k i w i

65

- zayn -

I groan as the sun rays hit my face, pulling the cover up to hide my face, I groan when it came off my feet. Stretching and hitting something, I now realized where I was.

"Fuck." I muttered as I sit up, groaning when my body began to get sore. Rubbing my eyes and yawning a couple of times, I finally got up and began to head to the kitchen. Seeing Liam and Arabella inside, I nod to them. "Morning."

"Morning. Coffee?" Liam asked, being the only one to acknowledge me. "Fresh batch, mate."

"Thanks, but I'll take tea." I say, remembering my agreement with Arabella. Eyeing her, she seemed to ignore my stares as she continued cooking, bacon being stacked into a plate. "Others still sleeping?"

"Just Niall." Liam says, putting his phone down to look at me. "The rest of us went on a run on the beach—Lou and Eleanor stayed out there to swim and Harry is in the shower."

I hum back, "Okay. I'm gonna go shower too."

Turning around and making my way to our part of the house, I got in the room and went to our luggage. Opening up where our presents were to the others, I dig through them all and pull out hers.

I smiled at the canvas in my hands, it had taken me a couple of weeks—due to my busy schedule—to work on this.

Quickly throwing it under a dresser in front of me, I turn around and saw Arabella with a mug wobbling in. She hummed to herself and went to her purse, pulling out a box of tea.

"Jesus Christ, Zayn!" She yelped when she turned around, putting the cup away from her body and almost falling to the bed. "You scared the shit outta me."

"You knew I'd be in here." I say back, trying not to laugh at her reaction—I was still mad at her. She raised an eyebrow and shook her, sitting down on the bed and putting the mug on the bedside. "Why don't you put the box of tea out there?"

"It's chamomile tea imported from Mexico, they're gonna devour it out there!" She says with a small pout, adding the tea bag inside her mug and blowing on it. "You should hurry with the shower, Niall woke up with a big appetite and Harry says he needs some fat in his diet."

I roll my eyes at how ridiculous my friends were, always dramatic that's for sure. Nodding, I zip up the suitcase and slid it under the dresser, moving slowly so that she could leave the room.

She cleared her throat and began walking away, peeking around before closing the door fully. I exhaled and grabbed the painting, deciding on hiding it somewhere else. Arabella was super curious, she didn't stopped looking until she found what she thought was the mission.

Going to the closet, I put it on a top shelf, one where I was sure she wouldn't be able to reach. After that, I picked my clothes of the day and hopped in the shower.

Quickly showering and drying myself, I got dressed and prepared for the day. Spreading lotion on my hands and arms, I walk out to the kitchen, everyone laughing.

"Miss Universe has finally decided to show up!" Louis shouted, waving his mug around making Liam dodge. "Did we woke you up, princess?"

Putting my middle finger up, I smile back and sat down, grabbing a plate from the middle and beginning to get the food passed towards me by Harry.

"So what time are your sisters landing here, Lou?" Liam asked, "Someone gonna pick them up?"

"I am." Louis says, nodding and turning to Eleanor for confirmation. "And at...six...?"

"Five thirty, Louis." Eleanor sighs, shaking her head back. "Hey, Bella, have you met his sisters?"

"Um, I don't think I have." Arabella says back from besides her, putting her toast down. "How many of them are coming?"

"Just Fizzy and Lot." Louis answers, "Lou is probably tagging along which means that so is Gemma...and Sofia?"

The table went silent as we all took a look at Liam, he nervously took a sip from his orange juice. "I guess so, mate."

"Well," Harry cleared his throat, "I can confirm that Gemma is coming. Mum is staying back with Robin, I think they might go over to yours Niall?"

"I don't know." Niall finally spoke up, putting his phone down. "Dad said Greg was hosting the party this year."

I chuckled, "Then all of our families are definitely going!"

"What about yours Arabella?" Eleanor turns back to her, "What does your family do?"

"A big party as well, but with our close family." Arabella nods casually, "We open gifts the twenty-fourth actually, at midnight. Then we party until sunrise, sleep an hour or two before waking up and partying again!"

I smiled, seeing how her whole face lit up with happiness, it made me happy and warm. From what I gathered, I knew her family didn't do a lot of family stuff, and maybe Christmas might mean something special to her.

"Thank you for breakfast, Bella." Harry says after a minute of silence, standing up and stretching. "Who wants to jam out?"

"I'm in!" Niall immediately rose up from his seat, "Thanks, Bells. It was delicious!"

He ran out with Louis and Liam, Harry and Eleanor helped put the dishes in the sink before running out too.

Getting up, I walk over to her and sat in Eleanor's seat, to be closer to her. "This is our first Christmas as parents."

"Yeah..." Arabella smiled back, nibbling on her toast. "Look, about yesterday—"

"I'm sorry I exploded on you." I tell her, feeling the guilt coming back. "I promised to not smoke, and I'm going to keep that promise."

Arabella smiled back, putting her hand on top of mine and squeezing it. "I'm sorry too." She gasped and almost jumped out of the stool, "I brought my painting kit! We could sit out in the beach to paint!"

The warmness inside of me began to spread, her glow radiant on her. "God, I love you, Bella."

"Huh?" She tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly parted. "That was random." Pecking my lips, she giggled as I pull her closer to me. "As much as I'd like to see where this gets us, I have to clean up the kitchen, babe."

"Do I have to help?" I groan, putting my head on her shoulder. "Can't we leave it as it is?"

"No." She whispered, swaying her body between my legs side to side. "I love you too, Z."

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