red hair and a blue hoodie // ed sheeran

Chapter 19 - Hugs and Elevator Talks

ZO'S POV:

It didn't take long for our group to completely polish off the boxes of pizza. In the end, there was nothing left but a few stray food toppings and the grease stains on the boxes.

"What a perfect meal!" Niall announced, falling back into the carpet floor with his hands on his stomach. We all gave a chuckle at his antics.

"I have to agree with you there Nialler. It was beautiful to say the least." Louis said, leaning back, admiring the slight bump that had popped up on his lower abdomen.

"Look Loueh," Harry said, scooting over so he could rest his own large hand against the bulge on Louis' stomach. "We are going to be daddy's." Harry cooed. Louis slapped the back of his head, causing Harry to go sprawling backwards and we all erupted in laughter.

We were all so comfortable in this moment in time, all sprawled out on the floor. Liam and Zayn were talking about something that Zayn had spotted on his Twitter page that some fan had mentioned him in, Niall was still sprawled out on the floor with his hands resting on his stomach, his breaths slowly entering and exiting his system and Louis was packing the boxes on top of each other with Harry and were transporting them into the kitchen to be recycled. Sierra and Harry had been sharing sideways glances at each other the whole night since they came out of that secret bedroom. I had told her when she sat down, that she had to tell me all the details at a later date. But Ed...

He was sitting in front of me picking at the lone box that Louis had left almost purposely behind. Harry glanced down at him, gave him a look that spelled 'you alright' and Ed nodded sadly, lowering his head once again. Harry bent down and slowly removed the box from Ed's hands almost like he was worried that his best mate would end up biting his fingers off if he made a wrong move. When Harry and Louis had disappeared around the corner, Ed stood and sighed rather loudly.

"Me and Zo are going to head home now guys." He said and everyone 'awed' at his decision. Sierra looked over at me and gave me a long hug. I revelled in her warmth. "You can text me the story okay?" I whispered so only her ears were able to decipher my words. I felt her nod against my shoulder so I smiled to myself and let her go, standing up. Louis, noticing that I was leaving, ran in from the kitchen and attached himself to my back like he was a baby koala and I was his mother.

"I'm going to miss you Zo!" He yelled into my ear, snuggling his head into the crock of my neck, his spiky-ish hair tickling my skin slightly, causing me to giggle.

"Let her go you crazy man!" Liam interjected jokingly, literally having to ply Louis' arms off my shoulders. When I was released, he turned to me with a gentle smile. "It was nice to meet you Zo. Hopefully we can see you soon." He opened his arms and I didn't hesitate to walk into them. My ear rested against his chest and I heard his steady heart beating away to his life's playlist.

"Definitely." I spoke out with a smile when we broke apart.

"Zo!" Zayn called out from the couch, standing up and making his way over to me. "Didn't think you were leaving without a hug did you?" He joked and opened his arms for me to walk into. We embraced for a few seconds until we broke apart. Niall, who was still sitting on the floor just watching stood up at the speed of light and attached himself to my front. My feet lifted off the floor as I squealed.

"Niall!"

"I'm gonna miss ye Zo. Come round again soon and we'll have another bonding session yeah?" he said directly into my ear, snuggling into the crook of my neck, his spiky-ish hair tickling my skin slightly causing me to giggle.

"Careful Niall. Tummy full of pizza there." Harry strode over to me from where Sierra was waiting with him by the door, obviously done with goodbyes and waiting for Ed and I. "Do I get a hug Zo?" He questioned, extending his long arms outwards as invitation.

"Of course love." I replied with a smile, stepping into his arms which enclosed around me, trapping me like a caterpillar in a cocoon. He released me after a few seconds which let me go back up to Ed, he was laughing with Liam about something that I had probably just missed. He saw me approaching.

"You ready to go?" He questioned, strapping Cyril over his back, the wooden exterior of the object contrasting against Ed's blue hoodie. He looked good. I mentally shook myself.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I announced through stiff teeth. I retrieved my thick winter coat from the door and, with the help of Ed, pushed it up my arms without it catching on my outfit. With one flick of his arms, his jumper was on and we were walking out the door to the boy's apartment. Ed seemed sour though. He avoided eye contact with me while we walked the short distance to the elevator and when he pressed the ground button. By the time we were descending, I had had enough.

"Have you got a problem with me?" I asked boldly.

He sighed but didn't talk. Not one word. His hand rose upwards to his hair as he ran his fingers through his hair, almost nervously.

I tried again. "Ed. If you have a problem, please just spit it out."

He turned away from the elevator doors and stared at me. "I like you Zo."

No words. I sure as hell wasn't expecting that.

"And I knew that you would have that response so I didn't say anything to you before. But seeing you in there with Niall... I got jealous. It made me mad that he could make you... make you smile... and laugh." He took a breath and let his gaze fall to his shoes. "It makes me feel like I'm not good enough for you. I want to be good enough for you but I-"

"Ed." I cut him off. He looked up at me and ran his hands through his hair again. His eyes were like daggers, twisting deeper with every passing second. Blue. Metal. Blade.

Stop it.

"I like you too. But..." I trailed off. How do you tell someone that you like them but don't want to be in a relationship?

"But...?" He encouraged.

"But... but I'm not ready for... for that." I gave air quotes to 'that', trying to promote my point.

"Oh. Oh! I'm not trying to rush you Zo! I respect your choice. It's fine - really. I mean, if you want to say no its fine too. I mean, if you don't want to I won't really care. Well, I will care because as I said I like you and-"

"Ed!" I raised my voice a little, cutting off his psycho word vomit. "I do like you. I would like to be more than your friend... I'm just not ready at this moment in time."

He smiled. "Well then. I guess when you are ready... just let me know." He returned his vision to his feet, laughing a little at the situation at hand. I gave a little laugh too. I bit my lip, urging myself not to laugh too hard.

hi children,
the picture on the side is of how i imagine ed to act in the elevator when he gets all shy after admitting his feeling for zo... isnt he adorable? i mean... look at his face... so defeated... so vulnerable... so beautiful... anyway! hope you enjoyed the chapter.. my holidays are almost done with a week left so updates may get slower.. please dont unfollow me though.. ill try my best! i promise!
kisses from me,
xx