Ema-Leigh's POV

It was Saturday. My favorite day of the week. I could spend all day with my cat, ice cream, and The Office. It was perfect I had it all planned out. First, though I would have to unpack. I had just moved New York City from Bradford. I had never lived anywhere else in my life, but when I got offered a job working for one of the biggest fashion magazines in the world I knew it was time to move on. Saying goodbye to my family was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I needed to get out of there though. There were too many painful memories of my first love. Zayn. Our parents worked together so we have known each other for the longest time. His mom once told me that during nap time, I would climb out of my crib and into his. During elementary school, we would spend all our time at the playground. During middle school, we would go to those stupid dances together (as friends) and make fun of everyone. During High School, we would sneak his parent's beer onto his roof and drink and not give a shit. We spent all our time together. He was my rock. Until he wasn’t. He went on the X Factor 7 years ago. He got placed into a group called “One Direction”. We still stayed in contact for the first year or so but his life got crazy. I was still just a friend from his past. I had to start getting ready for college and became busy myself. I never forgot him though. I’ve always loved him, but as more than a best friend. It wasn’t either of our thoughts we stopped talking and lost contact, it’s just the way life goes sometimes.

My stomach growled taking me out of my thoughts. I didn’t have any food in my fridge because I have yet to go grocery shopping. I decided the best idea would be to go to the mall I saw a few miles away from my apartment. I could get some food and up my wardrobe. Although I’d much rather stay here with Steve Carell, I knew I should get familiar with the area.

I arrived at the large mall twenty minutes later. I walked around for a bit mostly window browsing. I saw a bookstore that looked right up my alley. Zayn would always tease me about being a bookworm, except when he needed help with a book report. I opened the front door, a small chime sounding. I strolled inside immediately drawn to the fantasy section. An old plump woman who sat by the cash register kindly asked me if I needed any assistance with finding a book which I politely declined. For a good 5 minutes, I scanned over the books, disappearing behind the bookshelves. It was quiet apart from the Lady’s soft humming, when I heard the door chime, signaling someone had walked in. I heard the woman's voice offering her assistance, and my heart stopped when I heard the reply.

“ No thank you, I’ve got it,” A simple enough reply. It wasn’t the words that stunned me it was the voice. It was Zayn. It had to be. I could recognize his voice anywhere. I stood there shocked unable to move. Despite my heart drumming loudly, I could hear footsteps approaching. Was it him? Voices can sound alike. Would he recognize me? The footsteps drew closer until they reached the bookshelf I was behind. The familiar tall figure stopped in his tracks upon seeing me. His hazel eyes grew wide as they connected with my blue ones.

“ Ema-Leigh?” He asked shakily.

“ Zayn! “ I cried out. We both rushed to each other embracing the other. Tears of joy prickled my eyes. He easily lifted me off my feet and spun me around. He had a big goofy grin on his perfect face. He put me down and grabbed my face in his large hands.

“ I can’t believe it’s you,” He whispered shakily.

“ You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” I smiled up at him. He was slightly crouching due to the height difference.

“ Just as beautiful as I remember,” He said more to himself but I heard. “ Why are you in New York?”

“ I got a job here,” I responded.

“ I’m proud of you squirt,” He beamed. My eyes grew wide at the mention of my old nickname.

“ You remember! ” I giggled.

“ I remember everything,” he sighed dreamily. “ I remember the nicknames, the dances, the time you flipped off the principal and he saw it, the time we both pretended to be sick and you snuck over to my house and we got wasted,”

He was still holding my face in his hands as he shakily got closer to me.
“ But mostly I remember how beautiful you were, how you would make me weak in the knees every time you laughed, how much I wanted to do this,”

He closed to distance between us, our lips moving together perfectly. It was tender but passionate. I melted into him. Everything around us stopped and it was only him and me left. All the memories came back to me. The pain, the love, the good times, all swirling through my mind. All I know is that this meant to be. I love him. I always have and I always will.

Notes

The second one done yay! Thank you to Ema-Leigh for this story. I will try to update every week but I am a lazy ass bitch so don't expect much. Any feedback would be lovely.