Jackie
It’s weird to think that four years ago there had been no Melissa in my life at all. I can’t believe it’s only been four years, it feels like a lifetime. Four years ago I was just a popular rich girl who attended a posh private school and whose daddy did everything to please her, or at least that’s what other people thought.
People expect your life to be perfect when you’re rich. They think it makes everything so much easier. If you’re one of those people, you are wrong on so many levels.
My name is Jackie Erikson. I’m an only child. My mother is a lawyer and my father is the CEO of Shell. When I was twelve years old I lived in Miami. My life was absolutely perfect. I had a wonderful boyfriend, I got good grades at school and my parents were happily married.
Then all of the sudden, my father filed for divorce and my mother started drinking huge amounts of tequila every night. My mother was furious; I could hear them screaming at each other, usually drunk, every night. From there, everything just went downhill. My parents got divorced and I became extremely suicidal. I was diagnosed with depression. I used to sit at my desk and scratch my skin with scissors until I bled. It didn’t hurt at all, it made the pain go away and for a second or two I would be satisfied. My stupid mother dragged me off to London with her. I wanted to stay with my dad, but I was only twelve at the time so I had no say in it whatsoever.
I had to be homeschooled until September as we had left America in May. I felt more alone than ever. After my boyfriend dumped me for my best friend I began cutting myself even more. I haven’t spoken to either of them since.
At my new school, I became known as a whore because I liked to hang out with the boys. They were so much nicer than those anorexic Justin Bieber obsessed pancake-faced girls.
I was thirteen years old when I met Melissa. At the time, she was one of the most popular girls at my school. Most of my guy friends fancied her. She was insanely beautiful and seemed absolutely perfect in my eyes. At the time she was going out with a guy called Chace. The first time I spoke to her was just before Christmas.
--Flashback--
“Chubby Bunny” Alex muttered as he stuffed another marshmallow in his mouth. The table was surrounded by Christian, James, Dallas and Daniel and Joseph. The boys were all cheering him on. It was absolutely hilarious. Alex was half-drooling as he began to cough out the marshmallows, having just beaten Dallas in their bet.
“Mate, look over there!” Joseph said as he pointed over to the girl sitting by herself in the corner of the lunch hall. She was wiping her face with a tissue and her skin was all red. From what I could see, she looked absolutely devastated.
“Is that Melissa Evans?” I asked
“Of course not, she’s never by herself” Alex muttered as he wiped the spit of his face
I looked over at the table where the popular people always sat. She wasn’t there.
“It’s her!” Daniel whispered
“DIBS!” Christian shouted as he stood up to go flirt with her now that she was all alone.
“Dude” I moaned “that’s disgusting.”
“Oh come on, it’s a once in a lifetime chance” Christian urged
“No.” I stated “I’ll go talk to her”
The boys all began to whistle and wriggle their eyebrows as I stood up to leave.
“That’s not what I meant” I laughed as I walked over to her
I felt people eye’s following me as I walked towards her table. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jessica laughing. She was in the year above and a total skank. Words could not describe how much I hated her.
“Are you alright?” I whispered when I got to her table
I was probably not at all what she had expected to see. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was covered in tears
“Not really” she muttered
I sat down besides her. “What’s wrong?” I asked
She looked over towards Jessica. I could see Chace sitting next to her watching her flip her blonde hair around.
“Aren’t you and Chace going out?” I asked
“Not anymore” she muttered as she wiped her face once more
I paused for a second, not quite sure what to say.
“Do you want to sit with me and the boys?” I asked after a while
I’m not sure why I said that. I think I was just feeling sorry for her. I had spoken to her only once, which was when she had asked to borrow my ruler in Maths. I had this strange feeling in my gut as I walked her over to our table.
The boys all sat up straight as we sat down. They stopped acting like immature kids and tried to act normal for once.
“Hey there” James grinned as he examined her close up
“Hey” Melissa muttered
“Are you alright?” Daniel asked
“Pretty shit, Chace and I just broke up and my friends ditched me.”
“What happened?” Christian asked looked just a bit too happy
“I found out that Jessica practically dry-humped him at Amy’s party last week” Melissa said
Amy was another one of the pancake-faces in my year. I always thought Melissa and her were bestfriends but as it turned out she never actually liked her or any of the pancake-faces. I really got to know Liz in the last twenty minutes we had left of lunch. She lost all of her popular friends and joined the gang; we were just a bunch of ordinary people.
Two years later a picture came out of Liz and I eating with One Direction at MacDonald’s, we were suddenly the popular girls at school. We started getting noticed by random people in the streets and getting added on Facebook. I got a couple of death threats but they didn’t bother me at all. Out of nowhere everyone seemed to known our names; of course it had its ups and downs. We couldn’t go to nightclubs without having to worry about pictures ending up in the tabloids and for some reason we always had to look perfect. I mean ALWAYS. Even if it was just to go to the supermarket on a late Friday night to get some popcorn for a movie night.
As I stand here watching Liz buy maternity clothes as she reaches her 5th month of pregnancy I honestly don’t know what happened. I remember her first date with Zayn, the two of them went to see a movie at the cinema. She kept me up until 3 in the morning telling me every single detail of what had happened that night. She was completely in love with the guy from the very first moment.
“Which one should I get?” Liz asks as she holds up two shirts. The first one was a baggy red and white striped shirt and the other one was grey with colored splatters all over it.
“Take the striped one, Louis will love it” I laugh
Melissa laughs as she walks over to the counter holding a pile of shirts and jeans. Only a few jeans and sweatpants she owned fit her right now. Lately Liz had been wearing a ton of baggy clothes; she hated seeing pictures of her belly in the tabloids even though she was barely showing. If you didn’t know her, you would probably think she was just a tiny bit bloated.
When Nicole called me to say Melissa had been in an accident, I was on vacation so I couldn't go see her. When I finally got back, she had amnesia and was pregnant. I was slightly hurt that she hadn’t told me when she found out she was pregnant, but she had always been a very private person. It was such a shock. I feel as if the accident changed her, she regained some of her memories but not all of them. There's so much she doesn't know about, but I'm afraid to tell her.
Zayn
Zayn sighed as he stepped out into the cold breeze. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, he promised the boys he’d stopped but he couldn’t. The pressure was just too much. He was stressed. He needed it, badly. The boys had kept such a close eye on him since the last time he craved for one.
Zayn quickly walked away from the building and set off towards the closest alleyway he could find. He pulled his hood up to make him unrecognizable to the public. He didn’t want anyone to notice him, not today. The stress was just too much. Everyone he looked there were tabloids reminding him. He felt ashamed; he had let too many people down.
I’m not ready for it. How am I supposed to raise a child? How could i? I only just turned nineteen. I can’t become a father already.
He walked into the alleyway and made sure nobody was around before he pulled the packet of cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket. His hands were shaking as he put the cigarette in his mouth. He hesitated somewhat, before lighting it breathing in.
As he lit the cigarette he remembered how furious he had been after finding out Melissa had started smoking. They had fought so much over that. She had always been convincing him not to, making sure he didn’t have any on him. Finding out she started was such a disappointment.
Zayn leaned against the wall. He felt his muscles relax, he loved it so much. He couldn’t live without it anymore, he needed it. All the colors in the world brightened up and his sight sharpened. He felt up-lifted, cheery.
The boys would be so disappointed. He would have to go home, shower, wash his clothes and spray his hair to avoid them noticing the smell. He wasn’t going to tell them, not this time. Not her either.
I don’t want to be a dad. Not yet.
He had hurt so many people. His mother had been completely devastated, his father had cried for hours. He knew his sisters were disappointed, they had looked up to him their entire life and he had failed them.
He could still remember how furious Melissa’s parents had been. After the nurse had told them they had seen him and the boys waiting in the corridor and gone completely mental.
“It’s going to be alright Zayn, you two will work something out” Liam whispered
“How could I have been so bloody stupid? She’s only sixteen, mate!” he shouted as he felt his face cover in hot tears
“She’s strong mate, she’ll be okay” Harry said
I could hear the door creak as it opened, I wiped my face and looked up to see who it was. The door opened and Mr. Evans came barging out. His face was blood red and his veins were popping out of his neck and arms. When he saw me, his eyes widened and he came charging at me.
“YOU BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY DAUGHTER?!” He screamed and he came towards me
“No- wait what? I didn’t…” I said confused
Mr. Evans was only a meter away from me as he began to swing his fists around at me. Medical staff came rushing towards us as I stood up to defend myself.
“STOP IT” I hear Mrs. Evans screaming
I saw someone’s arms grab around his waist as he was being pulled away from us. He reminded me of a bull, the look in his eyes sent chills down my back.
“Mr. Evans I’m going to have to ask you to leave” one of the doctors said
“You’re dead.” He said, then spat onto the floor and walked out furiously.
Zayn inhaled once more, then spat the cigarette onto the floor and took out another one from his pocket. He thought of the tour to America that was starting in four days, he would he back two months later. He was relieved; it would give him time to be by himself.
I’m sorry Liz. I can’t do this anymore, I'm not ready.
Melissa
“That’ll be 95.70 please” the cashier lady said
I gave her my debit card and waited for her to enter the code. I felt eyes following me around the store. Every time I looked out the window I saw girls pointing at me with their cameras in their hands. I looked down to make sure my belly wasn’t sticking out, then typed in my code and got my debit card back.
I swear, getting pregnant at 16 sucks. I've dropped out of school, my education is going down the drain. Honestly, if I didn't have Nicole taking care of me I would probably end up working at MacDonald’s for the rest of my life.
“Thanks” I smiled as I took my shopping bags of the table.
I took out my phone to see if Zayn had replied to my text yet, nothing. I looked back at our conversation. Lately it had been taking him ages to reply to me, it made me feel sort of uncomfortable. I didn't want to seem like a stalker girlfriend who texted him every second, so I just gave up. He would have to reply at some point. He must be busy; he is a celebrity after all.
Zayn was leaving in four days, I was absolutely devastated. I wouldn't get to see him for two whole months. I felt horrible, I hadn't seen him in a week and he was about to leave. Zayn where are you?
As Jackie and I left the shop, we were followed by the girls that had been taking photos of us outside. They were constantly calling our names and taking photos of us. I put on my sunglasses and kept my face down; I really did not want to end up on twitter again.
“HI MELISSA!”
"Hey guys, how are you?" I smiled at the girls who were now walking next to us. They looked nice; I knew I had to be polite at all times to the fans. After all, they had supported me. The paparazzi on the other hand, could kiss my ass.
"I'm good thank you, are you alright?" one of the girls asked politely
"I'm good" I laughed
“MELISSA!”
“CAN I HAVE A PICTURE?”
I turned around to see a girl who looked about 14 years old holding a camera. I took it and quickly took a picture of us, then gave it back to her.
It isn't hard to know which are fans and which are paparazzi. Sometimes the paparazzi would put on a high pitch voice and pretend to be a fan whilst taping you, making you look arrogant when they put the video online.
"WHEN IS THE BABY DUE?"
"4 months" I muttered as I looked around to find Jackie
"IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?"
"WHERE IS ZAYN?"
"He's busy" I said
"ARE YOU CHEATING ON ZAYN?"
"DID YOU BREAK UP?"
I giggled at their questions. Honestly they would do anything for a little attitude.
I felt the paparazzi’s cameras flashing all around me. I began to feel like an animal on display at the zoo, constantly followed by excited children. The screaming was too much. I felt like I was drowning as they came closer. I couldn't see Jackie; my sight was blubber by camera flashes. I shut my eyes closed and spread my arms to push everyone away, and then I ran.
Please just leave me alone. I thought as I ran as fast as I could.
All the attention from the press was so annoying, why did I tell them? Stupid. I took a corner and leaned against the wall.
For the past few days, I'd had such a bad feeling in my gut, like something was about to go horribly wrong. I wrapped my arms around my belly instinctively.
I don't want all this anymore. I'm not ready for any of this. Zayn why are you being so distant? Why haven't you replied to my calls? What have I done wrong?