Every time I get away you
Find a way to reel me back in. (Aah)
Tell me that you love me
Hold me tight so we can always be friends. (Aah)
I swear,
I've said it before, and I say it again! (Aah)
Every time I get away you,
Find a way to pull me back in. (Aah)
"Halo" || Cage the Elephant
___
Monday rolls around and, like before, Anais is busy.
The spring show that Daphne is throwing is underway, and there are but a few weeks before the big day.
Typical Anais, it's like she doesn't have time to eat.
But, this time, things are different, because her boyfriends surprises her with lunch. This time, things are different, because he kisses her good-morning and also good-night. This time, all of the designers and models from Arts ask Ana, "Where your boyfriend is," on the rare days that he doesn't bring his book to her work room to sketch while she's prepping for the show.
And if Anais believed herself to think about Zayn a lot when they were first together, then something really had to be said about her thoughts now that they were trying for Zanais: Part Two.
She still hasn't spoken to Lucky.
"You guys are so sickeningly sweet together I've got a toothache," says Cara like, every single day.
And the thing is, that when her friends tease her now, Anais really just doesn't care. She shrugs, because she knows that they were more than happy when they found out she and Zayn had ended their "break."
She shrugs, because she really is happy and that's honestly all that matters.
She's nervous, though, because her sister was about to meet her boyfriend and she really really wanted her to like him.
And Catherine was very very protective of her younger sister.
"Ana!"
"Salut! Ca va, mon amie?"
It's lunchtime on a Thursday, and Anais sits with her friends at the bar of Mac's and answers the call from her sister; the call from her apartment in Paris.
Catherine was about a nine hour Delta flight away from her younger sister.
"Ton amie?" Cat laughs as she throws clothes into the carry-on she'll wheel to her gate in Charles De Gaulle the following morning.
Anais grins to herself. "Oui. Zayn est correcte."
He sits up, listening more closely now as Anais shoot him a smile, turning in her chair to face away from the bar.
"Mama says he's hot."
Anais looks from his confused face back to the floor. "Il est."
Zach looks from her to Zayn.
"Ooh..." He grins. "French secrets."
Zayn chuckles as Magdalena grins beside Zayn. "Cat's coming," she says.
"Cat?" Jesse frowns, having just served a customer to now tune in back to the conversation his friends are having. "Who's Cat?"
"Catherine Mali," Magdalena says. "Aka Anais' sister."
Zach motions towards Anais, who is still deep in her conversation.
"Can't you hear all the French?"
Magdalena nods. "You've never heard her call home? Get ready for a whole lot more French. I'm not gonna understand shit this weekend," she nods and Zayn fights a laugh because Magdalena always makes him laugh, "Get ready, boys. It's gonna be a rough one."
Catherine squeals happily over the line. "Je suis très excité, Anais."
"Moi aussi. À bientôt, Cat."
"À bientôt, mon amie," she adds with a laugh, as Anais rolls her eyes. "Je t'aime."
"Je t'aime! Bon vol!"
And the line goes dead.
Anais hangs up the phone.
"So," Jesse nods, "I definitely understood all of that, so ha," he exclaims as Anais laughs, turning back around on the stool. "Joke's on you."
Ana laughs as he continues.
"Mags said we aren't gonna understand you two this weekend 'cause you're those types of people who don't wanna speak English even though we're in 'Merica."
She laughs harder. "It's a melting pot, Jesse. Love it."
"Hey," Zach shrugs, "I'm cool as long as you don't talk shit about me."
"No promises," Anais grins.
"And I thought we were friends..."
Her grin grows as she leans her head against Zayn's shoulder. "Sorry, bud. No one's safe."
"Except Soo," Magdalena snorts.
Zayn lifts his brows. "Soo?" He asks, slightly amused by this development. "Soo speaks French?"
"She lives with Anais. She can't know nothing."
Anais nods. "When we were freshmen, she used to teach me how to write in Korean and I'd teach her how to speak French."
Zayn nods. "That's actually really cool."
Anais snorts. "Actually?"
He nudges her. "Hush."
Anais laughs, chuckling against him.
Zach drums his fingers upon the bar. "How long's she staying, Ana?"
"Through the weekend, but she's here for work y'know? She honestly isn't gonna have a ton of time for me."
"Think you'll be free this weekend?" He asks, and he rubs his neck sheepishly. "Y'know...'cause of reasons..."
"Reasons?"
Anais sits up.
"What reasons, Zachary?"
"Just...Y'know, just seein' if you'd like to go out..."
"For what?"
"Doubling. With me...heh. On a date."
___
It's late that night when Zayn feels the covers and sheets and blankets rustling beside him.
"Ana?" He asks, rolling over, watching as she stands near the door, now.
She's slipping on her Uggs.
"Shit..." He squints against the harsh light of his phone. "It's like...it's three in the morning, Ana. What's wrong?"
She frowns. "Sorry. God, I was trying not to wake you up."
He sits up. "You leaving?"
They're at his place, tonight.
She shakes her head. "No."
"What is it, then?"
"Je ne pouvais pas dormir--" She shakes her head - She's been speaking French all day and it's fucking her up a little. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep."
He sits up, the covers falling from his bare chest as he rubs his eyes.
"What's going on, love?"
His voice is sleepy and groggy and Anais kind of doesn't get enough of that sleepy, groggy voice.
"Nothing, Zayn. Go back to sleep, okay?"
He shakes his head. "Too late," he yawns. "I'm awake, now."
"I'm just going to get water, babe."
To that, he nods. "Okay," he says, and Anais slips quietly from his bedroom, closing the door behind her.
She can't sleep.
But, mostly, Anais can't sleep because she's thinking of the things she's got to do for her sister's arrival. Catherine was in the air, about five hours away by now, and at seven-thirty, Anais had to hail a cab and pick her up.
She really needed to get to sleep .
But, she couldn't, because she really wanted her sister to like Zayn.
And that wasn't what was keeping her up completely, but the thought of the following morning's obligations certainly were.
"Ana?"
"Oh my god," and she turns in the kitchen, only for her boyfriend to be standing there, squinting against the light.
He walks towards her. "Y'alright?"
"Yeah," she nods. "I just can't sleep."
He steps towards her, smirking slightly. "Wanna do something that'll get you to sleep?"
Anais pauses. "Very funny, Zayn."
"What?" He exclaims. "That was an honest suggestion, y'know."
Anais only shakes her head, jumping to sit upon the counter. "Ha ha."
He chuckles softly, making his way towards her.
"You can go to bed," she sighs, smiling as he stands between her legs, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I don't want to keep you up, too."
"Too late," he chuckles groggily.
"Zayn..."
"Talk to me," he whispers.
She chuckles softly, playing quietly in his hair. "About what?"
"Anything," he says. "Just like," he pauses, "start speaking words and--"
She laughs. "Start speaking words, Zayn?"
"Shh," he grins, "Indoor voices, Ana."
"Oh, wow."
His teeth keep his grin from stretching.
She pokes his nose. "Go on," she says, "smile, already."
He deadpans. "I wasn't gonna smile."
"Remember, you can't lie about that shit."
He squeezes her waist. "Quiet, you," he says, as Anais laughs. "You'll wake up the boys."
"Sorry, sorry..."
He hums. "Now, talk," he says, leaning against her. He kisses her cheek. "Talk to me, Anais."
Anais wraps her arms around his neck, still playing with his hair. He's dyed it silver and she's all over that, now.
"I can't sleep."
He stares at her, eyelids narrowed. "Right..."
She laughs softly. "You have pretty eyelashes."
He shakes his head, staring at the counters behind her. "Yours are prettier."
"Doubt it."
"Alright, like...can we stop talking about how pretty I am, now?"
"Never."
He kisses her hard, squeezing her waist and biting her bottom lip.
He pulls away, only to say, "Yes."
Anais blinks. "Y'know, you can't always shut me up with kisses, buddy."
"Shut you up? What? Ana, me?"
She scoffs.
"Like...never, love."
Anais rolls her eyes.
He grins, whispering, "Keep talking."
She peers down at him from the countertop. "And why're we doing this, again?"
Zayn smiles softly. "Used to do it when I was a kid," he says. "When I couldn't sleep, my dad would sit and tell me to tell him a story," he shrugs nonchalantly. "Used to fall back asleep, or whatever. Anyway..."
"I wanna hear about your family," Anais whispers.
He frowns, surprised by this statement. "You do?"
And Anais nods.
"Why?"
"'Cause," she replies. "You never really talk about your dad -- not a lot, anyway. Sometimes I'll get a story here or there, but--"
"Neither do you, y'know."
"I mean, yeah..." She nods. "I guess you're right about that, huh?"
There's a silence, but Zayn can hear Anais' heartbeat, and he focuses on the sound; on the girl on the counter before him.
Zayn stares at her. "It takes me a lot to open up to people, y'know."
"Really?" Anais feigns shock. "I didn't know that, bad boy."
He pinches her waist.
She yelps. "Hey!"
He laughs for real, "Shh," he whispers. "I swear, I like, really don't wanna deal with Lou if we wake him up."
Anais rubs her side. "Fine," she mutters.
Zayn continues to chuckle. "My dad's like that, though," he says, "which was the point of that statement...
"He's like, really to himself, yeah? Like, I guess we're a lot alike in that regard 'cause not a lot of people get to see who we really are. He's really caring and funny and most people don't know him like I know him, so most people think he's closed off and reserved."
Zayn laughs to himself. "My sisters and I used to tease him for it, but..." He shrugs, "I got older and realized that people're gonna assume whatever shit they assume about you and there's no changing people's opinions, right? Like, might as well be yourself with the people who matter, y'know?"
And Zayn has a grin growing, again. "My mum's way more open. She'd love you, y'know. Dad would, too, but my mum's kinda loud like you."
"I'm not loud."
Zayn shoots her a look. "Mum's kinda loud like you, and--"
She snorts.
He laughs. "...And you'd get on great. She's like, really outwardly friendly. My sisters're a mix of both."
"But, so are you," Anais adds softly, still combing her fingers through his hair, "'Cause you think you're quiet and closed off, and you are but you really aren't. You're silly and weird and quirky, too," Ana shakes her head. "It really doesn't take as much as you think it does for you to open up."
Zayn stares at her. "You're just saying that 'cause you like me."
She shrugs, smiling at his sleepy face. She can tell he's really very tired. "Maybe a little."
He chuckles.
He leans against her, listening to her heartbeat as silence, once again, falls upon his kitchen.
After a few moments, Anais whispers, "I have a story."
He hums against her, fighting a grin. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Anais nods, as Zayn leans completely against her. "Once upon a time..."
His breathing slows, evening. "Yeah?"
"...there was a girl."
"Like..." Zayn shakes his head tiredly, "just a girl, Ana? C'mon," he wrinkles his nose. "This is a story."
"Excuse me," she replies.
He laughs, kissing her shoulder.
"Once upon a time, there was a princess."
Zayn fights a yawn. "Better."
Anais fights a laugh. "And this princess lived far away; far off in a distant land oceans away from the place she was born.
"And this princess was named Anais--"
"I like that name."
Anais laughs again. "C'mon, Zayn. Go to bed, please?"
He frowns, pulling away. "And miss the story?" He scoffs obviously fighting sleep. She'd woken him up and here he was, trying to keep her company.
She shakes her head. "I'll tell it if we can get back in the bed?"
He nods, stepping back from the counter, giving her enough space to hop from her seat.
She takes his hand and leads him back to his bedroom.
And Zayn lays back in bed, opening his arms to Anais, who lays her head against his chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around her.
"Alright," he yawns. "I'm waiting on my story, yeah?"
"Where was I?"
"Awful. This is awful storytelling, Anais."
"Hush," she giggles, feeling his body shake beneath her with a soft, tired laugh. "I like active listeners, s'all."
"The princess, Ana. You were talking about the princess."
"Right, okay. There was a princess--"
"Named Anais."
"Named Anais,"she continues quietly, "and she lived with her prince, Zayn, in this kingdom across the sea."
"That was kind of poetic, love."
"I try," she smiles, "Now, hush."
Anais takes a breath. "And one day, Princess Anais got a letter in the mail. It had come from far away, and it had been sent from her sister, Princess Catherine, who lived miles and miles away.
"But," Ana continues, as she feels Zayn's chest rise and fall slowly, deeply, tiredly, "because the princesses were so far away, Princess Catherine decided that it had been too long since the sisters had seen the other, and so she was coming to visit.
"And Catherine had not visited her sister since Anais had been married."
Zayn's voice is deep and sleep-filled. "Arranged marriage, eh?"
"Exactly," Anais nearly laughs out loud, "Arranged marriage. And this would be the first time that Princess Catherine met Anais' prince..."
There's a long, pause, and Anais listens to Zayn's deep breaths and swears he's half-- if not completely -- asleep.
"And Princess Anais readied the castle," Anais whispers, so not to wake him if he is gone, "and had all of her friends help her, too, because Anais really, really wanted Princess Catherine to love her prince, just like she did..."
"Or?"
She jumps. "I thought you'd fallen asleep..."
"Or, what?"
"Or," Anais continues, "she'd have two of the most important people in her life disliking each other, and she did not want that."
Zayn shakes his head. "Nothing would change between her and the prince, y'know," he rubs her back, "S'that what you've been worried about?" He asks, voice thick with the sleep he's fighting, "You want your sister to like me?"
"Well...yes."
"If she doesn't, then what?" He shrugs. "Does anything change between us?"
"Zayn, what?" She looks up at him, unable to glean his facial expression in the dark. "Of course not. I just want her to love you like I do."
He shrugs. "I mean, 'cause regardless of whether or not my family likes you, it doesn't change me being with you or not, y'know."
"I know..."
"From what you've told me about Cat, I can tell she loves you. She wants you to be happy. If you're happy, then..."
He pauses. "If you're happy, we're both happy to be honest."
"Yeah," Anais sighs, because all of a sudden hearing those words has made her feel much more relaxed. "You're right, actually."
He kisses the top of her head, still rubbing those soothing circles upon her back. "I know, Ana," and he closes his eyes, because that was probably the last bit of energy he has to expend.
It's nearly four, now.
And Anais listens to his soft snores, grateful and tired, because she's convinced that story time works wonders on falling back asleep.
So, comforted and warm, she slowly finds herself slipping deeper and deeper into her unconscious, until she, like Zayn, falls asleep.
___
"So," begins Cat the next morning as she slides behind her younger sister into the taxi that would take the two from the airport. "Quand vais-je rencontrer votre homme?"
Anais rolls her eyes, handing her sister her extra cup of Starbucks. "Mon dieu...Tôt ou tard, Catherine. Qui êtes-vous ici pour voir ? Moi ou lui ? Est-ce moi ou Zayn ?"
Cat laughs as the taxi speeds through the city. "You, of course, Ana!"
"Uh huh. Right."
"Okay, okay. I am very excited to meet him, though. You should hear what Mom says, Ana. She's hilarious. I can't be the only one in the dark."
"Well..." Anais pauses. "Before you meet him, you should know that we kind of broke up."
Cat's eyebrows raise sharply. "Quoi? Pourquoi?"
"But, but, but," Anais adds quickly, "we just got back together, so if you hear my friends mention it--"
"So..." Catherine's eyebrows are still raised. "You're together now?"
"Oui, oui," Anais nods. "We're together now."
"And you broke up...why?"
___
Well, so guess what? I'm actually feeling kind of sad because this story is coming to an end, isn't it? I can't tell how many chapters are left (there are definitely a few, don't worry), but yeah...Crying a little.
BUUUT if you want to get caught up in a new Zayn fic then please check out @zatanic 's The Bohemian Club. I'm newly obsessed and she just started it. You'll definitely read and see all of my comments lol.
Anyway.
OOOHH and want me to translate the French? I definitely didn't know if you guys would want me to break up the story for that, but I'm down to if you want!
Happy holidays everybody! No matter what you're celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family!