Vas Happenin’ Readers? Hey, if you like this story, SHARE IT!!! I need more reads, guys, and I really appreciate any read, comment and fan! JOL is planned to have 38 chapters until possibly a sequel if I get enough support! Read, Comment, Vote and Fan! Enjoy xx
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Zayn’s POV
It has been two weeks since I met the wonderful girl with the beautiful name Bailey. Well, to be exact, it’s been 13 days, 16 hours, 5 minutes and 30 seconds… Not that I’ve been counting or anything…
Shaking my head must have become my hobby because I certainly do it a lot… like now. And the reason is none other than because I still had a small crush on Bailey… oh bullshit, I loved her! She was the love of my life, yet she didn’t even know how special she was to me. I was just a stupid friend to her, nothing but a fucking buddy.
“Zayn. Zayn!” someone was calling and I snapped out of my imaginable pity party, turning to look at Louis. Damn him, stealing Bailey away from me. How dare he? Okay, he didn’t know about my crush, but still! He simply stole her away! I glared at him fiercely and he looked taken a back. I didn’t care.
“Don’t talk to me,” I hissed and he looked genuinely hurt but I simply ignored him. Who was appalled now?
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked but I pretended he didn’t say anything and didn’t even look his way when Bailey walked into the living room.
“Hey Zayn,” Bailey spoke, making my stomach flutter and a blush already creeping onto my cheeks.
“Yeah?”
“Can I speak to you? Privately?” she requested and I nodded as she pulled my arm, tugging me into my room and shutting the door. “We need to talk, Bub,” she chided, smiling at me. “When I woke up last week from the, um, certain event,” she started and I nodded, though I think I knew what she was getting at. My throat became dry and I could not swallow as she continued. “You were talking with Liam about something,” she stated and I gasped. ‘She heard that?’ I thought. “Yes, I did,” she told me and I realized I had spoken my thoughts aloud.
“What did you hear? How much did you hear?” I stuttered, insecurity making stars blink in front of my vision.
“When Liam said that you need to tell some girl something, did you mean, uh, I, do you like… Do you like me, Zayn?” she blurted, her friendly, brown eyes staring into mine, showing a mixture of sadness, kindness and worry. I felt my throat close up and breathing became even harder as I tried to think of a plausible answer.
“Of course I like you, Bay!” I said with forced enthusiasm but she shook her head, letting it hang down as she took a deep breath..
“No, Zayn. Do you like me?” she tried again, but I refused to let her know.
“I-I don’t understand,” I tried to weasel myself out of the situation. “Hey, did you know Nandos is going to expa-“
“Zayn!” she cried, exasperated. “You know very well what I mean, don’t change the topic! Do. You. Like. Me?” That is were I cracked.
“Yeah Bailey, I do! So what, what do you care anyway! It’s not like you’d ever like me back, so does it matter? You like Lou anyway, so leave me alone!” I bellowed, losing control over myself as I stormed out of the room, ran down the staircase and walked straight out of the door, slamming it behind me. I heard Louis calling my name but he was the last person I wanted to see, next to Bailey.
Bailey’s POV
“Yeah Bailey, I do! I fricking love you! So what, what do you care anyway! It’s not like you’d ever like me back, so does it matter? You like Lou anyway, so leave me alone!” he shouted and I flinched at his loud tone as he hurried out of the room, leaving me alone to shed all the salty tears that had been bottled up inside me. The problem was; he was right. I did like Louis, and that made it all worse because I couldn’t love him back; I couldn’t do that to him, he was too nice for that.
“Zayn!” I heard Louis call and walked down stairs, seeing Louis standing up, looking stressed and hurt. Looking more closely, though, I could see one, solitary tear roll down his cheek as he stared at the closed door, as still as a statue. Louis, though, had a lot of cracks in his rocky exterior, and that was when I noticed how soft his inside really is.
Louis’ POV
As Zayn left with Bailey upstairs I couldn’t help but let a few sobs sound from my mouth. What had I done to Zayn that he hated me so? I felt my heart start to ache; one of my best friends hated me!
“Yeah Bailey, I do! So what, what do you care anyway! It’s not like you’d ever like me back, so does it matter? You like Lou anyway, so leave me alone!” I heard Zayn roar before he came crashing down the stairs and left the hotel room, leaving me to call forlornly after him. So this is why he hates me; he’s jealous! He thinks that I’m stealing Bailey away from him because he… he likes her! Everything clicked into place and I finally understood why he has been ignoring me this past week. But he also said… he said that Bailey likes someone else. He said that Bailey likes me.
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Two hours. It’s been two hours since Zayn’s been gone, since he stormed out of the room and left me and Bailey to sit in silence and wait for his return, and it was then that I decided to ask Bailey the question that has been nagging in my mind the last 120 minutes.
“Bailey?” I caught her attention, looking over to her.
“Yeah, Boo?” she asked and I grinned at the use of my nickname, but I soon became serious again. She saw my face and looked confused, her nose scrunching as if deep in thought. “What’s up? Why’s the Tommo so serious all of a sudden.
“When Zayn had the outburst and said that you liked me, well, er… Was it true?” I rushed and saw her pale. Not much, only slightly, but it was still visible as she searched for an answer.
Bailey’s POV
I felt myself pale at the question and tried to decide what to say, but here’s the thing; I think I did. I mean, I couldn’t get the image of how his hair swished in the wind out of my head, yet when I touched his arm accidentally, there were no sparks or anything cliché like that, so, I don’t know really.
“No, don’t worry. Zayn was just a little upset, he was being paranoid,” I explained and felt myself breath a mental sigh of relief as she nodded and grinned.
“Okay! Do you wanna play, I mean lose, a game of Mario Kart with me?” he inquired but the quizzical expression on my face only confused him more.
“What the heck is Mario Kart?” I asked and he gasped.
“Girl, we have a lot to do.”
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“YEEEEEEES!” I screamed, jumping onto the couch again. “I won AGAIN! Beat that Louis,” I challenged and he pretended to cry.
“I am defeated!” he cried, burying his face in his arms and shaking his shoulders just enough to make him look like he really was sobbing. If I didn’t know better, I would genuinely believe that he was crying. He may not be very good at Mario Kart Wii but he certainly was a fantastic actor. I giggled and he looked up at me and grinned, and that’s when I felt a warm sensation making its way onto my face. ‘Oh no’ I thought desperately. ‘Don’t blush, Bailey, don’t blush!’ Luckily, Louis didn’t say anything because just then Liam, Harry and Niall burst into the room. Liam had a gigantic stuffed turtle in his hands, Harry was carrying at least three bags of Jack Wills clothing and Niall had about five bags of Nandos all crammed under his left arm as he waved to us.
“Hey Louis, Bailey, Za-“ he stopped abruptly and looked around. “Where is Zayn?”
“He, er, went out,” Louis reasoned, emphasizing the words ‘went out’. “Anyway, you people are insane! You were only gone for, what, three hours, and you come back with a truckload of things! How much did you spend?” Louis demanded, though he didn’t look that serious as he stared Harry up and down.
“Only about ngnhndrdpnds,” Harry mumbled and Lou raised his eyebrows jokingly.
“What was that, Mr. Styles?” he asked again and Harry sighed, giving up.
“Nine hundred pounds, Louis. What do you care, you’re not even Daddy Direction!” he accused and I saw Liam pout.
“Hey, what kind of a crap dis was that!” Liam exclaimed and I simply laughed at them; they were all so silly.
“What you looking at, Bay Bay?” Louis asked menacingly, yet I didn’t see what was coming as he approached me until, well, until it was too late.
“Stop!” I shrieked as his hands dug into my sides and he tickled mercilessly. I was gasping for breath but he took no notice and simply continued while the other lads just stared at us with humored expressions on their faces. “Look, it’s Zayn!” I called and Louis jumped away to look as I dashed being the couch, hiding in safety. “Sorry, I lied, it was just the coat rack,” I teased and stuck my tongue out, but the lads looked a bit sad after my mention of Zayn. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad, I just-“ I began but Harry cut me off.
“No no, Bailey, it’s alright, don’t worry,” he reassured me, yet the fun mood had suddenly flown out of the room and left us with an eerie depression, so all we could to was gather on the couch and wait for the Bradford Bad Boi to return.
Zayn’s POV
I took another sip of my beer, and another. I don’t know how many it has been; maybe four, five beers? It was enough to slur my memory as I got up and began grinding a hot blond chic. She turned around and smiled slyly at me before rubbing herself all over my body and I found myself moaning until I saw the hair turn Brunette and the figure slim a little, and when she turned around and leaned in to kiss me, it was Bailey’s face and Bailey’s eyes I was staring into. I gasped and shook my head, backing away.
“Sorry, I – I have to go,” I called out to her and rushed away, back in the safety of my drink as I looked for a different girl to hit on, one that didn’t somehow resemble Bailey - ack, there I was, thinking about her again! I spotted and black-haired girl near the cocktail bar and decided to approach her. Without giving her a chance to think I spun her around and crashed my lips against hers, roughly fighting my tongue into her mouth and pushing her against the bar counter as her eyes slowly un-widened and she kissed back, digging her fingers into my scalp, yet there was something wrong about this, and all of a sudden I smelt Bailey’s scent and could feel her lush lips on mine, instead of the girl who was pulling us closer. I was just about to break away when I felt a sharp tap on my shoulder and a gruff voice yell at me.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing to my girlfriend!” the voice bellowed and the girl pushed me away, glaring daggers at me.
“H-he pushed himself on me, I swear, Dawg!” she pleaded and I had to suppress a giggle. Dawg? What a pathetic name.
“What are you smiling at, you stupid good-for-nothing squirt? Get away from her, you filthy bastard!” he yelled, clenching his face-sized fists and I gulped.
“W-whatever,” I tried to answer nonchalantly and ignored the twenty, or more, people watching me as I raced out of the club and took a deep breath of fresh air, my pulse racing and a cold sweat forming defiant beads on my forehead when a familiar thought struck me. ‘Everyone’s appalled of me. Every single fucking one.’ Gasping, I walked straight over to the curb and waved my arms around, trying to hail a taxi while praying the tears to stay inside me as I confirmed my thoughts; this, by far, has been the worst day of my life.
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Twenty minutes and fifty sobs later the vehicle stopped in front of the familiar entrance of the Hostess Hotel and I closed my eyes, gathering all the courage I could to step out instead of telling the man to keep driving, to bring me away from this place and, more importantly, Bailey. I handed the man a one hundred note, even though the price was only at thirty-five pounds.
“Keep the change,” I muttered and climbed out of the cab, sticking my hands into my pockets, fingering the frayed leather of my wallet as I took slow, lingering steps towards the illuminated building, my hunched body creating lanky shadows behind me as one, solitary tear seeped out of my eyes. I looked down and felt it drop off my face and observed it as it fell onto the cracked concrete and splattered into nothingness, and I couldn’t help but wish that that would happen to me. Groaning, I pushed open the door to the lobby and stepped into the elevator, getting off at my floor and knocking at the door to see that it creaked open and realized that I had not closed it earlier… I felt that sense of uselessness once again as I remembered how I had confided to Bailey about my feelings and how she could never, ever, return them. I stepped inside the room and saw the rest of the lads and Bailey sitting together, crammed onto the couch but I gave them no attention, though my gaze lingered on Bailey for a few seconds longer. Not even giving them a word I stormed past and into my room, hearing Bailey call after me and soon after heavy steps coming up the stairs. ‘Great’ I thought scornfully as I sat on my bed. ‘Now I have to talk to her again’. But these thoughts were denied as Liam came and sat next to me, looking at me with kind, worried eyes as if willing me to tell me what happened. And it worked. Within five minutes I had poured my heart out while he nodded and patted my back soothingly.
“Do what you think is best, mate. No one will judge you,” he offered, and with that he disappeared out of the room leaving me to think things over by myself. I smiled even though I was breaking inside; it was so great to have friends like him.
********************5 weeks later******************
Bailey’s POV
I couldn’t help but smile as memories flooded my mind, letting the salty tears that kept coming stream into my mouth as my sad eyes clouded over and I sniffed heavily, taking one last look at the boys. The reason for my sadness? The boys were leaving to go back on tour and I would only see them in a year. One entire year! I would have to wait 365 days just to see Louis, Zayn, Liam, Niall and Harry again, and with that thought came another round of tears. I remembered all of our games, our trips, our days out at the beach, but the most vivid memory was when Zayn returned that one night, where I found out his feelings.
*FLASHBACK*
I heard the door slam and saw Zayn march in, giving us no attention whatsoever as he rushed into his room and slammed the door, making me shake profoundly as I called after him.
“Zayn!” I cried but Liam placed a gentle, shaking hand on my forearm and calmed my shaking body down.
“Let me go talk to him,” he whispered and I nodded, watching him go and waiting impatiently for his return. After what seemed to be five minutes I saw Liam come down the stairs, followed by a grief-stricken looking Zayn. By this time Harry and Louis were making tea in the kitchen, Niall was strumming on the guitar and I was biting my nails nervously. As soon as he saw me, however, he grinned sadly and shook his head.
“I-I’m really sorry for running off like that, it was just too much for me,” he apologized, looking up at me through his long lashes. Liam nodded approvingly and walked away towards the kitchen.
“Hey Niall, we have Nandos leftovers!” he announced and Niall dropped his guitar, racing into the kitchen while chanting ‘Food! Food! Food!’
“Zayn, I – it’s really sweet that you, you know, like me,” I began but he shook his head.
“Bailey, I know that you can’t return the feelings and I can’t say that I’m okay with it, but I’ll learn to live with it,” he replied sorrowfully and I felt my heart twist as a few tears seeped through his lashes. Maybe I didn’t love him, but he was still a very good friend; I was probably closest to him from all the lads… or maybe Louis…
“I’m really sorry you have to go through this, Bub.” I gave him a lopsided grin and he tried to return it, but his lips kept turning down in rejection and I felt my hand instantly reach out to pat his arm compassionately as I stood up and walked towards his slumped, defeated body. “Come on, give me a hug,” I urged and saw him grin slightly as I wrapped my arms around his torso and squeezed lightly, feeling his own arms rub my back until I broke away. I leant up and kissed his cheek, seeing him blush as I stepped away and looked him straight in the eyes.
“T-thank you,” he stuttered and I chuckled.
“Don’t worry. And remember, you can talk to me about anything, okay? You can trust me, I won’t let you down,” I promised and saw his blush increase slightly at the words.
“Friends?” he whispered, and I noticed how completely vulnerable he looked as he spoke.
“Friends.”
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
And we were friends. Sure, a few things were awkward, as we both could tell that he still liked my as much as he did the times before, but he tried to put it past him and I loved him for that, as a friend, almost as a brother. ‘Funny’ I thought as I hugged him goodbye, ‘that I know these five guys, what, two months, and yet they seem like brothers to me.’
“I’m going to miss you so!” I sobbed and fell into Louis’ arms, giving him one last squeeze, but could not ignore the un-noticeable tensing of Zayn’s body, yet I knew that he wanted me to pretend it never happened, that we were friends and that I never knew about Zayn’s feelings. I moved onto Liam, Niall and Harry before wiping my eyes and watching them walk off towards their terminal, mentally cursing the security guards for not letting me past.
***************3 days later***************
I took a deep breath and opened the door of my apartment, looking out the colorful leaves of fall in Birmingham. Stepping out I locked the door and swung my bag over my shoulder. Today was the first day of school and Bell’s mom was going to take us to the 15-minute away school Birmingham High, which we were both attending, though Bell was new. I had Skyped with One Direction (my god did that sound cool!” the last few days while getting ready for my classes; it was my senior year! My heart skipped a beat as I thought about my future; I was going to graduate in a year! ‘And see the boys again’ a little voice in my head said, but I ignored it. The pain of all the boys gone was almost unbearable, and Bell seemed a little upset as well. I might have spent a lot more time with them, but Bell was often part of the activities and she was now my best friend; she knew practically everything about me, and vice versa.
“Girls, we’re here!” Bell’s mother Ronda announced once she stopped in front of the majestic iron gates of the school and I thanked her, leading the way into the school building with Bell following close behind me.
Bell’s POV
I could feel my heart thudding inside my chest as I trailed after Bailey into Brimingham High, thanking god for letting us be in the same class. I felt my heart pain at the thought of Liam gone for an entire year, and my constant thoughts weren’t helping. ‘Liamliamliamliamliam…’ I snapped out of my own world to see someone looking at me expectantly and realized that Bailey had asked me something.
“W-what?” I stuttered and gave her a goofy grin. She chuckled, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
“I said are you ready?” she repeated and I nodded confidently. She resumed her confident stride and sooner than I had wanted we were sitting in our seats, waiting for class to begin.
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Chapter 9 has come to an end, sorry for making you all wait so long! I am not going to go into detail describing their senior year and Chapter 10 picks off just at the end of 12th grade… hope that’s okay!
Yuki xx