S.D.

That was her name.

Well, those were her initials.

First name? Last name? Zayn had no clue, but he had a pep in his step that hadn't been there previously because he knew he'd been matched up, and he knew he was one step closer to becoming a husband, and most importantly, because Zayn had found out a piece of information that wasn't supposed to have been shared.

He knew her initials.

He knew his future wife's initials.

Which meant that she was real.

Which meant that he was compatible with someone.

Which meant he wasn't doing all of this for nothing.

And that was fucking something.

"Guess what I've got?"

"A pre-nup?" Niall jokes, as Zayn joins his friends at a beachside bar. The blonde lifts his hand, signalling the bartender. "Or is that something you don't believe in either? Like first dates, or knowin' each other's names, first?"

"Actually," Zayn says as Harry and Liam both chuckle beside him, "I do know her name," he replies smugly, happily with the information he had pried for. "So fuck off."

Niall laughs, ordering another round for his mates from the bikini-clad bartender, "You do, eh?"

"I--" Harry squeezes his bottom lip, pulled between his teeth, "Definitely thought you weren't supposed to know that yet."

"I'm not," Zayn exclaims excitedly. "But I found it out 'cause that's how sneaky and charming I am."

His friends burst into laughter.

"Alright, Zayn."

"How'd we forget that?"

"If I had to call you anything, I don't think sneaky or charming would jump out at me first."

"Ha ha," he replies, ruffling Niall's head as he slips into the stool beside him. "Hilarious. Just what I'd expect from my best mates."

"So...?" Liam begins, "What's her name then?"

"Well..." Zayn runs his hand through his hair, "I've got initials..."

"So you don't even have her whole name!"

His friends burst into laughter fueled by their rounds of drinks.

"C'mon, mate!"

"What!? I asked, alright! It's all they'd give me when the show called!"

"So, it's done? It's official? You're gonna be on the show?"

Zayn nods, his excitement returning. "Called today. They found me a match."

"With a girl whose name you actually don't have," Niall says. "Since you've only got initials."

"Might as well be a name," Zayn mutters, because even though Niall was actually supportive of his decision to go through with this -- you should've heard his sisters...or his parents -- he was still immensely skeptical and highly cautious of his friend's safety and wellbeing.

"Right," Harry grins, chuckling as he stares off towards the sunset, "Initials might as well be a name, Ni..." His dimples pop, "Might as well be an address, or a social too, right?"

"Might as well be a roadmap," Niall laughs, "a fucking roadmap to nowhere."

"Alright, alright," Zayn exclaims as his friends -- who had been much more supportive as he explained this situation earlier -- all laugh again at his expense, "fuck you. That's it. Fuck you all. I'm fucking done--"

"No, no," Liam begins, a smile still on his face, "tell us. What's her initials, then?"

Niall lifts an eyebrow, "Gonna try to guess her name, Li?"

"Maybe," Liam laughs. "Shut up, Ni."

"S.D." Zayn states. "That's all I got. Her initials are S.D."

"Like San Diego," Harry nods. "Or South Dakota. Or Some Dick--"

"Shut the fuck up, Harry."

"What? All possibilities, right?"

"I'm never sharing anything with the lot of you. Ever."

"What're the odds of that?" Liam asks at once, sitting up in his chair as new drinks get dished out. "S.D.? Your future wife's initials are S.D.?"

"Yeah...?" Zayn replies slowly. "So?"

"C'mon, Zayn," Liam scoffs. "Don't be daft."

But he is being daft.

And apparently so are Harry and Niall.

Because everyone is staring blankly at Liam.

Niall grunts. "Care to elaborate, mate?"

"C'mon, Ni," Liam says, "Who's the only girl with initials S and D who he knows, yeah?"

And all of a sudden, it clicks for everyone at the bar.

"Shit..." Niall begins, "What if it is--"

As Zayn scowls viciously, Harry laughs aloud, throwing his head back with a, "Oh yeah!" He exclaims. "Whoa! What if it's her?"

"Can't be," Zayn mutters with a head shake as he grabs abruptly for his beer.

"But," Harry's eyes sparkle with amusement, "it can."

"We're matched with compatible people, Haz. Not polar opposites. There's science to this, remember?"

"You two were not polar opposites," Liam says at once. "At all."

"Yeah, no," says Niall. "In fact, ten years ago I coulda sworn it'd be the two of you walking down the aisle instead of you and a stranger with initials."

"Agreed," Liam adds. "You loved her, Zayn. You were literally so fucking in love--"

"And we're not anymore, are we?" Zayn exclaims at once, because all of a sudden he's overwhelmed with thoughts of a girl who he'd sworn to forget years ago. "Where is she, eh? Not here. She's not here now, so forget what happened. I'm not a lovesick kid anymore--"

"Right. You're adults now," Harry says calmly. "Don't see why it couldn't work since you aren't so young."

"Because she left me," Zayn utters through gritted teeth. "Remember?"

"But," Niall pipes, "thought you never really knew why--?"

"Look, can we come off it!?" Zayn exclaims, pacing before his friends. "I was sharin' good news, remember?"

And his friends look around at each other, decidedly silent.

"You're right," Harry forces a smile. "And we're happy for you. Honestly, we are."

Niall rises from his chair with a stretch. "Mhmn," he hums. "But don't forget about that pre-nup."

Zayn takes another swig of his drink.
___

gotta live for the skeptical friends aka me if my best friends were trying to get married like this lol

Sooo I should also let y'all know that this story and organic just became the two I've become HELLA invested in. Just FYI lol.

Comment and vote please! xx