As You Are » Zarry ✔

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"Well, then we'll just keep a strict watch on him. We'll keep an eye on him from now on. How's that?"

Nana hummed even though she wasn't completely happy. "That's a start."

That day, Zayn spent an hour and a half there. He hadn't played with stuffed animals since he was a young child but today he did. Something Zayn realized was that Harry laughed a lot whenever he played despite nothing being noticeably funny. There was so much joy in his heart. He had no cares in the world. Zayn thought that he was lucky in that sense.

This time when Zayn was just about to leave out of the door, Harry stopped him and asked him directly. "Are you coming back?"

"I don't know, Harry. Maybe if your mummy and Nana doesn't mind."

"Oh, we mind." Nana said with a fold of her arms.

But Harry's mother wasn't having any of it. "Mum, stop. I don't mind, Zayn. Maybe Harry could use at least one person to keep him company. And he seems to really like you."

Zayn smiled warmly at Harry. "That's great because I like him too."

"You'll be back?" Harry asked.

This time he nodded right away. "Yes. I'll be back again. I promise." And Zayn had never been so thrilled by being able to see the delight on a sixteen year old's face.

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"If there is no emergency, such as a house fire or any other threat to his life, Harry needs to stay inside. We don't allow him outside unless it's to go out in the backyard."

That was Mummy and Nana's one strict rule. And since the two of them had already established that they would keep a close eye on Zayn, they tried to make sure someone would always be there with Zayn and Harry just in case he tried to willingly disobey and take Harry out anyway.

Zayn worked part-time days, so he had to pick and choose when he'd be over and very few times he knew ahead of time. But that didn't matter. Nana didn't work at all, so usually she was there anyway.

However, occasionally she was involved with the Senior Center downtown, so there were some days when she would not be there at all. She'd leave when her daughter left for work early in the morning and she wouldn't come back until after five o'clock when her daughter picked her up after work. Which meant a long day out and away from home. Zayn liked those days better because Nana would hardly let him breathe. Without her there, he felt more free.

Harry's lunch during the day was always preprepared so that he wouldn't have to cook and it was always a sandwich and chips or something readymade so he didn't have to bother with a microwave either. Zayn didn't think that was good for him at all, so there were some days where he would bring lunch for him or he'd bring something to cook for him. Every now and then he would buy little sweet snacks too. And it was always something like gummy bears or chocolate covered peanuts. Harry always liked it. He liked anything Zayn got for him.

One day when Harry's mother was at work and Nana was at the Senior Center, Zayn had been helping Harry put his toys away when Harry stopped him midway through. "Zayn."

"Yeah, Harry?"

"I want um... I want to go outside."

"Well, we can go out into the backyard when we've finished with this, okay?"

"No... outside. I want to see people."

Zayn remembered sitting down that day and shaking his head. "We can't. Mummy said no. Remember?"

"But I..." He huffed frustratedly. "I don't want to be here. I want... I- I want to go outside."

Hearing that saddened Zayn. Of course he had known that Harry wasn't content on being in the house all day because of the day when he disappeared from home to go walking without his mother knowing. But now he was expressing it. He was expressing it the best way he knew how and Zayn couldn't believe that he was helping them to hem Harry up inside when he himself didn't even think it was right nor fair.

After sitting there for a moment and thinking, he finally sighed to himself. It was after two o'clock. But maybe he could take him out for an hour and a half or so and then come back. That should be quick enough to get back before his mummy and grandmother came home.

"Alright, Harry. We can go. But you can't say anything to anybody about this. Especially your Nana and mummy."

He nodded his head wildly. "Okay."

Zayn reluctantly stood up and went to the room door. When he turned back, he noticed Harry had his green alligator clutched under his arm. It had now become his favorite stuffed animal.

"Harry, you can't take that." He said.

"What?"

"You have to put that back in the bin."

Harry frowned. "Why not? I don't want to leave it."

"We're coming back and it's going to be here when we get here."

Harry looked around his room. "We're coming back?" He asked.

Zayn chuckled a little. "Yeah, we have to. If we don't, Mummy and Nana will cry because they'll miss you. And I know they'll be sad too."

"Oh." Harry did love his mother and grandmother and he didn't want them to be sad. Whenever he cried, one of them would hold him. But who would hold them while he was gone? No one. So he put his alligator down and he took Zayn's hand instead.

That day, they walked the block and Zayn answered any questions Harry may have had in the simplest way possible. He kept Harry close and he never let go of his hand for anything. Harry didn't feel like it was a restriction at all. He was just glad to be outside.

But while he was outside pointing at all the beautiful things that nature had to bring, Zayn couldn't get the look on Harry's face when he asked about coming back out of his head. He wasn't thrilled to know they would be back. So why wasn't he thrilled? And why didn't he want to come back?