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t-w-e-n-t-y--f-o-u-r

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Zayn is sat on the floor of his bedroom, looking at the scrapbook he just finished putting together. It's full of pictures of him and Niall, pictures of Niall, drawings and paintings and sketches of Niall, plus some dried flowers and some small mementos from over the years. All in all, it's looking really good. It hurts a little, he has to admit, but he still trusts that Niall will come back to him at some point, so he figured he should go ahead and finish it.

"Zaynie?" Safaa asks, quietly knocking on the semi-ajar door to Zayn's room.

"What's up skittle?" He asks, making her giggle. She's still so young, and since skittles are her favourite treat, it's become her nickname.

"Why has Ni been away?" She sits down on the floor across from Zayn, looking at the scrapbook. Zayn sighs. He has to explain to his little sister that he and his boyfriend, who she is extremely attached to, have broken up.

It may not be permanent though, so he shouldn't really go so far as to explain what exactly has happened. It would be too confusing for her.

"He's been busy," He says carefully, "We haven't been spending much time together lately," She frowns, thinking about it.

"But why?" He sighs, gently closing the scrapbook that's on the floor in between them.

"Because he has been busy with his family and schoolwork. There has not been much time for us to be together. He should be back soon, skittle," She smiles, not quite picking up on the fact that Zayn is unsure of whether or not Niall will be back anytime soon. He hopes he will be, he's just not entirely sure.

"Okay," She gets up and bounces out of the room, obviously not needing to talk any longer. He sighs again, his fingers gently running over the cover of the scrapbook. 

He can't believe he broke up with Niall. He can't believe he broke up with Niall, and he can't believe he broke up with him yesterday.

He was planning on telling Niall that he wanted to try and work it out, maybe see if Niall would be okay with going back to the basics and just getting to know one another again, as they've both changed so much lately. He wanted to take Niall out on dates and spend time together just the two of them, and work their way back to where they were six months ago, before any of this ever happened.

But now he's sat on his bedroom floor, staring at a scrapbook of their relationship, missing his other piece.

He's not even sure where to go from here.

...

A bell rings above the door when Zayn pushes it open, stepping into the shop. It's been so long since he's been in here, it almost feels nostalgic.

"Hey mate, where have ya been? It's good to see ya!" Cooper grins stepping out of his studio room and enveloping Zayn in a hug. Cooper is the man Zayn goes to for his tattoos, piercings, and crazy hair changes.

"Been pretty busy with things. How have you been doing?" He asks, clapping Cooper on the back as they hug.

"Been great! Business is exploding and life is good! What can I do ya for today?" Zayn shrugs, leaning into Cooper a little bit more.