Brave || Zerrie AU

Escasping

The ocean held a place in Perrie's heart. She remembered her first boat ride to Sevence and how she felt when she saw the vast length of the ocean. It reminded her that there was more out there, but that at times our sites are limited on how far we can see. That thought brought comfort to her heart in that moment and appeared to do the same in this one.

The blue sky was clear that day and a gentle breeze swept by her. A week had passed since she had last spoken to Abriella.Harry had been staying with Abriella since the argument occurred and Perrie was sure he was aware of what had happened. He sent her a couple messages, but Perrie's responses were dry that he eventually stopped. The silence between the two was hurting her more than any heartbreak she could have of imagined. In such a short time, Abri became her best friend and one of the few people she trusted. Perrie tried to understand her and why she had taken some time apart and in part she did. Yet, another part of her held anger because she needed her friend by her side, and she wasn't there.

Staring at the ocean brought Perrie back her memories of when she first met Abriella and Ciro. She understood the frustration they all shared with this situation. She had made progress since she left, and yet in that moment it felt like she was back to square one. Like nothing had happened. How can one deal with this situation and not go insane? There was no amount of comfort anyone could provide her because she realized that everyone had done what they could and from now on it was up to her figure her life out. She made a promise in Sevence to not be the same heartbroken girl and she knew she wanted it to come true.

***

Perrie stared at the white and black mug that was before her. Her eyes were focused on the panda on the side of it, but her mind was drifting between thoughts. She had spoken to Zayn a few hours after returning to the beach and asked for time. She told him that she loved him, but that in that moment she needed a moment to figure out what she was going to do because she was confused. Her heart was torn between forgiving him or moving on. Perrie was trapped in her mind that she didn't realize Ciro was staring at her.

Ciro.

That was another reason for her confusion. She didn't want to commit to something and not know how her heart truly felt. Ciro sparked something in her that made her happy and feel safe. Not knowing which path to choose caused her more pain because she knew that soon she would have to decided which man deserved her heart.

Ciro let out a sigh and gently tapped the space next to the mug to get her attention. "Where's your mind, Perrie?" He asked as he moved to join her on the counter.

Without dropping her gaze from the mug, Perrie responded. "I have no clue. I'm so confused and I don't even know how to deal with it."

The mug left its place and Perrie turned to find Ciro drinking the tea that it contained. "Well, I don't think this mug has any answers for you."

"Then what does?"

Perrie was sure that Ciro could see the sadness within her eyes and she broke eye contact because she knew that he would try to comfort her, but she didn't want anyone to comfort her.

"I want to talk to Abriella, but she won't answer my calls." Perrie confessed as Ciro moved to the living room area, with the panda mug in his hand. He placed it in the table in front of the television and proceeded to sit on the couch. Perrie followed after him and sat alongside him. "Does she really not want to talk to me anymore?" She couldn't hide the sadness in her voice as she asked Ciro. She pushed away her thoughts of Zayn and Ciro as she sat with him on the couch.

His emerald eyes turned to her, "I don't know. She hasn't answered my calls and when I asked Harry how she was doing he simply told me she needed space."

A sigh of frustration was Perrie's response as she laid her head on Ciro's broad shoulder. "It sucks."

"I know, Perrie. I wish I could take your pain away."

A though appeared in her mind. It had surfaced when she was at the beach, but now she felt that it was the best one. Her mind rushed to process the idea, and, in that moment, she turned to Ciro, a small smile on her lips.

"I'm going back to Sevence."

"You're what?!" Ciro said in disbelief. His eyes grew wide and he waited for a few seconds thinking that Perrie was joking.

"Let's go to Sevence in a few days." Her voice somehow managed to not shake despite the fact that her heart was beating a thousand miles faster than normal, afraid of his answer.

"This is so sudden. I-I don't understand" Ciro said as he gave Perrie his complete attention.

"I feel like I'm suffocating and that there's no end to this. The first time I went to Sevence I felt the same and it helped me clear my head and heart."

"You can't keep running away, Perrie." Ciro made the effort to not hurt her feelings, but the truth hurts sometimes.

Perrie lowered her head slightly and sighed deeply. "I'm not running. I just really need to leave this place for a while and clear my head." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I'm not going to force you to come with me. I don't mind going by myself. I'll speak to Abri's dad and I'm sure he'll let me rent a room in his hotel."

"Perrie-"

Perrie placed her hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. "You don't have to tell me your answer right now. I know this was sudden so just think about it."

Not saying a word Ciro took her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'll go to the ends of the world with you if it's what you want." He whispered.

A wave of relief washed over her hearing his words. Her heart raced as she kept looking at him and her mind screamed at her one thing: "Kiss him, kiss this beautiful, kind man." And so, she grabbed his neck, pulling him closer until only centimeters separated them.

"Kiss me, Ciro." She sounded out of breath as the words left her mouth, but this was something she had wanted for a long time.

There was no moment of hesitation and the next things Perrie knew was Ciro's lips. They were so soft and Perrie found herself pulling him closer to her, not knowing how that was possible. Her body felt like it was on fire and placed both her hands around his neck. All the confusion and frustrations she felt left her in that moment, and she found herself biting his lips, asking him for entrance. She felt Ciro's smile against her lips and it caused her a smile too. There was a sense of comfort with the kiss that she hadn't felt. It wasn't like anything she had experienced before. Being with Ciro she always knew she would be okay because she knew what would happen when she was with him. Her heart knew that. 

***

*hides behind the door* uhhh hello... please don't kill me!!! I know this chapter wasn't as good as the last one but Brave is coming to an end and so you know sh*t has to happen. I have soo many ideas and I'm thinking about writing a second Zerrie book but like completely different. I don't know I guess we'll see how I feel about it later on. 

AND I know y'all are probably mad because she kissed Ciro BUTTTTT wording my loves, look at the wording hehehehe 

I want to upload another chapter later tonight and I'm going to try super hard to but I can't promise anything. I love you guys! 

xoxo L