"You're in luck, I have ice cream!" Zayn shouted with his head in the freezer.

"I'll take it, as long as it's not chocolate," I said weakly.

I heard the rambling of utensils in the kitchen before Zayn appeared with 2 spoons and a little pint of cookie dough ice cream. Perfect!

"Do you not like chocolate?" he pried.

"It's just, that's HIS favorite flavor."

"Oh…I see."

I looked around Zayn's loft. It was older and had red brick walls with black and wooden furnishings. I liked it a lot, it was wide and spacious. No walls only the corner bathroom and a staircase on the side that led to his open bedroom. I wish I could get a place like this when I graduate. We sat in the den, under the staircase and bedroom, which was separated from the dinning area by a gray sectional. This part was cozy as opposed to the drastically high ceilings throughout the rest of his place.

"I'm honestly in love with your place!" I couldn't hold back.

"It's a nice little pad isn't it? The guy that lived here was a friend of my father's so he got me a good deal on it. You're welcome here anytime."

"Seriously?" I smiled in gratitude.

"So stop trying so hard around me, how are you REALLY feeling?" I could see Zayn's honest concern.

"I don't WANT to care but it does hurt. We said we loved each other…"

"And I don't doubt it. I'm sorry.That's why I can never trust long distance relationships, someone is always bound to get hurt."

"I thought we were the exception. I thought what we felt for each other would outlast the time we'd have to wait. But even I was weak…"

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Never mind; I actually don't want to keep dwelling on this depressing topic...Tell me, is there anyone you miss?" I dug another spoonful of ice cream.

Zayn reached for his back pocket where he took out his wallet and handed it to me already open. There were two pictures of the cutest kids I had seen in a long time. Brown haired and blue eyed, holding quite the resemblance.

"I didn't know you had kids."

"They're my nephews; my sister lives back in Washington. I miss all of them."

"She's older?"

"By 4 years. My nephew is 6 and niece 3."

"So you like kids. How many do you want to have?"

"I would like to have at least 2, more if possible. Lately I've been pretty tired of this single life and I feel like I'm ready to settle down now."

"Hmmm, I didn't picture you as the 'settling' type," I said frankly.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me. You think I still want to be a bartender by the time I'm 35?"

"Like I said I DON'T know you that well…did you go to college?"

"I have a degree in business. I've been working with Philip for a couple of years now; his plan is to open another restaurant down in San Diego and leave me in charge of this one."

"Would you still bartend?"

"To help out on busy nights, but I have some interesting ideas for when that time comes."

"That's fantastic! Here I thought you were just a flirt that liked to start trouble."

"Then you should be ashamed of yourself for judging me so poorly," he smiled.

"Ahhh, getting dumped sucks!"

"It will for a while but you'll live," he winked. And of course that reminded me of Harry.

"Okay I need to be strictly honest with you…I know I'm here in your apartment and we've kind of been flirting lately, but don't get the wrong idea, nothing can happen," I warned him.

"Do you think I'm the kind of guy that would take advantage of your vulnerability? I invited you over because I thought you wouldn't want to be alone. And not to brag, but I've been told I have quite the comfortable shoulder. If you don't believe me ask my sister, she's cried on it plenty of times."

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. A shoulder sounded like the perfect remedy for the night. My image of Zayn had changed. He was definitely a more sensitive guy than he put on to believe; I guess he had his sister to thank for that.

He brought out a blanket and turned off the lights as we got ready to watch a comedy. I didn't feel like laughing in the beginning but I have to admit laughter is contagious. My roller coaster night had a smooth ending after all. I don't remember up to what episode we got to but it wasn't long before I started getting sleepy.

---

"Hey." I heard a low whisper. "Brynn…hey." It was still too soft to recognize it wasn't from my dream.

I felt a hand pass over my forehead. Touch and sound seeming more realistic as I slowly began to wake. I opened my eyes to a blurry image of Zayn who gazed at me sideways. No wait I was sideways, lying on his comfy couch.

"Hey, good morning. I'm sorry to wake you but your phone has been going off for a while," he announced kindly.

"It's probably my mother, thanks."

I stretched my eyes open, then my arms and back. He left the phone on the coffee table for me and of course I saw it was my mother. I was too tired to think of what story to create for not being at home, but maybe my mother was dealing with her own hang over. I thought it would be best if I made the call in the bathroom.

"I left you a towel and some of my sister's old clothes, if you want to use them," Zayn offered.

I nodded and smiled. I felt like a grumpy monster too, not wanting to talk just yet. Once in the bathroom I called Janet to see if my mom had called her, and wouldn't you know it, she had already said that I stayed over her house. So I was covered but had to call back ASAP because I was supposedly in the shower at the time.

"Hey mom..."

"Sweetie, you had me worried. You didn't call me or leave a message that you were staying over Janet's house. You know how I worry."

"I know mom, I'm sorry. Did you have fun last night with the girls?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, you wouldn't believe what we did. You might even get embarrassed for me. But I'll tell you about it later, how was the dance?"

"Oh it was great. I had a lot of fun."

"That's good to hear. Well I'm here stuck at work filling in for Nancy, so I'll see you in the afternoon?"

"Sure thing, mom."

"Okay, bye hun."

About to say goodbye but hanging up instead, I saw my melted clown face in the mirror. I looked hideous; my eyeliner and mascara stained my face, like some sick demented gothic groupie. I had to shower fast and return to normal…some kind of normal.

I'm glad that Zayn had his sister's spare clothes because I surely wasn't in the mood to wear this provocative dress after my shower. I slid into some pink and gray sweat pants and a pink tank, with a built in bra? Awesome! Unfortunately my hair remained wet on my shoulders; air drying was the only option now.

I searched for a comb and froze as I saw a familiar Chapstick. I might have hung myself if it turned out to be the same flavor; honey vanilla 'suicide'. But thankfully it wasn't. I opened the cap to a fresh smelling pomegranate. I liked this new flavor, and as I smeared it on I thought I could get used to this. I could get used to my new friendship with Zayn.

"You look much better," Zayn commented while cooking behind the stove.

"You think? I looked like an axe murderer, but I AM feeling much better…thank you for everything, Zayn."

"I noticed you're the only one at work that likes to call me by my real name."

"Because I like it," I admitted.

"Are you ready for my waffles? Because these are the best waffles you'll ever taste!"

"A confident cook are we?"

"Oh, I love to cook! I have one of my very own creations on the restaurant's dinner menu."

"Really? How come I didn't know all this before?"

"We've never really talked, not that we're really able to at work anyways. And you've been busy with other things…"

"Yeah don't remind me. I know."

"I wasn't planning to… Let's eat!"

I appreciated Zayn's efforts in taking care of me and being such a gentleman and older brother figure. And he was right…they were the best waffles I had ever tasted. We were both off today, thinking what we could possibly do. Although I was in the laziest mood ever, if I went home I'd probably mope in my room, and I still didn't want to be alone.

I wandered around a bit and noticed Zayn's bookshelf. Amongst the business and cook books, there was a fun selection of board games. Some were even children's games.

"Do you play board games with your sister?"

"Yeah, we did all the time way back when…want to play one?"

"Wow I really had you figured out ALL wrong…how about Scrabble?" I suggested.

"Scrabble and…coffee?"

"Yes please!"

And for the first time I felt a cheerful giddiness rise inside me. I think I might have played Scrabble once in my life and I can't even remember when. It was the perfect mellow morning, with gloomy LA skies outside the loft's enormous windows; coffee made this the ideal photograph.

"Now mind you, I'm only a senior in high school so don't pull any fancy 14 letter words, okay?" I added.

Zayn couldn't help but laugh. "I will try to control myself."

"Satire," I said boastfully as I laid down my squares.

"See, that's a good word to start with. But don't get too ahead of yourself. Beguiled."

"That's a fancy word!" I hoped for better letters. "Ah! Duel."

And on we went for about an hour. I knew Zayn could have won, but we managed to get a tie…which I thought was really sweet of him.

"So now what…Charades?"

"Are you sure you didn't have any previous plans today?" I didn't want to impose.

"Nope, just hanging out with you."

I had never played Charades before but I heard it was pretty fun; plus anything to take my mind off the breakup. Now I'll admit last night before Harry's call, I had pictured a different evening with Zayn; perhaps an evening I might have regretted in the morning. But this was SO much better and different than I could have ever imagined.

We did Christmas categories for the game. On my turns, I acted out Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas morning and Eggnog. On Zayn's turn he did Santa stuck in a chimney, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, mistletoe and New Year's countdown. Zayn was quite the funny guy; he had me laughing the entire time, especially when he pretended his butt was stuck in midair. I could have died.

"How come you don't have any Christmas decorations up?" I asked out of nowhere.

"Well Christmas isn't the same without my sister and the kids. She always loved putting them up for me. I see no reason to do it if I'm by myself."

"We should throw a Christmas party here! Only for close friends, your place is too nice to trash," I smiled.

"And you will be hosting this so called 'small party'?"

"We both will… Do you have any decorations here?" I was getting pretty excited.

"I have them stashed in the closet. I'll be right back." After a few minutes he came back with a rather large box. "We can put up the decorations under one condition…you will also help me take them down."

"Agreed!" I jumped up and began searching through the box of colorful ornaments.

Within a few minutes I heard some jazzy Christmas tunes begin to play. I looked over at Zayn who gave me a two thumbs up as he too was getting excited to decorate. He hung a green and silver garland on the staircase rail which extended around his bedroom. Then he took out large golden wired stars he had planned to hang on the window with suction cups. With a ladder he had hidden who knows where, Zayn began pressing the stars against the window while I'd hand him the next ones.

We worked on the little details but it was pretty obvious we were missing the key piece…the Christmas tree.

"You ready to go shopping?" Zayn shot a wide smile.

I nodded as I could tell this was helping the both of us. I had no idea he felt so lonely without his family. I sincerely thought he was a type of 'Niall' out every night with girls he'd pick up at the bar and swooning them for their numbers to add to his over stacked black book. But other than misjudging his character there was really no hard evidence of that kind of behavior. Only the subtle times he flirted with me, which I hadn't seen again after my dreadful phone call.

We were walking around a chilly parking lot, looking for a nice tall and full tree that would fit his place perfectly. I kept rolling up my big sleeves from the oversized jacket that Zayn let me borrow. To my surprise, there were a lot of tall ones as most of the short stocky ones had already gone. I found a thin tall tree but wasn't sure if Zayn would like it.

"I'll take that one!" he gestured to the seller.

"Are you sure…you don't think it's too thin?"

"We'll fatten her up," he winked.



Later that afternoon…

Zayn handed me a nice cup of velvet hot chocolate as we sat back and gazed at our masterpiece. His apartment had gone through a complete Christmas makeover in a matter of a few hours. I wouldn't mind hanging out here more often at all.

"So does your house look this good too?" he asked with a childlike glimmer.

"My mom and I actually haven't had the time to get our own tree yet. She's always working and between my work and school…"

"What time does she get home today?"

I looked at the clock on the wall and calculated. "Like in 2 hours?"

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Smiling, I knew just what he wanted to do. I quickly collected the rest of my stuff and went to his bathroom to quickly dab on his Chapstick again.

"Keep it," he offered.

"Oh no, you don't have to…"

He nodded persistently and I gladly shoved it in my pocket.

Unfortunately we had to drive in separate cars this time. We made our quick stop at the parking lot again and the Zayn followed me home. This was his first time at my house, and although I normally wouldn't let guys in while I was alone, I had a good excuse. And my mother wouldn't be suspicious of a thing once she saw what we had done.

We looked like happy siblings preparing a surprise before mother's arrival. Only I escaped a glimpse or two at Zayn through the branches. He wore a half smile, precisely placing the ornaments at the right distance from one another. His hair was messy and he looked so laid back in his jeans and brown long sleeved shirt that he rolled up. Zayn had his classic 5 o'clock shadow, as usual. Still, I couldn't shake the thought that he looked like he was 24.

We made a good team. We unraveled the lights and placed them around the tree and some over the shelf of the fire place. I took out the cranberry candles and placed them as a center piece on the coffee table with a golden vine around it. I was about to place the gold star on the tree top when I heard the rattling of the front door. Zayn quickly plugged in the lights so mom could see the surprise right away.

"Oh… Oh my what is this?!" she gawked as she entered the living room.

"Surprise! Do you like it?" I skipped over to hug her.

"I love it! How did you…" she didn't finish her sentence once her eyes fell on Zayn.

"Hello ma'am, I'm Zayn. I work at the same restaurant with your daughter," he walked over and shook her hand.

"It was his idea, mom," I nudged her arm.

"That was too kind of you, Thank you. And please call me Brenda…I feel like I owe you guys a nice dinner to celebrate."

I was surprised my mom had the energy to even think about cooking after a such a long day. We all ended up helping out in the kitchen. Somehow Zayn worked his magic and wound up taking over the main dish. Mom was so pleased by his cooking skills, I knew she liked him already. I wasn't anticipating her approval as I was still figuring out how I felt about him exactly. But we were friends and the best part was the lack of physical attachment.

---

It was Christmas Eve. The restaurant was closed for the holidays, thank God. I was at the grocery store shopping for our dinner party later today, since I was going to help Zayn make the food. This meant, I had to get ready super early to be there. I was excited about our guests; even my mom and Janet's dad were planning on coming. I had no clue on how to be a hostess but I wasn't too worried about it.

I was looking for aromatic candles when I thought I saw a familiar face. I kept walking but I was sure it had to be that person. My inner voice kept telling me to walk back, and when I thought I'd had enough, I snatched a couple of candles and walked back; except I didn't see her. I continued down the aisles and spotted her at the register line.

I looked at my things and thought I had everything I needed, then I casually stood behind her. Before I could make my friendly approach I saw her turn to take her items out of the cart and my eyes were immediately drawn to her belly bump. My heart dropped. She looked more than half way along with her slim body. She had to be. Her hair was back to her ashy blonde color and other than her baby bump she seemed...different.

"Elizabeth?" I spoke softly.

She turned and I feared she would ignore me but to my surprise, she smiled and looked somewhat glad to see me.

"B? How are you, it's been so long?" Izzy answered with sadness in her eyes.

I just wanted to cry. I didn't know what to say. How could I lie and say great after my recent ordeal, still it didn't compare to her pregnancy and …ringless finger. I reacted with what my inner voice told me to do and reached over to give her a great hug. We lasted for quite a while, both pulling away with watery eyes. It was at that precise moment we put the past behind us, finally. And while I'm sure we had many stories to tell, I knew we would make the time to share them.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" I asked eagerly.

"Nope, just sitting at home with my frozen lasagna," she said pointing at the counter.

"Well now you do," I smiled.

Notes

Out of all the writing I've done, which in my opinion is quite the sum, this will always be one of my favorite chapters...ever!

I hoped you guys enjoyed it. Some innocence for a change :)
And out of this whole story, Zayn's character is also my favorite.
Updating tomorrow... what did you think about this chapter's ending? Huh huh? :)

Oh and this is Gabe...for those wondering minds