brilliant discovery • zauren

O2

Since the infamous morning after, Lauren had been on her phone nonstop. After speaking with Camila, their management came next and they were less than pleased. However, they opted to talk in person for more privacy. They knew Zayn was still there, dealing with his own calls from his team. Similarly, they were not amused at all.

The two, barely exchanging any words, sat in an uncomfortable silence as they went through social media. Lauren remained on the bed, but dressed this time. On the other hand, Zayn sat himself on the loveseat by the window. Twitter was blowing up the most, endlessly tagging both of them with their own comments. Most of them were less than friendly.

Not a surprise since her whole group looks like sluts. Ouch, that hurt because it was a jab at her friends, too.

Zayn's such a pig. What do they even see in him? Disgusting. He could say he was used to the backlash, but it only triggered Zayn's anxiety. He put the phone down, there were too many degrading messages and he'd rather think of a way to fix this mess than let strangers affect him.

Lauren on the other hand... Skank. Whore. Slut. The list goes on and on. "She claims to respect herself, but throw a hot guy into the mix and she spreads her legs open-" Suddenly, her phone was no longer in her hands and the words she read were nothing but a haunting memory.

"Stop," Zayn warned her when she looked his way, placing her device facedown and out of reach. "Don't even bother. Everyone is a critic. You shouldn't let them affect you."

"I know, but-" Lauren was afraid the words were true. They barely knew one another, but they already slept together. The night before was not one of her finest and shouldn't be used to define who she is; still, she couldn't help but feel bothered. "You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah? Try me." He arched a brow, challenging her. Before she could explain herself, not that she was actually going to, somebody knocked on the door.

Being the closer one of the two, Zayn answered it and both their managements stormed in, a flurry of questions being tossed their way: what happened last night? are you two even dating or was it really a one night stand? how could you not be more careful in public? do you not see how big of a mess this is? It went on and on and they both unintentionally zoned out.

Zayn was still thinking on how to fix their scenerio. They were caught making out at a bar and heading to his hotel room. There were actual pictures of them in the hallway, kissing against his door...

She giggled breathlessly when his stubble tickled her bare neck. He wasn't planting soft kisses of adoration, but open mouth ones born from lust. He was focused on a particular spot beneath her ear, nibbling and introducing his tongue to the mix to get a sweep of her unique taste that burned his throat like a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter day. It left him craving for more.

His eyes darted to her exposed neck that was littered with small red blotches nobody could really ignore but couldn't stand to look at for longer than a minute, either. Damn, he really screwed up. Not only did he sleep with somebody he barely knew, but he slept with a celebrity with a bright future ahead of her. Yes, this could make for great publicity, but he didn't want Lauren nor her group's success to be overshadowed and plagued by a one night stand.

"Can I say something?" he rose his voice over the ruckus that deafened him. Everybody looked his way: his team, her team, her group and her crystal green eyes.

"Well, it's about time!" a manager of his exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air with exasperation. She was exhausted from all the calls she's been getting from the media.

"Everyone is freaking out because this is reportedly a one night stand-"

"Because it is..." Everyone heard Dinah's snarky remark in the silent room. Lauren hid her face in her hands out of embarrasment and the taller apologized with a comforting hug.

"Anyway... What if we say it's not a one night thing?"

All the pairs of eyes that were once on him all shifted to one another, but Lauren's eyes stayed glued on him, squinting with uncertainty.

"What are you tying to say?" she spoke up, clearly confused.

"I'm saying we date..."