Part-Time » Zarry ✅

7: Chicken and Dumplings

There's something about being tested for Sexually transmitted diseases and Sexually transmitted infections even when somome knows they haven't had sex or they've been safe that can be uncomfortable. It's not just the stigma of walking into a place like that. It's the idea of getting tested at all that triggers the idea of "what if?"

What if there's something a person didn't know about?

What if it just magically appeared in their bodies while they were sleeping?

What if they've been secretly dying this whole time and didn't know it?

Well, luckily for Zayn and Harry none of those things are true. They're one hundred percent free of any STIs or STDs. Which means they're free to finally take their relationship to the next level if and whenever they want to.

So they've finally brought everything back to normal and resumed carefree pdating again.

It was Zayn's idea to go to a local art gallery. He wanted someplace warm since it was so cold outside.

"Hmm. What do you think of this one?" Zayn says, speaking in a low tone.

"No clue. What am I supposed to be seeing exactly?"

"I don't know. Art is subjective. Why don't you just look at it and tell me how it makes you feel."

"It makes me feel like I suck at drawing."

Zayn laughs quietly. "Stop. I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Harry."

"How does it make you feel then?"

Zayn looks back at the painting and observes the blacks and reds and golds painted in different lines and shapes. "Like... even though things are not what you wanted them to be, there's still a glimmer of hope."

Harry gazes at him in awe. His interpretation is so simple yet beautifully explained.

"Wow."

"What?"

"You see all that in one piece."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Why aren't you an art teacher instead?"

Zayn laughs quietly. "Because I'm not any good at creating art. I just appreciate it. There is a major difference."

"Like you appreciate this piece?"

"Yep."

Harry looks at the painting again. "You know this one is for sale, right?"

"Yeah. I see the sign."

"Why don't you buy it then?"

"Because I don't have twenty five hundred just lying around, Harry."

"Oh. That's too bad." he says sadly.

"Well, what can you expect on a teacher's salary? They really don't pay us enough to be the mandatory difference between smart and dumb children."

Harry gasps and laughs. It's wrong for Zayn to say that out loud. But is he really wrong?

They move away from that painting and onward to a wall of framed sketches. When they reach a framed piece, they both stop to look at it.

"Another stunning piece." Zayn says as he eyes the work of art.

It's a lose sketch of a woman gazing off at something that can't be seen. Even though there are a ton of things she could be looking at, this piece makes Zayn emotional in a sad way. He hangs his head down and turns away.