Coming Home

Chapter 12

I sat through the meeting.

I was still disconnected from the reality. The only thing that I remembered was: don't get in trouble and do not date a boy from the band during the tour. If vids was a rumour, I was not to confirm anything.

This is just great...

I sat like a doll as they tweaked my hair and showed me how they wanted the makeup to be done everyday to keep a certain image.

I had caked on makeup as I had my first official photoshoot to promote me as an artist. I've never been in a set like this, around so many people focusing on just me. So much makeup and hairspray; I felt choked up not knowing how to behave in this kind of situation. My shoulders were tense. My heart was drumming loud. Maybe this wasn't the right decisi-

"Ellie!"

I heard someone shout my name. It was Amanda and Jenna -Louis and Liam's girlfriends.

"Oh my gosh hi!" My nerves suddenly eased as I saw them.

"Look at you!" Amanda exclaimed, instantly making me laugh.

"You look so cute!" Jenna said as she played with my curled hair.

"Thanks guys," I said as I hugged them. "Why are you guys here though?"

"Wanted to see your makeover duh!" Amanda said.

"Or just stopped by on our way to see Louis and Liam," Jenna said as she faked a cough.

"Or that," Amanda agreed while keeping a serious expression.

Man I loved these girls. "Thaaanks." I said as I rolled my eyes. "I feel so loved.

"Speaking of," Amanda commented as she looked past me. "Is that your wardrobe?"

"Yeah," I said as I looked back to the rack overflowing with clothes. "Choosing one outfit from that was the hardest thing ever."

"I bet," she replied as she eyed all the clothes.

"Well we gotta get going," Jenna smiled at me. "Don't look so nervous babe! Just have fun with it!"

"You totally got this Ellie," Amanda said as she waved me goodbye.

I inhaled deeply. 'I got this...' I told myself as the director walked into the set.

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"Welcome home superstar!" Delenn greeted me as I got home at 7 PM.

"Hey," I said exhaustingly as I set my bag down and grabbed a slice of pizza from the box laying on the counter. I hopped on the sofa next to her.

"How was the photoshoot?" She smiled excitedly like a child, waiting for me to spill everything.

I sighed and looked at her, but her expression didn't change. "Do you REALLY wanna know?"

"YES." She said as she waited impatiently.

I stared at her for a moment, before she burst into laughter, probably laughing at my expression. She was definitely unique, let me just tell you that. I gave in and told her everything, from the surprise visit to the gossips on the boys I heard from the stylists.

"They warned me about Harry," I said as I ate.

"Oh of course," Delenn said casually. "Everyone fell for him at least once."

I could see why. He was a natural flirt. God knows who he fancied right now. As we talked all night long, my phone vibrated. It was from Zayn: Can we talk tonight?

My heart stopped for a moment. My mind raced through all the possibilities of what he wanted to talk about. I began to feel very nervous as I replied the message. "Yeah where at?"

"What's wrong?" Delenn asked, but understood as soon as she saw the message. "Ooooh."

My stomach felt twisted as I tried to calm my thoughts. What does he want to talk about? "I'm gonna head over to his place," I said as I stood up and headed to the door.

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I sat on his sofa as he got me a drink. "Thanks," I said as nervously took a sip.

He sat next to me and stared at me. My face began to flush as I awkwardly stared at the drink. My chest felt heavy as the room was silent. He suddenly broke into a smile. "What's wrong babe?"

What am I thinking? What IS wrong? "I..." I suddenly felt at ease. "I don't know." I began to laugh as he chuckled at me. Something about him always kept me tense; at the same time, I was happy.

I stared into his eyes for a moment. His smile was real. "Um," he began to say, the smile gradually fading. "I know what they told you. All the rules and everything."

I took a breath to prepare myself. Was he...?

"And I..." He hesitated.

I began to feel sick in my stomach as I tried to complete the sentence in my head.

"I really like you."

I couldn't breathe, both from the suspense of waiting and the shock of his words.

"I want you to know that I really do care for you and I..." His words trailed off as he looked down and licked his lip. "I don't know how to say it." He smiled down as he tried to find his words.

I wasn't quite sure if I felt happy or sad. I had a feeling that this was going downhill, but the fact that he had stated his feelings was enough for me.  "It's okay Zayn," I said as I weaklyput my hand on his and gave him a reassuring smile. "I understa-"

"I love you."