Princess (Ziam)

Outward

This chapter took a lot of thinking and planning, but I think I'm finally satisfied with it.

Louis' song is amazing, by the way. I admire the raw honestly it holds and how it points out that celebrities are people, too. You can't expect them to be perfect, and you can't think they have a perfect life either because they go through everything we go through. Same emotions, same struggles, just different levels and scenarios. Genius!

Also, happy (late) National Coming Out Day! I know plenty of people who came out on that day, so it was a great time.

Also, I am deeply upset that I couldn't attend Harry's concert in my city, but I'm glad for anyone who got to go. Just sucks to feel so inspired by someone yet not able to simply be in their presence.

Anyway, enough delay. Here's your nearly 6,000 word chapter. Enjoy! 😘

Chapter 65:

We arrived at the park, and I followed Zayn as he led me down the paved path toward the park's pond. The water was basically crystal clear and it was a place where dozens of birds went to bathe, or eat, or rest for a while. It was full of them; all different kinds. There were birds as small as finches to birds as grand as swans. I envied their ability to fly; to be able to escape the earth they stood upon and ascend beyond our wildest dreams.

I looked over at Zayn as he motioned for me to follow him around the side and to the edge of the water. It was only then that I noticed a small picnic blanket there with a few containers laid out. I was going to question who set everything up for him, but I didn't have to because there was a note on one of the containers that simply read: Have fun ;) -Louis.

Zayn rolled his eyes at the note and crumbles it up, storing it in his pocket before we both sat down. He opened the first container, and I saw that it contained bird seeds. I knew exactly what we were doing.

"This one is for the birds," He explained, setting down the seeds and opening another container. "This one is for us."

It contained two sandwiches individually wrapped up, and I saw that there was a small mix of berries in a little blue bowl on the side. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. They all looked so good.

"And just because I'm right about whipped cream being amazing," He said, reaching into the basket that the containers were stored in, "I decided we needed some for the berries," He grinned.

It was my turn to roll my eyes, but I couldn't have been happier than I was in that moment. It was overly wonderful how Zayn and I had some kind of inside joke now. It was such a healthy, casual step in a relationship, and I found myself valuing it more than anything.

"Good idea. It's actually tasty with berries," I teased, taking the sandwich that Zayn passed to me as he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Very funny," He sarcastically stated, and I smiled proudly before unwrapping my sandwich and taking a bite out of it, instantly tasting the turkey and cheese.

It was silent as we both began to eat, and I watched the birds that bathed in the water, cleaning meticulously underneath their wings before flapping them dry and flying out of the pond. There were mainly ducks walking around, and the small ducklings seemed to struggle to swim for the first time, but I knew that it was their natural ability. It was all so fascinating to see nature simply be.

"You know, my mum use to bring me here all the time when I was little," Zayn began, and I looked over at him to see a thoughtful look in his eyes. He was most likely thinking back to his childhood and how different everything was then. I could just imagine a younger Zayn being completelt fascinated by all of the birds flapping about.