THE ART OF CLOSURE :: ZAYN

𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

❝𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄
𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊  𝐀𝐓   𝐘𝐎𝐔,  𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄  𝐀  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑, 
𝐈'𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍.❞

The sounds of the city echoed in Celina's mind as she waited nervously outside her hotel, her heart pounding in her chest so hard it felt like she was on the verge of a heart attack. Her nerves were definitely shot at this point because she didn't know how she would feel seeing Zayn again after agreeing to start over. She knew she wouldn't immediately run into his arms and become the teenage girl she used to be around him, but she also knew she wouldn't see him and want to run away as she had for the past year. The mixed emotions swirling inside her were enough to drive anyone crazy.

She had no idea why she had changed her mind and asked him to walk with her to the studio instead of just meeting her there, but before she could ponder on it any longer, she spotted a hooded man walking towards her with a familiar stride she could recognize from anywhere.

Zayn removed his hood as approached Celina and sent her a warm smile. He didn't really know what to say besides, "Hi."

"Hi," Celina replied, her voice low and soft in comparison to his. Her hand instinctively tucked a strand of newly chopped brunette hair behind her ear, a habit she had developed since she got it done. The awkwardness between them was noticeable, but there was also a sense of warmth and comfort in being near each other again.

The couple stood in silence for a second before Zayn's eyes quickly wondered to her hair transformation, pointing at it and chuckling. "Feels like we've gone back in time," he remarked, remembering her as the carefree brunette he had first met nine years ago.

Celina looked at him in confusion before realization hit and she began nervously touching her hair again. A smile tugged at her lips, grateful that he had noticed because it was always something he struggled with when they were together.

"Thank you for noticing. I felt like I needed a reminder of younger me for a second."

Zayn understood what she meant without her needing to elaborate. He didn't realize how long he had been aimlessly staring at Celina until she cleared her throat and diverted her eyes to any area around his face that wasn't actually his face.

"We should probably get going before someone notices us here," She suggested, and he nodded in agreement.

Just as she spoke those words, a well-dressed older woman walked by and greeted them both with a smile, seemingly oblivious to who they were because of the blank, yet polite expression on her face, so they returned the gesture before heading off into the direction of Electric Lady Studios.

There was more awkward silence as their walk progressed before Zayn broke the silence and began to speak, "I'm glad we're doing this." He placed his hands in his pockets nervously as he couldn't quite define the "this" he was referring to, but it didn't matter. He just enjoyed being in Celina's presence again.

Celina's response came in the form of a soft hum. She also felt a slight sense of relief being in each other's presence again despite everything. It was just hard to tell which direction they were going, but instead of dwelling on it, she decided to steer the conversation in a less loaded direction.

"Have you been working on anything musically?" She asked, stealing a quick glance at him before noticing him staring back, making her immediately look away.