Smoke & Mirrors • Zarry

10. Sunflowers

"7.874 grams exactly," said Louis as he placed the last nugget of weed on the digital scale, leaning over Zayn's dark wood coffee table. "I'm defo gonna take this quarter with me to Italy. Just getting baked laying on the beach with El for a week straight; I can't wait. Plus I've got this," he added, slowly lifting a black box from his pocket and opening it up, revealing a dainty, princess cut engagement ring.

"Oh damn. You're proposing?"

"Yeah I'm finally gonna do it," Louis replied, smiling to himself. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, mate. And when we get married you're gonna be me best man."

"Of course," said Zayn. "Think she'll say yes?"

"I think she will yeah," Louis answered, shutting the ring box before stuffing it back into his pocket and then he eyed Zayn, who leaned over to light up the end of a roach he had snuffed out earlier.

"You gotta find someone, Z. I know you hate when I say it but you aren't getting any younger, you can't keep living like this forever. Don't you wanna get married and have kids and shit one day? I know this isn't really who you are," he went on. "You used to be different."

"Used to be," Zayn echoed. "People change, Lou."

"She'd want you to move on..." Louis said quietly, trailing off.

"Don't you dare bring her up," Zayn growled back defensively, feeling agitated that Louis had the audacity to even mention that situation, and luckily it happened just as the buzzer went off downstairs.

Zayn leapt up from the couch immediately, quite literally understanding what the old saying 'saved by the bell' truly meant as it couldn't have come at a more perfect time to completely interrupt the conversation that he was having, which was not the subject that Zayn ever wanted to engage in. No, they were not going to talk about his ex girlfriend. Not ever. Zayn let the door open and he then heard heavy footsteps trudging up the stairs to the second floor before Harry walked in.

"I have amazing news!" he shouted, grinning with his dimples ever so prominent. "Not only did they like me, they offered me the main role instead and they set me up with some other auditions in the next few weeks," he added, squeezing Zayn's shoulder with excitement as he walked into the kitchen.

"That's great," Zayn replied.

He felt genuinely happy for Harry, but he couldn't say that he was even the least bit surprised that he had gotten farther than he anticipated. Harry was that guy, the one who's likable, talented and Harry was the type of person who would make it no matter what he did, but it weighed on Zayn as he stood there, eying Harry work his way around Zayn's kitchen because for a split second a thought crossed his mind, like everyone around Zayn was doing better than he was, making progress in life, going somewhere, and he was just drifting along, doing the same old shit, seemingly going nowhere.

"Let's celebrate," Harry insisted to Zayn as he poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen. "We should go out and do something fun."

"Well, I've got some stuff to do," said Zayn, looking over at the mess of weed he was weighing out on the coffee table.

That's really all there was to do but it wasn't that important, it's just that Zayn wasn't the sort of person who went out and did things that weren't necessary, and especially not on a Sunday afternoon.

"Oh come off it bro, you haven't got shit to do," Louis countered while Harry laughed and looked in his direction, taking another long sip of water.

"Hey Louis, you want to come along? We could be a throuple," he said, offering him a wink.

"Tempting..." Louis joked, "But I've got to get going in fact. I'm supposed to be packing for holiday and El's gonna rip me me head off if I don't get started by the time she's off work," Louis answered as he started gathering up his things.