"Hello?"

"Hiya there."

"What's up, Harry?"

"What are you doing?"

"Putting dishes away."

"Oh. So does that mean you're too busy to talk right now?"

Zayn opened a cabinet and put away a plate. "I answered the phone, didn't I?"

"Ah, so you did. But I hope your sarcasm means you're ready to have a nice chat with me about what I said we'd be talking about."

"Uh... It doesn't."

"But Zayn. I gave you a full twenty four hours. Surely that's enough time to recall something you did."

Zayn folded one arm and held it up by enclosing his hand and wrist under the opposite armpit. "Why do you want to know so bad? How is my romance supposed to help you?"

"It helps me learn about you and what you're like, which I'm trying to do since that was the deal when we agreed to do this. So can I?"

Zayn groaned and stepped away from the dishwasher for a moment. How did Harry expect him to answer that? With a no? Well, he couldn't say no to him. Not for that. "Yes you can. Ask away, Harry."

His voice came in cheerful through the receiver. "Okay. I just want to know what's the most romantic thing you've ever done in a relationship?"

Zayn sat down at the kitchen table. "Um... Well... Let's see. I'm trying to remember because that wasn't something I did often."

"Take your time. But not too long because ya know... It is late."

"Thanks to you." Zayn said but he made sure to put a little extra pitch in his voice so Harry would know he was doing more joking than assigning blame. Thankfully, Harry understood what he was doing.

"Yes. And I wouldn't have to if your family had not been so lovely yesterday." He let out a happy sigh. "I'm still buzzing about how well they treated me."

Zayn felt something weird go through his body. It wasn't tingles and it wasn't shivers. But it sure was different. Maybe it was a pull. "So I know what I want to tell you about."

"Perfect." Harry said excitedly. "What?"

"The most romantic thing I remember doing is buying my girlfriend's birthday cake and after we and our friends ate it, me and her just escaped from our friends and sat outside on the college campus' front lawn to watch the stars."

Harry gasped. "Wait! I forgot you said you went to college. I wanna know more."

Zayn paused. "Well, um, I would share more but we're not talking about that. We're talking about romance."

"Okay. But we're definitely going to talk about that another day, right?"

"Sure." He said reluctantly.

He could hear him squeal. "Go on about your romantic moment."

"Right. We itched like crazy after that from the mosquitoes and grass but it was worth it. At least it was then. Now, not so much. Or even at all. More like a waste of time."

"Wow, Zayn. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you completely regret it."

"I do. You have no idea."

"So give me one."

He shook his head even though he knew Harry wouldn't know it. "What do you want me say?"

"What was her name?"

"H... Heidi." He said in a hushed tone.

"Heidi. That's a very pretty name. I bet she was just as pretty."

"She was. Heidi was beautiful. And she was an amazing girl at first. She made living away from my family so much easier."

"Aw. That's cute."

"Yeah, yeah. It was cute. Now it just makes me sick to the stomach to think about. Pretty faces can't all be trusted."

"Um... O...Kay. I think that's my cue not to ask anything else. I'll just let you share whatever else you're comfortable with sharing when you're ready. Maybe we should talk about my romantic moment now."

Excellent idea. "Yes. I would love to hear about you."

He cleared his throat into the phone. "When Mitchell and I were together, I made dinner. It took me all day to do it but I didn't want Mindy's help so I knew I'd need to start at least seven hours before dinner time if I was going to make it special. So I did. I even tried lighting candles. Thankfully I didn't start lighting those until he got here because I accidentally set the tablecloth on fire and he had to put it out. It was so embarrassing to know I almost burned my house down but we were still able to enjoy dinner and then after that, just lie in bed together."

Zayn leaned over the table on one of his elbows. "Wow. I've misjudged you a bit."

"How?"

"I feel like I expected too much. I thought you asked me about romance because you expected me to be extra creative and have all these extravagant ideas. But even your romantic plans didn't go as perfect as you wanted."

"Nope. But it was still the most romantic night I ever had. It was a lot of work but... completely worth it." He sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Sometimes I miss him, you know. That's all. I think maybe things didn't work out because I wasn't ready then. I was only twenty one. Now I have an idea of what I want and I'm just not completely sure about how things went. Yes, he's happy now, but what if I never find another Mitchell?"

"Uh oh. Someone hasn't been typing in their goals, I see." He sang.

He heard Harry chuckle into the phone. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I need to make a goal about finding love too. But I have to get out if I expect to find anyone. Mitchell didn't just come to me. I met him through Mindy when we were both out shopping. So I know it's still exactly the same way now."

"That's right. But," He clicked his tongue. "You have me for that. If you want to get out more, I'm your man."

"But Mindy is my girl. I need to eat up as much time with her as I can because Liam is going to keep her so busy when they're married. I can feel it."

Zayn felt his chest tighten. He had no idea how busy. "But regardless of whatever happens, you have me to count on. I'm your friend."

Harry was quiet for much too long and Zayn began to wonder if he said something wrong. Did he? Sure he'd had eight different conversations with him. Nine if he counted the one they were currently in. But would that automatically qualify them as friends? He would think so. But did Harry agree?

"So we are friends to you?" Harry finally asked.

"Are we friends to you?"

"Sure. I called us that when we went to meet your parents but I wasn't sure that you thought that so I wasn't going to jump to conclusions and say it anymore until I heard you say it too."

He sat up straight. "Of course we're friends. I really like you. You're different. But a cool kind of different."

"A blind boy is cool, you say?"

"Come on, you should know. That's what you told me the first night we met. 'Cool kids wear sunglasses.' Doesn't that ring a bell?"

"Oh." Harry laughed into the phone. "I only said that because you were being so dense. Most people automatically know right away but it took you until the next day. That's pretty bad."

"Actually, I figured it out when I got in bed that night. But like I said, I was too busy wrapped up in my own problems to pay attention to anyone else." Zayn's voice lowered and the guilt was clear in it. "I was upset because I had tried to quit cold turkey but after three days, I was back to smoking again. I was so angry at myself because I know I can quit. I just don't know how."

"Oh. I see. Well, sometimes cold turkey isn't for everyone. Sometimes it needs to be gradual and you need someone supportive along the way."

"Like who?"

"Me, silly."

"You." He said.

"Yes. Me. You wrote that down as a goal and I want to help you achieve it. I believe I can."

"And how do you expect to do that?"

"Well, first... You're going to need a blindfold."

"I thought that was for when you taught me how to eat with the knife and stuff."

"It is. But now I'm going to use it to help you to stop smoking too."

Zayn was confused. "What? How is a blindfold going to help me?"

"You'll see when it's time. And it's not time yet. Just be ready. If you really want to be a non smoker, I think you'll really like this idea."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Alright then. I'll give it a go. As long as there's no torture involved."

"Ooh. Sorry. I can't make that promise."

They shared a laugh and then a brief silence before Harry spoke up once more.

"I was just kidding, by the way. There won't be any physical torture. But smoking is an addiction so likely some mental torture. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Oh, I'll try."

"Good. Can't wait. So anyway, I know I called late and I don't want to hold you up any longer than I already have. So it's time to say goodbye."

"Always enjoy talking to you, Harry."

"Same here. But for you."

Once he said that, Zayn knew then what that funny feeling was that he felt earlier. It was definitely pulls. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight."

➡ ➡ ➡

"So... what exactly are you getting a blindfold for?"

Zayn withdrew a little bit. He didn't really want to say why. "Just to have."

"Just to have? Why don't you want to tell me?"

"Because I don't have to. Don't you know you're being really nosy right now?"

He held his hands up. "Fine. But I have to ask. You're not into any um... You know... This is not for a girl, right?"

Zayn turned his face up in disapproval. "No! Come on, Lou. Don't ruin my appetite before we get something to eat."

He chuckled. "I'm just saying. That was the only reason I could think of, you know. For buying that thing, anyway."

"Well, you're wrong. And just for the record, I'm not into that at all. It is strictly only for blocking out the light and it is not for anyone else."

"Sure, man. I believe you."

Zayn stopped at a certain part of the aisle and glanced over it. "I found it. This color is..." He picked it up. "Indigo."

"You want a blue mask?"

"It's a blindfold. And yes. As long as it covers my eyes the way it should, I don't care what color it is."

"Even if it was pink?"

Zayn smiled, thinking about Harry. Harry would probably be happy he purchased one in his favorite color. "Still wouldn't care. Now come on. I'm finished here. Let's go."

If Zayn was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to tell Louis about Harry. He just was. He wasn't necessarily hiding and he wasn't embarrassed either. He loved hanging with Harry. Harry brought new perspectives to life. But some part of Zayn was selfish. He didn't want Harry to share those perspectives with anyone besides himself. And introducing Louis and Harry to each other would make the risk of that happening very high.

Harry was his friend but Harry wasn't his friend. Harry was Mindy's friend. She did ask him to become friends with him so that he'd have someone close by when she moved away. But still, he wanted to be the second friend of his, regardless. Everyone else could come third.

At some point, he did have plans to tell Louis about him though. Maybe once he felt like there was no threat of Harry liking Louis more than him. But not now. Not while he was still greedy and wanting to learn everything about Harry as quickly as he could absorb it.

He looked down at the blindfold package as they headed for the check-out line at the front of the store. He still didn't understand how it would be pivotal in helping him to quit smoking. But Harry was smart and clearly he had a plan. He wondered if it would really work.

* * *

"Now I know why we stopped being friends for a while."

"Why?"

"Because we eat too much when we're together."

"Here's your meal. Have a good day, sir."

"Thanks." Louis took the bag from the food truck window. "Blasphemy! No such thing as eating too much."

Zayn chuckled. "Thanks for paying for my food though. You didn't have to do that and I certainly wasn't expecting it."

"It's the least I could do after you embarrassed yourself when you bought that bondage blindfold today."

Zayn punched him in the arm. "Stop saying shit like that around people when you know that's not true." He pointed at him. "Next time I'm going for the face and leaving you a black eye."

Louis laughed. "Lighten up a bit. I'm just trying to make an extra conscientious effort to be funny since I was never that friend for you."

They opened the car doors to Louis' car and got in. "Bro... If that's your way of being funny, just be the nerd instead."

Louis handed him the food to hold and he took it.

"Fine. I will." They backed out of the parking space and got on the road again. "Zayn."

"What?"

"Did you know a rat can hold its breath long enough to crawl up a sewer pipe, up through your toilet bowl and into your house?"

Zayn turned to him quickly. "What?"

"Yep. I told a kid that in the pet store. He and his mother had adopted a cat during pet adoption week and named it Tom. But he wanted a rat too so he could name him Jerry. His mother said rats were a no-no so that's when I told him that. After that, he said he'd wait in the bathroom for a rat to come up out of the toilet. It was hilarious."

Zayn would've thought that was cute but he couldn't get over the whole rat holding its breath and winding up in the toilet thing. "Were you serious about that or was that just to make them both happy?"

"Both but that's a proven fact."

"And by proven, you mean it's happened before."

"Right. As an experiment."

"Does that happen often though?"

"Nope. It's pretty rare. Maybe even a point three chance."

"You're positive about that?"

"Yep, why? Is it creeping you out?"

He gave him a "duh" look. "What do you think? That's a fact you should keep to yourself. Maybe you're not even good at being a nerd."

Louis laughed. "Hey, we were away from each other for three whole years and only saw each other sporadically in a two year period before those three. We have to learn each other all over again. It's sad but it's true. And we have a ways to go."

"I guess that's what I get for bailing on you, huh?"

"Yeah... A little bit." He said.

Zayn leaned back against the seat and huffed. He didn't know why he was taking all this time to spend with Louis and get to know him again when it was kind of hard to be patient and do just that. Especially when for some uncanny reason, he found himself thinking he would much rather be at home, sitting at the kitchen table and having a phone conversation with Harry again.

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