In a Heartbeat
Paparazzi
Melody's POV
"What is the real reason you were crying today?"
The words bounced around in my head. I heard them, but I didn't understand them. My mind went blank.
"Mel? Mel?" Liam's voice said. I didn't reply. "Mel?"
I looked up, not seeing anything but shapes. Then everything came into focus so fast it made my head hurt.
"If you don't want to answer you don't have to, Mel," Louis said, petting the back of my hand.
"No, no. It's time you guys know," I said, taking a deep breath.
Then I told them my story, beginning to end, with Harry helping out in the parts where I cried. It told them about all the instruments and my studio, Will's diagnosis and treatments. What we did for the children at the hospital and how Will died holding my hand.
When I finished, everyone just stared at me in shock. The Katrinas, too. They had never heard my story like this.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Zayn asked, tears in his eyes.
"I didn't want more people looking at me like they're sorry for me because my brother died. I get enough of those looks here and I didn't want any more people doing that," I said, wiping the tears from my face. "And everyone says that they won't but they do when they think you don't see them but they do."
After we left Blue Potato, Niall complained that he was hungry again, so we just ignored him.
"Okay, so on the weekends, this place is really busy," I said. "So make sure you talk in American accents or real quietly, okay? And don't take off your disguises. At all."
The boys nodded and we walked into the shopping mall.
"I smell food!" Niall said. I laughed.
"Food court's that way," I said, pointing to my left as we came to an intersection.
Niall ran off in the direction I had pointed and Liam followed him.
"So... where to?" Harry asked.
"Hot Topic," I said, walking to the other end of the mall with the other 3/5 of One Direction and both Katrinas at my heels.
Wow, that was weird to say.
"Here we are!" I said, walking into the store. I immediately went to go find My Little Pony stuff for Tristan, who was a major brony and loved anything MLP.
"My Little Pony? Aren't you a little old for that stuff?" Harry asked, walking up behind me.
"No!" I said. "This stuff is for Tristan anyway. He's a brony. And so what if I like My Little Pony? It's not the end of the world."
"It's a little odd, but it's not the end of the world I guess," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Just something that most teenagers don't like."
"Well, I'm not your average teenager," I said, picking up a shirt. I pulled out my phone and looked at my messages. "Dammit. I forgot what size Tristan is."
"He looked to be about my size. Why don't I go try on the shirt?" Harry suggested.
I laughed. "You? In a MLP shirt? Yes," I said. "I have GOT to get a picture of that."
Harry took my phone and the shirt from me and went to the dressing room. "Then I'll take a picture, because I'm not coming out of a dressing room wearing a My Little Pony shirt."
"Nothing inappropriate!" I shouted.
"Uh, Mel? We have a problem," Zayn said, tapping on my shoulder. "Paparazzi are here."
"Niall!" I growled. "He must've taken off his sunglasses or something. Or his hat. I know it wasn't Liam. He's too responsible to do something like that."
"Where's Harry? We have to get out of here before they figure out where we are!"
"OH MY GOD IT'S ZAYN MALIK!!!!" a girl's voice screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Dressing room. Go hide there! It's over there. Knock on the door or crawl under it or something. Just HIDE!" I whisper-shouted, and he took off in that direction, slightly hunched over so he wouldn't be taller than the shelves. A girl with bleach-blonde hair came running over to me.
"Where did he go?! I want an autograph!" she asked me.
"Where did who go?" I asked nonchalantly, picking up another T-shirt and pretending to examine it. I looked at the tag. "Too big."
"Zayn Malik! From One Direction! He was right here!" she shouted, jumping up and down in her heels. "OH EM GEE I'M STANDING DIRECTLY WHERE ZAYN MALIK WAS STANDING! SQUEE!" she squealed.
"I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that," I said, re-folding the T-shirt and picking up another one.
"So he wasn't here?" she asked sadly.
"Nope."
"Damn!" she said, stomping her foot. "Hey, you look familiar! Oh! I know! Are you Melody?!"
"Yeah, and how do you know my name?" I asked warily. Is she some kind of freaky stalker or something?
"You were playing guitar for One Direction last night! Duh! I'm so jealous of you," she said.
"Oh, yeah. That was me. And.... thanks? I think?"
"Can I have your autograph?"
"Why? I'm not famous."
"Yeah you are! You're on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine!" she said, grabbing a magazine from behind me and shoving it in my face. "What's your Twitter name? I have GOT to Follow you!"
"Wow," I said, taking the magazine from her. "I didn't know I was on the cover of a magazine."
"Well, you are. Can I PLEASE have your autograph? And a picture?!" she asked, jumping up and down.
"Um... sure?"
"Squee!" she said, taking out her iPhone and snapping a picture with me. Then she handed me a pen and her copy of Tiger Beat and I signed it, knowing it probably looked nothing like something a famous person would use for an autograph. My handwriting sucks.
"Thank you SOOOO much!" she shouted, running away.
"How the hell can she run in heels?" I muttered, turning back to the T-shirts.
"Let's go. We're meeting up with Niall and Liam in the storm shelter," Harry said, carrying a bag.
"What's in the bag?" I asked.
"Two T-shirts,' he answered, pulling out two MLP shirts.
"It fit? Cool! What's with the second one?"
"It looked good on me," he said, grinning.
"Cocky," I said. "Let's go."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd of Directioners and paparazzi, keeping his head low. He turned a corner and pulled me over. "I don't know where the storm shelter is."
I laughed. "Obviously not, because it's by the bathrooms on the other end of the mall," I said, pulling him back the other way. He stood his ground and pulled me back.
"Wait," he said. I got nervous because we were extremely close. A wave of more paparazzi came through right where I had previously been standing.
Ohhh. That's what he was doing. I laughed, throwing my head back. "I was gonna get stepped on by a herd of elephants with cameras!" I laughed.
"Okay, now let's go," Harry said, and pulled me back in the opposite direction.
"What is the real reason you were crying today?"
The words bounced around in my head. I heard them, but I didn't understand them. My mind went blank.
"Mel? Mel?" Liam's voice said. I didn't reply. "Mel?"
I looked up, not seeing anything but shapes. Then everything came into focus so fast it made my head hurt.
"If you don't want to answer you don't have to, Mel," Louis said, petting the back of my hand.
"No, no. It's time you guys know," I said, taking a deep breath.
Then I told them my story, beginning to end, with Harry helping out in the parts where I cried. It told them about all the instruments and my studio, Will's diagnosis and treatments. What we did for the children at the hospital and how Will died holding my hand.
When I finished, everyone just stared at me in shock. The Katrinas, too. They had never heard my story like this.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Zayn asked, tears in his eyes.
"I didn't want more people looking at me like they're sorry for me because my brother died. I get enough of those looks here and I didn't want any more people doing that," I said, wiping the tears from my face. "And everyone says that they won't but they do when they think you don't see them but they do."
After we left Blue Potato, Niall complained that he was hungry again, so we just ignored him.
"Okay, so on the weekends, this place is really busy," I said. "So make sure you talk in American accents or real quietly, okay? And don't take off your disguises. At all."
The boys nodded and we walked into the shopping mall.
"I smell food!" Niall said. I laughed.
"Food court's that way," I said, pointing to my left as we came to an intersection.
Niall ran off in the direction I had pointed and Liam followed him.
"So... where to?" Harry asked.
"Hot Topic," I said, walking to the other end of the mall with the other 3/5 of One Direction and both Katrinas at my heels.
Wow, that was weird to say.
"Here we are!" I said, walking into the store. I immediately went to go find My Little Pony stuff for Tristan, who was a major brony and loved anything MLP.
"My Little Pony? Aren't you a little old for that stuff?" Harry asked, walking up behind me.
"No!" I said. "This stuff is for Tristan anyway. He's a brony. And so what if I like My Little Pony? It's not the end of the world."
"It's a little odd, but it's not the end of the world I guess," he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Just something that most teenagers don't like."
"Well, I'm not your average teenager," I said, picking up a shirt. I pulled out my phone and looked at my messages. "Dammit. I forgot what size Tristan is."
"He looked to be about my size. Why don't I go try on the shirt?" Harry suggested.
I laughed. "You? In a MLP shirt? Yes," I said. "I have GOT to get a picture of that."
Harry took my phone and the shirt from me and went to the dressing room. "Then I'll take a picture, because I'm not coming out of a dressing room wearing a My Little Pony shirt."
"Nothing inappropriate!" I shouted.
"Uh, Mel? We have a problem," Zayn said, tapping on my shoulder. "Paparazzi are here."
"Niall!" I growled. "He must've taken off his sunglasses or something. Or his hat. I know it wasn't Liam. He's too responsible to do something like that."
"Where's Harry? We have to get out of here before they figure out where we are!"
"OH MY GOD IT'S ZAYN MALIK!!!!" a girl's voice screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Dressing room. Go hide there! It's over there. Knock on the door or crawl under it or something. Just HIDE!" I whisper-shouted, and he took off in that direction, slightly hunched over so he wouldn't be taller than the shelves. A girl with bleach-blonde hair came running over to me.
"Where did he go?! I want an autograph!" she asked me.
"Where did who go?" I asked nonchalantly, picking up another T-shirt and pretending to examine it. I looked at the tag. "Too big."
"Zayn Malik! From One Direction! He was right here!" she shouted, jumping up and down in her heels. "OH EM GEE I'M STANDING DIRECTLY WHERE ZAYN MALIK WAS STANDING! SQUEE!" she squealed.
"I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that," I said, re-folding the T-shirt and picking up another one.
"So he wasn't here?" she asked sadly.
"Nope."
"Damn!" she said, stomping her foot. "Hey, you look familiar! Oh! I know! Are you Melody?!"
"Yeah, and how do you know my name?" I asked warily. Is she some kind of freaky stalker or something?
"You were playing guitar for One Direction last night! Duh! I'm so jealous of you," she said.
"Oh, yeah. That was me. And.... thanks? I think?"
"Can I have your autograph?"
"Why? I'm not famous."
"Yeah you are! You're on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine!" she said, grabbing a magazine from behind me and shoving it in my face. "What's your Twitter name? I have GOT to Follow you!"
"Wow," I said, taking the magazine from her. "I didn't know I was on the cover of a magazine."
"Well, you are. Can I PLEASE have your autograph? And a picture?!" she asked, jumping up and down.
"Um... sure?"
"Squee!" she said, taking out her iPhone and snapping a picture with me. Then she handed me a pen and her copy of Tiger Beat and I signed it, knowing it probably looked nothing like something a famous person would use for an autograph. My handwriting sucks.
"Thank you SOOOO much!" she shouted, running away.
"How the hell can she run in heels?" I muttered, turning back to the T-shirts.
"Let's go. We're meeting up with Niall and Liam in the storm shelter," Harry said, carrying a bag.
"What's in the bag?" I asked.
"Two T-shirts,' he answered, pulling out two MLP shirts.
"It fit? Cool! What's with the second one?"
"It looked good on me," he said, grinning.
"Cocky," I said. "Let's go."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd of Directioners and paparazzi, keeping his head low. He turned a corner and pulled me over. "I don't know where the storm shelter is."
I laughed. "Obviously not, because it's by the bathrooms on the other end of the mall," I said, pulling him back the other way. He stood his ground and pulled me back.
"Wait," he said. I got nervous because we were extremely close. A wave of more paparazzi came through right where I had previously been standing.
Ohhh. That's what he was doing. I laughed, throwing my head back. "I was gonna get stepped on by a herd of elephants with cameras!" I laughed.
"Okay, now let's go," Harry said, and pulled me back in the opposite direction.
HEY. Your official-unofficial announcements sadden me. No promises or not, I really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY hope you decide to eventually continue. I won't even be mad if you do a rewrite but dude, you gotta do something. I WILL DIE IF THIS STORY DOES NOT CONTINUE.
5/2/16