branching out l.s.

ten

Perrie gave him a quick hug, while Sophia and Eleanor just smiled.

"This looks great, Zayn," Sophia complimented, looking at one canvas with a lot of dark colors.

He thanked her and told her that the night skyline inspired it.

"See? The dark blues and the black here? Meanwhile, there are some bright colors going on below?"

"I love it," Perrie admired.

"Thank you."

Eleanor, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly announced, "I have to go to the bathroom."

She walked away without a look back.

"Excuse me," Sophia mumbled, hurrying after her.

"They'll come around," Perrie sighed, rubbing Zayn's back lightly.

"Why should they?" Zayn shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know why you did, even though I'm glad you did."

"Zayn..."

"Pez, I fucked up. They're not wrong to not trust me; I get that. I just wish they'd give me the chance to redeem myself."

Perrie looked at him with sad eyes. She didn't know what else she could say to make Zayn feel better.

The two of them were currently taking it slow: easing their way back into a possible relationship.

Perrie believed that Zayn felt guilty about what he'd done. She also believed that he'd suffered long enough. A year without his best friends was torturous enough without having to feel crucified at his own art opening.

"I don't know, maybe I-"

Zayn cut himself off, focusing in on something in the background. "Harry's here."

Perrie raised her eyebrows and turned around, seeing her former coworker making his way over to them – alone.

"Hi," Perrie smiled. She gave him a warm hug, welcoming him to the event. "How are you? How's the bakery?"

Harry knew she was only asking these questions for Zayn's benefit. She'd seen him just 24 hours ago, so she already knew the answers to them.

"Good, and wonderful," he replied. "Everything's coming along really well."

"The bakery?" Zayn wondered a little louder than he planned.

"Yeah," Harry answered, focusing in on him. "I bought a bakery two months ago. I've been renovating it and everything."

"That's amazing," Zayn praised. "Congratulations, Harry. Really."

"Thank you. How have you been?"

"Good. You know, working on different projects and I've been preparing for this night for a little while."

"And it shows. I mean, your paintings looks fantastic. You deserve this; you've been working hard."

"Thank you," Zayn stated honestly.

During their conversation, Perrie had been looking around the room.

"You OK, Per?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, I'm good, just... Is, uh, Louis...?"

Harry understood her question. "No," he shook his head briefly.

Zayn didn't expect to feel his heart drop, but there it went.

He knew it was a long shot that Louis would show. He knew it was asking a lot of Louis to attend, but he'd still had that sliver of hope.