Ed Sheeran - Lego House
Nia is packing. Yes, she's packing some of her things because she's moving in with her ex-boyfriend and new friend, Harry. It's not that complicated. A little weird, yes. But what's new under the sun?
Zayn is assisting her with the packing and there's a car waiting for her outside. The voice of Harry admitting to missing her is swirling around her head but she's currently blocking it out. It was a simple admission and it did not require a reply.
Harry was simply expressing himself and she did not owe him a response. Okay, that makes a shit ton of sense in her head. With an aggressive nod, Nia shoves an oversized sweater into her travelling box and Zayn raises a concerned eyebrow.
"You good?" he asks, calmly.
"Hungry...but I plan on ordering something when I settle in," she replies.
"How are you feeling about this?" He continues with the questions.
"I went from triggered to numb, wonderful," she wiggles her eyebrows.
"Is that a coping mechanism?"
"Why are you asking many questions, Zayn?"
Zayn chuckles and walks over to her. He has known his friend forever and he can see the tension screaming itself through her.
"I'm only concerned. You and whitey are quite sensitive right now," he points out.
"No, he's way more sensitive than I am," Nia smiles a little.
"You know what? I think this is a good idea," Zayn nods in agreement with his thoughts.
"Really? How?" she asks.
"I think the two of you need this. It screams closure and possible reconciliation," he shrugs.
Nia nervously laughs her deep laugh. It's a laugh that booms through the room and it's a mixture of nerves and cynicism. Zayn widens his eyes in concern and watches her shakily place a palm over her mouth to stop the laughing.
"Cl-Closure? Stop it," she darkly chuckles.
"Nia, I'm just saying," he gives her a side-eye.
"No. We're not reconciling or whatever you call it, we're just friends," Nia manages to sound, fighting her emotions.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asks, concerned.
It's not that he said that. It's just that Harry admitted to missing her and she's no longer sure if that's what he's also hinting at. Closure seems overrated if things won't go back to what they were.
Is that she wants though? Does she want to turn back the hands of time with Harry? It brought a lot of pain and anger though. It's best to stay grounded in the present and focus on his recovery.
"No. I'm just defensive for no reason, sorry," she clears her throat.
"Don't apologise, I get it," Zayn pulls her close for a hug.
Without waiting, she instantly hugs him and exhales. This is one of her safe spaces and she's forever grateful for her friendship with Zayn. The hug lasts for a few more seconds and they slowly pull away from each other.
Zayn gives her a smile and finishes up the packing as Nia stays silent with her thoughts. There's a room already prepared for her in Harry's flat and she knows it's going be so good staying in such a beautiful space for a few weeks.
The last time they stayed under the same roof, they slept on the same bed with their long legs constantly getting tangled up like earphone wires.
Both curly haired, they shared the same conditioner and well, Nia introduced him to more earthy ingredients for his diet and skincare. Their lives were entangled and they were just each other's person.
It was a painfully beautiful match made in heaven.
"Don't miss me too much," she speaks up.
"For what? I'm going to be disturbing you two every other day," Zayn chuckles.
"Are you serious?" She lights up. "You guys are really cool now?"
"I guess. He told me it's fine to come over whenever I want, the lad seems lonely," he sighs.
"He is. He's always been one to seek out people and pretend not to care," Nia smiles in fondness.
"Hey, I hope he's able to recover and find his safe space again," Zayn says in support.
"He deserves it, he's a good guy," she quickly agrees.
"I know that. C'mon, let's head out," he grabs her bag.
Nia hurriedly carries her duffle bag, an old gift from Harry. It was one of the first gifts he showered her with when they started talking to each other. Casting one last glance, Nia smiles and heads out of her cosy flat. Zayn hugs her once more before she heads into the waiting car and she fights her tears.
In the car, Nia listens to some music and is finally able to silently let out her compressed tears. The tears don't mean much. It's just the stress and tension throbbing through her body. The chauffeur is polite enough to let her be in silence and he calmly offers her a box of tissues.
Nia laughs a little at herself and tidies up as the car enters the parking space. Of course, Harry cannot know about her little crying session in the car. He would assume that she doesn't want this but again, nobody is forcing her to do this.
The house manager is waiting by the lift and Nia's things are collected before she can even say a word.
"Welcome, I'm Ethel." The woman says with a smile.
"I'm Nia, it's nice to meet you," Nia says, nervously.
"The boss is expecting you, please follow me,"
There's a little flashback to the first time Nia realised how big Harry truly is in the entertainment industry and how irregular his life is. This moment feels just like that and she just keeps smiling.
Following Ethel, they enter the lift and head up to the flat. Once the doors open, Nia feels a little ease wrap itself around her and she enters the flat with a renewed sense of hope. Just as Ethel said, Harry is waiting for her. The man looks a little nervous and he instantly flashes a smile on seeing her enter.
Nia returns the smile and walks over to him. They stand in front of each other. Just staring at their faces and wearing overwhelmed smiles. Ethel reads the heavy room and calmly takes Nia's things to the room within.
Watching him change in a whole year has been a lot. The stubble on his face adds a lot of change to his usual sweet innocent face. Harry blinks a little and admires how not much has changed in a year. There's a lot of sadness in her eyes and it looks like she cries a little too much.
Standing in silence is getting a little awkward and so he reaches out his shaky hand.
"Hi?" he speaks up.
"What are you doing?" Nia smiles.
"We...sh-shake," he replies with a firm nod.
"I was expecting a hug. We're friends, right?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Okay...okay...good, me too," Harry breathes out in relief.
"So, why did you offer the shake like a businessman?" She laughs a little.
"We....being awkward," he points out, honestly.
"And for no reason, come here," Nia moves closer.
They share a gentle hug and she feels him shake even in the hug. It's not nerves. His body is still adjusting to regular movement and his feelings are still adjusting to well, every single thing. Nia decides to take the lead and pulls him closer in the hug.
Harry melts into this hug and rests his chin on her shoulder. It's been a while since he's been held with compassion. So far a lot of people have been showing him kindness because it's their job. This is why having Nia is so important to him right now.
No matter how short she chooses to stay, he'll always be grateful and owe her one. Nia tenderly smiles when she feels his hair tickle her cheek and she slowly rocks him a little.
"Hug....nice," he mutters.
"Really? Well, we all need more hugs in this life," she chuckles.
Harry slowly pulls away and keeps his smile at her. Nia looks around and shrugs, wondering what comes next.
"Want....see room?" he asks.
"I think I'm very familiar with this space," she smiles.
"Ah...yes, true," he gulps.
Nia notices his little discomfort and clears her throat.
"What were you doing before I showed up?" she asks.
"Thinking....about...d-dinner," he replies.
"Harry, your speech is doing so well, have you been practicing?" she notes.
"Uh....little," Harry flushes a little pink.
"You know you don't have to do that, your pathologist resumes tomorrow," Nia reminds him.
Harry rolls his eyes in memory as he remembers that some young pathologist is supposed to resume home speech therapy with him tomorrow. It's so annoying to think of but he knows it's worth it.
This whole struggle isn't meant to be permanent and he's ready to do whatever work is needed to return to feeling like his true self. He doesn't know what it means to return to his old self because there are some parts of his old self that he wants to leave in the past.
Right now, he misses his music. He misses performing and he misses being able to properly say a sentence without sounding like a toddler learning how to talk. The pathologist seems okay from the emails they've exchanged but yeah, he's not fully comfortable.
"Doing....okay, yeah?" he asks, avoiding the topic.
"You're doing more than okay," she replies.
"Okay...okay," he chuckles as the next word just decides to freeze.
Nia notices his little block and she gently touches his shoulder.
"Dinner. What did you want to have for dinner?" she asks, giving him a supportive squeeze.
"P-Pasta," Harry makes a twirling motion with his finger, indicating the type of pasta.
"Spaghetti?" she asks, trying to ignore the cuteness.
"Yes...tiny," he rolls his eyes.
"You know what? We can order a huge bowl of perfect pasta, I know a place," Nia nudges him and wiggles her eyebrows.
"No....cooking?" he asks.
"Nope. It's my first night here, let me spoil you," she replies.
This gets him a little excited because it seems like she's in a great mood and he loves that for her. It means this is something she's happy to be doing and he's relieved to see her like this.
"Big....yellow juice," he frowns as he tries to explain himself.
"Orange juice for you?" she asks. "I'm getting myself a whole bottle of wine."
"Okay...okay...no wine for me," Harry pouts in protest.
Nia chuckles and slowly leads him to settle down on the couch. He exhales in soothing relief and stretches out his recovering leg. She stares at him for a moment and lightly taps his knee in solidarity before continuing the conversation about dinner and drinks.
"No way, you're not yet allowed to drink," she reminds him.
"So....uhh...not great?" he asks, unsure.
"You're right. The more you think about the words, the more you struggle," she notices.
"Yes, speak....better...here," Harry taps his head with a little smile.
"That's the whole point of Aphasia," she teases him.
In little confusion, he wrinkles his nose and nervously giggles. Sometimes he still doesn't understand some of the things that are being said to him. It's fleeting and it might be a problem because it happens at the weirdest of times.
Nia takes note of the confusion on his face and waits for him to express it himself.
"Say....again," he urges.
"You struggle to speak and understand language, that is Aphasia," she tries to break it down for him.
"Why?" he blurts out, sincerely curious.
A little hurt pulls the string of Nia's heart and she successfully controls her emotions. It's just hard watching this full handsome man become an actual clueless child in a matter of minutes.
It's a little hard not to get upset at the universe for doing this to him.
"Do you remember your accident?" she asks, calmly.
"Uh...yes...yes," Harry widens his eyes, gesturing at his leg.
"Of course. So you got a bad leg, a few bruises and mild brain injury," Nia explains.
"B-Brain....wow, very bad," he mutters to himself.
"Do you understand things better now?" she asks.
"Nia....I know...a brain," he rolls his eyes with a little smile.
"I know you know everything, I just think you don't understand a lot of it," she says, calmly.
"Yes....so h-hard," he replies, resting his head on her shoulder.
Nia pauses as soon as he does this and feels her heart rate double. The man is extremely comfortable around her and she doesn't know why she's struggling to fully let go around him.
It's hard. It's so hard not to freak out. His curls tickle her nose and she doesn't shrug him off.
Harry smells like a hint of vanilla and mint. It's a different scent today but it just feels like him. The mood is getting a little down and Nia looks around, thinking of what to do next.
Maybe something to keep them engaged and possibly sit away from each other at some point.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" she spits out before thinking.
Harry happily sits up on hearing this, he clearly has thought about this and didn't want to seem forward.
"Soul!" he beams in excitement.
"Oh, you want to watch Soul? Are you sure?" she smiles.
"Yes....waiting it....for you," he tries to explain.
"You waited to watch it with me?" she guesses.
"Wow....so good with...brain," Harry teases her.
"Oh shut up," Nia laughs, standing up. "Okay, we'll watch soul and I'll order our dinner."
This makes him excited and he bites down his lip. Nia walks over to check the fliers on the table and she was right, he still keeps them there. Not much has changed around here and it feels a little positive. Nia goes through the fliers and finds the right one.
By the time she's walking over to her spot on the couch, Harry is curled up with a comfortable smile on his face and he's waiting for her.
Nia returns the smile and settles down to call the restaurant. This stay isn't going that bad. Maybe things will get easier for them. Who knows?
Thank you for reading and being supportive, I appreciate you x.