eight.
Me and Zayn have been together for two months. I never thought I'd be with Zayn. Turns out he's really good with relationships, and he always makes sure that I'm his top priority. We haven't fought, and if I was ever feeling sad, he always made sure I was okay.
Our relationship is more affectionate than anything else. We never really had one on one talks like how me and Camila were, but I guess guys are different.
But something still doesn't feel right between us.
I moved in with him a couple weeks ago, since he suggested me too and I kind of felt weird in my apartment. Being there all alone.
I laid on the bed and watched TV while Zayn was going back and forth from his closet to his bathroom. Normani wanted to hang out tonight, but I ignored her message.
For these past couple of months, I haven't really talked to anyone from the label. Only Zayn. Normani probably just thinks my phone is disconnected or turned off, since I turned off my iMessage.
"Where are you going?" I asked, noticing Zayn had been fully clothed.
"Studio." He said, looking at himself in the mirror and adjusting his jacket. "Then I have a meeting to go to afterwards."
"A meeting? At midnight?" I said with a puzzled look on my face looking at the time.
"The label wants to meet with me before I go back home for a bit," His words caught me off guard and I was confused that he was going back home.
"I thought you weren't going back for another year?"
"My mom called, she needs me back at the house. I promise, I'll be back at the end of the week. It's getting late. I should get going." He finished, his lips kissed my forehead and he smiled at me before he exited the bedroom.
I always felt weird being alone. It felt like how I felt when Camila left me. Empty. I haven't felt this way in a while, I never thought I would feel like this again. I even promised myself that I wouldn't feel like this.
Often I found myself getting in this mood where I had absolute no emotion at all. I was just here physically, but not mentally. Almost as if I'm just here takin up space.
I thought Zayn would at least help me out, turns out I was wrong.
-
Zayn was coming back in a couple of days, and I haven't moved from the bed at all. The farthest I went was to the kitchen and bathroom. I didn't leave the house at all.
I was pretty hungry, so I went downstairs and went to make some breakfast. As I was searching for a spatula, I found a black box in a drawer with a sticky note that said Perrie on it with a heart next to the name.
I furrowed my brows, and pulled out the box. I opened it, to see a diamond ring, and a note attached to the top of it.
"I have no words to describe how your eyes shine or how your smile makes my world feel like it's falling apart. I want to write words as beautiful as you but I can't describe it because words don't exist that can describe you're perfection to me and I want to make you mine." - Zayn.
Tears stung my eyes as I read the familiar message. I shook my head and read the message back and pulled out my phone. It was the same text he sent me a while ago. The same text that made me think he was actually the one for me.
I knew something about him seemed fake. This was all an act. Why would he play me, if he just wanted to marry some other girl. Was I just someone to provide him with sexual benefits while he was in LA?
This point I didn't know what to do or where to go. I was afraid of relationships for this reason. Relationships either work out or they don't. I was afraid to be played and I tried my best to run from it, but it looks like I couldn't.
I got in my car and texted Normani to see if I could stay with her just for a couple weeks. She was confused on why, and I said I'd explain to her when I got to her house.
"Lauren, oh my God," she gasped, pulling me into a hug. "What happened to you? You look a mess!" She said, shutting the door behind her.
"My car ran out of gas down the street, I had to walk in the rain, and I'm just not feeling right." I cried, wrapping the jacket she offered me around me.
"You told me you were going to explain something to me? What's wrong? Everything okay?" She asked genuinely concerned about me.
We sat on her couch and she offered me the coffee that she had made her. "No thanks," I said waving my hand dismissively at her offer. "I dated Zayn."
"You did?" She furrowed her brows. "Why didn't you tell me? For how long?"
"I didn't tell anyone actually," I responded. "Just a couple months. But I thought he was the one, but..." I paused, remembering the note attached to the box.
"But what? What did he do?" She asked anxiously. She sounded angry. I noticed how tense she was, and I knew I had to stop crying before she got angrier.
I sniffled and shifting my position on the couch so I was facing her. "I was searching for a spatula and I opened a drawer and found this." I pulled out the box for my back pocket and tossed it down between us.
Normani's jaw dropped and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Perrie, who's that?"
"Some chick he wants to marry obviously." I said annoyedly, pushing my hair out of my face. "I should've know. The constant leaving at night and not coming back till the morning."
Normani had something else to say, I could tell by the look on her face, but she immediately changed her expression. "What do you mean?"
"He's always say he's going to the studio and doesn't get back till ten in the morning." I mentioned. "He doesn't answer when I call him on his break either."
"He dated my friend too," she mentioned, frowning a bit as she shrugged her shoulders. "and played her as well."
My eyes widened when I heard those last few words. "Are you serious? He played her too?!"
"Mhm," she hummed, getting up and heading towards the tv stand and grabbing a remote. "But unlike you, she didn't cry, you know what she did?" She questioned me, sitting back down next to me.
I raised my brows, looking at her anxiously to hear the answer. "She played him back. But harder. She announced at a meeting that he was with some other girl, and embarrassed the shit out of him. He looked so scared. It was funny." She laughed, flipping through the tv channels.
"What should I do?" I asked, knowing I couldn't pull something like that off.
"What do you feel like doing? I don't want to come up with something that'll get you into trouble." She said, sipping on her drink.
"I'm going to act like I didn't know, and just go with the flow of things. But I won't be all lovey dovey with him. I'll be like him," I smirked mischievously.
"You're going to hook up with people?" She questioned.
"Well I guess since that's what I do best."
Normani laughed and shook her head. "You're a mess, you need a stable relationship." She mentioned.
"No one wants to be stable with me," I rolled my eyes, sitting back on the couch.
"Someone may be. You never know." She said, looking at me out her peripheral vision. "Anyways, Netflix and Chill? She said arching her brow.
I laughed and nodded. "You know it."
-
For the rest of the week while Zayn had been gone, Normani and I had been house hunting for me. This was something I never did on my own, I usually had my assistant pick out the best places for me, and I'd just pick a random one. It was never something I actually got to go and do myself.
Most of the houses weren't necessarily my style. They were either too big or too small. Or, they'd be on a hill and I don't want to live with mountain lions in my backyard.
"This one isn't necessarily on a hill," The realtor said pulling up to the house. "It just over looks the city," He mentioned, parking the car in the drive way.
This house was beautiful. It wasn't really on the hill, but it did over look the city and it was a beautiful view.
"The architect who built this home is my friend, and he said that he designed this pathway to create a relaxing and ambient atmosphere," he informed us, pointing to the cemented and stoned pathway.
The pathway stepped over an infinity pool that runs the length of the home and then it meets a stonewall that is a light waterfall.
"Wow," I mouthed, looking down at the water and up at the waterfall. The sound of the water hitting against the water in the pool felt so calming and the birds chirping along with it, was an amazing feeling.
"Here's the courtyard," He said pointing to the landscape around us. "I liked how he designed it so peaceful and spacious,"
The courtyard was behind glass louvers and had very few specimen trees.
Normani nudged me, and I turned and looked at her. "If you buy this house, I'm moving in with you." She whispered.
I pulled away and made a face, pretending to think about it. "Eh," I shrugged. "I'm keeping this all to myself." I said, flashing the dark haired girl a fake smile.
"Bitch!" She mumbled, getting flustered.
I laughed as we continued to walk and she pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh!" The realtor said, turning around on his heels. "The pathway we came up, those stairs have lights embedded into them." He added on.
"No way!" Normani said, turning around and heading back to the front.
"Mani, you can't see them now, it's still light out!" I notified her.
She turned back around and headed towards us. "Dammit."
Both me and the realtor laughed at her as we continued our viewing.
We got inside the house and my jaw dropped. Majority of the walls were glass and you could see outside and see the courtyard. It was very spacious, which was a good thing for me.
"Here's the living room," The man said, pointing to it. "The stone wall is also gives off a relaxed feeling and it's my favorite part of the home."
"Buy it, buy it now," Normani said, coming up behind me.
"Where were you at?" I asked her, noticing that she had disappeared once we stepped in the house.
"The showers, the bathroom, the backyard, I'm in love." She cried, resting her head on my shoulder.
"You might have some competition with somebody buying this house," The man interjected into our side conversation.
Normani popped her head off my shoulder and rested her arm on it, "We'll be moving in together!"
I pushed her arm off me and furrowed my brows at her. "No, we are not." I corrected her, the realtor laughing.
"Well, whoever is moving in, you'll like it here." He stated.
We continued our tour and he showed us more of the house. The kitchen was just as big as the living room (probably not, I'm exaggerating, but it seems like it), the pool had a guest house, and the master bedroom upstairs was beautiful. It overlooked the city and I could just imagine how beautiful that looks at night.
"I'll give you time to think, and you just get back to me on it." He smiled, exiting the last room we had visited.
Normani shoved my shoulder lightly and looked at me. "What?" I asked in a mellow tone, knowing that she was freaking out.
"You have to get this house!" She said excitedly. "This is so you and you can have big house parties, and we can have people over,"
"We?" I questioned, shifting my weight onto my other leg and raising my brow.
"You!" She said frustratedly.
"I'm kidding with you," I laughed. "Go on."
"Anyways! This is the only house you liked and this is the last house, how can you pass this up. Look at this place!" She said, spinning around.
"Okay Disney Princess," I said, making a reference to the Disney princesses that spin around like she did. "I'm getting the house. You didn't even let me tell you."
"Sorry I was excited."
"Better be glad you're adorable," I said, pinching her cheek.
We met with the realtor and I told him that I was buying. He pulled out his paperwork and I signed right then and there.
-
It had been Friday, and for last couple of days, I had been extremely exhausted. Me and Normani spent two long days furniture shopping and helping the movers move everything in. Justin had helped us move in which was also a big help.
"Now, all I have to do is get my stuff from Zayn's," I exhaled deeply, moving myself off the couch. "Hopefully, he isn't there."
"If he is, act like nothing happened." Normani mentioned.
"I know," I replied, picking my keys up off the countertop. "You comin' or not?"
She nodded and followed me out the door.
I had no idea if Zayn was going to be there or not. It would be amazing if he wasn't, but most likely, he'll be back from his 'trip'.
I was so mad at him, I didn't know how I'd act if I saw him. Would I yell at him? Confront him about it? Cry? Would I even say anything about it? Who knows.
As I pulled up in the driveway, I saw his car had been there. "Fuck," I cursed, slamming my palm against the steering wheel. Normani smiled sadly and shrugged. "Nothing happened." I said, hopping out of the car.
Once I opened the door, Drake's mixtape was blaring and I had no idea where the British Pakistan was.
"Hey beautiful," I saw him coming out of his weight room, towel thrown behind his shoulder, his body tattoos exposed. He placed his hand on my waist, coming in for a kiss, but I pulled away. "I haven't seen you in a week, and no kiss?" He said in discourage tone.
"I'm sick." I lied, pushing him away from me and walking towards the bedroom to get my clothes.
"Where were you this morning?" He asked, following me into the room. "I was hoping you'd be here."
Definitely not sleeping with someone. I thought to myself. "Morning run with Mani, we went out for breakfast afterwards." I responded, keeping everything short and simple.
I pulled all my clothes out of his closet and threw them on the bed as Normani carried them down to the car. "What are you doing?" He asked, watching me confusedly.
"Nothing," I said simply. "I got a place."
"You're moving out?"
"Yup,"
"Why?"
"I don't do good living with people, I need my space sometimes. But that doesn't mean anything." I clarified to him.
"You need space from me?" He questioned.
"Not necessarily, I just do better living on my own," I smiled, picking up the last of my stuff. "I'll call you." I smiled, brushing passed him and out the room.
I just knew he had the dumbest look on his face.
When I got into the car, Normani had a big grin across her face. "That tension," She exhaled as she wiped her brow. "Wow."
"I wanted to say something so badly," I gritted my teeth, backing out of the driveway. "I still have the ring." I mentioned.
Normani's eyes widened and dropped her jaw. I pointed towards the glove compartment and she opened it and saw the ring.
"What are you going to do with it?"
"Pawn it, get some money out of it."
"Lauren!" She gasped.
"I'm kidding," I laughed. "I'm going to give it back to him when I confront him about it." I mentioned, having everything planned out in my head.
Normani shook her head and I shrugged. "Don't fuck with me." I stated.
-
That night, me and Normani went out to the club for celebration of me finally moving out and onto better things.
"You look hot mama," Normani complimented me, wrapping her arm around my waste and pulling me into her.
"Thanks, not as hot as you though," I replied, telling her in her ear as the music blared.
"Let's dance!" She suggested, grabbing my hand, and pulling me over to a section where there wasn't that many people.
She spun me around and wrapped her arm around my waist, and held my hand, closing the space between us as we danced to the music. "I'm proud of you," she told me.
"Thanks," I smiled, as I felt her chin rest in the crook of my neck.
"I can see a change in you, once you get this place, everything will be back to normal." She said, releasing me from her hold.
I turned and faced her, and she placed her hands on my hips. "As in normal, I will have girls over constantly and sleeping with them?" I chuckled, waiting to met her gaze.
"That's not normal Lauren," she said, meeting my gaze. "You need a special someone."
"I know, I'm just drunk." I laughed. "But I'm not drunk enough to tell you that there's nothing wrong with having a little fun."
"I'm saying it's not normal for you." She said in a serious tone, pointing her finger at me. "You can't just hookup with someone, waiting for that special person to come along."
"Maybe you're right."
"I'm drunk too, but I can still tell you that you need someone better than Zayn." She said.
"I'm not with him though."
"Exactly," she smirked. "Sit down," She directed me, pointing to the couch.
"Why?" I asked, watching as she sat down on my lap.
"I want to try something don't worry," she said, leaning forward and picking up the drink in front of her. "Bit the stem off okay?" She said, swallowing the drink, and then attaching her lips with mine.
What she didn't tell me was that I was going to have to find the cherry. My tongue entered her mouth, and found the cherry, and got it towards her lips. The end of the stem stuck out, and I suck on her bottom lip, and I pulled it out.
"Wow," I said, pulling the stem out of my mouth and placing it next to me. "I'm talented." I smirked.
Her lips attached onto mine once again, and she place her hand on my jaw. She deepened the kiss, and placed her other hand on the other side of my face. She rolled her hips and our tongues battled. Her soft plump lips moved in sync with mine.
"Mani," I said, pushing her off of me slightly.
"What? Did I do something wrong?" She asked, puzzled.
"No," I laughed breathlessly. "I have to go to my car. I'll be back." I stated.
She got up off of me and I headed out towards the car.
Where are you?
Justin had texted me, and I searched for him outside. I saw him leaning against the hood of his car, hands stuffed in his pockets. He smiled at me, and pushed himself off his car.
"Finally," He said softly, placing his hands on my hips and pulling me in towards him. "So Zayn is out of the picture?"
"You know it," I said, pulling his face towards mine, crashing our lips together.
I felt the palm of his hand, rest on my backside, as he kneaded it, deepening the kiss. "Why don't we just go back to my place?" He suggested pulling away.
I rested my hand on his chest. "As much as I want too, Mani is in there, and I can't leave without telling her." I frowned.
"Why don't you just go and tell her?" He questioned, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"She's kinda in there alone." I grimaced. "But I promise, I'll probably stop by sometime tonight," I winked at him, pecking his lips before I left.
The next morning was crucial. I had the worst hangover in the world. Normani had been laying by my side, and I furrowed my brows, noticing how she was only wearing a bra and so was I.
"What the hell?" I said confusedly, noticing our dresses laying across the floor. It grew on me that last night me and Normani had actually had sex.
"Lauren what are you doing? Why are you saying no?" She asked, furrowing her brows. She pushed herself up, noticing that she was in my bed, half naked, and looked up at me.
"Normani..."
"Oh my God." She mumbled, looking around and noticing her dress was on the floor. "I don't remember anything."
"Neither do I!" I said, running my hand through my hair. "Did we actually?" I asked, looking at her.
"We were drunk, I'm pretty sure we didn't know." She said, sitting up. Her eyes widened and I furrowed my brows at her.
"What?"
"Can you hand me those?" She asked, pointing to a pair of soccer shorts that rested on the chair in the corner.
I laughed and headed over to the chair and tossed them at her. "I was smart enough to put on shorts afterwards." I winked
"Shut up," she said as she caught the shorts. She pointed towards the window wanting me to turn around as she put the shorts on. "Wow."
"It was probably me that got you to do this," I said, sitting down in the chair. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intentions to hookup with you. I just had too much to drink, and I got carried away, and you looked amazing last night, and I couldn't–"
"Lauren!" She cut me off as rambled on. "It's fine. It'll never happen again." She smiled. I reciprocated and buried my head in my hands since the sun was giving me a headache. "Are you saying I'm not someone you would normally hook up with?" She randomly asked.
"What? No! Yes! But No."
"So you would hookup with me?" She questioned.
"No I wouldn't, you're like a sister to me." I mentioned, walking out of the room and downstairs. "I have reasons why I can't hookup with you and I screwed up. It has nothing to do with you." I said, noticing how quiet she was. I turned around and saw the girl not behind me. "Mani!!" I yelled, running up the stairs.
I saw her standing in the doorway, staring at the floor. "What are you looking at?" I asked her, following her gaze to the hardwood flooring.
"I thought I forgot something at the club, I guess not." She chuckled.
"Did you hear what I said?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't take offense to it.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you."
"You aren't mad?" I asked.
"No, we all have reasons right?" She said, giving a small smile. "What's for breakfast?" She asked, sitting at the island.
"French toast and eggs." I smiled, pulling out the ingredients. "Made by moi," she smirked. "Get it why I said moi, it's French, and I'm just making French toast." I laughed. "Knee slapper!"
Normani raised her brows, and nodded, almost as if she didn't want to tell me that was a bad joke.
"Camila use to tell jokes, no one laughed but me, people called them bad, but I didn't really see it." I frowned.
"Never heard one of her jokes." Normani mentioned, flipping through a magazine. "Lemme hear one."
"This my favorite one," I laughed. "What do you call a belt with a watch on it?" I laughed, trying my best to get the joke out.
"What?"
"A waist of time!" I cried, stomping my foot against the ground.
Normani starred at me and shook her head. "Haha. Haha." She fake laughed.
"Whatever! It's hilarious to me!"
While the French toast was cooking, Normani decided to make some blueberry waffles. It was fun cooking with her, and often times, she put batter on my nose, which annoyed me a lot.
"Help me make this orange juice," I told her, struggling to squeeze out the juice.
"You're weak mama!" She laughed, pushing me out the way. "Lemme do it for you." She winked.
She turned the orange around the juicer, successfully getting the juice out of it. "Why don't you just buy orange juice?"
"Juices are better." I answered, watching her muscle tighten as she squeezed the orange. "Oranges are cheaper too."
"You bought three bags of oranges it's like the same price as orange juice."
"Juices are better!" I repeated.
"Chill hot stuff!" She laughed, holding her hands in front of her. "Want to try it?" She asked, pointing to the juicer.
I nodded and she moved out the way. "Just squeeze tightly and turn the orange." She said, watching me be unsuccessful. She chuckled and moved behind me. "Let me help,"
She put her hand on top of mine, and rested her free hand on my hip. "You're not even squeezing it!" She laughed, her fingers wrapped around mine, and using her strength to squeeze it.
"I'm weak!"
"I noticed," she laughed, her hand was basically as a guide for me. I felt her breath linger on my neck, and her hand seemed very comfortable on my hip.
"You know, if you just wanted to get behind me, you could've just asked," I smirked, turning and meeting the big brown orbs.
"Shut up," she rolled her eyes and pushed herself off of me. "Foods ready." She said, turning everything off. I juiced a couple more oranges and poured us both a glass.
I sat next to her and we ate together. We talked about things other than my love life. We talked about where we're from and just random things.
"Shit!" I cursed, putting my fork down.
"What?"
"Tonight, tonight I have my house warming party and I haven't got shit done!" I sighed frustratedly. "It starts in ten hours and I have to decorate and still unpack some things."
Normani cleared her throat and looked at me. "You have me to help you."
"I haven't even set up my awards on the walls, or put up pictures. I need to buy drinks, I need to call catering, I need to do a lot and I have to get started." I said, getting up from my seat and heading towards my room to get ready.
Normani followed behind and also said she was going to et ready. "Don't worry, we'll be done in time." She winked at me.
A/N : Wasn't this an interesting chapter!!! I told you I'd get some Laurmani action in! We're just getting started y'all! Thanks for everything! Don't forget to comment and vote! Suggest this to your friends! Have a wonderful day/night!
- Raven