Zerrie: Just another love story

Chapter 9: Meeting the fam

" Ok... How do I look? " I turned around so the girls could see what I had decided to look like tonight. " Perrie... You've, um... Got... " Jesy rubbed her lip. I looked in the mirror. * God, I'm a wreck... * My hair was a mess, my makeup looked like a clown, and my outfit was 100% UN-matching... " Perrie, I get that you're nervous, but c'mon! How bad could this be? " Jade asked, concerned. I rolled my eyes, annoyed. " Oh, I don't know, I could say the wrong thing, make the wrong move, eat the wrong thing, and BOOM! Mine and Zayn's relationship could be over, like THAT! " I snapped my fingers. Leigh-anne sighed. " Poor thing... You know what? You've got 20 minutes, and we're gonna use them! C'mon! " She pulled me to her closet. Usually I'd be worried, but Leigh-anne always has things under control. She hummed as she went through her many, many, MANY clothes. " PERFECT! " She screamed. Me, Jade, and Jesy jumped a little. She held up a navy blue, strapless, knee length dress, that had a ruffle near the top.  " What do you think, pretty cute, yeah? " She smiled. This was the one... I smiled even bigger, and took it. " It's exactly what I need! Thanks! " Alright, hair and makeup time... I had this, but I might've needed to borrow Jade's eyeliner... In the panicky rush I had been in, I accidentally dropped mine in the toilet... Fortunately, she let me, and I went into the bathroom, once again, to get ready. I re-brushed my hair, and then curled it. After, I put on some gold, almost skin tone eye shadow, pink-ish blush, and my favorite, candy lips blood red lipstick. Then, of course, eyeliner and mascara. With 5 minutes to spare, I walked out and put on some black, high-heeled, sandals. " OH! " Jade gasped. " PERRIE, YOU LOOK SO FREAKING GORGEOUS! " I laughed a little. " Thanks... You sure I don't have any fly aways? My makeup's not smeared? What about my dress? Is there any wrinkles??? " Jesy rolled her eyes. " Calm down, love... You look perfect, I promise... Zayn'll think so too! His mum would have to be blind not to like you! " I nodded, then gulped. " Alright... And the car's outside, waiting for me? " Jesy nodded as well. * Off I go... * " Bye girls... " I walked out, got in the car, and was driven to the restaurant I was meeting Zayn at. I got out, and walked in to see Zayn and his mum waiting by one of those fancy, cafe patio tables on the other side of the restaurant. I walked over, and smiled, trying not to sweat... Yeah, as if that was something I could control... " Hey gorgeous! " Zayn smiled. " Hi Zayn... " I laughed a little. " What, no hey handsome? " He teased. I rolled my eyes then held out my hand to his mum, and smiled the friendliest smile I could work up. " Hello Mrs. Malik! I'm Perrie... " She shook my hand and smiled as well. " Yes, Zayn's told me all about you! Infact, he hasn't stopped telling me about you! " Zayn's cheeks got kinda red. I smoothed down my dress, then sat, along with him and his mum. " So... How are you, dear? " She asked. " I'm fine, great actually! How are you? " This was going good so far... " I'm wonderful! Ho- Oh, the waiter's here! " A man in a chef hat walked up. Man, they go all out in this place, don't they? " Good evening, my name is Jason, and I'll be your waiter tonight! What can I get for you? " He took out his note pad, and I looked at the menu. * What does this even mean...? * Half the stuff on the menu, I couldn't even pronounce the first word! " I'll have a light salade aux Lardons, please? " Zayn's mum ordered first, and Jason wrote it down. Then Zayn. " And I'll take pork chops au Poivre. " Again, Jason wrote it down. * Huh...? * I probably looked so clueless right now... I'd just have to wing it. " Can I have a... " I looked at the menu, intensely. " Co... Coq ow... No, a Coq... au vin... Yeah, can I have a Coq au vin? " All 3 of them stared at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears or something. I just smiled, trying not to make eye contact with any of them. He wrote it down, and walked away. Zayn looked at me and chuckled. " What...? " I looked at him, and raised one eyebrow. " Nothing... " He shook his head and his chuckle turned into a laugh. " What??? " Zayn's mum joined in the laughter. Well this was lovely... " Dear, have you never been to a French restaurant before? " I shook my head. " I didn't figure... It's alright, just a first timers thing! " She smiled. Zayn was still laughing at me, as he took out his phone. " So, Perrie... You seem like a really nice girl, tell me about yourself! " His mum looked at me. * Shit... I knew this was coming... * I took a deep breath. " Well... My full name is Perrie Louise Edwards, I'm 20... I like cats, dogs, especially pomeranians, and blue is my favorite color! Obviously, I like to sing... I can sorta play piano, my favorite movie is The Notebook. I grew up in South Shields, London, and my favorite food is... Everything! I like food! My musical inspirations are Ed Sheeran, and Bon Jovi... And One Direction... " I laughed a little. * I think I said to much... * Yeah, I basically blurted all that out. His mum looked at me, then glanced at Zayn, and chuckled. " Very interesting... " A few minutes went by, and no one talked. Jason came back, breaking the awkward silence. " Here you are, Miss. " He set Zayn's mum's food down in front of her, then mine. " And sir... " He put Zayn's food in front of him. " Enjoy! " He walked away. I stared at my food. It looked kind of good, it would help if I actually knew what Coq au vin was... It also smelled good. They watched me as I stared at my food. " It's good, I promise... " Zayn smiled. * How do I know he's not tricking me...? * I lookd at my food for another minute, then took a bite. My mouth had just been filled with the tangiest, most flavored food I had ever tasted. This... was... AMAZING... Zayn saw the satisfaction in my face, and laughed. I continued to eat my surprisingly tasty meal. " Mum, how's Walihya, Safaa, and Doniya? " He asked, and Zayn's mum swallowed her current bite of food, then wiped her mouth with her napkin. " They're fine... They miss you though! " She forced a smile... She missed him too, I could tell... It kinda made me stop and think, how hard it must be... Supporting your son while he prepares for his dream, but always having that small sense of doubt... Then, watching him pursue his career of singing, and become part of the biggest boyband in the world... Being so proud, but only being able to tell him so every few months, unless it's over the phone, but even then, that's not very often.... I suddenly had a new respect for his mum. " Mrs. Malik, I'm really enjoying this... Thank you for taking to time to come and meet me... " I smiled. She smiled back. " Trisha... Just call me Trisha... I'm enjoying this too, dear... " My smile widened, and Zayn looked back and forth between me and his mu-... Trisha. 45 Minutes later, we were done with our food, and I stood up. Trisha hugged me, and I hugged her back. " I had a wonderful time, Perrie, I'm glad we got to do this! " She pulled back. " I am too! Maybe we can do it again sometime, just us girls! Have a girls day out! " I laughed. She nodded in approval, then turned to Zayn, and stared him in the eye. " Mum... " Zayn returned the pained look. Trisha fought hard to keep from crying, then hugged him as tight as she could. Zayn hugged her back, and I had never seen anything more touching.... I know it sounds cheesy, but... Not after what she's been through. They hugged for, what seemed like forever, then finally pulled apart. " I love you sunshine... " She smiled. " You too mum... I'll see you soon, I promise... " Trisha looked at Zayn for another minute, then walked off. Zayn walked back over to me and smiled huge. " That couldn'tve gone ANY more perfect!!! Perrie, that was amazing! She loves you! Do you realize how huge that is??? " He was extremely excited. " Yes! I'm really happy things went as well as they did! " He took my hand, and we walked to his car.