The A-hole Next Door (completed)

THIRTY FOUR

"So, this Gigi Hadid was the model they worked with for their music video?" Luigi asked his friend while reaching for the bag of chips on Lauren's desk.

"Yes." Lauren confirmed, not even lifting her head from what she was sketching.

"Hmm, and the picture on the tabloid was when Gigi had lunch with the whole band, but the media cropped the picture to create some fuss?"

"Just what I said."

Luigi studied Lauren quietly while munching the salty junk food. The girl was still absorbed in her work, unaware that her friend was watching her closely.

"So that means you and Zayn are okay?" He asked.

"Uh-hm."

Luigi sighed impatiently. Without any word, he grabbed Lauren's pencil, then her sketchpad.

"Hey!" She reacted. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to have a proper conversation with you, bitch." He muttered bitterly, shoving the pencil and sketchpad inside her drawer. "I'm like talking to a goddamn robot, you're answering me in short and incomplete statements. Why don't you just tell me everything, yeah?"

Lauren took in a deep breath. "Fine." She mumbled, then took the bag of chips from Luigi's hands. Luigi scowled, but didn't protest.

"He called me last night." She started after eating a piece of potato chip. "We talked in Skype. The article from Sun spread on social media and he found about it just after their show. He talked to me to clear things up."

Luigi snatched the junk food from her hands again. She didn't react, instead she continued with her story.

"Zayn told me that the band had lunch with Gigi after their video shoot. The papz took pictures, and well, The Sun used the photos. They cropped out the rest of the band from the original picture. The shot where they're walking down the street was actually taken when Zayn, Harry and Gigi decided to leave the restaurant early. So, yeah. That's the truth." Lauren explained, then smiled at Luigi. "Satisfied?"

"Media can be a bitch sometimes." Luigi muttered. "Did you two yell at each other last night in front of your laptops?" He snickered.

She shook her head. "No. We talked calmly." She admitted. When she got home from her mother's hotel and Liam's clinic, she was too drained to speak. All she could do was to listen to Zayn as he explained himself, which turned out really good. They didn't fight nor argue, and Lauren was grateful about it. She had a lot of things going on with her head, so she was glad that the rumors about Zayn and Gigi were deducted from her thoughts.

"That's good." Luigi approved. "I thought your temper shot to Jupiter."

"Yeah."

He looked at her again. "Is there something else that's bothering you?"

"Huh? No, nothing."

"God, Lo." He exhaled. "How many times do I have to tell you that lying isn't your forte? I know that face, bitch."

Lauren pursed her lips. She knew that Luigi wouldn't stop torturing her until she talks. But she wasn't comfortable and ready to tell him about her parents' problems. She didn't even mention it to Zayn last night.

Luigi kicked her shoes, and Lauren hated it so much. "I can do this the whole day, Lo." He said.

She rolled her eyes. She decided to just tell Luigi about the other thing that was bothering her. It wasn't really eating up her thoughts, but she could easily share it to him than her major problem.