Another World

I walked into Kate's room who was in front of the mirror gussying up.

"Why do I suddenly feel guilty?" I asked her as I sat on her new bed.

She looked at me through the reflection of the mirror. "What do you mean?"

"I'm basically going on a date."

"No," She began to apply her eyeliner. "You're just going to get something to eat, it's innocent."

I raised an eyebrow. "Will Jason think it's innocent?"

"Sure he will!"

"Kate."

"Well after you explain it to him, I'm pretty sure he will."

I laughed. "Fine," I went to my room to get my laptop and returned. I sat back down on her bed and turned the power on. As the Dell logo appeared I began to feel a bit nervous. Jason can get really jealous sometimes. "Actually, I'll just wait until he Skypes with me instead."

"Chicken." Kate mumbled.

"It might be late over there."

She faced me with a serious face. "It's two o'clock in New York."

"He has a job, you know."

"Which brings us back to my statement, you're a chicken."

I scowled but before I could proceed in defending myself, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Kate said with a smirk.

I left her room to put away my laptop and quickly put on my boots, fixing my skinny jeans inside them.

"Where's Valarie?" I heard Zayn ask from the living room.

I noticed the smile on my face that quickly vanished as I looked at my reflection. I took out my phone and opened Blackberry Messenger, the only way to talk to Jason without getting any extra fees. I went to his name and began to write a message.

Already missing you, babe!

As I hit send, I heard the sound of heals clicking towards my direction. "Whenever the time is good for you, we can go." Kate sarcastically stated when she popped her head in.

"I'm ready, I'm ready." I put my phone inside my purse and followed her to the living room.

"Hey Valarie!" Harry greeted with a dimpled smile. "Are we all ready?"

"Yup," I looked around. "Where did Zayn go?"

"Right here," Zayn said as he walked out of the bathroom. He gave me a warm smile and let out a shy, "Hi."

I cleared my throat before greeting him. I turned away from his golden stare and couldn't help but blush.

We all walked out of the apartment and followed Harry as he jogged towards a shiny expensive looking car. Kate and I looked at each other with a surprised look. Harry unlocked the doors and opened the passenger seat for Kate. He held her hand to help her inside, giving her a smile as he slowly let go.

I was about to open the back door when Zayn beat me to it.

"After you." He said, gesturing to the car. I began to flash a smile at him but stopped to remind myself that I had a boyfriend to think about.

"So where to?"

"The Ivy." Harry and Zayn both said.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "I thought we were just going to a local small restaurant?"

"We thought about it but changed our minds," Harry began to explain. "We aren't cheap lads and we want you two to have a smashing time with us that will make you want to see us more." Harry explained.

"Well aren't you confident." Kate told him.

"Does it show that much?" He replied with a grin.

I was still in shock. "Really, guys, you don't have to take us there. I heard it's expensive and, well, we don't really have that much money yet-"

"It's our treat, we insist." Zayn said.

I sighed. "We don't have a choice, Kate. Harry locked the doors."

"And we already booked a private dining room." Harry added with a shrug.

My eyes widened. "Why would you do that?"

"Trust me, it was mandatory." He said as he drove off.

* * *

"I'll have the Roast Devonshire Chicken." Harry ordered while the waitress had her notepad and pen ready.

"It's made for two persons." She told him.

He turned to Kate who was across from him. "Mind if we share?"

Kate smiled. "Not at all."

The waitress faced Zayn.

"I'd like the Dukkah Spiced Chicken."

He turned to look across at me and I quickly said, "I'll have the Spinach and Ricotta Tortelloni." before he could make us share a meal or something sweet like that. I looked at Zayn, feeling bad. "I just, um, don't really enjoy anything spicy." That wasn't a lie after all.

"Oh and could you bring us a bottle of your best wine?" Harry said to the waitress as she was getting ready to walk away. "Wait," He looked at Kate and then me. "You two are-"

"Eighteen." We answered in unison.

"Great," He returned his attention to the waitress. "Make that two bottles of your best wine."

She nodded and left us.

As we waited for the food to come, I realized that it hasn't even been a full day that Kate and I lived here and I already loved it. With the help of Zayn and Harry, they made me feel so welcomed and at home. When the food arrived we continued chatting and getting to know each other.

"Anyone want dessert?" Zayn asked.

Kate and I looked at the menu and discussed what we wanted.

As Harry called the waitress over, I looked at the menu once more but couldn't make up my mind.

"What do you recommend?" I asked her when she came over.

"The Yorkshire Rhubarb Steamed Sponge, it's magnificent!" She responded.

"Oh, that actually sounds good." Kate told me.

I nodded. "Yeah, so do you want to share-"

Harry groaned. "They'll have two orders of the Yorkshire Rhubarb Steamed Sponge, please."

She began writing and faced Harry. "Would you like anything?"

"I'll have the Black Fig, Walnut and Ricotta Tart."

She finished writing it down, moving her attention towards Zayn. "And you?"

"I'll have the Sticky Toffee Pudding." He handed her the dessert menu and looked at me. "I want you to try it and I won't take no for an answer."

I hid my smile with my hand. Who could resist those eyes? "Hmm, I don't think I like Black Fig."

"It's really good, don't worry you'll love it."

Before I could protest any further, Harry's laugh made me jump a little. He quickly slapped his mouth shut with his hands making Kate laugh.

"Well aren't you two having the time of your lives." Zayn said with a hint of bitterness.

I felt a little guilty. Just because I had a boyfriend didn't mean I couldn't be nice to him. Jason would understand. Hopefully. "So Zayn, how do you spell that?"

"Zed-A-Y-N."

"Zed?"

"Yes," He lifted his arm and created the letter Z in the space between us. "Zed."

"So you say Zed instead of-"

"Ah, that's right Americans don't say Zed, what is it that you say?" He thought about it for a quick second and replied with "Zee" in an American accent.

I laughed as I nodded.

"Odd."

"For you, maybe so."

"So, Valarie-"

"You can call me Val."

"So Val, how do you spell your name?"

"V-A-L-A-R-I-E."

"What?"

"You thought it was spelled with an E instead?"

"That's exactly what I thought."

I shrugged. "My mom didn't like the way it looked so she put it with an A instead."

He looked at me with a questionable stare. "You Americans sure are odd." He said with a chuckle.

"Back at ya, Zed." I joked.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, our desserts finally arrived.

"Now, would you like some?" Zayn asked as he scooped a spoonful of his dessert and brought it towards me.

I wrinkled my nose. "No thank you." I said giving him a smile not to seem rude.

He put the spoonful closer. "Come on, try it. You'd be surprised, things taste different here."

I hesitated, slightly opening my mouth. As I cupped my hand under the spoon, he placed a piece inside.

"How is it?" He asked as I chewed.

"Wow, that's actually really good!"

His smile grew. "See? I told you."

"Any left for me, mate?" Harry jokingly asked.

"Sorry, mate, it's just for Val and I."

I felt my cheeks get hot, this time Zayn noticed.

"That's fine, I have Kate anyway." He turned to her and flashed a grin. She looked down and smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

I looked at her and laughed. It was obvious that she liked Harry and as soon as we got home I wouldn't hear the end of it.

As we continued our desserts we shared laughs and stories. It was safe to say that we all hit it off very well.