Status Single (One Direction)

Hate

Chapter Sixteen

Rae's POV

I kept the smile on my face as I signed the girl's CD. Inside, I was completely exhausted, but I had to pretend I was having a blast. We've been here for two hours now, and we were just getting to the end of the line now.

"Twenty more and we can all go back to the bus," Rob informed us. I smiled in relief, and looked at the other girls. I was sitting directly in the middle of the line, with Paris and Natalie on my left, and Callie and Charlotte on my right. When Callie wasn't signing or eating from the pack of skittles in front of her, she was texting her new boyfriend.

I wasn't upset with Callie for dating Niall. I mean, we've been on the tour for two weeks now, and it only took those two a week to notice they liked each other. I'm really happy for them, and Callie is really happy now. But watching a relationship's honeymoon phase is worse than I thought.

The next round of girls stepped up to the table, and they went down the line happily. Until they reached me, of course.

"You know, you're not setting a very good example for girls," one of the two snobby girls said, flashing me her Prada bag. Rich girls. Perfect.

"How so?" I questioned.

The same girl put her hand on her hip, "Short shorts and a revealing top? Flirting with every guy, and sleeping with the ones who flirt back?"

"I wear what I want," I said with a simple shrug, "And I don't sleep with every guy I talk to, despite the rumors you must've heard."

"You're a total tramp, Rae Aspen," the other girl snapped.

"A fat skank," the first agreed.

"Hey, lay off," Paris barked, while I remained silent. Rob pulled the girls along, but it was too late. They had gotten to me.

"You okay?" Paris whispered, and I quickly wiped away my tears before she could see them.

"Of course," I lied, giving her a small smile, before letting it fade away. I wasn't fine. I wasn't fine at all.

***

I sat in the corner of the tiny bathroom, my knees pulled to my chest, and my arms wrapped around my legs. I was sobbing, my forehead resting on my knees. The girls had already tried comforting me, but had given up after awhile. I just need time, not friends.

Those girls had really hurt me; their words stung more than they were probably expecting. It's not like me to crack like this, because I'm pretty good at not looking for the hate about me on the Internet. But every now and then, the haters say it to my face.

I've always envied the people that don't care about what others are saying about them. I've always wished to be one of those people, but I'm not.

Thankfully, the lads were at their own event, and didn't have to see me like this. I no longer hate them, but I don't love them either. I don't want them to pity me as I wallow in pain.

As if on cue, I heard the door to the bus open, and the muffled voices of five guys drifted under the bathroom door.

"What are you girls doing down here?" I heard Louis ask.

"Waiting for Rae," Natalie sighed.

"Where is she?" Liam asked.

"In the bathroom," Callie answered, "She doesn't want to talk to anyone."

"Is she hurt?" Harry questioned, his voice full of worry.

"Only emotionally," Charlotte said softly.

I heard footsteps, before they stopped suddenly.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" I heard Paris ask.

"Uh, to see Rae? I wasn't aware that I needed your permission," Harry snapped bitterly.

"Harry, I don't want to fight with you," Paris snapped back, "Rae doesn't want to talk to anybody right now. She'll be fine in a bit. Besides, it's late; we should get some sleep."

"You guys go to bed," Harry said, "I'm going to stay up with Rae."

I imagined Paris shrugging, and there was movement, before a knock at the bathroom door. I didn't look up as Harry poked his head in. He stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and sat down beside me. The bathroom in a bus is extremely small, so the two of us were pretty much taking up all the floor space.

"Are you alright, love?" I heard Harry ask, and I shook my head. What a stupid question. Of course I'm not fine! Are you freaking kidding me?

"What was it? A hater? A bad review?"

"Hate," I whispered.

"You can't deal with it well either?" Harry guessed.

I looked up and glared at him, "This is really helpful and all, but could you leave me alone?"

Harry shrugged, "Nah, I'm good."

I groaned and dropped my head back down on my knees. He can be so irritating!

"You know they're not true, right?" Harry suddenly questioned, "Anything they told you that isn't 'she's perfect', is a lie."

"No, they're right. I AM a tramp. And a skank. And a slut. And a bad fucking influence," I sobbed, and Harry wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"No, you're not. You're perfect, Rae. But if you let those lies get to you, you're going to start believing otherwise."

"I do believe them."

"Then you're letting them win," Harry reminded me, "You can get through this, Aspen. It's all a game, and you're the target, but if you stay strong, you can win in the end."

I was shocked by Harry's words, but I was able to smile. I wiped my tears away, and wrapped my arms around the boy. He seemed shocked at first, but eventually wrapped his strong arms around me.

"Thank you, Harry Styles," I whispered.

I felt Harry squeeze me a bit tighter, "You're welcome."

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Happy Singles Appreciation Day everybody!