Near To You (One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter Thirteen

Near to You

13

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Take me to your best friend’s house. I loved you then, I love you now.

Tongue Tied - Grouplove

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“You need to go see him.”

My eyes flickered in Zachary’s direction. We were sitting in Starbucks waiting for his boyfriend, Greg, to show up. It would be our first meeting and I was nowhere as excited as I should have been.

“That wasn’t in the agreement,” I explained for what felt like the millionth time. “I have to wait for his management to call me.”

“It’s been two weeks, Michelle. They’re not going to call you any time soon.”

“They never said it was going to be soon.” I shrugged. “And they shouldn’t. We should have known better than to go somewhere as public as a movie theatre.”

Zachary shook his head, the short blonde locks in the front falling into his eyes. He pushed them back before continuing. “You’ve been so quiet lately, depressed even.”

“It’s not about that, though.” He looked at me incredulously. “Really. Julia’s been on my case. She wants us to meet up, in public too. I’m just…I can’t do it.”

“You’re always so worried about what everyone else thinks!” Zachary exclaimed loudly and I had to shush him from across the table. “Listen to me. You need to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and focus on what you want for once.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“They never said it was supposed to be simple.” He parroted my words. I played with the mug I had bought, a splurge to make myself feel better, as I mulled over his words. “Do you want to see him?”

“Of course I do.” I sighed. “I’m not going to risk it, though.”

“You think too much.” Zachary frowned. “Love is supposed to be a free pass. You’re allowed to be a little bit insane, Michelle.”

“Who said anything about love?” I shrieked. “I barely can come to terms with the fact that I think of him non-platonically. Do you know how stupid of me it was to fall for him?”

“Love isn’t—”

“It’s not love,” I muttered under my breath. “Even if it was, it would be unrequited.”

“Blind and dumb,” He teased. “I don’t know what he sees in you.”

“Clearly I see that stellar charm you have,” a voice called out behind us. I glanced over my shoulder to spot a strikingly handsome boy grinning in our direction. I was bitter for a moment. They were always so attractive. He stuck his hand out toward me. “Hello, I’m Greg. You must be Michelle.”

“That’s me.” I shook his hand, smiling up at him. His hazel eyes reminded me of someone I was trying to forget. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” he informed me as he slid into the booth beside Zachary, offering him a kiss on the cheek. “He can’t shut up about your writing.”

For a second I thought that Zachary had told Greg, but the man’s subtle shake of the head assured me he had not.

“It’s nothing special.”

“Try telling him that.” Greg grinned.

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked, rising from my seat. I would give them a few moments of privacy. It had been almost a month since Greg and Zachary had seen each other because of Greg’s work location outside of London. Although they were spending the entire week together I knew I was intruding somewhat, no matter how much Zachary denied it.