misfits // z.m

ch. 30 || sober

Sighing, "Fine. Just tell me where she is."

-

Before I could even think about Thalia, Dana had persuaded me to buy her dress and matching shoes. How in God's name Thalia was friends with someone like her was beyond me.

As the buildings in Paris grew in size and the plane landed, tension knotted in my stomach. I had the address, I had my mates, and I had a suitcase with enough clothes to last me a fortnight, but I was still nervous. Thalia could dispel me at any moment: she could go apeshit on me, which I knew she was definitely capable of.

The thing about her was she was really strong. Her strength was like a silent confidence which she wore always. She wasn't to be messed about, and she wasn't to be doubted. I loved her for that: I loved her for everything.

Seeing as One Direction were apparently quite popular, we couldn't arrive at Thalia's house without a whole host of bodyguards. We were driven through the city to a neighbourhood, where all the houses were small and quaint.

Each of them seemed to be named after a battle I found out, as Danny had googled them: Wagram, Crécy, Amstetten, Bailén...and as we passed all these houses, I saw one house in particular, and instantly knew it was Thalia's. It had to be.

White and surprisingly large, it was the perfect place for her. Written in gold on the side of the house was a sign; a little old, but beautiful nonetheless. It said soleil d'or, which I was sure meant golden sun, in swirly writing. I wondered why its name was so different to the other houses, but then I was being tugged out of the car by the sleeve and Harry was fixing my hair.

It dawned on me that this was it...after weeks apart I was going to see her again, and I suddenly wished that le soleil d'or would set the world on fire, or something.

As I brushed off my jeans and attempted to smooth out the crinkles in my white shirt, I looked up and caught a glimpse of Thalia in the window.

She didn't see me, but that was because of the man beside her, smiling at her like I used to.

-

Apparently, all the boys, my bodyguards, and the neighbours had noticed Thalia and the mystery man, and were all silent.

Opening the car door, I muttered. "Let's go. I'm sorry for wasting your time, lads."

Louis and Liam pulled me back out the car. Louis slapped the back of my head in his usual fashion and told me, "Go."

I knew the boys would hate me if I didn't go: so I did.

Unsure of which door to go through, I found my way through the back garden, something which was overgrown with weeds and thorns that scratched my legs and neck.

As I was almost at her back door, I heard the familiar nuances of her voice as she laughed, and I was struck by the hold her voice alone had on me.

She was laughing and chasing a young boy around the garden whilst the guy from earlier laughed too. This Thalia was happy, full of energy...nothing like she had been with me. I realised that while I was upset, she was happier than ever.

And then there she was, right in front of me, and she looked like she'd been through hell with a smile.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, fixed and focused, before she smiled at me. "Zayn!" Thalia wrapped her arms around me quickly before pulling out of the embrace, leaving me breathless. What?

"Thalia, are you...drunk?"

"Isn't it wonderful? Just what I needed."

"Thalia, you're drunk."