My name is Melanie Ortega. I am a part of a rising girl group known as M.A.K.E. It is a British-American collaboration made up of myself, Ava Parks, Kaylee Emmanuel and Erin Newsom. We popped onto the music scene overnight with a story never heard of (seriously there’s no one out there with a story like ours). Today was our first time being award presenters at a red carpet event. Ava and I were presenting an award with Zayn and Liam from One Direction. It was a part of our upcoming works with them. We were signed to the same label and someone thought it would be a great idea to link the groups so to speak. There was even talk of a joint tour. We were backstage waiting for our introduction. I wore a form fitting, black, one shoulder, cocktail dress that stopped four inches above the knee with purple round toe stilettos. My dark, thick, wavy hair was parted down the middle in a windblown style. Ava wore a champagne party dress and black wedges. Her dyed red hair was straightened and swooped to her left shoulder. A Nickelodeon executive in black slacks and a black blouse walked towards us. Liam and Zayn followed behind her (I recognized them from the thousands of posters, videos and more that I had seen since their group creation). Zayn’s blonde streak shone brightly in his perfect quiff. He wore a red varsity jacket, a white v neck t-shirt, black pants and red and black Supras. Liam wore a black and white flannel shirt with khaki pants and black Converse.
“Ladies meet Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. Gentlemen meet Melanie Ortega and Ava Parks.” Cheryl, the executive, stepped aside allowing us to formally meet each other. We all followed each other on the Twitter and we knew of each other, but none of us had actually met one another. There’s a first time for everything.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Ava spoke in her Wales accent while extending her hand. “We’re huge fans.” She was not trying to simply flatter them either. We really were huge fans. Not a day went by that we weren’t singing or dancing to one of their songs. It was sad really.
“Thank you,” Liam shook her hand with a humored smile.
I turned to Zayn, “Nice to meet you,” I smiled shyly which was weird considering that I am far from shy. I chalked it off to the fact that seriously attractive guys made me nervous and if you’ve ever seen Zayn Malik then you know that he is SERIOUSLY attractive.
“Thanks,” he smiled warmly at me making butterflies suddenly appear in my stomach. Until I reminded myself that he was taken.
“Okay now when the introduction is made you all will walk onto the stage and announce the nominees.” Cheryl pointed to the blue lit stage. Liam offered Ava his arm and Zayn followed suit with me. Go away stupid butterflies. He has a girlfriend.
“Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Melanie Ortega, Ava Parks, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik,” the male announcer’s voice sounded as we made our way onto the stage.
“Every year you decide on your favorite music group,” I read from the teleprompter after the applause had settled down.
“I know who my favorite music group is,” Ava muttered in a joking manner as she winked at the audience. They loved banter.
“Yeah I have a favorite one too.” Zayn added.
“Does this favorite group of yours have an M in its name?” I asked continuing the banter.
“Yeah they do actually,” Zayn responded looking at me and Ava. Did I mention that him and I were still touching? Excuse me while I mentally freak out.
“Well that could be us or…” Ava trailed off as the audience laughed.
“This year your nominees are,” Liam announced cutting off the banter abruptly as prompted which only caused more laughter. A presentation appeared on the screens in the large auditorium. The words of ‘Choice Music Group’ flashed across the screen in neon letters. A clip of the music video for I Found You by The Wanted appeared first as their group name flashed in white old letters. Next came a clip of Gentlemen by The Saturdays. The four of us smiled when a clip of How Ya Doin’? by our label mates Little Mix appeared. One Direction was shown with a clip from their epic Kiss You music video (it was when Harry was playing with Zayn’s nipples). Ava and I had a sharp intake of breath at the familiar clip that appeared next. Four girls were shown dancing in a warehouse with neon lights for a split second before I was shown smirking at the camera with attitude. It was us. The clip was from Hit Right Here one of our first singles. The presentation ended. Ava and I exchanged a look with Erin and Kaylee in the audience. We were not informed that we were nominated for the award we were presenting.
“This is going to be interesting,” Zayn commented as I opened the envelope.
“And the winner is,” I started in my not at all southern voice before looking down at the result. My eyes widened in shock. “MAKE!” I scream excitedly along with Ava. We had won. Ava and I hugged excitedly while our other two members rushed to the stage. No matter what it was we were always amazed.
“Oh my gosh this is so unexpected,” Erin squealed in her California voice. “We aren’t at all prepared for this. We didn’t even know we were nominated.” She admitted.
“We want to say thank you to all of our fans,” Kaylee started the acceptance speech in her strong British-Italian accent.
“Thank you to everyone for downloading our album and buying the videos,” Ava added.
“Most importantly thank you all for supporting us in everything we do and for helping us make it this far,” I spoke quickly.
Ava looked back at Liam and Zayn with a cheeky expression, “Maybe next time boys.” She joked before we were ushered off of the stage. The show must go on and all of that jazz.
“Congratulations you deserve it,” Liam complemented us. Zayn nodded in agreement. It was the sexiest nod I had ever seen. He has a girlfriend Melanie. I reminded myself for the second time that night as we were escorted back into the auditorium. We stayed for the rest of the awards ceremony. There was an after party hosted by local club. Our manager, Tanya, encouraged us to go because it would be a “good cameo appearance”. When we got to the club there was a red carpet lined with photographers.
“Oh geesh,” Kaylee groaned running a hand through her brunette waves. She hated doing cameos because tabloids usually focused more on one person in the group instead of all of us. They typically added their own creative caption trying to stir up drama. Honestly it only made us laugh majority of the time. The other time we never saw the publication.
“Come on ladies let’s get this over with,” Erin pushed us forward in her gold goddess dress and black strappy sandals. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a sleek mid-ponytail. We made it through the camera line and into the club. Music was blaring and people were everywhere. We found a seat on the far right wall. There was a round red booth hidden by all of the people. I’m not sure how long we were sitting there before Harry, Zayn, Niall, Louis, and Liam appeared.
“Hello ladies,” Harry greeted us as Zayn slid into the booth sitting next to me. We all had exchanged tweets with him before, especially Ava who admitted in an interview that he was her celebrity crush.
“Hey,” Ava and Erin chorused. I shook my head at them. They were total fan girls when it came to One Direction. They could be worse than any ordinary Directioner on a given day.
“Are you enjoying the party?” Liam asked.
Kaylee nodded, “It isn’t too bad.” At that we all looked around the club. Kaylee was right it wasn’t too bad. As a matter of fact it would have been better if we got up and enjoyed it. As if she had read my mind, Erin spoke up.
“Okay sitting here is boring. I say we dance.” There were murmurs of agreement. As we slid out of the booth Perrie Edwards came over. We said a passing hello and left the two lovebirds alone. Although I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder as I pulled onto the dance floor. My two favorite singers were actually in the same room as me. I needed a moment.
“I shouldn’t dance,” Niall informed us. Ava and I exchanged a look before each grabbing one of his hands and pulling him onto the floor.
“You’re dancing tonight,” I declared. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and there was no way any of us were going to pass it by. We had to dance. It was nearly law. And after dancing for so long thirst began to overtake me. I went to the bar to get a club soda when something caught my eye. Zayn and Perrie were in the same booth we had left them, but they didn’t seem too happy with each other. Perrie was saying something and Zayn was shaking his head furiously. Eventually Perrie stood shaking her hands wildly. I felt bad for spying, but I could tell that whatever was happening was serious. When Perrie walked away Zayn sat with a sad face. I turned my attention back to the bar but after a few minutes he was by my side. I smiled at him politely, but he didn’t return it.
“Is everything okay?” I asked with concern for the guy I had just met. Call it southern hospitality.
Zayn shook his head, “I just need to get out of here.” He looked at me, “Do you want to go?” I was lost for words so I nodded and followed him out of the club. This was a night I was sure not to forget.
~~*~~
I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. I looked to my left and there was Zayn fast asleep under the white duvet. I was aware that the only clothing I wore was my black, lacy, halter bra. Looking at the floor my matching panties came into view. The night’s events came rushing into my brain. I slapped my palm against my forehead. Shame flooded me. This was bad. Quietly, but quickly I got out of the bed and dressed as fast as possible. My clothes were scattered everywhere. Getting dressed was a lot harder than it had to be. I suppressed my groan of frustration and continued to gather my things. As I searched for my shoes I hit my head on the edge of the dresser.
“Ouch,” I huffed as I stood pathetically. Unfortunately Zayn had awakened and was now sitting up in the bed. “Um,” I looked around for an explanation. There was nothing I could say to make this moment any less awkward.
“Are you leaving?” he asked in a groggy voice. Everything in me found it sexy, but I quickly shook the thought away. He has a girlfriend. Oh my God! He has a girlfriend!
I nodded, “Yeah. I think it’s best if I go.” I turned for the door. The need to escape had increased. I had just become the mistake boyfriends make after an overpowering argument with their girlfriends.
“Wait,” he called now walking towards me in nothing but boxers. I forced myself to look at his face and only his face. “Do you want to go out for lunch later?” he asked nearly emotionlessly.
“Yeah,” I answered hesitantly. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” I opened the hotel room door. There was still time for me to make it to my condo without anyone spotting me.
“See you later,” Zayn leaned forward and my breath caught. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but he only brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. I blushed and walked away hearing the door close behind me. What had I done? The question weighed heavy on my mind as I rode in the taxi to my apartment complex. Thankfully I lived alone or I would have been pounced on by one of the girls. It was already nine o’clock so I showered. Deciding on what to wear was difficult. What did you wear to have lunch with the guy you slept with after knowing him for six hours? Eventually I settled on a pair of denim skinny jeans, gray graphic tee with silver hearts and lockets and black Toms. I did a single braid across the front of my head like a headband and put the rest of my hair in a curly ponytail. The natural look seemed to be the better choice so I only wore CarMax lip balm.
“Hey where are you going?” Erin questioned as I passed her in the hallway. She was most likely on her way to Ava’s seeing as how we were neighbors.
“Um, I’ll be back in a bit,” I answered vaguely. There was no need to share my embarrassing moment with her. No one had to know and no one would. Zayn was waiting in front of the hotel when I got there. He wore a white t-shirt with khaki pants and black Nike Forces. I stopped awkwardly about five feet away. My black Michael Kors bag hung in the crook of my arm. My other hand was on my hip. “So where are we going?” I asked trying to not think about last night. It was much easier said than done.
“There’s a restaurant right on the corner,” Zayn informed me. He nodded towards the direction before leading the way. I followed him. Luckily there weren’t any paparazzi or fans waiting. When we got to the store front style restaurant there was a table available at the back away from the windows. We took a seat at the small, white, square table with matching chairs. There were menus already on the table.
“Pasta, pasta, where is the pasta?” I groaned as I scanned the menu hungrily. I hadn’t eaten in nearly twenty-four hours.
Zayn chuckled, “I have a feeling that you really enjoy pasta.” His voice held a teasing quality that made my cheeks heat up unnecessarily. But I kept my eyes on the menu and my voice clear.
“If there are noodles I’ll eat it.” I shrugged carelessly somehow managing to stay casual.
“Even if it’s mixed with Brussels sprouts, onions, peppers and mayonnaise?” he challenged.
“Ew no! That sounds gross.” I made a face showing my disgust.
Zayn chuckled again, “But I thought you said if there are noodles you’ll eat it?”
I placed the menu on the table, “Be realistic Malik. I do have standards.”
“Do you really?” Zayn questioned in mock shock. I was about to respond before a waitress came to our table.
“Hi my name is Amanda and I’ll be your waitress. May I start you off with drinks?”
“I would like an ice tea with Splenda on the side please,” I ordered. In case you’re ever outside of the South you should know no one else has sweet tea.
“We don’t carry Splenda. Would you like sugar instead?” The dark haired Amanda informed me in her black t-shirt and black slacks. I nodded and she turned to Zayn, “What would you like?”
“Just a water please,” Zayn ordered. Amanda nodded her ponytail wearing head and walked back towards the kitchen. “So what was that you were saying about standards?”
“That I have them,” I responded. “Or at least I did,” I murmured. Silence instantly followed.
“What do you mean?” Zayn started, but the waitress interrupted by placing our beverages on the table. She either moved quickly or we were silent longer than I realized.
“Are you ready to order?” Amanda questioned pulling out her notepad. We both nodded and placed our orders. After writing them down and checking for accuracy Amanda left. Zayn pulled out his vibrating cell phone. He looked at it, shook his head and placed it back in his pocket.
“Is everything okay?” I asked nodding down indicating the incident with his phone.
“Perrie has been calling me all day,” He answered as if we were best friends who told each other everything instead of total strangers who had a meaningless one night stand. As meaningless as it could get for two people with the same boss that is.
“What were you two arguing about? If you don’t mind me asking,” I added quickly.
Zayn shrugged, “I’m not sure to be honest.”
“Maybe you should talk to her,” I suggested. Did I mention that Zerrie was my all-time OTP? Because they definitely were at the time.
Zayn chuckled, “I will after I talk to you about last night.” He trailed off slightly at the end monitoring my face for a reaction.
My cheeks reddened, “Oh, about that…” What could I say? This was a new situation to me. “Look I know you were upset and all, but what happened shouldn’t have happened.” Zayn leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. I took that as a sign to continue, “You have a girlfriend who obviously cares about you. I was only trying to be a friend.”
“Why didn’t you say all of that before we had sex?” Zayn sounded annoyed.
I shrugged, “I don’t know. It didn’t really occur to me until now. I feel awful. I helped you cheat on your girlfriend.”
“Perrie broke up with me at the party Melanie.” Zayn informed me. He leaned forward, “How about we be friends?” His voice was hopeful. It warmed my heart.
A small smile crossed my face, “I would like that.” I responded as the waitress sat our orders on the table. While having lunch Zayn and I managed to have a normal conversation. We found out a lot about each other and learned that we have a lot in common. Both of us like to draw. Both of us are in pop groups but mainly listen to R&B and rap. The coincidences kept rolling. After we finished our food we walked back to the hotel. There were a few paparazzi and some fans that we managed to avoid. Inside of the lobby Zayn took my cell phone out of my hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked in amusement.
“There,” he handed me the phone. “Now you have my number and I have yours.” The doors of the elevator slid open and he got in with a handsome smile. I was busy replaying the moment in my head and didn’t notice Ava and Kaylee marching towards me when I got back to my apartment.
“Hey!” Kaylee pulled me out of my thoughts. “Where have you been?”
“I was out,” I explained vaguely.
Ava folded her arms, “Well, Trisha has been looking for you. We have a meeting at her office now.” She pushed me back down the outdoor staircase. Her pretty face was flushed with anger.
“You look cute,” I complimented her trying to ease the tension. She actually did look nice in the powder pink sundress with a thin black belt around her waist.
“Not now,” Ava growled. I turned my attention away from her and looked at Kaylee who was dressed in black shorts and a black and white striped razor back tank. Her hair was in a messy bun. The elevators doors opened and we went to the parking lot getting into my black Jaguar (the first thing I bought). When we reached Mass Management headquarters we walked past the check-in desk to the long hallway and stopped at the first door on the right. Inside Tanya and Erin sat at a rectangular table in the far corner of the professional office. Tanya’s mocha skin had a natural glow. Her short black hair was styled in a fashionable bob.
“Nice of you to show up Melanie,” Trisha chastised me.
“I’m sorry,” I took a seat beside Erin. She shot me a glance before turning her attention back to Trisha who sat on the other side of the table.
“Well ladies as you know Syco and Columbia have decided it would be in everyone’s best interest if M.A.K.E and One Direction collaborated,” Tanya announced.
“So we’ve heard,” I muttered. It sounded more aggressive than I intended it to, but no one noticed.
Tanya nodded, “You girls will leave for your London home tomorrow. Now we’re trying to move fast. Negotiation took longer than originally thought. The single has to be written and recorded within a week and then the video shoot needs to come a few days afterwards.”
“Why is it so fast paced?” Kaylee questioned.
“There’s an opportunity for M.A.K.E to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres show soon and we don’t want anything to conflict with that. Besides according to the preset schedule the first single was supposed to be out by now.”
Kaylee shook her head, “Tanya what exactly does the label have planned?”
“Well they want two collaboration singles, tons of promotion which we’ll worry about later, there’s talk of a joint tour although those plans haven’t been finalized yet and a 3D documentary only if the tour goes through.” She informed us with a calm smile. The room was silent as we took it all in.
“So we’re pretty much tied to them now,” I summed up what she said getting a glance from Erin.
Tanya ignored my comment, “Alright ladies go get some sleep. Your plane leaves at six.” We all stood to leave the room, “Melanie can you wait?” I turned back to Tanya. She waited for the rest of the girls to leave. “This picture came across my desk today,” Tanya slid a picture of Zayn and I kissing outside of the hotel the night before across the table. “Now I found the source and managed to divert them, but I cannot cover up your affairs forever. You need to be more careful.” Her warning was clear in her sharp tone.
“Tanya that isn’t what it looks like,” I started to explain.
She shook her head and held up her hand, “I don’t want to know. Just be aware of your surroundings.” With that my manager left me alone with the picture. Anger rushed through me as I ripped it to shreds. Keeping this secret was going to be harder than I thought.
“What was that about?” Kaylee questioned as I joined them in the hallway.
“She was upset that I held up the meeting,” I lied smoothly. Kaylee and Erin shrugged it off, but Ava eyed me suspiciously. I avoided eye contact. Although it wasn’t like she could figure anything out by looking in my eyes. We got off to the parking lot and headed to our separate ways. Ava and I went back to my car as Kaylee and Erin approached Erin’s neon blue custom painted Audi. Kaylee got our attention in the before we all disappeared.
“We have dinner with the boys at six,” she announced. The way she spoke we all knew what boys she was talking about.
Ava nodded, “We can meet at the restaurant.” We all nodded in agreement.
~~*~~
At four o’clock I took another shower and started getting ready for dinner. I decided to straighten my hair which took about thirty minutes. Then I dressed in a black and purple cocktail dress with silver gladiator wedges. After the application of black eyeliner and lip gloss I was ready to go. The time on my cell phone read 5:30 as I entered the restaurant. The doors opened behind me and there he was in dark jeans and a button down. He was looking down at his phone. When he looked up he smiled and slid the phone in his pocket. I inhaled and stepped aside allowing him to open the other set of doors leading into the actual restaurant. It was as if my punishment was just now starting. Now I forced to walk in close proximity with a very attractive Zayn Malik. Karma was laughing in my face.
~~*~~
At five o’clock AM on Sunday morning we were at LAX ready to board our plane. I wore black yoga pants with a purple leopard print band, purple razor back tank and silver flip flops. My hair was in its ponytail from yesterday. Large Aviator shades were on my face. We were informed that morning that we would be on the same flight as One Direction.
“We have to wake up at five in the morning,” Ava and Erin sang the words of one of our original songs. I glared at them.
“Oh come on cheer up,” Erin shook me playfully.
“Not everyone can be a morning person,” I reminded her as we headed towards the terminal.
“You can say that again,” Zayn added as he caught up to us.
“Whatever grouchy pants,” Erin rolled her eyes. She and Ava continued to sing. They were annoying in the morning.
“Sit by me,” Zayn asked as we boarded the plane.
“Can I get the window seat?” I challenged. He nodded and stepped into the aisle. I threw my carry-on into the overhead compartment before getting into the seat. A flight attendant came around offering blankets. I took her up on that offer. Wrapped in my blanket I propped my head against the window and closed my eyes. This was a fourteen hour flight and I intended to get my sleep. Two and a half hours later I woke up not at all in the position I had fallen asleep in. Zayn and I were sharing a blanket and my head was on his shoulder. I pulled away fast and looked around. Ava and Erin were sitting by each other. They had on headphones and their laptops were out. Kaylee was sharing a seat with Harry and she looked to be comfortably asleep. Niall and Liam were sharing a seat as well. They were asleep. Louis was awake and doing something weird. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. Zayn stirred before slowly opening his eyes and stretching.
“Did you know that you snore in your sleep?” he asked me.
I blushed, “What?”
He chuckled, “It wasn’t loud.” He assured me before sweeping a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Not as loud as the other night at least. You should really get that checked out.” He teased causing me to roll my eyes.
I looked out of the window, “Oh gosh I’m starving. I should have eaten breakfast.” I exaggerated just a bit. I really was hungry, but starving was a stretch. Zayn looked into the aisle. He spotted a flight attendant and waved her over. She came to our seat with a large smile. Her face was expectant.
“May I get a muffin?” he asked politely. The woman smiled in her blue uniform and turned away. Zayn turned back to me, “You’re welcome.”
When the flight attendant brought back the large muffin I took it happily, “Thanks.” I muttered to Zayn before pinching off a piece. He was a nice guy. That made it so much harder to push away the thoughts of him. Gosh I should have just let Erin present the award. @ErinNewMAKE: @RealMelanieO and @zaynmalik are catching z’s pic.twitter.com/p/pHj876

Notes

Well here's the first chapter rewritten. I think it's much better but I'll let you guys be the judge of that.