The Romantic & the Cynic

The buzzing noise that was reverberating throughher brain and was actually Jessica's hyper voice wouldn't stop as Sky let her mind focus on reading the article in front of her. It was filled with innuendoes and vague statements that she knew didn't add up to much but still felt her heart clench at the impression it gave to the reader. The article did explain that she was working for them as a photographer while they recorded and that Zayn and Perrie had broken up but that was about all that was accurate. There were various guesses that she had already slept with Zayn, Louis was jealous because he wanted Sky for himself and Eleanor was on her way from England to fight for her man. It surprised her just how many inaccurate things you could cram into only a couple of paragraphs.

After another few read throughs and a few more oh my gods from Jessica, Sky was finally able to get her off fo the phone. She set it down and did another internet search, trying to find out just how far the story had spread. She was thankful when she saw that it only lasted through the first couple of pages of search results. But as she clicked each one, she saw that the story remained the same if not worse. She had conned her way into the job by calling Jake's agencies and making up lies about him after she had found out that Zayn and Perrie had broken up. When she had arrived in L.A., she had felt a surprising attraction to Louis even though she had come for Zayn originally. After only a week, she was causing such havoc in the One Direction camp that Simon was insisting on her being fired and the boys returning to England immediately to record the new album. It made her head swim in frustration.

After taking several deep breaths, she picked her phone up again and made the call that she had been dreading. The one to the other people in the article. Scared to call Liam directly and feeling too awkward to call Zayn after their moment this morning, she decided that Louis would be the best one to help figure out what to do.

The phone rang a few times before he picked up. Sky was surprised that his bright hello sounded chipper and happy despite what she had just read.

"Hey Louis," she said with a slight trepidation in her voice. "I just want you to know that I really thought the whole plan would work and I didn't even think about the other photograph of us. I mean, Eleanor surely must understand that there is nothing going on between you and me. This whole thing is just stupid. And Liam must be so mad! I bet he is writing up my termination letter as we speak so I don't know if I should even bother showing up tomorrow."

Finally, after the rambling, she paused to take a breath and heard Louis chuckle over the line. She could just imaging him standing with the phone to his ear and his lips slightly lifted in a satisfied grin.

"Are you done?"

"I'm sorry."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you got it all out before you burst love." The small chuckle was still evident as he spoke and Sky didn't know what to make of it. Surely there were calls between the group and their managers, between Louis and Eleanor, all to try and figure out just what to do about this horrible article. But the way that Louis had spoken to her was just like any other day and there was no indication that he was stressed at all. Maybe he hadn't read the article yet and that was why he had yet to become a raving lunatic at her.

"Have you checked the web," she asked shyly. "I mean, I'm sure that it's not considered cool to google yourself but I was wondering if you happened to have done it yet today if you do it all."

"Well, it's not exactly what I do first thing when I wake up. Is there a particular reason I should be investigating myself?"

Sky rubbed the corner of her eye, taking a gulp of breath as she did. She now saw why Louis had a reputation as being a it of a troublemaker. "Look, there is an article on the web and it's about me and you and Zayn and I think that maybe there should be some command center set up somewhere to deal with it because that's what you're supposed to do, isn't it?"

'Ohh." Louis stretched out the vowel and Sky got another picture of him tapping his lips with his thin finger. "That article. Yeah, well Eleanor saw the pictures and is definitely pissed so I would suggest laying low for a few days until I can get her calmed down and then maybe you can come out of hiding. Her plane is landing at nine and she gets mighty physical when it comes to me. And Liam will have that letter to you in an hour so just wait until you get that before you go underground."

Sky felt her blood drain from her face at the words. She knew that this was going to be bad. She mentally started to pack her things until she heard Louis explode into a full bout of uncontrollable laughter that didn't stop until he realized that Sky wasn't responding to the humor he found in the situation.

"You believed that?" His voice had gone from laughter to concern. "Sky, I was kidding. We deal with this stuff all the time. I already talked to Eleanor and we were laughing about it. She knows that nothing is going on and actually can not wait to meet you. I told her how great you've been with Zayn and how amazing the shots were and she is excited to see them."

"And Liam? He can't be taking this very well."

"He was annoyed at the bloggers for even writing that crap and was hoping you wouldn't see it. He already talked to the management people and everybody is just going to ignore it."

Sky let herself fall back into the couch she was sitting on, exhaling as she did so. "Are you sure? I thought that he would be upset that I had caused a scandal."

"You didn't cause anything. And the plan was as good as anyone was going to come up with. It just didn't quite fool everybody."

"I still feel like it was my fault. I shouldn't have even come out with you guys. I was afraid something like this would happen."

Louis sighed. "Sky, you have to understand. We deal with this stuff and move on. It's not anyone's fault. I shouldn't have made a joke but I forgot you've never had this stuff happen to you before and it can be a shock to the system if you have never been involved in it. If we didn't do all the stuff that would cause stories in the papers or on the web, we wouldn't have lives. It just sucks that sometimes the people around us get drawn into the tornado."

"Are you really sure? I can show my face at the studio without being shot?"

"Absolutely," Louis said confidently. "But I will warn you. Now that you're on the press radar, the ride may get a little turbulent for a few days. At least until it blows over. And they cause you any trouble, let us know. We'll take care of it."

Sky felt a tug on her heart at the words, grateful for her concern. "Thanks, but I doubt that they will care about little old me."

"Just saying the offer is there if you need it."

With that, they said goodbye and hung up their respective phones. Sky looked over at the table at the now ice cold burger and warm soda and knew it was all going in to the garbage now. She pushed herself up and and took a few minutes to clean up the now useless food before pulling an apple and yogurt out of the fridge to bridge the hunger that had caused her to get out of bed in the first place. She took the food and made her way out to the small balcony to enjoy the last of the sun as it set slowly over the horizon.

She had just finished the apple and was about to break into the yogurt when she heard a phone ring beside her. The phone that was her direct link to the group. And the person's face shining up at her was that of Zayn. Sky cautiously took her phone and accepted the call.

"Hello," she said softly. She had forced herself not to let the thoughts of the morning return once she had woken up but it was hard to do when he was on the other end of the line. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than this morning." She heard him inhale and assumed he was smoking a cigarette. "I saw the crap that got put on the web and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Louis said you were pretty flustered about it."

This was the first time that Sky had heard any concern from him. And it did more than tug at her heart. It warmed her blood. And that made her uncomfortable.

"I guess now that I'm hanging with rock stars I need to get used to it. I'm just sorry my plan didn't work like we thought it did."

Another exhale, another imagined curl of smoke from the sultry lips. "Don't worry about it. It isn't anything we haven't dealt with before. I just want to thank you for trying. And for getting me home."

Getting him home. Flashes of his bare chest and his sleepy eyes came to her. And the words she had heard that had kept her up all night. She still wondered if he remembered what he had said. And whether it mattered at all if he did or it was best that it remained a hushed whisper in the grey of night.

"You're welcome." Sky bit into the apple and relished the crisp and clean taste. And decided it was time to push the conversation into a much shallower pool of emotion. "What's your favorite childhood book?"

"I'm sorry," Zayn asked with an inquisitive spark.

"It really is a simple question. What is the best book that you remember from childhood?" Sky heard him getting comfortable and wondered where he was in the house. She heard no sounds of the other boys in the background but heard a soft crash of waves. "Are you out on the deck?"

"Yeah. Is this twenty questions?"

"No. But I say we each ask a question and the other person only gets one pass. They have to answer the rest." Sky didn't know if she was comfortable with the rules she had created for herself but something told her that this was right. That over the phone would be far less intimidating than sitting in the open kitchen at the breakfast counter in front of each other. And she always had the escape hatch of hanging up.

Zayn seemed to ponder if he wanted to play the game but after only a moment he must have decided he was in, whereever the conversation went.

"Harry Potter."

"That's cheating. There is like a hundred books in that series."

Zayn chuckled, his voice sounding deep and relaxed like it was coming from deep within him. "Seven actually. And it's all one story so I stick with my answer. Harry Potter."

"Fine," Sky signed in resignation. "If you are going to play with technicialities, I will have to give you that one. But you still have to say why."

"You never said anything about that in the rules. You said answer the question and that was what I did. You can't go changing things after the we've already started the game."

Sky took a deep swallow, thinking how those words could be taken as more than just their current conversation. Because after the night before, she felt like the basic elements of the tenuous friendship they had created were in constant states of variation around her.

"Come on, just answer the other half."

"Okay. Rules are amended to include the reason why. The reason for Harry Potter is that I like the fact that it shows you a boy who can be so much more than what you think you are. You can be some unknown kid who lives under the stairs and end up being the guy who saves the world and the only difference was that you believed in yourself. It's pretty amazing if you think about it."

Sky had never gotten past the first book, not being a big reader herself. But when she heard him describe it, she felt herself want to run out and buy the book and sink herself into the words so that she could feel the same thing that Zayn just described.

"My turn," Zayn said as he cut into her thoughts. "My turn to ask a question. And I want to know if you could hold onto one memory from your life forever, what would it be?"

Distinct pictures flushed into Sky's brain. And there were very specific ones that she did not want to share with Zayn. But she could hardly skip the first question he asked. She fought back the tsunami and forced herself to pick the least painful one out.

"When I got my driver's licence." Sky had to stop herself from letting a tear pop out. "My dad went with me and I remember he gave me a continuous stream of advice on the way there. And when I came back from doing the test, he rushed the car to find out if I had passed. When we got home, my mom and my brother had gotten a cake and decorated the garage door in the short amount of time that we had been gone. We walked in and they all gave me a big hug and told me they were so proud of me."

Zayn seemed to understand the memory held a large basket of emotion that she didn't open very often. He was quiet for a moment before reminding her about the other half of the answer that was required. Sky organized the words in her head before speaking.

"It was a right of passage, a reminder that I was growing up. And instead of being afraid for me or sad for themselves, they embraced it and made sure that I was just as excited. They always did things like that, making small things as special with just a hug or a letter or an all out party." Sky quickly went on to the next question, not letting Zayn delve any deeper into her answer.

"My turn, and my question is if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"That one is simple. I would be back in Bradford."

"Really," Sky responded in a surprised tone. "I would think you would want more sunshine and warmth."

"Absolutely not. I get to spend so little time at home with my parents and sisters that the idea of just going home and being able to pop over for a Sunday dinner whenever I wanted instead of having to organize it six months in advance."

They continued on that way as the sun set and the air cooled on Sky's skin. After the chill became a bit too much, she stood up and moved back inside, grabbing a blanket off of the couch and curling up in it. Zayn must have heard the movement but he continued on answering the question that she had asked, this time about your worst movie he had ever seen.

Another hour and more questions. Sky's favorite pizza topping was anything with red onion. If there was one superpower he could have, Zayn chose invisibility. Sky admitted she was most embarassed to say that she had a paralyzing fear of bees even though she was hardly allergic. Zayn's favorite meal was fish and chips with a beer. Sky's biggest indulgence was Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappucinos from Starbucks. Zayn missed the sheer innocence of being a child the most.

As the two of them talked, all of the discomfort that had built up for Sky during the day dripped away with each question. She found herself answering the questions with no thought and absolute trust that the answers would be held by him with tender care. And the same with his to her.

It was only after she felt words slipping from her lips with what felt like abandon that she felt her throat clench at Zayn's innocent question.

"What's the last thing you do before you go to sleep?"

The question should not have caused any panic. It should have been answered with the ease of the previous ones that had been flung back and forth between them. But she couldn't. Because the last thing that she did was as sacred to her as a catholic going to confession. And she wasn't ready to share her ritual with anyone, certainly not someone she had known for only a week. Zayn heard her hesitation but this time, he would not let it go.

"Come on, answer the question. I bet it's something silly like grab your teddy bear or something." Zayn tried to be silly but Sky remained silent. "Answer or claim your pass. Which one is it?"

Sky tried to get words out, tried to come up with some answer that would allow her to move on to asking her next question. But she couldn't. She was stuck, physically and mentally.

"Sky, what's wrong? I didn't think it was such a deep question."

Finally, Sky got her brain and tongue out of neutral and she felt her throat relaxing enough to squeeze out a few words.

"That'll be my pass. I don't think I want you to know my night time routine."

"Why? Does it involve mysterious creams and prayers to the gods?"

Sky swallowed again, feeling a rising sense of panic. She decided that she needed to end the conversation quickly, before she couldn't hold back her loose tongue because a part of her wanted to share this with him. She sensed that it would be safe with him as much as a precious piece of her heart but she wasn't capable of sharing it.

"You got me." She let her mouth stretch and faked a deep yawn, making sure that it was audible over the phone. "I'm sorry but I really should hit the sack. I don't think I'm fully recovered from last night."
Zayn knew that she was lying, she could hear it in his pause. But he didn't push. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

The two hung up and Sky put her small dinner away. She was about to go to bed and finish her day with her private routine when she heard the phone beep. She looked down and saw a message from Zayn that she knew would haunt her.

You may have passed but I expect my answer eventually!