Hate Love

It was another boring day of no work for me. I decided to live stream for the fans. Sitting in my living room I had my laptop powered on and sitting on the coffee table. I had tweeted a lot before actually going live.
@RealMelanieO: Going live at 1 LA time. Make sure you come watch!
@RealMelanieO: I will be answering questions about performances and the album live in one hour!
@RealMelanieO: Come hang out with me! Forty minutes Makers!
@RealMelanieO: Going live in 5!
@RealMelanieO: Live!
“Hello Makers!” I waved excitedly at my webcam which was broadcasting my face to over four thousand viewers. “So, I am not working today and I really wanted to talk to you guys. Now we’re all here.” I motioned around my living room. “I am willing to answer most questions for you so ready, set go!” Just like that the message board exploded. My eyes widened in surprise as I tried to find one to answer.
@ILoveAva: Where is Ava?
I poked out my bottom lip in thought, “Ava is currently not home. I believe she’s with some friends, but I’m not one hundred percent sure about that. Today was an off day so I haven’t really talked to any of the girls.” I informed my viewers. Finding another question to answer was easy considering one viewer continuously posted their question so that it would be noticed.
@Zelanie5Ever: Where’s Zayn?
I gasped lightly, “Hey guys One Direction are doing a signing today at F.Y.E on Melrose. If you hurry you could make it in time.” My viewers declined momentarily until more viewers came and made up the difference times ten.
@Taste_my_Music: I like you shirt Mel. Where did you get it?
I looked down at the neon zebra print tank I was wearing. It was cut in thin strips showing my stomach and decked out belly button piercing. I stood moved side to side so that the shirt sashayed. It was fun to wear.
“Um I actually made this myself,” I admitted. “I took an old shirt and cut it up. It was easy to do.” Several requests for a demonstration were sent, but I said maybe another time and continued the live stream. An hour later as I prepared to sign off the turning of my door knob caused me to pause. “There’s someone at my door,” I whispered. My focus stayed on the door as it slowly opened. I smiled at the ‘intruder’, “Hey, what are you doing here?” I stood momentarily forgetting about the viewing audience.
“The signing ended at 2,” Zayn informed me as we hugged. He walked around to sit beside me. “What are you doing?” his voice trailed off as he realized I was live. He waved at the camera with an odd smile, “Vas happenin’!” Just like that the message board really started moving.
“I think you broke it,” I joked sitting back down and looking at the laptop.
“I think I did,” Zayn agreed taking over the laptop. He had a tendency of taking over when we were together. Someone asked about the signing and Zayn shrugged. “The signing was a lot of fun. We met some awesome fans.”
With a scrunched nose I turned to him, “Did Harry try the hug thing?” I asked referring to Harry’s determination to hug every fan who showed up today. No one could talk him out of it. He had his mind set.
Zayn turned to me, “He tried, but Paul stopped him.” He scrunched up his nose as well, “Why are you making that face?”
“Why are you?” I countered.
“Because you are,” he reminded me. I wiggled my nose making weird faces at Zayn. He squinted, “You’re weird.”
I shrugged, “You like it.” I turned back to the camera. My eyes were greeted by several ‘you two are so cute’ messages and things of that sort. “Okay guys I’ve been doing this for a while and I need a nap.”
Zayn stood, “Didn’t you take a nap earlier?” He asked as he walked towards the balcony doors.
I ignored his comment, “It was fun and I promise to try to do this again soon. Bye!” I waved as the streaming ended. Once my laptop was powered off and closed I walked out to the balcony to find Zayn smoking. Any other time his habit didn’t bother me, but at that moment it seemed to be irritating my nose to the point of no return. I waved away the smoke as if it drifted towards my face.
“Go inside if it’s bothering you,” Zayn advised still puffing away. “Weren’t you going to nap anyway?” He added.
I rolled my eyes, “Just say you want some alone time Zayn. It’s better than being a jerk.” I muttered as I walked back inside and headed towards my bedroom. I changed into lounging clothes and curled to the center of my bed. I pulled the decorative throw from the foot of the bed and covered myself up. Lately I had been more tired than usual. Every day I was getting in a nap someway. As my eyes closed the sound of the door slowly being opened caused me to reopen them. “I thought you were smoking.” Zayn shrugged as he took off his shoes and shed his shirt. He climbed into the bed as well pulling me to him.
He kissed my forehead, “I could go for a nap too.” He said simply closing his eyes. I snuggled closer to him and sighed. Being in his arms felt right.
~~*~~
The annoying sound of a phone ringing caused me to wake up. I rolled over to find that I was alone in bed and it was no longer sunlight outside. As I slid out of bed Zayn entered my bedroom.
“Finally you’re up,” he commented grabbing his cell phone off of the nightstand.
“How long was I sleep?” I asked in a groggy voice as I scratched my head.
“For a few hours,” he informed me. “I was thinking we could go out and grab something to eat, but you slept late so I just ordered take out.”
Slowly I stood feeling dizzy, “You could’ve woke me up.” I managed to get out as Zayn reached to steady me.
His eyebrows scrunched together, “Are you okay?” I nodded in response walking out of the room. Zayn followed. As I went to the kitchen there was knock on the door. “That’s the food. Be right back.” He disappeared leaving me alone. I grabbed a bottle of water leaning against the refrigerator and downing it in one setting. As I finished off the bottle Zayn’s phone vibrated on the counter. Curiously I looked over at it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one to snoop through other people’s personal things, but it was right there unlocked. He clearly didn’t have anything to hide. That’s what I thought as my eyes took in the screen.
Perrie: I want to talk too. We’ll be in LA soon.
Zayn: Okay we can meet up anywhere you want.
Perrie: :) I really want this to work.
Zayn: I do too.
Perrie: I love you.
My heart raced as Zayn returned, “You’re meeting up with Perrie?” I asked refusing to look at him.
“What are you talking about?” he asked as he set the large brown paper bag down on the counter. I nodded towards his phone, “You looked at my messages,” he accused.
Quickly I shook my head, “No, you’re phone was unlocked and it lit up.”
“So you took the chance,” Zayn pressed. “You don’t trust me.” He was clearly annoyed.
“Yes I do,” the sad part was that I actually did trust him. Even with those messages circling my brain I still trusted this dark haired, brown eyed, boy who had captured my heart from the moment we met.
“Then why did you look?” Zayn demanded.
I looked up at him, “What do you want to work?” I countered. He was silent with an angry expression. “What could she possibly want to work out that you want also besides a relationship?” The silence was maddening.
Zayn's expression softened. “Mel,” he began to shake his head.
“You’re getting back with her, aren’t you?” I spoke in a low voice afraid to hear his answer.
Zayn sighed scratching the back of his neck, “I’m with you.” He stepped towards me, but I stepped back. “Mel, I’m sorry.”
I laughed darkly looking up at the ceiling in disbelief, “Get out.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “What?”
“You weren't even going to have to decency to break up with me first! Get out and please do not come back.” I ordered before turning my back and walking out of the kitchen. I locked myself in the bathroom and minutes later I heard the door close. Slowly I slid down leaning against the cold tub. I didn’t know what to do. Part of me wanted to cry my eyes out while the other half wanted to get revenge.
~~*~~
It was now the third week of August and the morning of the VMA’s. It was also our final rehearsal for the performance. We hadn’t started the rehearsal when Erin came rushing onto the stage. She looked frantic and apologetic.
“Mel, I have some bad news,” she announced. I looked up from tying my shoe and eyed her curiously. “Zayn and Perrie are back together. I’m talking Twitter confirmed and everything.”
Ava rolled her eyes, “You have got to be kidding me.” I told them all about the argument he and I had. I also told them about me telling him to leave. The thing was a part of me expected him to come back. I wanted him to come back and say that he wanted to be with me, but he didn’t.
“Please tell me this is a joke,” Kaylee added. Erin shook her head.
“I’m sorry Mel,” Ava went to pat my arm, but I stood up.
“Hate Love was written for a reason,” I spoke in a sure voice looking back at them.
“But that’s not what we’re supposed to be performing. We’re supposed to stick with ‘Pretty Boy'.” Erin reminded me. “It's our current single and it's only been out for like three weeks, if that. We can't just introduce another song.”
“Kaylee can you show us the choreography?” Ava asked ignoring the blonde. She had my back on this.
Kaylee nodded, “Yeah, but we’ll have to rehearse for hours.” She agreed. “Plus who's to say Tanya won't stop us once she finds out what we're up to. We have to get the band to agree and our backup dancers. It's a lot of trouble guys.”
Ava stood up with folded arms, “Let’s do it. It’s the perfect lesson.” We all smirked and went to our marks. “Plus, it's great way to show that we can control our careers if we really wanted to.” I nodded in agreement but Kaylee and Erin were still hesitant.
I clasped my hands propping my chin on them and stuck out my bottom lip. “I really need this.” I spoke in a heartbreaking voice.
“Fine,” they both agreed and we got to work immediately. Getting the band to agree was surprisingly easy. Kaylee showed us the choreography before letting us try it. We worked nonstop until our rehearsal time was up. We left the stage where we would perform that night and went to the dance studio to practice more. It was two hours before we had to be at the auditorium and we were headed to my place to get dressed. Tonight would go down in history.
~~*~~
For the red carpet I was wearing a sheer purple goddess gown. My hair was in a side fishtail braid on my left shoulder which was exposed. Ava wore a black mermaid style dress that wasn’t as formal. Her hair was straightened and pinned back into a Mohawk style. Erin wore a leopard print wrap dress. It fit her perfectly and went great with her pin straight hair. Kaylee was in a sky blue quarter sleeve dress that flowed. Her hair was wavy. Our car stopped at the red carpet entrance where we had to do pictures and answer a few questions. Rufus opened our door and we got out one by one. The photographers yelled for our attention. We smiled and turned in different directions.
“Girls are you nervous about your performance tonight?” someone asked.
I turned in their general direction, “We’re not nervous at all.” I winked as we headed inside of the building. Ava laughed softly and shook her head. This was bound to be interesting. We were all jittery thinking about what we were going to do, but we had come too far to back down now.
~~*~~
Three performances, that’s how many we sat through. Three performances and four award presentations, then we were ushered backstage to prepare for our own performance. Our costumes had been changed to match the mood of the song once we talked to our stylists.
I pointed at Erin's shirt with a questioning expression. “Is there a reason Harry Styles is on your shirt?” I asked.
She looked down and shrugged, “I lost a bet.” She gave me a once over and nodded. “I like the pants.”
I smiled looking down at the black leather sweatpants that I had picked out. “They're so comfortable.” I admitted.
“Why is Harry on your shirt?” Kaylee asked pulling at her camouflage shorts.
“She lost a bet.” I explained. Kaylee shrugged as our red head comrade appeared. She opened her mouth to ask Erin the question of the night, but Kaylee cut her off explaining.
“Alright then...” She trailed. “Well, here we go ladies. This is bound to be one interesting performance.” Ava led us to the stage. We waited anxiously for our introduction. She was right. If we pulled this off our management wouldn't ever question our choices again, but if we made a fool out our selves, then we were screwed.
“Platinum debut album, top selling sophomore album, three number one singles, and four awards. They are M.A.K.E.” The lights in the audience dimmed as we appeared on the stage. The music sounding similar to Rihanna’s 'Umbrella' began. We stood with our legs shoulder apart, hands to our sides, and heads down.
With my hand on my hip I lifted my head having a microphone in hand, “You know I’ll be the one when you want me to.” We did a shoulder check to the right, “I always get the call when she’s through with you.” I rolled my eyes looking directly at Zayn, “Maybe it’s time I open my eyes.” We did a quick shuffle, “I always feel the fool when you lie to me. You seem to make it up so easily. What’s worse is I let you every time.”
Erin began to sing as we rhythmically moved left to right, “I wish that I could tell you.”
We pointed forward with our right hand, “You only ever let me down and what I need from you right now is to try to look me in my eyes.”
“And baby tell my why do you,” I stepped back with my left leg along with the rest of my group. “Hate love, hate, hate, hate love. Hate love, hate, hate, hate love. Hate love, hate, hate, hate love.”
“Hate, hate, hate, hate,” we sung as we did the choreographed poses.
“I wonder do you hate love, hate, hate, hate love. Hate love, hate, hate, hate love. Hate love, hate, hate, hate love.” Ava and I traded places.
She swung her head to the right allowing her hair to hang to one side, “You like to glamour me. Baby you do it well.” She dropped down as Erin, Kaylee and I turned our backs to the audience with our legs separated. “I smile when I’m angry, but you’ll never tell.” We clutched our fist punching to the left and turning around. “I see your lips moving, but I don’t hear a sound.” We all covered our ears moving into another formation. “Sometimes I think you think I like it when you make me hurt. Sometimes I hate myself because sometimes it works.” Ava moved to the left side of the stage. “And I can’t ever bring myself to talk you down!”
Erin glided forward, “I wish that I could tell you!” Her voice was aggressive. She was the original writer of the song based off of her past relationship.
We pointed forward, “You only ever bring me down.” We all dipped pointing down, “And what I need from you right now is to try to look me in my eyes.”
“And baby tell me why do you,” Ava made her way to center stage discarding the choreography. We performed the chorus again with her doing the main part. When it came time for the bridge we lined up in a semi-circle direct center. As the short musical break played.
“If I wanted this to be something less than rational, somewhere else that’s in between, I would let myself go.” Kaylee sung in a low voice.
“Now I need to get this right,” Ava came in.
“Get my head on straight tonight,” added Erin.
“Before I do something I might,” Kaylee sung.
“Make you wonder why I,” I was deep into the song and the pitch of my voice rose slightly.
Ava picked up her mic, “Hate love, hate, hate, hate love.” She looked at Erin.
“Hate love, hate, hate, hate love.” Erin looked to Kaylee.
“Hate love, hate, hate, hate love.” There was a musical break letting the tension build. My emotions were taking over.
“It’s no wonder that I!” I hit the note as we broke formation performing the final chorus. Ava and I made our way to each other at the center of the stage.
“And now you know why I,” we sang in harmony.
“Hate love,” Kaylee and Erin added.
“Hate love,” Kaylee and I sang.
Erin and Ava sung, “Hate love.”
“Hate love,” Erin and I harmonized. The lights shut off on the stage and the applause boomed. We walked away feeling successful. I had caught the look on Zayn’s face. He was surprised. The guilt in his eyes was well worth the story that was sure to follow our memorable performance.
“I think we did it,” Ava high fived me as we walked backstage. We redressed and went back to enjoy the rest of the show. After the ceremony had ended we walked the red carpet and headed to the after party. I was ordering a drink at the bar when someone familiar appeared on my left.
“Vas happening,” he spoke softly. I turned to him with fiery eyes.
“We’re done. If it doesn’t have to do with work then don’t talk to me. I’m not some sideline you can keep in your back pocket for when things get rough. You claimed you didn’t want to lose us, but as soon as we hit a bump you walked away. You’re not worth it Zayn and I’m sorry I wasted so much time on you.” I grabbed my drink and walked away. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. How long had I wanted to say those words? Sure it had taken me all summer, but it had happened. There was no longer a link between me and Zayn Malik. Melanie was done with the Bradford bad boy.

Notes

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