°• 𝙰𝙻𝙱𝚄𝙼 𝙰𝚁𝚃 •°[ 𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 ]

Waves 🌊

ZAYN

There is a swelling storm
And I'm caught up in the middle of it all
And it takes control
Of the person that I thought I was
The boy I used to know
But there, is a light
In the dark, and I feel its warmth
In my hands, and my heart
Why can't I hold on?
It comes and goes in waves
It always does, it always does
We watch as our young hearts fade
Into the flood, into the flood
The freedom, of falling
A feeling I thought was set in stone
It slips through, my fingers
I'm trying hard to let go

It had been nearly two months since Zayn and Joe had ended things, and despite the initial pain and awkwardness, things were finally starting to look up for Zayn. He and Joe had managed to maintain a surprisingly good relationship—meeting up a few times here and there, sometimes for casual coffee, other times at parties hosted by mutual friends. Joe had even started dating someone new, a dancer with a contagious energy, and while the news still stung a little, Zayn found himself genuinely happy for Joe. He deserved all the happiness in the world, and more.

The only downside, though, was Joe's relentless teasing about the whole Harry situation. It was relentless in its subtlety — little nudges whenever Harry's name came up, which, frustratingly for Zayn, happened way too often. A song of Harry's would play on the radio, and Joe's eyebrow would shoot up with a mischievous grin. They'd pass by a poster plastered with Harry's face, and Joe's knowing wink would make Zayn practically melt into a blushing mess. It was teasing with no mercy, but underneath it all, Joe was just happy to see Zayn slowly smiling more again.

Zayn had finally convinced himself enough times that this crush on Harry was just a temporary thing — a byproduct of working so closely with the man for months on end. Once the album campaign wrapped up, the merchandise designs were finalized, and Harry's album dropped, their interactions would dwindle to almost nothing. He would fade into the background, just another name on a project list, and with time, the infatuation would ease. It had to.

That was exactly what he was trying to convince Joe of that evening.

They were sprawled out on Zayn's couch, takeout boxes and soda cans scattered messily across the coffee table, a movie flickering on the TV behind them—but neither of them was paying it the slightest attention. What had started as a simple hangout had inevitably led to Joe prodding the topic of Harry yet again.

"I'm telling you, Joe," Zayn said, voice calm but firm, "it's nothing. I know it seems like I'm constantly thinking about him, but it's just because we've been working so close for months. In about four months, when the merch line's done and the album drops, that'll be it. I'll get over it, for real."

Joe's grin only widened, his eyes sparkling with playful mischief. "You don't know how things are gonna turn out."

Zayn scoffed, shaking his head as he got up to grab another soda from the kitchen. "Please. That's the eternal optimist in you talking."

He was just opening the fridge when his phone started ringing. The screen flashed "Unknown Caller." Joe shouted from the living room, "It's for you — wanna put it on speaker?"

Zayn hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, go for it."

"Hello?" Zayn answered, his tone casual—until a familiar voice stopped him cold.

"What the hell?!"

He knew that voice anywhere. Harry Styles was on the other end of the line.

Realizing Zayn's stunned silence, Harry clarified, "Hey, it's me. I got your number from reception at the label."

Zayn's heart started pounding. He quickly crossed the room, snatched the phone from Joe's smirking hands, and took it off speaker despite Joe's exaggerated pout.

"Hey, Harry. What's up?"

Harry sounded a little nervous—though Zayn knew that probably wasn't true—but there was a hesitation in his voice that caught Zayn off guard.

"Uh, yeah, so—I was wondering if you'd be willing to meet up tomorrow? There's just a few things I want to get checked with the merch... I mean, I know tomorrow's one of the only days you get off, so it's totally fine if you say no, but I thought I'd ask."

Zayn couldn't help but smile, interrupting Harry's adorably rambling explanation.

"Harry, Harry," he said, amusement threading through his voice, "I'm down whenever you are. Since you have my number now, why don't you just text me the details?"

"Yeah, yeah. Perfect. Thanks, Zayn."

They said their goodbyes, and Zayn turned back toward the living room to see Joe's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Official business," Zayn warned with a chuckle. "Don't get any ideas."

Meanwhile, at Harry's house, the scene was very different. Harry looked up from his phone to see the amused, teasing faces of his three best friends: Liam burying his face in his hands, Louis trying desperately to suppress laughter, and Niall giving Harry a look that said, What on earth are you doing?

Liam was the first to break the silence. "You idiot, we told you to ask him out, not ask to meet to 'discuss business.'"

Louis and Niall spoke at the same time. "What are you even going to discuss, you absolute walnut?" "And where exactly are you planning to take him?"

Harry knew exactly where he wanted to take Zayn, but now he had to come up with some legit questions about the merch to make the meeting seem professional—at least on the surface.

Back on Zayn's phone, a message popped up from the contact saved simply as "Harry":
12:30, Beachwood Café.

Zayn stared at the text, a small, incredulous smile tugging at his lips. This was it—something new, something unexpected. And despite his careful attempts at emotional distance, a flutter of excitement stirred in his chest.

~~~~~~~

AN- I am so so so sorry for being gone this long. A bunch of stuff came up and uni started back up and I have been swamped.