Afire Love// ed sheeran

Aftermath

I put the note in the living room on the tv screen. I slipped out of the door, phone in firm grasp as I raced down the flights of stairs down to the ground floor. Once I was out the door, I couldn't help but do a little happy dance, waving my hands in the cool summer air and twirling around in a little circle. As much as I was concerned for Athina's well being, I was also insanely happy that maybe this would work out. But, as always, I was incredibly cautious, wary that if I got too happy, Ed could snatch that happiness away once again. And I couldn't face that all over again. 

I began to walk down the front steps of my building as I dialed a number into my phone. As I pressed the screen to my ear, I could hear the buzzes on the other line. 

"Hello there, long time no talk," Taylor spoke clearly through the phone. I could imagine her sitting at home, petting her cats as she wrote another fabulous song that would surely earn dozens of awards. 

"Hey," I said, my voice sounding vaguely giddy. "How have you been?"

I could hear her chuckle on the other line. I stopped at the street corner, waiting for the crosswalk signal to show that I could walk. "I've just been sitting around, busy being a world famous superstar as per usual. Why do you sound so giddy?" 

I laughed, the sun basking me in pure brightness. I felt like I was floating on clouds. "Oh nothing, practicing my violin, working, kissing boys, practicing violin." I could hear Taylor gasp on the other line and I wondered if she caught the kissing boys or maybe someone on the other side of the phone had told her something she wasn't expecting. 

"Boys? What boys? Cute boys? I need to know who my lovely friend is hanging out with so I can see if they deserve your heart," she chirped up. I let out a slight chuckle. 

"You know him... we both do," I whispered, trying not to make the connection too obvious. 

"Zayn, Niall," she began to shot off names, picking random names off the top of her head. "Zac Efron, wait he's taken. Umm.... Wait... Oh God... Is it who I think it is?" she paused, making the obvious connections in her brain and trying to figure it all out. "It's Ed, isn't it?" I couldn't lie and say no but I don't think I was mentally prepared to say it aloud to anyone- myself included- that I was going down that path again. So I remained silent and that was enough conformation for Taylor. "I have to go to a meeting soon but I promise you, we'll talk later." 

I hung up the phone and slipped it into my purse. The streets were abuzz with traffic as I crossed the street and entered the local craft shop, a little store named Crafty. The store was pretty small and empty. I went to the scrapbooking section and picked out a scrapbook for photos, glue, and some decorations. I paid for them and left the store. As soon as I walked out though, I bumped head first into someone, dropping my bag. 

"I'm so sorry," his voice was crystal clear. He had tanned skin, dark hair and chocolate eyes. "Alyssa, how wonderful to see you." 

"Zayn..." I stated, picking my bag up from the floor and wiping off my pants as I began to walk back to my apartment. 

"I was going to go see you now actually. Would you like to hang out later today?" he asked, his voice like silk. 

"Busy," I replied. In all honesty, I was in no mood to talk to Zayn. For me, Zayn was a friend but he had grown distant over time. You could tell when he was annoyed and I knew after talking to him for a while, he had grown annoyed and bored with his little games with me. He stopped calling and I had stopped caring. 

"I know I stopped calling and I'm sorry. But I would really like to spend time with you when you can," he insisted. It sounded almost like he was begging and I didn't understand why. This boy was an international superstar and could get any girl in the world. But he decided to chase after the one girl that just wasn't interested. "Work got busy and I didn't want you to have deal with me when I was sleep deprieved and cranky. I apologize."

I looked at him and I almost felt sorry for him. It must be hard to keep contact with family and friends when you're constantly out on the road. I can imagine how infrequent breaks are and how tiring touring can get. "Fine. Call me later." 

Zayn waved and walked the other way as I returned to my apartment. 

***

After spending a good hour or so locked up in my room, I walked out with my scrapbook under my arm. I walked into the living room where Ed was strumming his guitar (Stuart brought it over while I was out shopping). He looked up from his guitar a smile on his face. 

"I know I said a few things last night about the past being a miserable place that no one should ever visit... But I guess you have the right to know what happened- the good and not just the bad. There was a lot left out of yesterday's blast to the past, a lot of pictures left unshown and a lot of memories left unshared. So I made you this scrapbook," I said, handing him the book. The cover was red and the pages were a crisp ivory with pictures and decorations pasted to each page, each with a little caption describing the context of each photo, in chronological order of course. "I considered taking out the bad stuff but those are part of the memories, good and bad. I decided to take the last photo out though- of Ellie and you- just because that didn't need to be remembered. I hope you like it." 

I could see genuine tears in Ed's eyes as he flipped the book open. "I love it." 

I smiled softly and sat next to Ed. He kissed my cheek gently and for the next hour, we looked at those pictures and I let him enjoy the memories I was gifting him.