Metanoia // z.m. [au]

One

The dull aroma of Italian spices from the dinner Zayn has cooked lingers through his penthouse. He's barely made it through the dreadful meal with his female friend when his dog coincidentally gets sick. Zayn thanks the universe and waits for the blonde to leave his home. He holds the door open, with false disappointment, as the petite woman puts her shoes on and adjusts her purse over her shoulder.

"I really hope your dog feels better!" She says as she walks out the door, worry evident in her tone.

Ellie's a sweet girl, but she hasn't even made an effort to act like she isn't just here for sex: that was the one thing women wanted from him. Don't get Zayn wrong, he enjoys sex, but he wants more than that. He feels that he deserves better than to be treated like an object and so do these women. He likes to get to know girls first, have a real conversation with them, be comfortable with them, and only then he is willing to get intimate with them. He wines and dines them. He spoils them the way they deserve. He makes an effort and he expects the same back. Is that so wrong?

Zayn had been trying to come up with some kind of excuse to get out of having sex with Ellie until his dog fell sick: not to sound like an ass but that's what you call perfect timing. Obviously, Zayn was worried about his dog: his name is Stitch, by the way, because his ears reminded him of the Disney character.

"Thank you, El." Zayn replies earnestly. "I'm really sorry our time together got cut short."

"You'll just have to make it up to me somehow." Ellie winks at him and it takes everything in him to not roll his eyes. He'd rather eat grass than hang out with her bland personality again.

"Yeah yeah, of course." Zayn chuckles.

Now please leave.

She places a kiss on his cheek and Zayn barely waits for her to cross the threshold to close the door. He rests his back against it once it's closed and lets out a breath of relief. Then he hears Stitch whining again and he curses.

"Fuck, Stitch I'm coming buddy!" He runs up the stairs and finds Stitch laying right where he had left him, except he'd thrown up again.

"Aw come on bud! Not again!"

Stitch is a fairly small dog which makes it easy for Zayn to scoop him up into a blanket. Zayn rubs his back, his head, his ears, trying to comfort him. Stitch's whines grow quieter which eases Zayn's worry.

He has medicine for him around here somewhere since this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Stitch always manages to find ways to eat things he shouldn't be eating.

"What did you eat now?" Zayn scolds him and Stitch whines louder in response.

He isn't just Zayn's dog—he's also his ex-girlfriend's dog. Because they're still good friends, she leaves Stitch with him whenever she gets a chance. So Stitch getting sick on his watch isn't a good thing, but thankfully Zayn is prepared.

"Don't try to act all innocent. I know you better than that. Next time I cook, you're staying locked upstairs until everything's clean. You always manage to get something off the ground."

Stitch groans which makes Zayn laugh. "I'm getting you some medicine. Hang in there." He carries Stitch to the room with all of the pet supplies.

One thing about Zayn is that he loves animals, so of course, Stitch isn't his only pet. Zayn also has a sphynx named Dobby (yes, as in the house elf from Harry Potter) who was probably hiding somewhere and a lizard who he had yet to name. Back home in Bradford, he also shares many pets with his family.

Zayn grew up in the U.K., but he came to the U.S. at 17 when he got offered a modeling gig. An agency had been scouting: when Zayn caught their eye, they thought he had a lot of potential. At that time, his family wasn't doing too well on income. His mum and dad had to support Zayn and his three sisters. Which is why Zayn took it upon himself to help his family out. His parents were never too strict on him or his siblings: they were given a lot of freedom to make their own decisions which is why they fully supported their children