laid eyes on the statue his eyes welled up with tears and his mouth hung open. “It’s not exactly what I’d hoped for when I vowed to help you meet her but.. it’ll do.” He just hugged me tightly, too choked up to respond. When he pulled himself together I took a picture of him with the musical icon. Now that he was an active participant in our visitor we snapped a few pics with Lady GaGa and Adele as well. Over the course of the day several small groups of girls approached the boys for autographs and such. They were much calmer than the girls in the coffee shop what seemed like ages ago. They even expressed some interest in Zak and I as celebrities by acquaintance which was surprisingly nice. One of the fans took a picture of the four of us with Obama and the Queen… like we could pass that opportunity up. She was promised a Twitter follow-back by both guys. We took turns pairing up to see what most interested us and we switched quite a bit. At one point Harry and Zak walked over to some historical figures while Louis and I headed towards some classical composers. “Oh Rosebud, it’s just you and I once again.” He sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “True.. although you are a danger to me, trying to steal my best friend away the way that you are. Good thing I like you so it’s fine.” I jabbed him in the ribcage and he blushed. “Hm.” Was all the responded with. That was alright, I’m sure he was just thinking. We took a silly picture attempting to be silly with the statue of Mozart but our faces looked absolutely ridiculous. It was wonderful.
Once we regrouped it was decided that we needed a small break from all the excitement to relax. Louis drove us to Harry’s place and dropped the two of us because he had a surprise for Zak and promised to bring him back in one piece. I hugged Zak and he whispered in my ear, “You are the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you so much.” I kissed his cheek and replied, “You’re not half-bad yourself. Now go have fun, that’s what today’s about.”
Seeing as we were alone Harry plopped down on the couch and I laid down longways with my head rested on his thigh. Twirling circles in his jeans I asked, “What exactly is the surprise Louis has in store for Zak?” With a yawn Harry answered, “He’s having a go at cooking. When Lou and I bunked together I always cooked.. so we shall see how this goes down. He once burnt cheese and noodles. That was the end of his brief career.” I thought it was wonderful that Zak was getting the adventure he so longed for and deserved. I quickly amended that thought with the hope that his adventure wasn’t spoiled by food-sickness. We kicked off our shoes and walked upstairs for a nap. That day had taken so much out of the both of us and we knew it was only half-done. The real party and the hard stuff came later.
