Midnight • (Zayn Malik)

spring break: coming home

Zain didn't leave until it was well into the a.m. hours. A part of me didn't want him to leave, for some crazy, unknown reason, I don't know. I just knew that I didn't want the ache in my chest to come back. I also knew that we would all be leaving tomorrow- or, I mean today. We would all be back home in good old Punta Gorda. It was a good and bad feeling. I thought that before today I would never want to leave and I still feel that way. But somewhere in the depths of myself I knew I couldn't make a living here. For one, my French was basically nonexistent. Two, I really missed just being in the art room and listening to my records at home and driving around in Ciara. It had been a little over a week since I had done any of those things and I really missed it, which was expected.

Before I went back up to my room, Zain told me that he didn't have enough money to go back to Bradford. I felt guilt because, to some extent, it was my fault that he was here in Paris. No, I didn't hold a gun to his head while he and his cousin bought plane tickets but I was the reason he was here. I wish he had more time with his cousins and friends back home before he had to leave but he assured me that being in Paris with his two closest cousins was good enough. So Zain would be flying back on the exact plane that my friends and I would be flying back on. And it was a good and bad feeling.

"I have got so much shit," Louis groans as he tries to shove more things into his suitcase.

I tried to suppress my laughter, "You probably don't want to come with the girls and I to the little gift shop by the hotel before we leave then."

Louis stops packing and stares at his suitcase for a minute, "I guess a few more things couldn't hurt. I don't have a whole lot in my carry on..." he trailed off.

I shook my head and continued to fold and rearrange things into my own suitcase. I didn't have nearly as much as Louis and Monte. Just everything I came with, some paint brushes, a dried up flower crown, perfume, a kite, and my music box. I ran my finger over the smooth porcelain and thought back to that day in the alley when it was pouring down rain. I could probably look at that music box for the rest of my life and never think of anything else.

"What time do we have to be at the airport?" Monte asked, trying to force the zipper on his suitcase to close.

"Around eight, I think," I told him.

"How would we have time to go shopping? We haven't eaten and it's already a little past seven. Is the shop even open right now?" Louis questioned.

"The shop opened at six and I was talking to Violet and she said that we should just eat at the airport so we're not rushing around," I explained and went to the bathroom to get the rest of my shower stuff.

"Luna," Monte called my name, "could you sit on my suitcase so that it will close?"

I widened my eyes, "And why can't Louis do it? He does weigh more than me, I'm sure."

"He is already sitting on it," Monte told me in defeat.

I let out a giggle, "Oh."

I walked out of the bathroom to but my stuff in my suitcase before going over to Monte. He held my hand as I got up on the bed and then I plopped down on the black, overstuffed piece of luggage. With a little bit of struggle, Monte finally got the zipper all of the way around and I hopped down to zip my own up. We met up with the others and then went straight to the little gift shop.

There wasn't much that didn't seem overly touristish so I just indulged in it. I got a snow globe with the Eiffel Tower inside and a pair of black sunglasses that had "bon" on one lens and "jour" on the other in bold white letters. Sienna got a silk scarf with a Monet painting on it and kept walking around with me. Violet got a pretty hat and a French flag patch to iron on her jean jacket that she had, some grunge idea she had since the beginning of high school that I thought was actually pretty cool. Like everywhere she went or just cool patches she found back home, she would iron or sew onto a jean jacket that her mom gave her from the eighties. Lucky got a pair of boxer briefs that had a map of Paris on it and star that was in a place I would rather not think about. He showed Violet and of course she took it from him and whacked his head with them. Liam was about to pick up the same pair but Sienna gave him a look. Monte got an Eiffel Tower key ring and Louis got an Eiffel Tower phone case. I kept looking around for something else that I might want to bring back but wasn't having much luck.