I Can Make Your Heart Slow

A Kick In The Teeth Is Good For Some (Chapter 8)

I think it had been a couple of weeks since the first night that I'd spent with Zayn, but I wasn't quite sure. I'd completely lost track of time, and as it was the summer holidays I had no reason to keep track. I'd been home once or twice and been surprised when I found my parents home; it meant it was the weekend. The time I'd spent with the boys had just seemed like one really long day and I was always surprised when I realised that any time at all had passed. 

I was spending a rare moment doing some housework, realising I hadn't been home to help around the house in a while. It was a weekend but I knew I'd be spending the entire time stuck at home; the boys were all going to visit their families. I had been assured that they would be back by the start of next week, but I was still getting these aches of longing in my chest whenever I thought about the nights spent in the garden surrounded by the boys and Zayn's arms. I kept getting these weird thoughts that it was all just a front and they weren't coming back, and they would all change their numbers and I'd never see them again.

I knew it was a stupid thought, because why would all 5 of them go through the effort of changing their numbers just to get away from me? If they didn't want me around they'd had plenty an opportunity to let me know in the past couple of weeks. I resisted the temptation to text Zayn for the 3rd time since he'd sent his last reply, checking my phone every couple of minutes to see if he'd text me back at all. 

I felt my phone buzz as I was halfway through washing up and nearly dropped my phone in the sink in my hurried and excited state. I was greatly disappointed, however, to find it was the same friend that had text me the last time about going out for drinks. I decided to turn my phone on silent so that I would be pleasantly surprised at a text from Zayn and debated going out that evening. I suppose it would take my mind off things, but could I honestly be bothered? I'd gotten so used to sitting around in jogging bottoms and messy hair. I debated it until I received my next text from Zayn; 'Sorry babe, so busy. Miss you xx'. Well, if he was busy, I could be busy too. Hopefully having something to do other than washing dirty plates would stop me from wanting to text him every 5 seconds. 

That evening I was ready to go, and would've just turned my phone off had it not been for the fact I needed it to contact my friends, and the hope that Zayn would text me spontaneously. I met a group of them down the end of my road and we walked to the nearest pub, settling down on a table in the corner after getting some drinks from the bar. 

We'd been making idle chatter for about an hour and I was feeling drowsy and bored, the alcohol making me sleepy rather than active. I couldn't help checking my phone every few minutes and was starting to get frustrated that Zayn didn't seem to be missing me as much as I missed him. I put my phone on the table a little too hard, causing my friend to look over in alarm.

"You alright, Amy?" It was Rachel. She looked down at my phone and her eyes widened, and before I could stop her she had grabbed it from it's place on the table. I gave her a funny look but she just stared at the screen, then at me. "Is this your boyfriend?" She said, masking her face with a smile. I'd set a photo of me and Zayn kissing as my phone background. 

"Well..." I didn't know how to answer it. I wanted to say yes, but not once had we discussed what we were. "Sort of." I guessed that would do. 

"Sort of?" She questioned, with this annoying fakely interested smile on her face, pushing me to explain. I ignored it and nodded, leaning over to get my phone back, but she held it out of reach. "He's hot. He really looks like one of those guys from One Direction!" 

I laughed. "You're really obsessed with this band, aren't you? You can't see what he looks like there."

"He does!" She protested. "Have you got any other pictures then?" She now seemed genuinely interested, eagerly handing my phone back to me in the hope that I did. I sighed.