December: The Ziam Story

Chapter 1: Mama Knows Best

December 14.

Winter had arrived in Bradford, England. Leaves swept through the nearly-vacant streets. Clouds painted the sky grey and dew moisted the grounds. For some, it was a gloomy day; but, for the University of Bradford students, it was set to be the beginning of their Winter break. In room 301, Mr. Williams' Ecology class, a few students rambled on, amongst themselves, about their plans for their vacation, the different cities and countries they will be heading out to, and the tasks they had hoped to accomplish. A few other students sat around on their phone, Mr. Williams eyeing them closely, but completely caught up in his daily reading of the newspaper to keep the class under control.

Zayn Jawaad sat near the window, staring out in his own little world. His fair-skin, hazel eyes, and quiff was the main attraction to most of the girls at his school; his navy blue and gray hooded long sleeve shirt, black skinny jeans and Vans was his chosen outfit for the day. It suited him for this particular weather. His appearance caught the attention of strangers amongst the school, but, also, stirred a bit controversy as to whether he was cocky or not. That wasn't true at all. Zayn was only well-known to a few, and his personality and sense of humor were the true highlights of who he was. He didn't socialize much during class hours, but his bestfriend, and cousin Harry, received much of his time and conversation throughout the day.

"Mr. Malik...Mr. Malik!"

Zayn snapped back into reality, drifting off for what had seemed like hours. He glanced over to Mr. Williams' desk.

"Yes, Professor? You were saying something?" Zayn asked, looking quite confused.

" I assume that you're unaware that class has already been dismissed."

Zayn, looking around to find an empty class, "my mind must've wandered off. Sorry, Professor," he explained.

"I see." Mr. Williams fixed his glasses. They always leaned a bit, but he declared himself too busy to have time to get them fixed.

"Enjoy your winter break, Professor," Zayn said, quickly rushing out of class into the busy halls.

"Zayn!" a voice yelled from down the hall. There stood Harry, smiling and waving to get his cousin's attention. Harry was quite the charming guy, always smiling, flipping his black lengthy curls. His style was quite opposite of Zayn's. Harry settled for simplicity; plain T-shirts and V-necks, skinny jeans, chucks and an occasional-sweater. "Wait for me!" he yelled, running down the hall.

Zayn's Pov~

I watched as Harry made his way through the crowd, squeezing on by. Some of the students didn't even budge to move. Harry is my cousin, on my mom's side of course. We practically were raised together and figured it would be great to attend the same college. It helps. I don't feel that much alone. His smile and humor can lighten the place up. We're opposites, though we have an understanding. Not to mention, he's confident and very sure of his sexuality. See, Harry is gay. He dealt with the constant teasing, as early as 13, but he didn't let it stop him from living his life. I, on the other hand, have kept my homosexuality to myself. Besides family, I didn't feel it should be anyone else's concern.

"So, cousin," Harry said, as we headed out of the building. "Any plans for Winter break?"

"I'm not sure, yet." My life has pretty much been a bore since college started, when I was 18. I'm 19 now. It was all work and not much play. I've gone to a few parties every now and then, but I wasn't into drinking as much and that seemed to be the only thing that made the party and memories worth while for everyone else. "What are you going to be doing?"

"Well, my mom was thinking I should use the time to find a job. We didn't speak much on the subject, but she made herself very clear." Harry appeared a little defeated at the thought of having to work, instead of having fun. Stepping into adulthood was not all we thought it would be.

(Back to third person)~

Zayn and Harry stepped out onto the curb, awaiting the arrival of Zayn's mom. Usually, she was 10-15 minutes late, so they didn't even bother complaining about it anymore. And as guessed, her arrival was exactly 10 minutes late. Harry headed for the backseat and Zayn say in the front passenger seat.

"Hi, boys," she said, with a little bit of excitement."

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, aunt."

They both looked out the window, getting one last glance at the school before heading off for a few weeks.

(Radio in the background: You took your time with the call, I took no time with the fall. You gave me nothing at all, but still you're in my way. 🎶)

Harry mumbled the song to himself, before being interrupted by Zayn's mom.

"Boys, I have some news for the both of you." They both looked at her, anxiously waiting for the announcement. "I spoke to my brother, your uncle Simon. The conversation started off as a simple check up, wanting to know how everyone was doing and things of that nature. He asked if you guys made any plans for the summer and that's when it hit me- you guys haven't seen Simon in a few months and I figured it would be great to spend some time with him in Tennessee." Her smile and eyes widened.

Zayn's Pov~

I sat there, somewhat of a blank stare on my face. Looking through the mirror, I could see that Harry was at a lost of words as well. It's not that we didn't like Uncle Simon, but, for people our age, we would rather spend the break with other people our age, even if that meant only Harry and I."

"So...," she smiled again, awaiting an answer.

"Aunt, no offense, but the guy has hit middle age and we'll be lucky if the word 'fun' even comes out of his mouth." Harry stated.

"Now, be nice Harry. He hasn't seen you guys in a while. Things change and it sounded like he was looking forward to it."

"Mom, why are you more happy about this than we are? Are you trying to get rid of us, so you can have the house to yourself? Are you seeing someone?" , I asked.

"No, no...that's not it. Look, I know this was sudden, but you'll thank me later."

We pulled up to the drive way. The garage opened and Harry and I hopped out the car before she could even say more, let alone put the car in park. We both headed upstairs, Harry taking the room on the left, mine on the right. Harry has lived with us since 13. That was when opened up to his parents about being gay. They weren't too happy about it, and before things got any worse, he decided to leave and stay with us. Mom thought it was a great idea, saying it would bring us closer. It has; however, I had always felt she did it, so that I could have someone to relate to and not feel alone. Either way, Harry and I have become extremely close. We argue, sometimes, but the tension and anger doesn't last long. Most of it was petty anyways.

(Back to third person)~

Later that night, Zayn and Harry sat in the room they liked to call "the entertainment room." It was full of bookshelves with books resting upon them, a flat screen TV with DVDs and video games hanging around. Both of their laptops resting on the wooden coffee table, the very coffee table that Harry and Zayn made during their senior year in high school in Woodshop. It earned them an 'A'.

"Do you think she was serious about staying with Uncle Simon in Tennessee?" Harry said, turning towards Zayn.

"As much as I wish she wasn't, I think she was very serious. Well, on the bright side, we wouldn't be alone."

Harry and Zayn did their secret handshake, which always ended in laughter. A few hours had passed by. Mrs. Jawaad slowly opened the door to the entertainment room. Zayn was asleep on the couch and Harry asleep on the floor. She placed both of their plane tickets on the coffee table, turned the TV off with the remote, then quietly headed out the room. The door closed and she walked away, looking ecstatic.