Rekindled

The Reunion

Before she reached the stairs the doorbell rang. She had wanted to stay out of the boys' business today; things were going to be tense enough as it is, but seeing as Zayn and Liam were still goofing off in the gym, and she had already been pulled into their business a bit when they interrupted her dance party, she went ahead walked toward the door to open it.

Not even checking the peephole to see which of the lads it was, Jenny opened the door wide enough for Him to step in. Oh gosh, of all the boys for her to meet while she was still a sweaty, probably smelly mess, WHY did it have to be Him?

"Hello, welcome, uhm, come on in please, if you want", Jenny said, stumbling over her words as she opened the door wider and stepped aside to allow him entrance to the house. He looked at her with a bit of a smirk on his face before regaining his composure and, instead of stepping in through the wide gap she had created, taking a large step towards her so that his hand brushed against her thigh as he walked into the living room, watching her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

She silently gasped, her chest rising with the quick intake of breath, glancing quickly up into his eyes with an awkward, closed-mouth smile before stepping back behind him to shut the door. Just as he reached the sofa the other men walked back into the room, Liam raising a hand in a wave and Zayn stopping abruptly, looking between Jenny and Harry, the man who had just walked through the door. 

He caught Jenny's eyes and she gave him a reassuring smile, and then signing that she was 'o-k' to him-something they did when they just needed to communicate without words, before practically running up the stairs. He then relaxed, knowing she was not upset, and began walking up to Harry and Liam who were already man-hugging it out. 

"Hey 'Arry," Zayn said, looking into his eyes as he said it, trying to show respect, but then looking at the floor because it was all just too much. 

"Hey yourself," Harry replied back, an uneasy smile on his face. Just as Harry went in for a hug, Zayn stuck out his hand for a shake, so instead they did an awkward fist-bump thing and then stepped back from each other. 

Zayn was in the middle of asking if Harry wanted something to eat or drink when the doorbell rang again, this time though, before Zayn could even think about moving toward the door it flew open and Niall burst in-always full of energy that one. "It's okay everybody, it's OK, the party is here!" he basically yelled into the living room before going around hugging everyone. He was followed by Louis, who had stopped awkwardly in the doorway before deciding to come inside and shut the door behind him but didn't approach the group, instead he eye'd Zayn and Harry warily before going to stand on the far-side of Liam.

"Okay, now that everyone's here I've got food laid out on the counter there, some water and sodas in this little fridge here, or the good stuff right over here," Zayn said, gesturing to everything that had been laid out once again, "Once everyone's got what they want we can sit down to chat here or in the backyard, whatever you want". He said this to everyone but always glanced at Harry at the end of each sentence, subconsciously singling him out as the one he wanted to make sure was truly comfortable.

~-~-~-~

Jenny bolted up the last couple of stairs and went straight to the shower, turning the hot water on full blast before starting up her 'shower' playlist; music always helped her keep a clear, calm head, and after what just happened downstairs, she needed it more than ever.

Now, it's not that Jenny was attracted to Harry, although it's what her reaction might make one think. Rather, it's what she knew about his past relationship with her current boyfriend that made her heart start pounding like that when she saw him there in the doorway. Sure, he was one of her music idols from before she had even met Zayn, but she truly loved her boyfriend and could see herself being with him forever.

However, she also knew that this man had been Zayn's best friend for years, as well as his first love, and she knew that they had broken each other's hearts. All of this was speculated by the internet for years, and still today even to some extent, but she and Zayn had always been open and honest with each other, and he told her fairly early in their relationship about everything that had happened when he was younger, and how he felt about that boy, now that man that was in her living room.

She wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling, she honestly did want the lads to get back on good terms with one another, and considering she had been a fan of their music for years, of course she would even love for the band to get back together, but the biggest question mark for her was how Zayn and Harry reviving their friendship would affect her life with the man she considered the love of her life. Would this lay the groundwork for rekindling their romantic relationship as well? If it did, what did that mean for her? 

Nope, she couldn't focus on all that right now. She needed to just relax, clean up, get lost in the music and enjoy the hot water massaging her back from the dual shower heads. After that she'd go to the office and get whatever work she needed done finished. THEN she could maybe take some time to mull all of this over again. 

As her playlist continued, the next song came on and she began singing along with it as she lathered shampoo in her hair.

~~I'm so mad at myself/for giving in/ to what I want/ never again /That feeling we felt/we called it love/you called it off/and I've never been so mad at myself~~