Counting Stars

A new night brought a new city along with it. There had been so many hotels, flights, insides of airports, Zayn was starting to question his already slipping sanity.

He had forgotten where they were that night, more worried about an e-mail he was writing to his mum. He wasn't able to call at all that day, and with the time difference it was now too late.

There was a calmness in the room because he was surprisingly alone, something that was rare. He was going to milk this for all it was worth because he knew it wouldn't last.

As he finished the e-mail, he decided to surf a few of his favourite websites, clicking around, becoming completely entranced. He was unaware that the door opened, and the person who walked in was unaware of his presence since he had hidden himself.

She scanned the room to make sure everything was in order for them, towels were stocked, snacks and drinks that they had requested were where they were supposed to be. She felt a buzz in her pocket, interrupting the inventory she had going in her head, sighing as she pulled it out to check what was happening.

Zayn had heard the noise, poking his head out to be greeted by the familiar girl. It had been weeks since the incident at the photo shoot, and every minute of those weeks were spent getting heckled by the other lads. They were not going to let him live it down, especially how he didn't even know her name.

"She's been with us this whole time, was introduced to us, and you don't even know her name?" Louis said, stunned.

He could take the teasing, he had a pretty thick skin, but the notion got under it. Louis was right, how had he not known her name? So as she looked down at the screen of her phone in that familiar way, Zayn nibbled on the inside of his cheek. She hadn't seen him, so he could just leave it at that, but that wasn't him.

"Hey Ellis," he said, making sure he was in her view.

Her head shot up, not entirely because he startled her, but because he had said her name. Ellis had heard through the grapevine what had happened at the photo shoot, it was a benefit of working within such a locked down unit, word travelled fast.

"Uh, hi," she responded, awkwardly shoving the phone into her back pocket. Her guard was down, but it shot back up. "I'm sorry to barge in here and disturb you Mr. Malik, i've just been sent down to make sure everything in here is in order."

"You can call me Zayn you know," he chuckled, finding her formal tone odd.

"I'd rather not," she mumbled, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

He chose to ignore her response, focusing on the way she spoke. She had an accent that she clearly tried to hide, so he couldn't place where it was from.

"Your accent," he blurted out, watching her eyes flicker in horror.

"What?"

"Where are you from?"

"Atlanta, Georgia, " she nodded, not wanting to be rude. There was no harm in telling him that, or so she thought.

"Ah that's it," he grinned, satisfied that he had cracked the mystery.

"Yup," she responded, her hand running over her phone.

"So, you're on rider duty today huh?" He was trying to start a conversation in the middle of pulling teeth, knowing she wanted to be anywhere but with him.

"Something like that," she said, clearing her throat.

"Well it's all good in here, i've got no complaints. Compliments to the chef." Inwardly, Zayn groaned. He was dying here, quicker than expected.

"Right," Ellis said with a raised eyebrow. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, pretending to check something. "I have to…go. Sorry to have bothered you Mr. Malik."

Once again, she turned and walked away from him, shutting his advance and attempt at conversation down. It made him self-conscious, which made him begin to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Normally you couldn't break his confidence, but Ellis was beginning to shake its foundation.

He went back to his little hidden corner, trying to push it from his mind. What he didn't know was that Ellis stood just outside of the door, feeling guiltier than the last time.

She didn't want to be so cold to him, but her hands were tied. It was easier this way, being formal, keeping him at a distance.

The ring of her phone pulled her out of that guilty place, her posture straightening up into professional mode.

"Yes?"

The verbal assault ran down on her, her boss yelling from the other end of the phone. He wanted her back at their "headquarters" immediately, they couldn't find Zayn or the other boys. Things were falling apart, he told her dramatically, which meant the crisis was all in this man's mind.

"Zayn is in the dressing room alone," she said, checking one off the list.

"How do you know this?"

"You sent me down here to make sure everything was in order with the rider. It is."

"What were you doing in the dressing room alone with one of the boys?"

"I had no idea he was in there sir."

He paused, clearing his throat. "I've warned you once Ellis, please don't let it happen again."

"Yes sir," she said simply, there was no point in arguing her side of the story.

"You know the rules, i'll send someone down to come get him," he added, hanging up.

"Yeah, I know the rules," she mumbled, ending the call on her end.

She needed a drink, a glass of wine and a bubble bath. Or maybe she just needed to relax, be herself, which wasn't an option if she wanted to keep her job.

Starting down the hallway, she crossed paths with the rest of the boys, envy shooting through her. They didn't know how good they had it, why couldn't she just be like them?

They didn't have a care in the world, they could enjoy themselves, live in their youth. Ellis was twenty-one, she should have been in college, out partying, not part of team 1D.

She loved her job, she had been so lucky to even get it and she could handle the stress any given day threw her way. Today was just an off day, she told herself, it would get better.

She didn't know how wrong she was.