BEEN AWAY

t h r e e |the mail man is here

Somewhere above Florida 📍

Zayn

Opening his eyes slowly, Zayn rubs them tiredly. He lifts his headphones from over his ears before standing up to stretches his limbs. He lifts his arm overhead and holds the position.

Hearing a noise, he looks over and sees the lady in the middle seat glaring at him. He politely ignores her and leaves his seat, shuffling his way to the rear of the airplane to the restroom.

Stepping over a stray empty bag of chips on the floor, he pushes open the door to the restroom. The plane suddenly shakes and he grabs the small sink to steady himself. Looking in the mirror placed over the sink, he sighs deeply at what he sees.

His eyes look sunken in, holding dark half moons under there and his short blonde hair needs a wash. He looks a complete mess. He shakes his head and uses the toilet. Once he's done he flushes and washes his hands before navigating his way back to his seat.

Sitting back down, he looks out the window at the sky for a bit. He watches as the pass large bodies of water, the water looking still and peaceful down there. Growing sleeping again, he pulls his headphones back over his ears, allowing the calming sound his music and the rhythm of the plane to lull him into slumber.

•
•
•

Fours hours later Zayn finally steps foot in Miami International Airport. After almost a ten hour ride, his body is sore, achy, and needs a long shower. He rolls his luggage back into the airport trying to escape the humidity of the Miami weather. Even at 5 o'clock in the morning it's hotter here than London feels in the summer.

For the fifth time in two minute, he brings his phone to his ear. He listens to the ringing of the phone that eventually leads to voicemail like the previous times.

Rolling his eyes, he settles for doing like everyone else and patiently wait for the ride. He lays his suitcase on the ground and plops his body on top. Then he pulls his black hoodie over his head and places it in his lap. When he left London yesterday it was 13 degrees celsius (56 degrees fahrenheit) so he dressed the weather; he forgot how much hotter it is in the West Hemisphere.

After another 5 minutes of waiting, a black SUV pulls up to the curb. Zayn looks up as the passenger window rolls down and blonde hair appears. A smile forms on his face as the man steps out of the car and walks around to him.

"Finally decided to give lil' ole' me a visit?" Zayn's friend chuckles, pulling Zayn into a hug. He pulls back and examines his face. He screws up his face, "You look horrible mate."

Rolling his eyes at him, Zayn pushes him away, walking to the trunk. He already knows how rough he looks, he doesn't need anyone to tell him. Zayn piles his luggage in the truck as his friend gets back into the drivers seat.

"You gonna tell my why you suddenly decided to make an impromptu visit?"

Zayn rubs his head trying to think of a response to make up instead of telling him the truth reason behind his trip. "I, uh, I needed a break from London I guess. Tired of the same routine. Plus my moms been on my case..." He trails off.

"Oh, I feel ya'. Mum's trying to get me to go back to school but it's never really been my thing." He tells Zayn making a right turn.

"You have somewhere to crash? You can stay at mines for a few days but Claire.."

"Niall , thanks but I'm staying with my cousin." Zayn checks the watch on his wrist, "But he won't be home for a while so I wouldn't mind taking a quick shower and a nap."