Mona Lisa | Sundown

"Are you ready slow poke?" Zayn asked with a teasing smile on his face.

"Oh hush and let's go since you're so impatient to leave," Nurah spoke rolling her eyes, playfully of course.

Together they walked out of her apartment and onto the sidewalk. Instead of having their arms looped around each other they had their hands to their sides. Even though Zayn wanted to feel her close to him he knew that he couldn't have that.

"So where are we going exactly?" Nurah had asked him curiously.

"It's this little festival called Antiques in the Square. They have like antiques, clothes, vintage stuff, and goodies. You'll like it," Zayn assured her.

She raise a brow at his confidence, "And you can just assume that?"

"Yes because I know that you like cool things," he scoffed looking ahead.

"Do not," she rejected.

"Do too," he bickered back.

Nurah laughed a little bit, looking around her surroundings to take Florence all in. She really liked living here. It was so peaceful in her opinion and it was also very beautiful. The people, the buildings, the food, language, and the culture fascinated her. Once they arrived at the event her eyes literally lit up on joy. The first thing that caught her eye was the cart with clothes.

"You like that?" Zayn questions as he watched her in fascination and in awe as she examined the dark purple sweater.

"Yeah, it's so freaking cute," she gushed.

"Cool, I'll pay for it," Zayn smiles before he took his wallet out.

It almost took her a minute for her to catch what he had said, but when he took the sweater away from her she realized what he was actually doing, "Zayn you—,"

"Mi piacerebbe questo maglione per la signora per favore," Zayn says to the woman politely, saying that he's was gonna pay for it for her.

"You didn't have to," Nurah says underneath her breath.

"It's fine Nurah," he assured her once more.

"Qui vai perso," spoke the woman who handed the cute bag with the sweater in it, giving it to Nurah.

"Grazie," Nurah thanked the woman.

The woman smiled and gave them a small wave before the two walked elsewhere. She had actually grown really found of being in the square. Everything around them just brought her at peace. And if she was happy, then he was happy as well.

"The artwork is so beautiful at this time of the year. People from all over Italy come here just to show off their paintings. Some to sell them to make some cash. But overall it's inspiring," Zayn hummed sweetly.

"See that one?" Nurah pointed at the painting of a man who looked like a Greek god. And as childish as this was gonna sound she giggled. "He kinda looks like you."

Zayn looked at the painting she was talking about then scoffed, "I'm way better lookin' than that dude. And I don't even have blue eyes Nurah."

"Look at his dark hair that stops to his shoulders, curled perfectly, curled the way yours is. And the way his jaw is sculpted, it looks smooth," she avowed as she tilted her head to the side, squinting her eyes a bit. "Also look at the eyebrows and the lips..his eyelashes are long and his skin matches close to yours. I bet he would've been handsome if he was real. But of course you Zayn are very handsome as well."

"T-Thanks," Zayn stammered as his head went down, blushing intensely.

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him, somewhat panicked, "Sorry, I went too deep."

"No, no, no it's fine. I um..thanks for the compliment, I guess? Uh, do you wanna get something to eat?" Zayn asked rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, let's go," she mumbles following after him.

Side by side—but not touching the slightest bit—they walked to a cart that had food that caught both of their eyes, well mainly Nurah's eyes since the colors of the salad was so bright and vibrant.

"That's panzanella," Zayn told her with a soft nudge. "It's practically a salad."

"Oh..it looks fancy," she chirps.

"You want it?" Zayn asks looking at her.

"Yes but I will pa—," she tried to tell him but it didn't work since he cut her off.

"Nonsense," Zayn shook his head and looked at the woman with a soft smile. "Una panzanella per favore."

"Wow," Nurah mumbled underneath her breath.

"Per la tua ragazza?" The woman had asked if Nurah was his girlfriend, hoping that it was true since they looked like a couple.

Zayn gulped, taking a quick look at Nurah who he hoped that she didn't catch that, but unfortunately she did.

"No signora. Siamo solo amici," Nurah gave the woman a kind smile, telling her that they were just friends.

It looked like the woman wanted to roll her eyes—she actually really wanted to but she didn't. Giving them both a soft smile she handed the panzanella to Nurah before bidding them off in Italian. Hoping that they would both realize that they would look so good together.

Nurah and Zayn ignored what had happened moments ago, talking about how much they loved food instead to keep their mind off of it. Mentioning how different it was from American food and British food. It turned to an all out argument because Zayn thought noodles were great while Nurah thought that sweet rice was amazing. After they came to disagreement-agreement which made them take stand in their favorite foods. Meanwhile, Nurah had ate the panzanella and even gave Zayn some which he was forced to eat some of it since she kept on shoving it in his mouth when he was least expecting it.

Now they were sitting on a bench. The October air blowing as they just sat in silence. Italy's sun was going down and colors that appeared in the sky was totally breathtaking.

"I've been meaning to mention this to you but I keep on forgetting," Zayn started the conversation with a small sigh, soon looking at Nurah who's attention was on him, making him swallow the lump in his throat. "I got a call from a museum owner in Milan, and he wants me to paint him a picture before the grand opening."

Nurah's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes grew twice their size, soon muffling, "Oh my god..are you serious?" And then her hands dropped from her face as she began to smile widely. "That's fuckin' great Zayn! I'm so proud of you. Like wow, that's a big deal."

Zayn's cheeks turned to a tint of a light pink, biting his bottom lip as he tried to hold back a smile. He listened as Nurah went on and on, clearly showing that she was happy for him.

"When does it have to be completed?" She then asked.

"I have about two months is what he told me," Zayn informed her.

"Have you already planned on what you wanted to paint? I'm sorry, I'm just curious to know," Nurah giggles.

"No, not exactly. And that scares me a little bit," Zayn sighed, even slouching a little bit.

Nurah placed a hand on his back and rubbed it soothingly, "Don't stress out Zayn. Your inspiration will come to you."

That's when the most craziest idea popped in his head. Just by those simple words he looked at her with a soft smile, "I think it already did."

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- BookOfBandz