Near To You (One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter Seventeen

            “I…” I trailed off. My heart swelled in my chest at the sentiment. I really wanted to go with him wherever he was after being away for so long, but I knew I couldn’t. “I can’t. I wish I could, but I’ve made plans with a few friends.”

            “That’s fine,” he brushed it off and I knew he wasn’t too bothered. “Meeting up with Zachary.”

            “Yeah,” I lied. “We’re going for something to eat and catch up on what we missed.”

            “Sounds nice,” he replied. “Maybe we could meet up after then, if this doesn’t take too long. It shouldn’t.”

            “That would be great.”

            We hung up after making plans to meet up later and the girls took that time to come into my room, all in robes with their hair held up in towels.

            “You must have been a sight walking across the hall in that.” I laughed and June rolled her eyes.

            “We look fabulous in whatever we wear.” She struck a pose and we all burst into giggles. There was a knock on the door and the anticipation in my stomach grew.

            “That must be our stylist.”

            Pulling open the door a petite woman entered, followed by another two people. Hold it to Jules to bring in an entire team when I specifically said one person.

            We were poked and prodded for what felt like an eternity, but I could tell it was all worth it when I saw my reflection in the mirror, as well as the other girls. We looked pretty good for non-celebrities.

            Jules texted me, telling me that the car was waiting, and we exited the hotel in a bubble of excitement. I still felt a little queasy but I knew everything would turn out right, it had to. My life was beginning to take shape and I was ready to take control.

            The thought of people knowing wasn’t as terrifying as it had first been. I knew that some things would change, it was inevitable, but after being home for two weeks, it felt as if I could do anything. I would breeze through this, and then tell Zayn before it got too far out, and hopefully he would understand why I wasn’t able to tell him before.

            “This is amazing!” Savannah exclaimed as she stepped out of the limo. It was a lot to take in, and the paparazzi were slightly disappointed when they saw we were not an A-list celebrity. They would have their field day with me in a few moments.

            Jules bounded over to us the moment we were all out. She had a wire coming out of her ear and was clutching a clipboard tightly. She appeared very stressed. I felt slightly bad for her.

            “Are you alright?” I asked.

            “I’ll be fine once all of this is over.” She shook her head. “In five minutes you’ll walk the carpet, and when asked who you are—you say who you are. Things are going to blow up. Expect for it to get a little bit crazy.”

            “Okay,” I nodded, biting my lip. “I think I’m actually ready for this.”

            Jules disappeared in the crowd and I turned to the girls who hugged me comfortingly one at a time.

            “You’ll be amazing,” June assured me, squeezing my shoulder.

            “You guys better go in before me.” I told them. “Through the back, I don’t want you getting trapped in all of this.”

            June and Caroline left right away, led by a man Jules had sent our way, but Savannah lingered. I glanced at her warily.

            “What are you doing?”

            “You can’t go through this alone,” she insisted. “Plus, who says you’re allowed to keep all the hot male celebrities to yourself? Give mamma some of that sugar.”

            I rolled my eyes at her foolishness and made my way a little bit closer to where the carpet began, but still slightly out of sight.

            “Uh, yeah.” A familiar voice caught my attention. Could it be—? My heart almost stopped. Zayn was standing a few feet away from me, already on the red carpet, answering some questions from a female interviewer. “We’re all very excited. The music’s very good and we’re proud of this album.”

            What was he doing here? I panicked internally, hoping that the girls did not realize my distress. I thought back to when he had called me earlier, he hadn’t said it was this premiere that he was coming to. What were the odds?

            I groaned, running my hand over my face. Hopefully the gesture did not ruin my make up or else Jules would be livid. Jules—she had to have known that he would be here, but she hadn’t warned me. It must have been part of their whole ploy to get me some good publicity. They didn’t know what they would be doing to him, however, once the news got out.

            The media would twist the entire situation. They would claim that he was there to support me. They would make a story where there was none. We were doomed.

            I needed to get away before he noticed me. If I slipped right by him then it would be no problem. The theatre would be dark, and I would linger a little afterward so that we would not run into each other outside.

            Somehow I would convince the girls to forego the after party and come back to the hotel instead. Just as I ducked behind a camerawoman, Savannah pulled me back.

            “Where are you going, Michelle?”

            Zayn turned as Savannah began to giggle and my veins ran cold.

            “Michelle?”

            Shit.