January. // z.m. au

Chapter 30

Cardiac Arrest | Bad Suns

"Oh, he's definitely a keeper," Grace nodded from beside me.

We -- Grace, Alexa, and I -- were all sitting at a bench in the food and drink area of the fair. Zayn had went on to get us all some drinks while we sat here and waited for him.

The day was fairly nice and despite the season, the weather was okay. The sun peaked through the sparse amount of clouds above us, and even though the air was a bit nippy, it still felt great.

I turned to look at Grace with a small smile tugging on my lips. She smiled sweetly at me and I blushed, waiting for her to follow up on her comment.

"Any other guy I know would complain about being with a bunch of girls, but here Zayn is willingly offering to bring us drinks. If you don't keep him, I'll be gladly to. Plus," she shrugged, a sly smirk on her face. "He's not bad to look at either."

"Hey," I giggled, lightly swatting her arm. It was nice to know that other people found my boyfriend attractive, but he was mine and I'd very much like to keep it that way.

"She's got a point," Alexa shrugged. I could tell she was trying to keep a straight face but I saw right through it. She couldn't fool me even if she tried.

"Hello? Alexa, is that you?" Grace waved her hand in front of her face with shocked eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" I played along.

"Oh, come off it," she huffed, adding a roll of her blue eyes. "Anyone with eyes can see that."

"It's nice to see that you've come along," I laughed. And even though I'd been trying to make a joke out of it all, deep down inside I truly meant it. Alexa hadn't said a bad word today, she'd even kept her attitude in check, and for that I felt an odd sense of pride. Hopefully this Alexa wouldn't go anywhere.

"Well," Grace spoke up. "I'm just glad you two are finally together now instead of you severely pining over him. It's a relief, really."

I didn't know whether I should smile until my face hurt or frown because one, "I wasn't pining," I said. ("Yes you were," said both Alexa and Grace at the same time.) And two, "well, I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"Well, we wouldn't know," Alexa huffed. "You ditched us, remember?"

And here we were again.

"Back at square one, are we?"

"Oh god no," Grace groaned. "I've had enough of that. You know," she turned to look Alexa in the eye, "you really are a pain. Honestly."

Finally someone said it, I thought.

Alexa was just about to reply (probably some sarcastic response) but she was interrupted by Zayn who'd just came back, setting the drinks on the table in front of us.

I smiled at him like he was the best thing in the world once he took his place next to me, automatically resting his hand on my thigh. "Good?" he asked me, showing off my favorite smile of his -- crinkly eyes and everything.

"Yeah," I nodded. I then placed my hand on top of his, lacing our fingers together. Grace cooed from the side of us, making my cheeks tint a pinkish color. Alexa pretended like she was going to puke but wore a fond smile on her face that had me hiding my face in the crook of Zayn's neck.

I didn't even know why I'd been so worried about this day at all. Things were looking up and for that I was glad.

***

"Oh, come on, you have to get on the Ferris wheel, Zayn," Grace pleaded excitedly. "It's, like, the main reason people come here anyway."

"I'm pretty sure most people come for the food," Alexa insisted. I nodded in agreement.