𝘱𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 » 𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 (𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥)

chapter thirty two

Spring 2010

The day Zayn and I met, I was sitting at the bench right at Central Park. It was a beautiful day. The sun was high in the sky, and the grass never looked greener than it did now. There were honey bees hovering over by the fliers scattered about the park and butterflies freely wondering. A bunch of school kids were at the park running around with their friends and teachers tried to keep a close eye on them, occasionally shouting and telling them not to play so rough.

I myself had just came from school, but I didn't want to return back to the foster home so early. It was boring and dull there. Rarely any kids my age were there and the few that were my age didn't seem interested in making friends with me. So, usually I was alone. It was never easy for me to make friends, even when I younger I was always to myself. I became used to it. I'd find things to do to occupy me, like take long walks and search for hidden short cuts or secret places, or I'd just find a nice place to sit and just write.

It wasn't much but it was something. I had my legs pulled up onto the bench with the rest of my body, crossing them over one another as I held a pen and my journal in my hand. My eyes roamed around aimlessly, and I wasn't really thinking about anything at the time. That was until my eyes had landed on a dark figure. There was a guy sitting next to a big tree a few feet away from the playground, closer to the patch of flowers that bloomed. I couldn't really make out what he was doing from here, but something about him made me want to go and talk to him.

So I did.

I grabbed my bag pack and hopped off the bench, slowly making my way over. Once I got a little closer, I could see him better and realized that he had a lighter in his hand, flicking the flame on and off. He had a black snapback on his head which was casted down, so I couldn't quite see his face. I sat down a few inches away from him, dropping my bag next to me. He immediately looks up and our eyes meet for the first time. I smile friendly and wave. He stares into my eyes for a few more moments, and I was taken aback by his next words.

"Who the hell are you?"

The little smile I was able to muster up disappeared quicker than it came.

"Um, H-Harry." I stuttered out. He narrows his eyes at me.

"Yeah? And what do you want?" He asked, still sounding rude. I swallow and clutch my journal in my lap, suddenly almost regretting coming over here.

"T-to be friends." I mumbled, blushing when I realize how ridiculous I sounded. The boy gives me testy eyes, before he turns away from me and laughs briefly. I frown, looking down at my lap and I can here him continue to flick the lighter in his hand. I look back up staring at the tiny fire flash on and off, and I couldn't help but comment on it. "Y-you shouldn't play with fire, it's dangerous."

He stops for a moment and looks back at me. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Anybody with a brain.." I mumble, but gasp when I realize how rude that sounded. I went to correct myself but am confused when the boy starts to smirk.

"Hm, why don't we test it out on you?" He says. Next thing I know, he snatches one of my hands causing me to release my journal and holds my hand over his lighter with his finger already pressing down on the button on the lighter before I could react. I felt a little heat but nothing that could hurt me. I snatch my hand away quickly and holds it to my chest protectively.

"Why'd you do that?"

He starts to laugh again, "Testing your 'fire is dangerous' theory."

"That's n-not funny." I frown. But he still has a huge smirk on his face. I can't tell whether this is his way of being friendly or if he's actually being mean.

"Don't be a debby downer, I wasn't going to burn you... that much." He smiles. I stare at him easily and he shifts his eyes down to my lap, curiously. Next thing I know, he's snatching my journal from my lap. "What's this? A diary?" He asks as he looks at it weirdly, examining it. I gasp and jump onto my knees, trying to get my journal back, but he tried to keep it away from me. "Isn't that for girls?"

"Give it back!" I demanded, fighting with him. Soon enough we are literally on the ground rolling around. He ends up on top, straddling my waist, holding my journal out in front of him with a smug smirk.

"Didn't anyone tell you, fight someone your own size?" He says. I blush slightly, turning away.

"Give it back please." I mumble. He finally hands me back my journal and gets off of me. I sit up, holding it tightly to my chest and glaring at him. He's smiling at me still, and it confused me more than ever. I huff, pouting slightly as if I were still a little kid. "You're mean.."

"You're cute." He says. I blush madly and looks down, not being able to face him. Suddenly, I see his hand held out in front of my face. I look up once more to see him giving me a friendly smile. "Harry, I'm Zayn. It's nice to meet you." He says still holding out his hand for me to shake. I was so confused. I couldn't tell if he were being serious or if he'd snatch his hand away as soon as I tried to shake it. I swallow, hesitantly reaching my own hand out to take his. A warm feeling washed over me as he gently grips my hand and giving it a short shake. We both hesitate to pull away but eventually we do.

"Nice to meet you too." I say quietly. Zayn leans back up against the tree and crosses his arms, his eyes need leaving me.

"What was it you said you wanted when you came over here?" He asked curiously.

"Um, t-to be friends." I mumble, thinking he was about to go back to being mean again. But instead, I got the complete opposite.

"Okay Harry, we can be best friends." He says, smiling sincerely at me.

That was the day I made my very first friend, and had some of the best days of my life.

~