Big City Dreams

[Katie’s POV]

“Any last requests before I go to the store?” I asked a half awake Miranda, shoving my worn leather jacket on.

“Just more tea, we’re nearly out,” she said, grabbing the whistling kettle from the stove.

I nodded at her request and left the flat, immediately searching for my beloved pack of cigarettes. I lit the cancer stick as soon as I walked into the brisk air, and pulled my hood over my head to protect my ears. The streets were full of the normal mid-morning traffic, a bit lighter due to the colder weather, and I was surprised when I heard my name being called from ahead. I looked up, immediately locking eyes with Zayn, and walked a bit faster to catch up with him. He had his dog on his leash, meaning they were in the middle of a walk, and I bent down to give the Boris a greeting.

“Oh, I see how it is, greet the dog before me,” Zayn joked, making me playfully glare at him.

“Of course he gets a hello first, I’m puppy deprived,” I said, brushing the dirt from my pants as I stood up, “How are ya, Zayn?”

“I’m good, and yourself?” he asked, pulling me into a quick one armed hug.

“Dreading going to the store,” I said with a frown, “I can usually con Miranda into doing all of the shopping, but she finally cracked and made me take responsibility.”

“Well, how about I help you do the shopping so you don’t have to go alone?” he asked, making my face light up, “You’d have to help me finish walking Boris first though.”

I quickly agreed to his proposal, and practically begged to hold the leash. Zayn laughed, telling me to that Boris had quite a lot of strength, but still passed it over. I clutched onto it with my already exposed hand, my cigarette having been finished during our short conversation, and stayed next to Zayn as we walked across the street to the park. We made idle chitchat, enjoying the company more than anything.

I wasn’t surprised when a few fans stopped Zayn to talk, and used it as an excuse to stand to the side, and play with Boris some more. He was a playful dog, and as soon as I crouched down to his level we were engaged in what could be considered a playful wrestling match. I was so wrapped up in the dog that I barely heard Zayn said my name, and fell backwards onto my butt when he finally gained my attention. My cheeks instantly flared up, Zayn giving me his patented smirk as he helped me up, and I gladly took the camera to take his picture with the fans. Once they had their photos, they left us alone, and I let Zayn take over walking duties of Boris.

===

“And that’s the last of it,” I said triumphantly, placing the box of tea into the pantry, “Thank you so much again for helping me get the groceries.”

“Always a pleasure spending time with you,” he grinned, making another blush rush across my cheeks, “But now I’m starved, wanna order some takeout and watch a film?”

“Miranda has the flat tonight for a ‘date night’ with Niall,” I said, using air-quotes, “I don’t think either of us want to witness that.”

“Then we’ll go to mine! Go put on some comfortable clothes, and I’ll order the food so it gets to my place not long after us,” he said, practically pushing me towards his room.

I tutted him, telling him no one liked a bossy pants, but laughed as I hopped down the hall to my room. My jeans were soon on the floor near my closet, replaced by a pair of baggy sweatpants, and shoved my feet into the tall Uggs I had grown to love during the wintertime in Colorado. Normally, I wouldn’t leave the house in the get up I had thrown on, but I figured it wouldn’t matter since I would just be eating and watching a movie at Zayn’s.

We made it to his flat not long after I was finished changing, thanks to a cab he had called to pick us up, and I cuddled under a large blanket as he put the DVD into the player. Our food was long devoured, empty Chinese containers littering the counters in his kitchen, and I could barely move due to my fullness. Zayn switched the lights off when he finally had the movie in, and slid under the blanket as the title menu popped up on the screen.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?” I asked, already shrinking back into the couch, “Of all the movies to pick.”

“Oh come on, it’s not that scary,” he said, pressing play.

“It’s the single most terrifying movie ever made,” I mumbled, pulling the blanket up so I could be ready to cover my eyes, “I blame you for the nightmares I know I’ll have tonight.”

“I give you full permission to hide your face in my shoulder if you get scared,” he said, slinging his arm around my own shoulders, “Now let’s watch this, I love it.”

I scooted towards him absentmindedly, and it wasn’t long until I was hiding my face in fear against his shoulder. He would rub my arm softly when I hid, and I was certain I had only seen about half of the movie without hiding my face. Once the movie ended, he switched it over to normal TV, and we both agreed on watching Good Burger. Even though I wasn’t being traumatized by the scary movie anymore, Zayn kept his arm around my shoulder, letting my head stay pressed against his shoulder.

Since we had met in my kitchen a few months back, Zayn and I had become fairly close. We would go out every now and then, always sparking some sort of tabloid rumor about a relationship between the pair of us. We always dispelled the rumors, confirming that we were just close friends, but part of me was starting to feel differently. I had noticed that Zayn’s arm around my shoulders had made my heart rate increase, and stay at the pace the whole time his arm stayed in place. Even with my fast heartbeat, I felt a sense of comfort, and I was aware that my eyes were becoming heavy. I fought the yawn building for the longest time, and hid my face in my hands as I finally let it escape.

“Tired, huh Katie?” he asked, tearing his attention from the screen, “You’re more than welcome to stay the night, so you don’t have to be around Niall and Miranda.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” I said, stifling another yawn.

“Please,” he said, rolling his eyes at me, “Let’s just shut this off and go to my room, I know this couch isn’t that comfortable to sleep on.”

“Fine, but no funny business,” I said jokingly, waggling my finger in front of his face.

He just laughed, and turned the TV off as he stood up to stretch. I folded the blanket up, placing it in the rightful spot on the armchair, and helped clean up the kitchen quickly. Zayn gave me an extra toothbrush, and I gratefully brushed the taste of Chinese food from my mouth as I slipped my hair into a messy bun. I joined him on his bed, placing my glasses onto the nightstand, and shifted until I was comfortable on my stomach. He was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, and I nervously turned my head towards his in the dark.

“Thank you again for today, it was nice,” I smiled, giving him a one armed hug as we laid in the darkness.

“It was very nice,” he said, his smile visible in the dark, “And hey, I thought you said no funny business?”

I playfully hit him in the chest, causing him to pull me closer to cuddle. I laughed at his antics, mumbling a quick goodnight to him, and fell asleep in a position I found myself wishing for more and more as time went on.