Scratching Off the Ink
A Layered Pop Star
Joey grasped Kate’s hand and hurriedly rushed out the van and lightly jogged to the entrance of the hotel. The lobby was flooded with adolescent girls. Kate and Joey shimmied through the perspiring crowd and successfully slammed themselves into an elevator. Joey pressed the 15 button and exhaled in relief.
“You lied to me when you said you didn’t know Zayn.” Kate bemoaned.
“Yeah, because you would have freaked out if I told you I did. Plus, I don’t know him that well. I just gave him a tattoo.”
Kate gave Joey a secretive smile. “I don’t think he would ask his driver to pull over and offer to drive you home if you just gave him a tattoo.”
Joey rolled her eyes and shook her head. “What are you trying to imply, Kate?”
“There was obviously some tension when you guys locked eyes back at the concert. I could feel it!”
“I’m sure he was just surprised to see a familiar face at his concert. You are blowing things way out of proportion.”
“Well,” Kate said smugly. “If you ever hook up with Zayn you have to hook me up with Harry.”
“I’m NOT going to hook up with Zayn, you little twit! Just drop it and enjoy your fangirl fantasy, okay?”
“Whatever~” Kate sang as the elevator door opened.
The sisters waited patiently for the five boys to appear from the elevator. The group traveled to room 1508. When Liam unlocked the door with the key card Joey was amazed not only by how large the room was but also how junky it was. The only area that wasn’t a complete mess was the area around one bed.
“Wow…I can’t believe I’m in One Direction’s hotel room!” Kate squealed.
“Make yourselves comfortable. We’ll try to get you girls home in the morning.” Liam explained before flopping onto the bed he shared with Niall.
Kate danced her way to the sofa and flipped the television channel to some reality TV show. Harry sneakily found his way next to Kate and sat a little too close for Joey’ comfort. Joey opened her mouth to slander the curly-haired lady-killer before Zayn threw his arm over her shoulders and ushered her to another section of the room. “Relax, he won’t try anything.”
“She’s only fifteen!” she shouted out to Harry before being sat down at a table.
Zayn rummaged through the cabinets. “Do you want anything to eat?”
Joey had ignored the occasional rumbling of her stomach ever since eight at night. “It depends. What do you guys have?”
Zayn pulled out a box of Lucky Charms and a box of Captain Crunch, grinning cheesily.
Joey snickered and pointed to the Lucky Charms. Joey thought that these international pop stars would have more choices in their hotel room than cereal.
Zayn poured her a bowl of Lucky Charms and added skim milk before sliding it across the table and tossing her a spoon. Joey caught it with ease and stuck the spoon in the bowl, waiting for Zayn to return with his bowl of cereal. He was still slightly sweaty. His hair was damp with the liquid and his bronze skin glistened. However, he surprisingly smelled nice. He must have grade A deodorant. Joey supposed that most celebrities do.
“So, how’d you like the concert, Miss Rocker?” Zayn said while taking a bite of Captain Crunch.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.” Joey teased.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Not really.” Joey smirked.
Zayn stuck out his tongue. “Bite me.”
“Hmm, tempting,” Joey mockingly pondered. “But I think I’m gonna pass.”
“You have a mouth on you.” Zayn cheesed while slurping up the milk of his already finished bowl.
“Boy, you haven’t even heard me curse yet. My cursing skills are beyond compare.” Joey bragged.
“I can curse pretty well, too. Wanna have a contest?”
“A…cursing contest?”
He nodded his head. “Whoever can fit more curse words into one sentence wins.”
Joey threw her head back in laughter. “Sure, why not!”
Zayn pulled the Captain Crunch cereal box and pointed out the sentence, “Everyone’s a winner with my peanut butter crunch.”
Joey cracked her knuckles and grinned devilishly at Zayn. “Every-fucking-body is a damn winner with my fucking peanut fucking butter crunch.”
Zayn leaned in closer to her. “Every-fucking-body is a goddamn winner with my motherfucking peanut butter cunt crunch..”
Joey’s eyes opened wide in amazement. “Daaaamn, teeny bopper! Your fans would be heartbroken!”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure over half of our fans curse just as bad as we do. If you want a real swearing pro, though, you need to talk to Harry.”
Joey’s smile fell. “Let’s hope he doesn’t put seeds in my sister’s brain.”
Zayn laughed heartily. “He isn’t a bad guy, Joey! He may flirt too much, yeah, but he wouldn’t disrespect your sister like that.”
“He better not or that pretty face of his will be mine.”
Zayn’s shoulders bobbed up and down as he chuckled. “You are very protective of your little sister. More so than I am with mine, and I’m a guy.”
Joey sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Well, I don’t spend as much time with her as I used to before I went to university. She was only eleven when I left for London and I see her now and she’s all grown up. She likes boys and wearing promiscuous clothing and I’m worried that if I’m not careful she’s gonna get hurt.”
Zayn reached over to rub her shoulder. His hand rubbed against the thin fabric, sending little jolts down her arm. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the innocent yet somewhat pleasurable gesture. “She’ll be fine. Especially since she has a good big sister like you.”
Joey smiled nervously at him. “Thanks.”
When he removed his hand from her shoulder she quietly let out the breath she was holding in. “So, you went to where?”
“University College London."
Zayn’s big eyes grew even bigger. “Woah, that’s a good school! Are you like some sort of edgy super genius?”
“No,” she giggled. “My parents are immigrants from Jamaica. And as with most immigrants, they stress good grades on their kids. They actually wanted me to be a college professor, which is why I majored in English Literature. They weren’t too happy when they found out that I became a tattoo artist, though.”
“If I was gonna go to Uni I would have majored in English Literature.” Zayn grinned.
Joey raised her eyebrows. “Really? We could’ve had some classes together.”
“Yeah. Before One Direction started I wanted to become an English teacher. I love to read and dissect books. Not all kids share the same enthusiasm I do for books, so I wanna find a way to show my students how extraordinary novels can be.”
“Well, aren’t you just a pop star with multiple layers beneath?” Joey teased. “Wouldn’t expect this coming from you, I am happily surprised. I’m not a huge reader, but I’ll read a good book when I see one.”
“Have you read Lord of the Flies?” Zayn asked.
She shook her head.
Zayn bolted from the table and dug through his backpack to pull out a book with a boy hidden behind leaves on the cover. He placed it in her hands. “Read it, it’s a really good book.”
“Okay,” she said, a little caught off guard with his excited behavior. “How am I going to return it to you, though? Aren’t you on tour?”
“Nope. This was just a concert to raise some money. We don’t start touring until a little while later.”
Joey nodded her head and felt the tattered surface of the book. It was worn, probably from years of being carried around.
“Joey, come watch TV with me!” Kate called.
The two of them walked back into the main area of the hotel room where some generic American program was playing. Joey sat in between Harry and Kate, much to Kate’s chagrin. Zayn squeezed in between Harry and Joey, making sure Joey didn’t do anything violent. Niall, Liam, and Louis were on their beds playing cards with each other.
Between talking to Zayn and slightly warming up to Harry, Joey ended up dozing off on the sofa. The sounds of Niall’s extreme laughter and excited cheers hummed in her ears as she fell into slumber.
“You lied to me when you said you didn’t know Zayn.” Kate bemoaned.
“Yeah, because you would have freaked out if I told you I did. Plus, I don’t know him that well. I just gave him a tattoo.”
Kate gave Joey a secretive smile. “I don’t think he would ask his driver to pull over and offer to drive you home if you just gave him a tattoo.”
Joey rolled her eyes and shook her head. “What are you trying to imply, Kate?”
“There was obviously some tension when you guys locked eyes back at the concert. I could feel it!”
“I’m sure he was just surprised to see a familiar face at his concert. You are blowing things way out of proportion.”
“Well,” Kate said smugly. “If you ever hook up with Zayn you have to hook me up with Harry.”
“I’m NOT going to hook up with Zayn, you little twit! Just drop it and enjoy your fangirl fantasy, okay?”
“Whatever~” Kate sang as the elevator door opened.
The sisters waited patiently for the five boys to appear from the elevator. The group traveled to room 1508. When Liam unlocked the door with the key card Joey was amazed not only by how large the room was but also how junky it was. The only area that wasn’t a complete mess was the area around one bed.
“Wow…I can’t believe I’m in One Direction’s hotel room!” Kate squealed.
“Make yourselves comfortable. We’ll try to get you girls home in the morning.” Liam explained before flopping onto the bed he shared with Niall.
Kate danced her way to the sofa and flipped the television channel to some reality TV show. Harry sneakily found his way next to Kate and sat a little too close for Joey’ comfort. Joey opened her mouth to slander the curly-haired lady-killer before Zayn threw his arm over her shoulders and ushered her to another section of the room. “Relax, he won’t try anything.”
“She’s only fifteen!” she shouted out to Harry before being sat down at a table.
Zayn rummaged through the cabinets. “Do you want anything to eat?”
Joey had ignored the occasional rumbling of her stomach ever since eight at night. “It depends. What do you guys have?”
Zayn pulled out a box of Lucky Charms and a box of Captain Crunch, grinning cheesily.
Joey snickered and pointed to the Lucky Charms. Joey thought that these international pop stars would have more choices in their hotel room than cereal.
Zayn poured her a bowl of Lucky Charms and added skim milk before sliding it across the table and tossing her a spoon. Joey caught it with ease and stuck the spoon in the bowl, waiting for Zayn to return with his bowl of cereal. He was still slightly sweaty. His hair was damp with the liquid and his bronze skin glistened. However, he surprisingly smelled nice. He must have grade A deodorant. Joey supposed that most celebrities do.
“So, how’d you like the concert, Miss Rocker?” Zayn said while taking a bite of Captain Crunch.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.” Joey teased.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Not really.” Joey smirked.
Zayn stuck out his tongue. “Bite me.”
“Hmm, tempting,” Joey mockingly pondered. “But I think I’m gonna pass.”
“You have a mouth on you.” Zayn cheesed while slurping up the milk of his already finished bowl.
“Boy, you haven’t even heard me curse yet. My cursing skills are beyond compare.” Joey bragged.
“I can curse pretty well, too. Wanna have a contest?”
“A…cursing contest?”
He nodded his head. “Whoever can fit more curse words into one sentence wins.”
Joey threw her head back in laughter. “Sure, why not!”
Zayn pulled the Captain Crunch cereal box and pointed out the sentence, “Everyone’s a winner with my peanut butter crunch.”
Joey cracked her knuckles and grinned devilishly at Zayn. “Every-fucking-body is a damn winner with my fucking peanut fucking butter crunch.”
Zayn leaned in closer to her. “Every-fucking-body is a goddamn winner with my motherfucking peanut butter cunt crunch..”
Joey’s eyes opened wide in amazement. “Daaaamn, teeny bopper! Your fans would be heartbroken!”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure over half of our fans curse just as bad as we do. If you want a real swearing pro, though, you need to talk to Harry.”
Joey’s smile fell. “Let’s hope he doesn’t put seeds in my sister’s brain.”
Zayn laughed heartily. “He isn’t a bad guy, Joey! He may flirt too much, yeah, but he wouldn’t disrespect your sister like that.”
“He better not or that pretty face of his will be mine.”
Zayn’s shoulders bobbed up and down as he chuckled. “You are very protective of your little sister. More so than I am with mine, and I’m a guy.”
Joey sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Well, I don’t spend as much time with her as I used to before I went to university. She was only eleven when I left for London and I see her now and she’s all grown up. She likes boys and wearing promiscuous clothing and I’m worried that if I’m not careful she’s gonna get hurt.”
Zayn reached over to rub her shoulder. His hand rubbed against the thin fabric, sending little jolts down her arm. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the innocent yet somewhat pleasurable gesture. “She’ll be fine. Especially since she has a good big sister like you.”
Joey smiled nervously at him. “Thanks.”
When he removed his hand from her shoulder she quietly let out the breath she was holding in. “So, you went to where?”
“University College London."
Zayn’s big eyes grew even bigger. “Woah, that’s a good school! Are you like some sort of edgy super genius?”
“No,” she giggled. “My parents are immigrants from Jamaica. And as with most immigrants, they stress good grades on their kids. They actually wanted me to be a college professor, which is why I majored in English Literature. They weren’t too happy when they found out that I became a tattoo artist, though.”
“If I was gonna go to Uni I would have majored in English Literature.” Zayn grinned.
Joey raised her eyebrows. “Really? We could’ve had some classes together.”
“Yeah. Before One Direction started I wanted to become an English teacher. I love to read and dissect books. Not all kids share the same enthusiasm I do for books, so I wanna find a way to show my students how extraordinary novels can be.”
“Well, aren’t you just a pop star with multiple layers beneath?” Joey teased. “Wouldn’t expect this coming from you, I am happily surprised. I’m not a huge reader, but I’ll read a good book when I see one.”
“Have you read Lord of the Flies?” Zayn asked.
She shook her head.
Zayn bolted from the table and dug through his backpack to pull out a book with a boy hidden behind leaves on the cover. He placed it in her hands. “Read it, it’s a really good book.”
“Okay,” she said, a little caught off guard with his excited behavior. “How am I going to return it to you, though? Aren’t you on tour?”
“Nope. This was just a concert to raise some money. We don’t start touring until a little while later.”
Joey nodded her head and felt the tattered surface of the book. It was worn, probably from years of being carried around.
“Joey, come watch TV with me!” Kate called.
The two of them walked back into the main area of the hotel room where some generic American program was playing. Joey sat in between Harry and Kate, much to Kate’s chagrin. Zayn squeezed in between Harry and Joey, making sure Joey didn’t do anything violent. Niall, Liam, and Louis were on their beds playing cards with each other.
Between talking to Zayn and slightly warming up to Harry, Joey ended up dozing off on the sofa. The sounds of Niall’s extreme laughter and excited cheers hummed in her ears as she fell into slumber.
UPDATE!!!????
1/7/14