We had both decided we needed some time away from the outside world, so we were just wandering around in the forest. There were times when Zayn and I would walk in stride and not speak a word. Simply listened to the sounds of the forest. Other times I followed him, kept my eyes trained on his back and rattled on about my thoughts or things I had read. I was trying to get him to talk more, to find a subject he could talk about with me. So far no luck, though. Eventually I fell silent, focusing on my breathing and the forest sounds around me, the scent of summer heavy around us.
After what felt like hours of walking, I paused, taking a deep breath through my mouth. There wasn’t a single breath of fresh air, just the feeling of something damp and heavy sticking to your skin and clogging your nose. I was longing for something refreshing and cold. Zayn stopped somewhere in the distance, turning around and walking back towards me. He leaned against a tree, raising his eyebrows at me.
‘’’S hot,’’ I whined, wiping the beads of sweat from my forehead. Taking a walk in the woods had been a nice idea, but I had forgotten how tiring it was. I shook out my limbs and tugged at my tank top, unsticking it from me and trying to force some air underneath it. I mentally grimaced at myself, because I probably looked the opposite of attractive. Zayn actually looked fine, if not a bit flushed.
‘’Come on, I know somewhere you can cool down,’’ he urged, grabbing my wrist and forcing me to walk. I tried to focus on the lush green trees and grass tickling my legs instead of the heat, but also Zayn. Because he was still holding onto my wrist, not as firmly, but his hand was there – encircled around my wrist and tugging me along. It seemed as if the forest was growing less dense, the space between the trees increasing. I smelled something different now, not just the musk of trees and leaves, but something lighter and fresher. Zayn let go of my wrist and walked ahead of me, skipping through the trees. I followed quickly, until I found myself facing a great lake, the water shimmering in the sunlight and looking very inviting.
‘’Would it be safe to swim?’’ I wondered out loud, moving to stand next to Zayn somewhere near the edge. The water looked clear enough, nothing strange or out of place could be seen.
‘’I think so, but I’m not going to swim,’’ Zayn said, eyeing the water warily.
‘’Why not?’’ I asked, bending down to untie my shoes and place them next to a bush, out of range of the water.
‘’I can’t. Swim, I mean. I can’t swim,’’ he muttered the last part, his shoulders slumping. I quickly pulled off my tank top and shorts, which left me in my boxers. The sand at the edge of the lake was slightly warm from the sun and felt soft and silky under my feet. After a few steps my feet were submerged in the water, which wasn’t really cold, but it did the job.
‘’You don’t have to, you can easily stand here,’’ I called, waddling further into the water. It lapped at my skin, taking away the heat that had clung to it before. It rolled around me, offering barely any resistance as I waded through, stopping once the water reached my chest, and turned around to face Zayn. Anxiousness was written across his features, along with something that could be described as excitement. There were a few more seconds in which he seemed to hesitate, but eventually he started undressing, dropping his clothes carelessly on the forest floor. I felt a different kind of heat take hold of me as I watched, my heart fluttering feebly in my chest when more of his silky skin was revealed.
Splashing sounds brought me to the surface and interrupted my thoughts. Zayn seemed completely focused on making sure his feet stayed on the ground, causing waves of sand to cloud the water. He kept his hands above the water, almost as if he was afraid he would be dragged down as soon as he dipped them in. When the water reached his waist, he stopped and took a deep breath.
‘’This is as far as I’ll go,’’ he stated, letting his hands hover above the water. Standing in the deep end by my own didn’t seem as fun, so I moved out of the water a bit to join Zayn. For a while I simply listened to the choir of birds singing and the sound of water being moved around, ruffling leaves occasionally joining the symphony of forest sounds. It was calming, serene. A promise of peace, if only for a while.
Getting lost in thought was an easy thing to do, because there was nothing keeping you from it. I allowed my mind to roam free and tackle the problems that were there, or at least the ones in sight. Because there were so many still hidden, buried deep underneath the layer of confusion and uncertainty. Clear was the issue with my father, although the answer wasn’t as easy to see. I would try my best, though, because I couldn’t let him slip away too. Next was the beast. Even though it was practically part of Zayn, I couldn’t see them as connected. Refused to. We had researched countless methods of cleansing him, ways to get rid of all the negative energy. But none of them were sure to work, and many of them were incredibly dangerous as well. Saying things were complicated would be an understatement.
‘’Harry?’’ Zayn’s voice murmuring my name made my eyes snap open – I had closed them without realising. Somehow without me noticing, he had managed to decrease the space between us, his hands now having breached the water and floating close to mine. Along with the clothes he removed earlier, it appeared almost as if he shed layers of something else, as well. His shoulders weren’t as slumped as usual and the air around him felt lighter altogether.
‘’How are you?’’ The question left my mouth before I realised how silly it would sound, but Zayn’s answering smile was enough to dull my embarrassment.
‘’Better, thanks to you,’’ he said, letting his hand brush against mine in the water. I hummed, letting my eyes slowly take him in, appreciating how the shimmering water around him seemed to intensify his own glow. There was something different, and I wasn’t sure if it was Zayn himself or just the space around us affecting me. Something in me wanted to reach out and touch him, wondering if happiness could be transferred through touch, because that’s how he made me feel. Happy. As impossible as it seemed, given the circumstances, he gave me a small slice of happiness. And that small slice is what got me addicted. Greed seemed to take me over for a moment, causing me to reach out and take hold of his hand. My stomach started to drop, because I was afraid I took it too far, but I was surprised when he responded by softly squeezing my hand and slowly moving closer, causing the water to ripple around us.
There were only so many things that could happen from there on, and what felt the most natural was to lean in, because he was doing the same thing. He was getting so close that I saw the lush line of his eyelashes and the small spot next to his left iris. We paused when we could feel each other’s breaths rather than hear it like we usually would in those quiet moments. There was a brief moment in which we just looked into each other’s eyes, holding a quiet conversation and eventually agreeing that, yes, this was okay. So when our lips finally met I wasn’t startled, it didn’t feel like I was hit by a truck, it just felt right. And in a strange way, completely ordinary.
Finally, hmm? Guess it was kind of predictable, though :). Next update is on Tuesday! Thank you so much for the support! I couldn't be happier.
Laters xxx <3
