A Long December.

“Zayn.”

He doesn’t even flinch at the sound of his name being called and a loud sigh escapes Lennox’s pink lips. She glances at the bedside clock and realizes she’s going to be late unless he gets up in the next few minutes.

“Zayn”

This time she begins shaking his bare shoulder, but it only causes him to push away from her and sink his face further into the pillows. Another glance to the clock reminds her that Georgia has got to be there already, waiting to be let in, while her boyfriend Nick complains that she’s working for a shit manager who can’t even get to work on time. She slaps Zayn harder and his eyes instantly shot open and he looks from his spot in the pillow to see Lennox’s stern expression.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m late for work. You were supposed to be up two hours ago, but it’s nothing new that you can’t even do that.”

Zayn sighs as he pulls himself up to a sitting position, pushing his palms up to his eyes to wipe the sleep away. He notices Lennox’s eyes fall to his lap where his briefs are riding low and the blanket fails to cover him. Zayn can’t help the smirk as Lennox flushes up a bit.

“I’ve already fed Emmy, she’s playing in the playpen right now. All you have to do is keep an eye on her for a few hours while I’m at the bakery. Please don’t screw this up.”

“What makes you think I’m going to screw it up, Lenny? This isn’t just anything, this is Emmy. I love her with my life, just as if she was our own. It’s not like I’m going to let her out of my sight or anything.”

Zayn watches as Lennox’s eyes seem to cloud over for a moment and he wonders if he’s struck a nerve. He knows that look well, remembers it from all the fights they’d have when he’d throw a cheap shot, resulting in her tears.

“Well, she is ours now. So do me a favor and start owning up to your new responsibilities.”

She slams the door behind her after that, leaving Zayn to himself in the guestroom designated as his own room now since he couldn’t even come within two feet of Lennox’s room. He groans when he hears Emmy’s cries, signaling that Lennox’s door slamming shook her up. He pulls himself out of bed, running a hand through his messy hair and strolls out to the living room where Emmy sits, gripping a teddy bear, her tears falling down her pale cheeks.

“Come on, Em. No need to cry.” Zayn cooed softly once he scooped up the one year old into his tan arms, walking them to the couch, where they settle into the cushions and she rests her head on his bare chest.

“Scary,” she mumbles quietly, her small voice hardly loud enough for Zayn to hear her.

He rubs her pajama clad back softly, nodding his head at her statement. “You’re right, Lennox is scary.”

Emmy pulls back from Zayn and maneuvers herself so that she is sitting on his chest, her legs hanging off either side of his torso, and her bright blue eyes are watching Zayn intently. “Daddy,” she points to Zayn, her tiny finger centimeters away from his nose.

Zayn swears he can literally feel his heart break at this and he can’t remember a time where he’d ever been so lost in life. Slowly, a sad smile finds its way on his face and he sighs. “No, little mate. I’m not daddy.”

Emmy’s eyes begin to water and she brings her tiny finger back up, this time pushing onto Zayn’s nose. “Daddy,” she repeats, her voice laced with tears and her tiny head nodding.

Zayn is sure she gets the stubbornness from her father and at the thought of Louis, Zayn almost breaks down in tears right there, but he reminds himself that it isn’t time for him to be weak anymore, he can’t be. He reaches over to the small coffee table beside the couch and grabs a picture frame with a photo Louis and April, holding tightly to Emmy with large cheesy grins on their faces on their trip to Ireland when Emmy was just seven months old. Zayn holds the frame up to Emmy’s eye level and points to Louis. “That’s daddy.”

Emmy doesn’t say anything after that, just stares at the picture for a long time and Zayn tries to gauge the tiny one’s reaction. She’s only one, but there’s something about the way that she looks at the photo that is heartbreaking. She knows they’re gone, and Zayn only wishes there was some way to shield her from the pain she’d face later on in life.

+

“Georgia, I am so sorry! Zayn wouldn’t wake up and I couldn’t just leave Emmy alone in the house with Zayn because he’d sleep through the whole day without so much as a c-“

“Don’t worry about it, Lennox. I’ve only been waiting a few minutes, besides, I’ve had Nick to keep me company.” Lennox shoots Nick and an apologetic smile and he simply returns it with a wave and a small smile, hardly caring.

“Would you like a pastry and tea before you head to work?” Lennox asks Nick as she unlocks the door and the three shuffle in, shutting out the cold.

“I’d appreciate it, Lennox.” He nods and takes a seat at one of the small round tables as the girls quickly begin throwing pastries into the oven and pulling out the finished ones to set in the display before the shop officially opens and the crowds begin to storm in like crazy.

A couple of hours pass and Lennox is thankful when the morning rush begins to slow down. As usual, it seems that she is almost out of most of the pastries just from the morning alone and has Georgia go to the back to start a few new batches to finish up by lunch time.

Lennox is so deep in thought when the door opens, that she doesn’t hear the tiny jingle, signaling a new customer has entered. The customer takes their time, their eyes carefully darting over each and every selection, wanting to make the best apparent choice.

“Seems you’re already out of strawberry brownies whenever I come by.”

Lennox is shaken from her thoughts at the sound of the familiar Irish accent and she smiles brightly when his blue eyes meet her hazel ones. “Niall, what’re you doing here?”

Lennox walks around to the front and the two meet for a hug, his arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders, while hers around his waist. She smiles when she realizes, not much has changed about him, even down to the cologne he wears.

“Haven’t seen you in a bit, figured I’d pop in and say hello since I was already in the city and all that.” He shrugged his shoulders, his bright smile contagious enough to even make Lennox smile.

“You were in town?” Lennox smirks and it doesn’t take long before Niall gives in with a guilty grin.

“Well, no. But I still wanted to see you since it’s been so long.”

Lennox smiles and a small laugh escapes her lips. “Well, I’m glad you found time to come see me. It has been quite a bit, hasn’t it?”

Niall nods and his blue eyes seem to really take her in for a moment. “You look really good, Lennox.”

Lennox’s cheeks flush and she glances down to her flats for a moment to try and hide it. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.” She finally gets out when she looks back up to meet his eyes.

“Your boyfriend’s a lucky man.” Niall compliments, and even with his easy smile and the way the words fall effortlessly from his lips like it’s simply casual talk, it’s clear that it causes a heat up in Lennox. She blushes deeply again.

“Erm, we’re not together anymore.” She shakes her head, the nervous smile still on her face.

“You’re kidding, a lass like you and he didn’t hold onto you for dear life? Pretty big loss I’d have to say.”

“He didn’t tell you? I’d imagine it would’ve come up eventually seeing as we’ve been broken up for a couple of years.” Lennox doesn’t understand how Zayn could’ve held something like that back from him, these boys used to tell each other everything.

“After the band broke up, we all kind of lost touch. The only two who really stayed close were Louis and Zayn. I’ve met up with Harry a couple of times, but nothing too much.” Niall’s smile fell a bit. “It sucks, I could’ve sworn we all would’ve stayed best friends until we were in diapers, shitting ourselves from old age. Funny how things work out.”

Lennox feels her heart tug at the way Niall looks, and it’s clear that he’s bent up over losing his best friends. She wants to say something encouraging, make him feel better, but in all honestly, she says nothing. Because she’s been there, and she knows no amount of pretty words will make anyone feel better.

A couple of customers come in through the door and Niall glances over to see them walking up to the counter. Although Georgia immediately steps up and takes their orders, Niall is quick to get out of the way. “I’ll let you get back to work now, but give me a call, yeah? I’d love for us to get together sometime.”

Lennox nods and smiles when Niall comes forward and pulls her in for a tight hug before he’s on his way, throwing her a quick wave and smile as he goes out into the cool weather.

The two costumers leave immediately after that and Lennox turns just in time to catch Georgia watching her with a smirk on her face.

“What?” Lennox asks.

“You know what. Who’s that fit guy who was just talking to you?”

“Just an old friend.” Lennox waves it off as if it’s nothing. Well, it is nothing, isn’t it?

“Oh come off it, he didn’t look like just an old friend. You fancy him, don’t you?” Georgia wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at her boss. This is what she’s been waiting on since her break up with Zayn two years ago.

“What? No, not at all. He’s one hundred percent just an old friend.” Lennox grabs the Windex and a towel and begins scrubbing the already spotless counter.

“Then why’re you blushing?”

Lennox scrubs harder at the imaginary stain. “We are not having this conversation.”

++
”Why’ve you always gotta be like this, Lennox?”

“Like what? I’m not acting like anything! You’re the one who feels the need to show off in front of your friends and then leave me alone at a party with people I don’t even fucking know!” Lennox huffed, her small chest rising and falling harshly, her usual soft smile and relaxed face was stern and hard.

“You’re acting like a proper bitch. If you didn’t want to come to the fucking party, then you should’ve stayed home. I didn’t go out so that I could hear you nagging me the whole night.” Zayn was fuming. All he’d wanted was to go this party, hang out with some mates he hadn’t seen in a while and get proper fucked, but as usual, Lennox was standing in the way of that.

“So that’s all I am to you then? A nag that ruins all your fun?” She was still angry, her frown was still present, and words were still tough, but there was no denying the tears that were forming in her eyes. He’d cut her down.

“You’re a lot worse than that, Lennox.”

Her hard exterior shattered at that, and she couldn’t help the small whimper that slipped past her lips at his harsh words. She didn’t mutter another word, she simply whipped around and quickly walked away from the apartment door they were standing in front of, the music loud even through the door. She walked as fast as her heels would take her until she was out of his sight, and then she slid down against the wall, her tears streaming down her cheeks and her whimpers escaping her lips.

Zayn knew he’d hurt her, he knew he’d gone too far, and he knew what he’d say was a lie, she was the farthest thing from a nag to him, he loved Lennox more than anything, she was the best thing to happen to him. But he was still furious and he was too stubborn to chase after her. So with a sigh, he opened the apartment door and walked back into the party where he got himself a beer and passed a joint with a few of the other party goers.

“Lennox?”

Lennox thought it might’ve been Zayn at first, wanting to apologize for his harsh words and scoop her up with kisses and promises of a better night, but she knew the accent differed too greatly. She glanced up from the carpeted hallway to find Niall squatted beside her, watching her with a sympathetic smile. Lennox quickly wiped at her face, embarrassed that someone had seen her crying like that.

“Niall, right?”

He nodded with a smile and took the spot beside her, their backs against the wall, as they faced the elevators that led down to the apartment lobby. “I saw what happened in there.”

She shook her head and continued to wipe at her cheeks. “It’s nothing.”

He nodded, “I’m not going to bug you about it, that’s your business, but a pretty lass like you shouldn’t be out here crying by herself.”

“I don’t want to go back in there.” She sniffled and Niall gave no thought as he wrapped his arm around Lennox’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“I didn’t say anything about going back in there.” He motioned to the apartment with a flick of his head in the general direction. Lennox looked at him with furrowed brows and he smiled. “There’s this place just down the road, best roast beef sandwiches and ice cream you’ll ever have.” Lennox scrunched her nose up and Niall laughed, the sound traveling down the hallway. “Sounds like the weirdest combination, but trust me, it’s the best place in town.”

Niall stood up, and dusted off his pants before he held his hand out to her. “I swear, I’m not some creepy serial killer who’s trying to lure you into my trap. Friendly late night snack is all I’m selling.” He held his hands up in defense.

Lennox seemed apprehensive at first to go willingly with someone she’d never so much as spoken to before now, but he seemed harmless enough. She knew he’d been in the band with Zayn and Louis a few years back, so he couldn’t be that bad, and in that moment, she’d rather be anywhere than sitting slouched in a hallway, crying miserably before her boyfriend was an asshole.

She grabbed onto his hand that he’d outstretched once more and he pulled her up to a stand. “Roast beef sounds perfect right now. Lead the way.”

Niall grinned and pressed the button to the elevator, assuring her that she’d be thanking him forever after she got a taste of the delicious food, but Lennox was simply going to be thankful for Niall because he’d saved her from an awful night.