Beginning. // z.m. au [discontinued]

Chapter 1

Love Me | The 1975

CONGRATULATIONS!

Tiny pieces of colorful paper fell from the card I held in my hands, fluttering gradually to the floor and creating a small pile surrounding my feet. I sighed, secretly smiling to myself, as I closed the folded paper once I'd read over the words printed inside before setting it onto the marble top counter along with the rest of the endearing notes.

It was nice to be so welcomed by everyone, to see people genuinely happy and excited for us, but I had to admit, it was just a bit on the overwhelming side. For one, I wasn't used to being the center of attention for long periods of time, nor was I a fan of it either, but I couldn't deny that it all warmed my heart. It made me feel safe in a way that I would never be able to explain, made me feel cared for and prepared for what was soon to come. I wasn't fully prepared, no, but this was definitely a start. And knowing that I had a lot of support from people around me, from people who cared for me, was a nice way to get things going.

I made my way into the kitchen where Zayn stood, creeping up behind him as he made himself a sandwich of some sort, before I slid my arms around his waist and locked my hands together against his torso. I rested my chin on his shoulder from behind and sighed in content, because whenever I was near him I felt sane in a way. I felt whole; complete.

"Got another card," I spoke up before pressing a light kiss to the base of his jaw. Zayn hummed in response while his hand maneuvered itself so that he was placing the top piece of bread on top of the rest of his sandwich. He then grabbed the knife that rested on the side of his plate to cut the bread in half.

"Yeah?" He quirked an eyebrow, glancing at me from the corner of his eye before they darted back down the the food on his plate. "From who?"

Zayn bit into his half of the sandwich and I watched in pure fascination as the muscles in his cheeks contracted and expanded while he chewed. It was such a beautiful sight to see, really. And as Zayn chomped on his sandwich, he lifted the other half next to my face, pushing the food closer to my mouth before I had no other choice but to part my lips and take a bite. And now that I'd had a taste, I realized how hungry I'd been all along. I had a feeling that would be happening a lot pretty soon.

I made sure I finished chewing my food, swallowing loudly before I replied. "My mum," I mentioned. "Now there's a bunch of confetti on the floor."

Which I made a mental note to myself to get cleaned up as soon as possible since Trouble had a newfound tendency of putting things into her mouth she very well knew she wasn't supposed to in the first place. Her name really did seem to fit her right from the very start.

"Confetti?" Zayn frowned in confusion. I unraveled my arms from around his waist once he started to step back and turn away from the counter he had just been working at.

"Mhm," I nodded, resting my hip against the aisle in the middle of the kitchen. "She stuffed the inside of the card with confetti." Honestly, I should've expected that from my mother once I saw there was something from her in the mail. She was just so delighted when I told her and my dad that Zayn and I were expecting, genuinely over the moon with complete and utter happiness, and she never missed an opportunity to let me know how happy she was either. Seriously, she'd call me everyday just to tell me. It was the cutest thing ever.

Zayn snorted at what I'd just told him but didn't say anything else. He seemed to be far too busy concentrating on his chewing patterns than anything else.