Love, as I know it

Chapter 10

The girls burst out laughing as soon as we left the boys and walked forward.
"Damn Anika! I'm super shocked. I've been with the guys for quite some time, and I've still not been able to ignore Harry Styles when he makes that face." Danielle laughs.

I grinned, "I've got enough practice. So where to?" I asked the girls.

"Okayyyy let's see. How about some shopping?" Eleanor says, practically dragging me and Danielle.

And so, we went store after store. We must have spent a good two hours buying clothes, and accessories, and then we go to the food court where the boys meet us. Harry still looked pretty upset that his "face" did not work on me. Soon enough, we had some food, and were walking through the mall when I spot something.

"So where to next?" Liam asks randomly.

"Actually, I wanted to get a few books, if you guys don't mind, you guys can go ahead, I'll catch up." I reply.

"Me and Dani have a few more things to be bought. So we will be heading towards Victoria's Secret" Eleanor replies.

"Alright. In that case, guys. You can decide where you wanna go." Liam replies.

Liam reminded me of Jenna. The one in charge of everyone.

After another 10 minutes, Liam, Danielle, Eleanor, and Louis decides they'll go together. Niall volunteered to come with me. Although I assured him I could handle things alone.

"Don't worry. I may not read often, but I love books! I won't feel bored." He assures me.

Harry decides he wants to go around , maybe buy a thing or two. And Zayn, after a whole two minutes of thinking decides he'll join me and Niall.

And so, we separated our own ways, promising to meet at the car park in an hour.

I walked forward as the boys followed me.

Soon enough, we were at the book store, and I finally felt like I was in heaven! Books are one of the few things that would always be a part of me. Something that always excites me.

And so, I went shelf by shelf, looking for a new book to read.

The boys patiently waited for me, whilst I got hold of 4 new books to add to my collection.

I would have bought more, but right now, I was on a tight budget for expenses until I start working. So I stopped myself with just four books.

Once I had them purchased, I walked over to the boys, smiling. I was beyond happy with my purchase!

"Where to now?" Zayn inquired.

"Actually, I'd kinda like to go have a cup of coffee. Is there any place inside the mall that we can go to?" I asked

"Of course love, come along.!"

Soon enough, we made our way to a tiny, adorable little coffee shop on the other end of the mall.

The three of us made our orders, and sat in one corner.

There was a bit of an awkward silence, before I decided I should say something.

"So... you guys are on vacation too yeah?"

"Well, not really. We're supposed to be working on our new album" replied Niall.

"That's cool!" I replied, smiling at him.

"So, Anika. What are you up-to tomorrow?" Niall asks, looking right at me.

"Well, I am supposed to unpack, and get my place sorted out. I still have some time left until uni starts, plus, I have a week to prepare for the internship....so that's about it!" I reply.

The three of us make small conversation for a while, until Niall gets a call from Louis, asking us to meet them at the parking lot. So we leave.

We make our way towards the parking lot, and soon enough, we're all back at our apartments. I say my goodbyes to the boys and Eleanor and Danielle, and make my way towards my apartment.

"Anika"

I turn to face Zayn.

"I'm sorry I was such a dick to you before. I should have given you your own space."

"It's alright Zayn." I smile back at him.

He sticks his hand out.

"Let's start over shall we? I'm Zayn Malik" he says with a cheeky grin.

I shake his hand. "Anika Ahmed." I grin back at him.

He smiles back at me this time, taking a step closer, his eyes staring back at mine.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Anika Ahmed"

And just like that, he turns around and gets back into his home, and I go into mine.

As soon as I get it, I go into my kitchen, clean the dirty cups and dishes I had left behind, and then get changed.

As always, the final thing I do at the end of the day, I call him.

"Hey. It's me. Ani. I survived my first day in London. And guess what? I even made friends! Can you believe that?
Who am I kidding, of course you'd say you can. You never doubted me. Not for a second. You've always had faith in me. And I hope I live up to that.
Alright. Enough of the senti-talks! So, tomorrow, I'm gonna be unpacking. Getting the place set. I also need to do some shopping. Let's see how that goes! ..."
*Sigh* "I miss you Armaan. We were supposed to do all this together. We were supposed to be living here together. But now, here I am. Doing this all alone. It's not fair!" I feel the tears prickling through my eyes, as I walk over to the balcony.
"You promised. We promised. Remember? We promised that we'd do this together Armaan. And now, you've moved on. And I'm living the life we pictured for both of us. Alone."
I felt myself shiver, as I always do when I'm about to breakdown.
"But don't worry. I won't go back on my promise to you. I'll live my life. I'll fulfill our dreams. But I'm still not ready to move on. I don't know when I'd be ready. Or if I'd be ready. I love you. I'll come by to visit soon. I miss you...."
With that, I cut the call. I got my earphones out, plugged it onto my phone, and played one of the songs Armaan had sang for me on his mixtape.
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Hi guys! So I decided to cut this chapter short, and continue it on the next page coz it was getting long. I hope y'all like it! ❤️😘 I'd love your comments! Thank you and lots of love!