If Time Stands Still

65- burnout

Zayn's POV

All my life, I've never considered myself to be a morning person. I failed to wrap my head around the idea of getting up and immediately being chatty and active. Though I'm neither of those things, I was wrong about the crack of dawn. It's not even seven yet and I'm on my way back home from my morning stroll.

I came to realize that it was never early mornings that I despised and more the fact that I never slept early enough to appreciate the serenity of this hour. As a kid and teen, even into my early twenties, I've been a night owl — whether it was to play video games or cram. Now my eyes can barely stay open after ten.

I don't mind it though. I get a full couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep in and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my day.

Once I'm back in my apartment, I set the keys down quietly and fill my pups bowls with the new food I just bought. The second a pebble hits the bowl, they both charge toward me and chow away like the animals they are.

As I walk to the kitchen to pack away the milk and eggs, I hear the faint sound of an alarm clock coming from my room.

Strange. It's definitely not my phone, so why would Aylin set an alarm unless it was a mistake?

I walk in quietly to see her still fast asleep, not a hint of disturbance on her pretty face. I even notice a small smile as she continues sleeping soundly, hopefully having sweet dreams still.

I quickly make my way around to her side to switch it off, but at that exact moment, her hand comes swinging in and slaps me against the back of my thigh.

"Oops, sorry." She chuckles tiredly, "I meant to grab the phone."

I sit down on the bed, leaning over her to move the hair out of her face.

"Why are you up?" We ask in unison, followed by brief laughter.

"Took a jog and got some groceries."

"Oh." Her eyes open a little more, "Did you get bread?"

"Uh, no." I frown, "Why? Don't we have any?"

"There's only two slices in there." She shakes her head, "See, this is why I was going to grab them a little later. Leave the grocery shopping to me." She pokes at my stomach.

I smile, leaning down further to kiss her forehead before standing up again, "Okay. That's fine by me. Why'd you set an alarm?"

"Well, I wanted to wake up before you and bring you breakfast in bed, but you keep ruining my surprises." She pouts.

My stomach flutters at her words. Since we've got back from our London trip, Aylin's been exceeding all expectations I've had. I assumed we'd just go back to normal, with me trying and her not reciprocating or really listening— which is terrible, but I was hurt.

However, she's been everything I've needed and more; my comfort, a support system, a great listener, all wrapped up into my favourite person.

Besides, she despises waking up early so this simple gesture means a lot to me.

"I'm sorry." I mirror her expression, "Well, how about I make it up to you and bring you breakfast in bed?"

She smiles as she throws the sheets off and stretches her limbs, "No, I think I'll make you some lunch since you're always saying you haven't eaten. Do you have a lunchbox?"

"Uh..." I scratch the back of my neck, struggling to recall whether or not I have one.

She passes me, so I rush after her since I know she'll take the liberty of looking for it herself. It's way too early to be rummaging throughout the kitchen for a lunchbox.