London Bridge

chapter one

"Listen to me!" He pleaded with a large frown.

"No, you listen to me." Her face was more red than a tomato. She hated getting worked up over nothing, but this was something. "This is all your fault!"

"Stop overreacting-"

"Overreacting?! You wanted this in the first place. You were protecting me from getting hurt."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know this would happen."

"Get out!" She picked up a pillow and threw it at him.

"But-"

"Now!" As tears fell down her face, he turned on his heel and walked to her door.

• One year earlier •

Scarlett Jackson's toe tapped against the dark carpet as her stomach grumbled. She had just eaten breakfast at one of the cafes in the airport. Her plane was about to board soon and in just about seven hours, she'd be touching down in London.

Her stomach grumbled again, and knowing she wasn't hungry, she figured it was just nerves. This was a big decision for her. She had only graduated high school a few weeks ago and spent the rest packing and working extra hard for this trip.

When her flight was called, she slowly rose from her uncomfortable spot, pulled her ticket out of her carry on and stood in line.

"Have a nice trip to London!" The woman dressed in blue said, her New York accent shining through.

"Thank you." Scarlett replied and headed towards the plane. After quickly finding her seat, she took a few deep breaths and smiled. This was going to be a good thing. She reached in her pocket to turn off her phone before takeoff, only to see a text message from her boyfriend.

'Have a safe flight. Luv u. x Zayn'

Every time he sent her a text message like that, she blushed. Her relationship with Zayn was only a few months old but she was head over heels. They had met almost a year ago over Twitter. His band, One Direction, wasn't even popular in America yet. Heck, she hadn't even heard of them. Her best friend, Zachary, worked for a recording studio and had met them a few times. He tweeted back and forth with Scarlett, which earned a follow from Zayn.

Scarlett didn't think much of it. But one day he messaged her. She was curious so she spent hours one night looking up their band and watching their videos. She was amazed how talented these five boys were and eventually replied to Zayn. After days of talking back and forth over Twitter, they started to text, video chat and call each other.

Their relationship grew and grew until he finally asked her out, only seeing her a few times in person. The last time they could see each other was when he surprised her a week before her graduation- a gift from him and her parents.

And now she was headed to London to be with him. It was a bold move and didn't feel real. But as the pilot started his speech over the speakers and the seatbelt sign was on, she knew it was real. This was happening.

The almost seven hour plane ride didn't go by fast in the beginning. She spent time trying to get comfortable by reading a few magazines and then decided that she would just take a nap instead. The time change would kill her anyways so why not get a head start?

When she woke up, she asked the flight attendant how far they were from landing. They had a few minutes until landing and she got excited. Scarlett put her magazines back in her carry on bag along with her favorite blanket. She felt the plane start to touch down and could feel tears come to her eyes. She was a crier.

Making her way through the busy airport wasn't that hard and she was proud of herself that she did it in New York and London. Keeping her eyes open, she looked around for someone familiar.

"Jackson!" She heard someone yell. Turning around, she made eye contact with a guy in black sunglasses. Her heart started to race and she picked up speed. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, taking in his cologne. It felt so good to be home.