Zoe woke up to the sound of birds chirping. It was a nice thing to wake up to, if she was being honest. It made it seem like she was in a movie. The sun's rays were muted by the sheer white curtains, and everything in the room was casted in a soft glow— even Ben. He was a pretty sleeper, obviously, and he laid stomach down with his face smashed into his pillow. His long eyelashes casted a soft shadow on his face, and if Zoe had her phone, she would've taken a picture. She didn't want to ruin the moment by moving. Everything seemed to be perfect.
In a perfect world, this would be Zoe's life. Where she would wake up next to Ben in Paris, her favorite boy and favorite city in the world. God, Zoe couldn't even decide her feelings over him. Was she over her childhood crush or not? Even she couldn't tell. It was hard to be over him when he was just so charming, and made her seem like she was the only girl in the world.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Zoe slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. She found a new toothbrush in the compartment beneath the sink, and used the face wash left by the hotel. Usually Zoe wouldn't do that, but it was some nice looking face wash, and she felt very refreshed afterwards.
When she opened the bathroom door, Ben was propped up in bed, scrolling through his phone. At the noise of the door being opened, he turned his head.
"Why are you up so early?" Ben asked.
"What time is it?"
"6:38."
Oops, she thought. She hated not knowing what time it was, and having to rely on Ben to find out. She didn't realize how much she used her phone until it was totally inaccesible, and she woke up in the middle of the night last night, and she literally twiddled her thumbs.
Ben groaned and stuffed his face further into the pillow as Zoe tried to get ready for the day ahead as quietly as possible at the end of the bed. She decided to put her jeans on first underneath the large t-shirt and futilely tried to jump into the jeans from the previous night.
"For such a tiny girl, you have such heavy steps," Ben said, although his words were muffled.
Smiling, even though she had taken offense, Zoe wacked Ben on the foot with the red top she wore last night. Ben clearly wasn't as tired as he claimed to be, because he laughed quite loudly afterwards.
"You are such a drama queen," Zoe said.
"Seriously though, why are you up so early?" Ben asked, turning over and sitting up with his back against his headrest. He rubbed his eyes and began scrolling through his phone as Zoe finally got her jeans fully on.
"What do you mean why am I up so early?" Zoe zipped up her jeans. "I have to get back to Lille. My apartment needs toilet paper. I also have a huge meeting on Monday, and I need at least twenty hours of beauty sleep before it."
"Why do you keep mentioning toilet paper?" Ben paused. "You've mentioned it at least five times during the drive."
"Because it's important! It's a quintessential aspect of life!"
Ben nodded, a smug grin on his face, clearly not buying Zoe's reasons one bit. In return, Zoe attempted to wack him again, but he moved his foot out of the way just time.
"You're a little wanker, aren't you!" Zoe walked in the bathroom to fix her hair, which looked like an actual bird cage, and to put her top on. She didn't want to look like a prostitute walking around the streets of Paris at 7 AM with an itty bitty crop top on, but it had to be done.
"Oh, I'm a wanker?"
"Yeah, a wanker!" Zoe yelled through the door.
She looked at herself in the mirror once again, and though she washed her face and moisturized, she still looked half dead. Maybe that was what happened when you only got three hours of sleep. She could sleep all she want on the bus as well as that day and the next. She had all the time in the world, really, to catch up.
She didn't really know what to do with the hair situation, because her hair did look like roadkill was hidden in it somewhere, so she found a rubber band beneath the sink and tied her hair into a messy bun that was actually messy. Not cute messy, but messy messy. So it looked like she was trying to be ugly on purpose, which clearly wasn't the case.
Satisfied that children weren't going to scream when they saw her anymore, Zoe exited the bathroom to meet Ben pacing around the suite in nothing but his boxers. She didn't mean to, but Zoe stopped in the doorway, tilted her head, and stared. Ben was awfully pale but he made it work in his own way. And Zoe tried not to look down there, so she trained her eyes on the concentration that was ever so present on his face.
"Why are you staring at me?" Ben asked when he finally looked up and noticed Zoe standing in the doorway.
"Why are you pacing?"
"I asked you first."
"I asked you second."
Ben threw his head back and groaned towards the ceiling when he realized he wasn't going to win. "You are so difficult."
"Got to keep you on your toes, Pavard." Zoe laughed.
She then realized how much she didn't want to leave him. Who knew when she would see him again. Yes, Zoe wasn't in love with him, nowhere near it, but she would always just have a little piece of her heart reserved just for him. It was an everlasting crush that would always just be there, no matter how hard she tried to get over it or no matter how much time had passed.
They got along like a house on fire, and Zoe genuinely believed that he was one of the sweetest guys she had ever met. No one, not even her own brother, would have taken her to Paris with him. If she were Ben, she would've taken herself right back to Noelle's and made herself spend the night. After all, it wasn't that unusual to crash at the site of the party. But Ben was so considerate of the whole Jacques situation, and Zoe completely admired him for it.
When Ben didn't say anything, and instead looked down at his bare feet, Zoe started towards the door. There was a 7:30 bus to Lille that she could possibly make if she left at that exact moment.
"Bye, Ben." Zoe said, trying to make eye contact with him, but he was still looking at the ground. "I had a lot of fun last night. It was great to see you again."
"Year, for me as well. I hope we can hang out soon."
"Yeah, that sounds great!" Not. Zoe knew there was no way Ben would ever ask Mathieu for her number, or ever direct message her on instagram or anything like that. Fat chance. "Bye... again."
Ben simply smiled in response and Zoe turned around.
"Wait, that was stupid."
What?
"What?"
"No, not you!" Ben backtracked, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Me, I'm stupid."
"Why?"
"For saying goodbye like that."
"I really have to–"
"What are you going to do in Lille today? Sleep?"
"Yes, I told you that. And buy toilet paper."
"Spend the day in Paris with me, and come to Monaco with me tonight. I'll have you back in Lille tomorrow evening, I promise you."
Zoe could feel her jaw hanging. She could swear she was catching flies. Ben wanted to do what? It was a risk to follow him to Paris, but if Zoe did what he was asking her to do, she was a plain idiot. She must've had BREAK MY HEART written across her forehead.
When she didn't say anything, he continued: "Come on, I don't want my time with you to end. You have nothing better to do and I know how much you love Paris. I can get us into cool restaurants and shows and take you around the city. And Monaco, Monaco is magical. I have a private plane that can take us there, and it'll take you straight back to Lille. The beaches there are like nowhere else. You know you want to. All you have to do is say yes."
There was so much information thrown at her for a decision that she'd have to make in a few seconds. Sure, she could play it safe with her feelings and go home, but she also knew she'd spend her life regretting what could have been. And Zoe didn't like the feeling of regret. The knowledge of making the wrong choices didn't sit well with her.
"Ben, I–"
"Do you really want to leave, right now? I haven't got along with someone like this in forever. I don't wanna lose this just yet."
Zoe stared skeptically. "Ben, I have no money, no phone, no clothes, no makeup, no... anything. I can't. I have to go."
"We'll go shopping! I don't care. You can't make a dent in my bank account right now."
Zoe narrowed her eyes. If there was anything she was good at, it was spending obscene amounts of money. "Is that a challenge?"
"Do your worst, Dupont."
A completely hopeless smile blossomed on her lips. "It's on, Pavard. Just you wait."
She would do her worst to him, and he would do his worst right back, in more ways than one.
**
ooo foreshadowing!
thoughts? vote + comment yk the drill