Scared Of Heights | Harry Edward Styles

62: Lunch with Niall

ZAHRA POV
Counselling with Giovanni isn't that bad.

He was actually...nice.

He was eager to get to know me and we went to endless coffee shops to talk and I even got to know him. It was going pretty well.

The other day I bumped into Niall who was so glad to see me doing a bit better even if he stayed concerned. He offered to get lunch some time as friends and I agreed as I was in too much of a good mood.

"So...how are we today Zahra?" Giovanni and I had gone out for coffee this morning and I was meeting Niall for lunch next.
"Uh im okay" I shrugged. I didn't know how I was feeling this morning.
"Did you sleep alright?"
"Uh yeah I guess" I yawned. "I dunno"
"How are you coping with school work?"
Delilah was giving me most of my answers. "Fine really. Everything's going okay"
"Not copying Delilah?"
"She helps. That's all"
"Good. You know you can come to me if you need help"
"Yeah uh sure"

Today wasn't so hot, I was feeling so anxious and wanted to get out.

"You seem tense, are you alright?"
"Yeah uh I just um don't feel well"
"In what way?"
"Just feeling nauseous that's all, I'll be fine. Just not in a talking mood, I dunno"
"Would you like to go home? We can meet tomorrow over lunch or something to talk more before class"
"Uh sure yeah that sounds good"

We bid farewell and I headed home to get ready properly as I was literally dressed like trash.  I got ready into a white fitted t shirt snd some blue jeans before i started sobbing because I hated how my body looked so I changed into a an oversized cream sweater and brown wide leg jeans. I slipped on my doc martens and winged our my eye liner before grabbing my keys and walking out of my flat (let's pretend i didn't go on my phone for hours).

I arrived to the cafe to see Niall sitting down, typing away on his phone. I put out my cigarette before sitting down opposite him.
"Oh hey! How are you?" He grinned.
"Tired. You?" I responded.
"Me too. Had a shit hangover this morning but I'm doing better"
"Oh god, what happened?"
"Harry and I got drunk again..."
"Oh. Uh, stay safe?"

Yeah, I didn't really like hearing about my ex. Even if I still had love for him in my heart- I mean what.

"We will next time" He chuckled. "You ready to order?"
Fuck. Harry always ordered for me so I didn't look at calories. He'd always hold my hand and call me his beautiful girl whilst we waited for the food to arrive. Harry.
"Uh I-i'll just get a drink" I gabbled awkwardly.
"You sure? I can order for you if you don't know what to get?" THANK GOD FOR THAT.
"Sure, yeah! Uh, what did you...wanna talk about today?"
"I just wanted to check how you were doing, considering the first time we met things were...messy"

Good call.

"Yeah uh sorry about that...so embarrassing..."
"It's alright. I hope you're doing better"
"I'm...fine I guess. I dunno, uh what you getting then?"
Niall ordered me a chicken caesar salad and got himself the same and also got us lemonade.
"This isn't awkward for you...is it?" I asked.
"No, of course not! Genuinely though if you need to talk about anything, I'm all ears. And if not...I'd like to get to know you more. Harry always talked about you and...I'd like to hear from you"

"Well...i dunno. Just ask me stuff I guess"
"Alright, where are you from?"
"London."
"Nice. Where abouts?"
"East. Its a bit dead there though"
"Never been. What d'you study?"
"English Literature"
"Oh! Nice, d'you like it?"
"Its...boring at times. I love reading though but the books we study suck. Fucking Lolita..."
"Harry told me about that" Niall chuckled. "You were ranting about how much you fucking hated that book. And he was just watching you, admiri-oh God I'm sorry, I shouldn't"
"It's okay. It's fine honestly. But yeah I'd tell him all the time that I hated Lolita and he found my rants hilarious" I snickered.

"But you dont regret moving away, do you?"
"Best decision ever, I-I love it here so much. I've made the best friends and I've had so many experiences. I've fallen in love...a lots happened and...I'm...glad? I dunno"
"You miss him?" He asked in a brotherly tone.
"It's so obvious, isn't it?" I sniffled, tears in my eyes.
"It's okay. You'll be in pain for a while and...it's valid. You'll be alright"
"I just...I wish I'd trusted him sooner. H-he wouldn't have gone behind my back a-and...God..."
"Look, I'm not going to tell you 'hey go back to Harry' and all but...i know you fucking miss him. Relationships come with this sort of stuff and communicating is so important-" He stopped short when he noticed I was crying. "Need a hug?"

I sobbed into Nialls arms right there, feeling more lost than ever.
"It'll be alright" He promised me before we sat down and he changed the subject.