chasing (zarry)

6

PART ONE OF A DUBBLE UPDATE

zayn watches harry with a smile as the older boy twirls around in the shop, with wide eyes and his mouth agape. amazement clear on his face, his hair flying everywhere when he turns to zayn. he is silent for a few moments, considering his words.

"wow," is what he settles for, he can't think of anything else. the shop is so— harry doesn't know how to describe it, but the shop has a fairytale vibe to it. it feels surreal in some way. zayn smiles brightly, he knew harry would like the shop.

"um, so, let's start upstairs and we'll make our way down, alright?" zayn suggests. harry's eyes widen even more, in a comical way.

"there's an upstairs?" he asks in amazement, looking up, and yes, there's an upstairs. it looks even better than the floor they're on.

"uh-huh! there's a basement too!" zayn says. he has been here so many times, and every time he comes here, he returns with at least one full bag of stuff.

"what do they sell here?"

"everything! clothes, shoes, books, interior, plants, art supplies, toys. everything, harry!" zayn excitedly says, pulling harry towards the stairs. harry abruptly stops.

"i didn't bring money, zayn. knowing you, i expected some sort of picnic, not... this!" harry says, disappointment settling into his features.

"oh, don't be silly, harry! it's on me. so, like, grab whatever you want!" zayn says, smiling widely and forcing the boy to start walking again.

"i can't let you pay for everything!" harry protest, but zayn shakes his head.

"of course you can, and you will," he firmly states. harry is about to object again, but zayn cuts him off. "please, h. you can pay me back with a second date," he mischievously says, grinning, like a child.

"n— i'll see." harry won't buy much. he can't. he regrets not setting up the debit-card-on-his-phone-thing now, it would have been handy.

harry realises that the shop isn't expensive, at all. everything is under £20, the only thing that isn't, is a vintage ring. he lingered by the ring for a few minutes, because it was honestly so beautiful, it had big amethyst stone in the middle, other than that it was simple and silver. what harry also realises is that the stone, amethyst, is his birthstone. now he really wants the ring. but he doesn't buy it, he'll look for another one, when he has money with him.

"harry look!" zayn says, pointing at some boots that he's certain harry would love. and harry does love them. they're sparkly and pink, and far from expensive. harry turns to zayn with big, expectant eyes.

"can i— could you—" he stutters, not knowing how to ask. zayn nods and grabs the shoes, putting them in the basket he's holding.

"listen, h, just grab whatever you want, alright? if you want you can pay me back when we get back. but just... buy whatever you want now," zayn says, with a soft smile.

"okay, but you have to promise you'll let me pay you back," harry says, with an adamant look on his face. he knows that most of the time zayn does not let him pay back.

"i promise." lie. zayn grins mischievously, but luckily for him, harry doesn't notice.

"this sweater would look nice on you," harry says, holding up a greyish sweater with a heart pattern on it. zayn doesn't know whether harry is being sarcastic or not, but he likes the sweater. he nods and puts it in his basket.

"i like it." zayn shrugs.

"it would be too big on you though." zayn laughs loudly and points at his clothes.

"are you serious, h?" he asks, smiling a bit. harry laughs too, at how ridiculous his statement was. he can't even remember the last time he saw zayn in clothes his own size. all his clothes are too big on him. it looks adorable though. 

"alright, alright." harry notices a silk pink blouse, and walks over to it. "oh my god. look at this!" he exclaims, showing zayn the blouse.

"you would look so good in that! it's your size too!" zayn excitedly points out. "we're so buying this!"

so, they spend an hour and a half roaming around the shop, filling their baskets. it's amazes harry how much they've bought from one shop, and it wasn't that expensive. compared to how much they bought, it really wasn't. they leave the unnamed shop with five full bags. harry's groaning and pouting, he didn't mean to buy this much stuff, but in the end he couldn't help it, and neither could zayn.

"stop pouting!" zayn complains. "i told you, you can pay me back if it makes you feel bad."

"and i will!" harry says. "i will pay you back."

"alright, h," zayn laughs. "so, we're going to get something to eat, and then we're going to, um— that's still a surprise."

"still?" harry groans, and zayn nods, smiling mischievously. zayn guides harry to a italian restaurant, which seems to be closed, but zayn still opens the door. "is it open?"

"kinda," zayn shrugs.

"what does that?"

"means that it's closed for everyone but us two," zayn says. "brody!" he calls after that. a guy's head pop up from behind the counter. "hi bro!" harry laughs at zayn's greeting.

"bro is his nickname, i'm wheezing," harry laughs. zayn giggles along.

"i know," he says. it's not that funny, but then again it is, to them at least.

"ha ha, so funny," brody sarcastically says, squinting his eyes at the other boys. "food has been served. you can grab drinks whenever you want. i'll be upstairs if you need me. bye suckers!" he says, walking away.

"well, he's nice," harry chuckles. zayn nods. "the food looks amazing, oh my god," harry almost moans at the mere sight of it.

"i know right! i love it here!" harry pulls back the seat for zayn, and zayn sits down with pink cheeks, he thanks harry and looks down at his lap, recollecting himself for a second. he internally groans at how low he has set the bar. "um, dig in, i guess."

"god, this is heavenly," harry moans, his mouth still full of pasta. zayn smiles fondly, taking a small bite out of his own.

"d'you want a bite out of mine?" zayn asks after eating in silence. harry has almost finished his food, and zayn hasn't even eaten half yet. harry hesitates, but nods. zayn pushes the plate towards him a bit.

"you barely ate any of yours," harry points out. zayn shrugs, with a small smile.

"having a kid to look after with barely any money, really takes a toll on your appetite," he says as if it's a joke, but no humor laces his voice. harry frowns a bit.

"but your friends—"

"i was too stubborn," zayn says. "anyways, hurry up, we need to move on!" he urges, smiling again, as if the words he spoke before, hadn't been spoken. harry nods, taking a bite out of zayn's pasta.

"this one's nice too," he says, nodding. harry finishes his plate, and zayn manages to finish half, before claiming to be full. he packs the rest, leaves a fifty pound bill on the counter and yells 'goodbye bro', harry again snickers at the nickname. "where're we going now?"

"we're bringing our bags to the car, and then heading to our second last destination," zayn says, groaning at how heavy the bags are.