Yours Truly

I hobbled through the narrow aisle of the airplane, a sour look upon my face, and finally reached the final row of first class where my seat was located. I slid into the row, carelessly tossing my bag under the seat in front of mine, and threw myself down with an exaggerated huff while grabbing my phone out of my OnePiece’s pocket. I typed back to my best friend quickly, hitting the screen harder than necessary, and snapped my head up when his familiar voice filled my ears.

“What exactly did the phone do to you, Valerie?” he asked, trying not to laugh, “I still don’t get why you’re so upset.”

“Bugger off, Zayn,” I said still glaring, “And I’m upset because not only do I have to wear this bloody walking boot, but I have to wear it for a few weeks. Meaning I’ll have to wear it when I’m nannying, and it’s hard enough to keep up with those kids.”

“Babe, it’s just two weeks,” he said, grabbing my hand soothingly, “And you don’t go back for three, because Mrs. McDermott’s university doesn’t start until then. This gives you time to relax like the doctor ordered, and I’ll be by your side the whole time, sans a few interviews. It’ll be fine.”

His dark eyes bore into my green ones, and I finally let my expression soften, knowing he was absolutely right. I leaned over, placing a soft kiss on his lips, before taking my phone out and apologizing to my friend for the angry text. I turned it off, knowing a flight attendant would be telling me to do so soon, and placed it back in my pocket.

I looked out the small window, the New York airport being the only thing I could see, and felt my heart ache already. I had been with the boys in America for nearly two weeks, and it had been one of the best times of my life. Zayn and I didn’t fight once, an accomplishment on our part, and the excitement of the relationship that I had lost some time ago, returned with full force. I glanced over at Zayn, his face lit up with a smile as he talked with Niall across the aisle, and grabbed the hand that he had left on the armrest between us so I could hold it during takeoff. I occupied myself with flipping through the ridiculous items in Skymall as we taxied along the runway, and felt my nerves spike when the engines for takeoff roared to life.

“You’ll be okay, babes, I’ve got ya,” Zayn said, giving my hand a squeeze, “Just close your eyes, and it’ll be over before you know it.”

I smiled nervously at him, knowing I should’ve taken valium before we flew, and was almost positive that I held my breath through the entire take-off. Once the plane leveled out, I let out a sigh of relief, and released his hand, apologizing for the pain I had probably caused it. He shrugged it off, telling me it was nothing, and I hurriedly pulled out my iPod so I could drown the sound of the plane out with some music. I turned on Jack’s Mannequin, knowing it would help relax me, and leaned my seat back in hopes of sleeping the flight away.

I had succeeded in my endeavor, only waking up once to use the loo, and groaned when Zayn woke me up with the announcement of our landing. I turned my iPod off, sliding it back into my bag, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, not caring if I smudged any of the eyeliner I had on. Niall had leaned forward to tell me something, but stopped with a laugh, telling me I looked like a raccoon. I hastily rubbed under my eyes, hoping the clear at least some of the makeup away, but gave up when Zayn told me it was barely working.

“So, now I’m going to look like a right mess in all these new pap pictures,” I groaned, “I can imagine the headlines now.”

“Just wear my sunglasses, since yours are broken,” Zayn said, pulling them off his shirt.

“I do intend to replace them,” Harry said from his spot next to Niall, “I really didn’t mean for them to get broken.”

I tried telling him it wasn’t a big deal, and that it had really been my fault, but he kept hushing me with the promise of a new pair within the week. I gave up, knowing how persistent he was, and caved telling him that I would at least go with him to pick them out. He smiled triumphantly, making me shake my head, and leaned back into his seat for the landing. Much like the takeoff, I had Zayn’s hand in a death grip, and only released it when the plane was at a full stop. He helped me up, handing me my bag, and we waited for the other boys before we made our way off the plane.

As soon as we left the tunnel, I was blinded by flashes, and deafened by the shouts of the paparazzi. I hobbled behind Niall, a hand on his back so I wouldn’t lose him in the throngs of people, and made sure to keep a grip on Zayn’s hand. They kept following us as we made our way towards where our cars would be waiting, and we all kept polite smiles on our faces while they hounded us with questions. Most of them were the usual ones, asking how the travel had been or about rumors, but I could occasionally hear my name being thrown into the mix. I shrugged it off, figuring they just wanted a picture of Zayn and I with visible faces, and was glad when we finally made it to our car.

Once we managed to get out of airport traffic, and hoards of paparazzi, the ride to our flats went by relatively quick. The boys were quiet, thanks to the jetlag setting in, and I almost caught myself dozing off against Zayn’s shoulder. When we were finally in front of our building, we sluggishly piled out of the car, and were thankful the paps weren’t there to greet us. We bid each other goodbye, quick hugs and kisses on the cheek from me to the boys, and piled into separate lifts so we could get to our floors as fast as possible.

We both abandoned our suitcases in the living room as soon as we walked in, figuring we’d take care of them when we woke up tomorrow, and found ourselves rushing to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I washed my face, grimacing at how bad the area around my eyes looked, and pulled my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. I brushed my teeth, gargling some mouth wash afterwards, and sat on the edge of the tub so I could remove my walking boot and wrap it tightly in an ace bandage. I smiled at my work, noticing the swelling had already started to go down, and hobbled out to find Zayn sprawled in the middle of the bed.

“Glad to know I get about a fourth of the bed,” I said jokingly, poking his side as I sat on the edge.

He just squirmed, a chuckle escaping his lips, and pulled me down next to him while slinging his arms around me. I smiled, nuzzling my face into his warm neck, and let out of a hum of happiness as he traced a pattern along my bare shoulder blade.

“I’m really glad you went to America with us, Valerie,” he said softly, his throat vibrating against my face.

“I’m really glad you took me,” I whispered, moving my head to look up at him, “I missed this.”

“Me too,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to my lips, “But, after these past few weeks, I have a feeling it’s going to all be okay again.”

I smiled at him, giving him another goodnight kiss, and nuzzled back into his neck. I closed my eyes, letting his words ring through my mind, and mulled over them. I sure hope he was right.