Love Notes

-Tuesday July 10th, 2012
The next morning, the boys were woken from their slumber by the pleasant smell of a homemade breakfast. It even woke Zayn first, which was quite the feat. He tossed for a little bit before turning his head towards the couch on the other side of his room.

It was empty, go figure.

He shuffled out of bed, put on some sweatpants, and made his way to the kitchen.

“Morning mum.” He joked, kissing Iris on the cheek. She laughed softly and swatted at him with the spatula she was holding.

Zayn peeked over her shoulder. She was making pancakes, score!

“That looks really good right now..” He trailed off with a grin, eyeing the stack she’d already baked.

“No way, wake up the others first!” Iris protested. “Eating in shifts is rude.”

Zayn grinned but made his way back towards the guestroom none the less.

“Why are you cooking anyway?” He questioned, walking backwards. He didn’t bother keeping his voice down anymore, figuring the sound would wake the two boys on his couches.

“You had actual food in your fridge..” Iris deadpanned. “Figured someone should take advantage of it before it was thrown away to make room for take-out.”

Zayn laughed, continuing on to the guestroom.

Iris continued to flip pancakes, quickly joined by a very sleepy Irishman.

“Sleep is good..” He drawled, his accent even heavier due to his sleepiness. “But I have a very strong feeling those will be better.” He ended with a grin, eyeing the pancakes in a very similar way to Zayn’s.

“I’d be happy to let you test that hypothesis, but we are waiting for the others first.” Iris answered with a smile, not bothering to turn around.

Niall huffed, though a little pleased he was already joined by Louis. Only three more to go.

“You could get out the plates and cutlery, that way you’ll speed things up a bit.” Iris suggested, biting her lip to keep from laughing as Niall jumped up from his seat at the breakfast bar to grab what they’d need.

“You are very pleasant to be around when hung over, love.” Louis noted with a groan from the other barstool. “Even in this state I have trouble registering your voice.”

Iris smiled again, focussing on her pancake.

“G’morning!” Zayn bellowed pushing the remaining two semi awake band members into the room.

“Zayn!” Louis hissed. “Inside voice!”

Zayn grinned, sauntering over to his friend.

“Feeling alright there, mate?” He laughed, swinging his arm around his friend’s shoulder.

Louis merely grumbled something incoherent into his arm, where his head was currently resting.

“Iris, love?” Zayn turned towards the sound of Harry’s voice, who was looking dubiously towards the young writer. “Not that I fancy myself a gourmet chef or anything, but I reckon that one’s quite done.”

The pancake she was making had turned a questionable grey colour and was starting to crumble apart, yet Iris just stared.

Zayn rolled his eyes and walked towards his friend, flicking her on the back of the head.

“Earth to Bloom.” He spoke, leaning against the counter beside him. “No thinking up stories while cooking. You murdered breakfast!” He ended in a wail.

Iris blushed.

“Sorry guys..”

“Why d’ya call her bloom anyway?” Niall mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes, he’d quickly taken two off the stack Zayn had put in front of him.

“The Iris is a flower, yeah?” Iris spoke, setting the last of the stuff in front of the boys. Niall nodded. “Zayn wanted me to teach him to speak Dutch, when we first met. The Dutch name for flower is [i]bloem[/i]. He kept saying bloom, and it somehow became his nickname for me.”

“I didn’t know you speak Dutch..” Liam said to Zayn, looking at him with a frown.

Iris laughed softly, cutting up two pancakes of her own. “He doesn’t.. his attention span wouldn’t allow him to learn more than two words.”

Zayn narrowed his eyes at her. “It’s a stupid language, way too hard..”

Niall quietly observed the exchange between the two friends, the small narrowing of Iris’ eyes as she laughed at Zayn, the way Zayn eyes gleamed when he looked at her. The friendship between the two was clearly visible.

After a mere three bites, Iris caught sight of the clock above the door.

“Shoot! I have class in half an hour!” She mumbled through her pancakes, scrambling to get off her stool.

“Oh come on Bloom, blow it off and hang out with us?” Zayn complained, wiping his own mouth.

“I can’t Zayn, you know that.” She said in a stern tone as she walked towards the living area. “I already came over last night to fix your laptop when I shouldn’t have. I haven’t even decently prepared my lesson!”

“You teach, too?” Harry remarked from the end of the breakfast bar. “Busy bird, you are.”

Iris shook her head, gathering her stuff from the coffee table. “Not really, just computer class every once in a while, it’s a favour to a friend.”

The entire boyband looked at her with uncomprehending gazes. “Programming, databases, website building.. that sort of stuff..” Iris explained with appropriate hand gestures.

“So.. you’re smart.” Niall concluded, having finished his pancakes.

“Yes.” Iris stated, looking him in the eye for a second before continuing to pack her stuff.

Harry couldn’t help but grin. “And [b]that[/b], she’s [b]not[/b] shy about!” He laughed.

Iris couldn’t help but blush, but didn’t let the guys see it. “I’m not that shy..” She mumbled, making Zayn laugh this time.

Harry grinned and stepped off his stool to help her with her last few things.

“Yes you are love, but that’s okay! We’ll get it out of you!”

Iris rolled her eyes when she thought no one was looking, not noticing Harry did catch her quick mocking gesture.

“I’m off, Zayn. Thanks for letting me invade your place. I’ll work out some trumpet playing hours with the neighbour when I’ll get back home later.” She swung her backpack over her shoulder and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Talk to you later.” She added with a smile. Zayn nodded, winking at her in answer.

Just as she started out the door, Harry piped up from his spot leaning against the wall. “Hey! What about us!?”

Iris turned and saw him, Niall and Liam all tapping their cheeks as if to ask for a kiss too. Louis, she didn’t doubt, would have joined if his head wasn’tfeeling the consequences of the alcohol he’d consumed.

The joke made her smile. “Bye guys..” She said softly, slipping out the door quietly.

The click of the front door shutting was almost as a signal for Liam.

“Alright lads, I think Iris has the right idea. We should also get a move on.”

This elicited a groan from Louis, the most and loudest sound he’d produced the entire morning.

“Liam, my friend, have I ever told you how much I despise you?”

[center]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

After two hours of website building 101, Iris walked out of the community centre. She was just having an internal debate about her next move when she felt her phone vibrate.

[b]Boring meeting is boring..[/b]

She laughed at Zayn’s text, which was quickly followed by a picture of Louis, making a crazy face to the back of some guy in a suit.

[b]The guys really liked you :-)[/b]

Iris smiled, leaning against the wall as she texted back.

[i]Well, I’m glad. :-) Thank you for taking matters into your own hands..[/i]

She knew, he’d know what she meant. When it came to social situations, she often needed a little push. It was nice to know Zayn knew when to push and when to let her be.

She was almost at the grocery store, having remembered she was running out of food at home, when she received a reply.

[b]Asking if you’ll come with us to a party on Friday still too big of a hurdle?[/b] Zayn texted, most likely having experienced another lull in the meeting. This text too, was followed by a picture of Louis, this time with a facial expression that was a strange mix between angelic and crazy.

Iris let out an unladylike snort, gaining the attention of a very good looking guy who was entering the store at the same time. He looked at her with an amused glance as Iris felt her face heat up and quickly ducked into the first isle away from him.

[i]Correct assumption, I really don’t feel up to the whirlwind of attention that comes with going out in public with the five of you at the same time.. Sorry [/i] She texted back.

[i]To be honest, I’m still quite proud of myself for being able to step out with you in public [/i] She quickly added with a smirk on her face.

There was no immediate reply, so she figured he was drawn back into the conversation again.

[center]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

“Gentlemen, I’m very pleased to report that we have a great selection of songs ready for the second album. You’ve already heard a few and will hear the others as soon as you start working in the studio. Which will be in about two weeks.” Trevor Gibson told the group of boys before him.

As he looked at their faces he realised the lot of them had most likely checked out after a meeting this long, he couldn’t really blame them. He still figured the only reason Niall still remembered him when they saw each other was because of his last name..

“And..” He added. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased by contributions that Ed Sheeran made..”

This visibly made the boys attention grow.

“Contributions? As in more than one?” Harry asked with a smile.

Trevor nodded. “Yep, he provided us with another song. He’ll be working with you guys for the beginning of recording to figure out the details.”

The guys started talking among themselves, obviously happy that their good friend was going to be included.

After wrapping up the meeting, they hurried outside, ready to go home and relax before their next adventure started. Before they could, however, they were greeted by a small group of fans outside of the offices where their meeting was held.

Grateful that the group was small, the boys all stopped and talked with them for a while.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry.. I can’tbelieve you’re actually here. I told my sister we’d be creepers, standing outside here like this.. but I’m so glad we actually get to meet you now!” One of the older girls of the group gushed as Zayn approached, the glint in her eye very visible. He smiled warily, still a little unsure how to interact with fans up close sometimes. Her happiness was contagious though.

“Can I touch your hair?” She asked with the same glint in her eye.

Aaand, done. What was it about his hair that fascinated them so much? He didn’t understand..

“How about a picture instead?” He questioned with a strained laugh.

Louis was having better luck, already deep in conversation with three young girls who had been waiting outside with their mother. He lived for moments like this, the happiness on their faces and their questions made him laugh.

“I really wanted to get youa real one but my mom wouldn’t let me.” The most gorgeous six year old he’d ever seen said with a pout that’d rival Keira Knightly’s.

She handed him a poorly drawn picture. Louis studied it for a second before realising it was a pigeon. He let out a loud laugh and grabbed the girl in a hug. “Oh darling, this is so much better though! I’m going to hang this one up in the studio where all the lads can see it!”

[center]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

With a sigh, Iris stood up from her desk to grab the ringing phone. She was having great difficulty writing the necessary chapters for her next deadline. Not exactly writers block, she knew what was supposed to happen.. But today things just weren’t coming out right.

She craned her neck, as she picked it up.

“ ’llo?” She mumbled through a yawn.

“Finally!” Came Zayns distinct voice. “God Bloom, this is my ninth try!” He said with a laugh. “Other people might think you’re out having a life, but thankfully I know better.” He teased.

Iris frowned and looked at the clock.

Nine.

Crap.

“I’m sorry, just.. concentrating.” She answered with a sigh. “Did you need something?”

“Well, I was planning on asking you to come over for dinner. Harry cooked and the boys would like to get to know you a bit better in a non intoxicated state, but it’s too late for that now..” Zayn said slowly, trailing off at the end.

Iris felt a twinge.

This was the exact reason why she had so much trouble keeping friends. She was able to get so consumed by something, which was her writing most of the time, and kind of forget about the rest of the world.

She felt guilty.

“I know, I’m sorry..” She sighed.

“I kind of figured I’d keep calling to make sure you wouldn’t go on until three again, you’ve got work tomorrow yeah?”

She nodded, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Yeah, just the morning though.” She realised as she checked her day planner.

“Well, I figured those babies would appreciate you being awake to feed them and whatnot..” Zayn said with a laugh.

Before she could answer, she heard a kissing sound, which made her smile.

“Tell Perrie ‘hi’ for me..” She said softly. She heard him relay her message in the background.

Iris had actually met Perrie fairly soon after the two started dating. She realised that having a close female friend could weaken his chances with the girl, especially if the close female friend in question refused to meet anyone famous. So she took the jump and met Perrie early on in the relationship to show her that her friendship with Zayn, though very valuable to her, was nothing more than that: a friendship.

Perry was good for him, she had a feeling she was keeping him grounded. Iris liked her a lot.

“Well, the babies and I thank you for your concern..” She started with a smile.

Again, she was distracted by noise in the background. Loud laughter met her ears, making the twinge return.

“How about..” She was surprising herself, but the suggestion was out before she knew it. “you guys come over tomorrow night and [b]I’ll[/b] cook dinner? To make up for letting you down tonight..”

Zayn was quiet for a moment. She even questioned if he’d heard her for a second.. but maybe it was just surprise.

“You didn’t let me down Bloom..” He said softly. “I know how you get sometimes..”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

[i]I know how you get..[/i]

The sound of that sentence made her want to break something.

“Exactly.” She said firmly. “So I should do something to compensate.”

He sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll run it by the guys.. You don’t have to do this Bloom.” He tried again.

She smiled, warmed by her friends concern with her uneasiness in social situations.

“I know, but I want to. I want to make more of an effort.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” Zayn answered, the smile on his face audible. “Especially if you make that honey cake of yours for dessert..” He added.

Iris let out a loud laugh.

“Yes Zayn, I’ll make your favourite..”

“Night Bloom..”

“Night Zayn.”

Notes

I started writing this years ago. Took a long break from writing as well. So hopefully you'll see the quality progress. :)

-Xx