eternity. ♡ zarry ♡

9: promise

Age 14

A mirror leaned against Harry's wall, it had small finger print smudges and little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stickers scattered around its edges. It was a mirror he never really used except for his amusement, he never stared at the freckles on his shoulders or at the deepness of his dimples.

His looks were something foreign to him, something he never thought of whenever he watched himself brush his teeth or when he stared at the small chin hair that appeared just after his fourteenth birthday.

He never noticed the way his lips curved into a crooked smile, or how his left eye was just slightly lazy compared to his right eye. He never noticed all of the little imperfections of his body or his face until he was looking at himself in his mirror on the day of graduation.

It was a middle school graduation, nothing as spectacular or as significant as a high school graduation, but it was still something he wanted to look good for.

So when he noticed how imperfect he actually was, he didn't find anything quite beautiful about himself.

Not even with his red bow tie did he feel good looking.

Just as he was about to mess with his gelled down hair that his mother spent nearly twenty minutes trying to tame, his bedroom door was pushed open and there appeared Zayn.

He watched the way Zayn's eyes widened in the mirror. "I've never seen you so.. fancy," Zayn said softly.

"My mom wouldn't let me wear my hoodie so she ended up renting me a suit for the day."

"Well, either way you look good." Zayn smiled, the kind of smile that Harry's sure Zayn only shows to him. The one that's all toothy and sparkly, that only-for-Harry smile.

"You think so? You sure my hair isn't weird? I've never had it done like this," Harry said, looking away from Zayn's smile and at his tidy hair.

"It's just hair, Harry." Zayn giggled. "Hairy Harry."

"That wasn't even funny." Harry finally turned to glare at Zayn.

"But you're smiling," Zayn defended.

And Harry was, he was smiling so wide and he didn't even notice it. Zayn noticed it though, did he also notice the way his smile was lopsided?

"Whatever." Harry shook his head and turned back to the mirror. "Are your parents gonna come?"

He could see the way Zayn's face lit up in the mirror. "They took today off so they could see me, they're downstairs talking to your mom," Zayn answered.

"Really? It's nice that they're around more," Harry said as he straightened his bow tie.

"Yeah.. It feels weird seeing them almost everyday. They come into my room and wake me up just so they can kiss me goodnight, it makes me happy."

"Well, your happiness is all that matters... to me." He and Zayn made eye contact in the mirror.

"Thanks, Harry." Zayn took a deep breath and walked over to Harry. "You look good, stop messing with it."

"But it's not perfect. Today's gotta be perfect for my mom, I want her happy," Harry grumbled.

"You don't need to be perfect to make her happy," he assured Harry. He placed his right on hand on Harry's left shoulder then squeezed. "To her, you're already perfect."

"You think so?" Zayn nodded.

"Your dad would be happy too, I just know it."

That was enough to make Harry drop his hands to his sides and stop messing with his appearance, it was enough to make his heart settle and soften into a warmth that enveloped him.