Daisies • Zarry

10. Halloween

Zayn was a big fan of Halloween ever since he was a little kid. He would always dress up in three, sometimes four different costumes because he could never choose just one, plus he could cheat the system and go around trick or treating in his small farm town to get quadruple the amount of candy. He went as a power ranger at least a dozen times, or Batman, and had a thing for those classic old Hollywood horror films like The Wolf Man, Nosferatu and Night of the Living Dead, so when Halloween rolled around Zayn found himself in a particularly good mood.

He and Elias had decided to go as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Zayn being Holmes, of course, because they both decided that he was the more eccentric one and Elias fit the part of Watson, who was much more astute. So far Zayn had been pretty happy with his newfound relationship. He was genuinely enjoying the time that they spent together and appreciating how much Elias fawned over him daily. He wasn't used to this kind of attention and it was filling his heart in a way that he had always wanted.

But the one thing that was weighing on Zayn every afternoon at around 2:00 was the fact that he hadn't been going to Daisies. He hadn't been there in weeks for his daily cappuccino, which meant he hadn't seen Harry, and that routine, that part of his day had been one that he always looked forward to. So Zayn had to seek out a new coffee place called Blue Hills which was a few blocks down and a lot less convenient. The coffee was mediocre, the atmosphere was subdued, the music was forgettable, and there was no one working there who was anything like Harry.

Zayn had wanted to reach out to him, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to Harry because he didn't know what to say. Zayn knew that it wouldn't be the same, even if he wanted it to be. He wasn't sure if he could just go back to pretending like nothing ever happened, because it did, and Zayn was still thinking about it more times than he wanted to admit. So instead he waited around to see if Harry would call him or text, if Harry would just come by and say hi, to see if Harry was the one who would move forward with the way that things were, but he never reached out either. He never came by and Zayn never saw him so he decided to take his absence as the message.

Elias decided to throw a Halloween party at this 34th floor Chelsea apartment and the entire place was decked out in orange paper lanterns, gourds, cobwebs, green and purple lights, all the traditional Halloween decorations tastefully organized with Thriller playing in the background. Zayn stood in Elias' kitchen drinking this skeleton key cocktail he concocted which was elderflower, bourbon, and ginger beer with a bloody garnish, eying him from across the way as he stood there in his plaid Burberry blazer and crimson red bowtie, fake mustache and round spectacles. After studying him for a long minute Zayn realized Elias sort of made a terrible Dr. Watson but his effort was admirable and Zayn still thought he was cute. Elias caught Zayn's glance and gave him a subtle wink in the middle of his conversation and Zayn blushed as he smiled softly.

Most of Elias' friends at the party were also queer and Zayn finally didn't feel that out of place for once. They kept coming up to him and chatting, just trying to get to know the guy who had their friend so smitten, and Zayn was elated by it.

"I've never seen Elias so into someone," Griffin, one of Elias' friends, had said to Zayn as he walked into the kitchen to pour a drink wearing a suggestive 'horny devil' costume. "What spell did you cast on him?"

"I've hardly done a thing," Zayn replied, shrugging. "I guess I just got lucky."

"Well, he's a keeper for sure. He's like...the perfect guy, not the one you wanna let go of trust me," he continued as he looked over at the front door which had opened, as more guests arrived. "Kenny!" Griffin exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Oh my God you came!"

Zayn looked over to see who had just walked into Elias' apartment and it was Kendall.

And she wasn't alone.