Diana (Z.M.)

Chapter Twenty-Three: No One Has To Know

Chapter Twenty-Three

Zayn's P.O.V.

      When we finish our last song, I nearly sprint off the stage. I feel the eyes of our stage managers on me but I don't care. I storm into the dressing room and peel off my sweaty shirt, tossing it into the hamper that Lou insists we use. She hates coming in the room after us to tidy up soiled clothes. As I tug on a clean pair of joggers I hear the door open behind me. "Where the hell you runnin' off to?" Niall questions, taking a swig of water, tossing a sweaty towel on the chair. I chuckle, buttoning the trousers.

      "Where do you think I'm headin' mate?"

      He shrugs, leaning back in the chair, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "I reckon' you're goin' to see that Diana gal. Am I right?" I nod, rummaging through the clean shirts until I find one that satisfies me. I tug on the Ramones shirt and smile with satisfaction at my reflection. "Just one question," Niall pipes up. "How are you gonna' go unnoticed in an arena full of fans?"

      "Easy, I told her to meet me by the bathrooms. The ones that are under construction that no one will go in. So, just slide on a hoodie, get some shades, hide my face, and that's it."

      Niall laughs loudly. Then, he stands up and claps a hand on my shoulder. "Zayn, for being the smartest out of us all, you sure are dense. You really think that's gonna' work?" I shrug, pulling on a hoodie and grabbing some shades off the counter.

      I slide them on and the room darkens. The door opens once again and Harry comes prancing in half naked. I squeeze past them and head out into the hall only to hear Louis say, "What the hell is he wearing? It's hot as balls!"

                                                                                             ***

      It is much easier than I expected it to be to stay unrecognized. A few girls even ran into me and shoved past, muttering a few rude comments. I recognize some of them from the meet and greet. It's funny how some people can be so kind and caring to one person and then cruel and unimaginably rude to another.

       I spot the run down bathroom and make my way towards it. When I get to the door, I duck beneath the tape strung across and make my way in. The room is dark, and I pull my phone out of my pocket to provide some light. I see her. She sits in the corner of the room, alone. My heart beats in my chest.

      "Diana?" I mutter. Her eyes snap up to mine and she smiles the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. How can anyone call her anything but beautiful? She stands up, brushing down her shorts. She's short, probably only five feet tall and bruises run up her legs.

      "I honestly didn't think you would come," she admits. I chuckle lightly and quickly close the space between us, holding her in a hug. She seems surprised, but doesn't fight it in any way.

      "Of course I would come. I had to see you." I reply.

      She pulls away. "How do you even know me?" She questions, confusion evident in her eyes.

      "I saw you on Twitter." I answer her without thinking.

      "But, I don't have one."

       I stay quiet. Not wanting to tell her all those awful things I saw. I try to think of a way to retract my comment, say something that is much more flattering. However, she catches me.

      "Oh, you saw those pictures, right?"

      I gulp, fidgeting with my hoodie strings and nod. She sighs loudly and hangs her head, obviously ashamed of everything that was said about her. "So, why did you try to find me then? I'm just a fan who gets bullied because I'm fat, so what?" Gently, I grab her by the shoulders.

     "I see that you're hurting. I don't know, but something inside me told me I had to meet you and fix things." She blinks several times, processing what I just said.

      "How can you fix things, Zayn? You can't stop what they say. You ca-"

      "You hate yourself, don't you?" I ask and she stops talking mid-sentence. She doesn't answer but her face says it all. She turns away and crosses her arms across her chest, trying to avoid the conversation. "Diana, you don't need to." I say, reaching out and grabbing her by the arm. "You're beautiful. I can tell you that and I've just met you. Your face is flawless without makeup, you have a beautiful body, you aren't fat in anyway and I don't know why people say that you are."

      She jerks away from my grasp and turns suddenly. "It's because I am fat! I have been working so hard to look like this. Do you know how many times I've had to-" She stops, not daring to finish. She doesn't need to. I can already tell that she is starving herself.

      "You don't need to starve yourself. Whether you are two times heavier than you are now or not, you still are beautiful. All those people who say otherwise are jealous and stupid. They just tear you down so they can make you feel as awful as they do."

      She shakes her head in denial. "That's not true or else guys would actually like me. They wouldn't be the ones laughing and shoving me around all the time. They'd actually give a damn about me and want to be with me. But they don't. It's because I'm too big, not pretty enough, I'm not like those other girls."

      The pain in her little voice breaks my heart and I have to hold myself back from doing anything too drastic. "That's the thing, you are pretty enough, you're beautiful. Your smile is gorgeous. You are perfect the way you are. That's why I'm here tonight. I knew you were hurting and I had to try to make that hurt go away. I wanted to be the person feeding you the truth instead of lies."

      Her brown eyes glisten with tears and she sniffles to hold them back.

      "That's the thing, Zayn. They aren't lies, I believe them. Every single one of them." 

      Tears pry at my eyes. My heart breaks. I don't understand how someone so beautiful and so seemingly kind can think so low of themselves. I approach her, and reach out to grab her hand. It's so tiny and I can only think of how frail and broken she looks. She stays quiet and her eyes look up to mine. My mind tells me to stop here, that I've tried. However, I can't stop now.

      I pull her close to me, and I hear a catch in her breathing.

      "Diana, please, let me show you how beautiful you are."

      I don't let her respond, I dip my head down and gently press my lips against hers.