Recluse

Chapter 35

"Fine by me." I hold out my hand to him, and he grabs it.

~

"Neon pink?" The male hair stylist asks me, amused.

I nod, staring up at him with a smirk.

He shares a glance with Zayn and Zayn just shrugs.

"Very well then. I'll go mix some hair dyes and be right back." He smiles politely before disappearing into a back room.

"From blonde to black to pink. Your hair is gonna be so unhealthy."

"Whatever. After this lets go get tattoos or something."

"I have work in 20 minutes." He reminds me.

"Fine. After work I'll pick you up and we'll get tattoos."

"How about dying your hair is our one crazy thing for today? Tomorrow we can pick another." He suggests gently, as if I'm a child.

I sigh dramatically, "Fiiiiiine."

Zayn smirks, "Perfect."

At that moment, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I whip it out and read the name flashing on the screen:

Brett.

I unlock my phone and read the message from him: hey Madison could you call me?

I type back: No, sorry I'm in the middle of something right now

Im slightly surprised when he replies almost instantly. Usually it takes him a while to respond: it's kinda of important though... What are u doing?

I smile as I type back my response: dying my hair pink tbh

Brett replies: What the fuck? You're insane 😂

I respond:
I know I am. I need a change though...

Brett says: understandable... Well call me when you're done.

Is it something bad?

Just call me when you're done 👍🏽

I put my phone back in my pocket. I don't think much of his text. He and Harry probably got into some irrelevant fight about nothing.

"Who was that?" Zayn questions.

"Just Brett. He asked what I was doing and I told him. He approves."

"I have a feeling you're lying about his approval." He narrows his eyes at me.

I stick my tongue out mischievously, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

The hair stylist returns with his bowl of hair dye and begins to dye my hair while Zayn sits beside me, chattering about something that I fail to pay attention to.

~

Text me a picture when it's finished, the text from Zayn reads.

I drum my fingers nervously as the hair stylist hands me a mirror, "Ta da! Your new hair."

I'm shocked at my reflection. My hair really is bright pink.

It took a long time to dye it. First, he had to dye my black hair blonde, and then pink. It took forever. But now it's finished and I'm not sure if I love it.

But it's a change and that's what I was going for when I decided to dye it.

"Can you chop it short too?" I ask before I even have the chance to think through the decision.

He smiles warmly, "of course! How short do you want it?"

Anxiety stabs at me. I've been growing my hair for the longest time. It's down to my ribs...

But it's time for change. "Right here." I grip the hair an inch above my shoulder. Short pink hair is cute. I'll look like a hipster.

My hair stylist- whose name I now know is Lenny- whips out a pair of hair scissors and goes crazy on my hair. With each snipping sound, I feel more and more anxious.

When it's finished, I look in the mirror. Wow. I actually look pretty good like this. Pretty hot. I'm liking this. I can deal with this.

"Does it look okay?" Lenny asks, nervously scanning my face for a reaction.

I meet his gaze with a cool smile, "I love it. Thank you so much."

I pay him and then I'm gone. I take a cute selfie showing off my hair before sending it to Zayn.

As I climb into my car, I dial Brett's phone number.

He answers on the first ring, "Hey Madi..."

"Uh, hey Brett. Bored much?"

"Yes. Very. Wanna come over?"

"Sure. Where's Harry today? You guys fighting or something? Is that why you wanted me to call you earlier?"

"Wow. So many questions. But yeah, it is."

I frown. What would they possibly be fighting about? They're been doing so well the last couple weeks. So well that they're slightly nauseating to everyone around them. "I'll be there in 5."

"Fantastic." He hangs up and I begin the drive to his house.

I like my new hair. But I'm gonna miss my old hair. I don't think I'll ever stop missing it.

Wow. Now I'm using metaphors to describe how much I miss Niall. God, do I miss Niall...

I actually love my new hair. If only he could see it. He probably never will.

I hate being so depressing. I try to force myself to smile as I turn onto Brett's road. Maybe if I fake it enough, it'll become genuine.