Drama
Chapter 24: Why Me?
Leila's P.O.V.
I turn my phone off and set it down on my bed, getting up to go wipe off my makeup. Bella does a nice job, but sometimes it just feels like too much, like how much Sierra had when I first met her. I shudder at the thought and continue wiping my face in the bathroom. Just as I get most of it off, I realize how much I’m breaking out. Oh, well, it happens to everyone.
I sigh and finish washing my face with cleanser, heading back into my bedroom to change into my comfy, fuzzy pajama pants with a matching soft sweater. After I feel relaxed, I pick up my phone again and my phone’s lock screen tells me I have so many notifications from Twitter. As I scroll, I see things like, “Ooohhh, burn!” and, “This is going to be great!” and, “Shit’s going down!” That’s when I notice that Spencer replied to my tweet.
@LeilaTesley I’m the one who has to get on with life? You sob to Niall whenever something happens! You’re the one who can’t get over it!
Well, damn.
@OfficialSpence I would never steal a necklace and everybody knows that. Stop using me to get attention when your life is boring
@LeilaTesley Then stop using Niall for fame
@OfficialSpence We’re not in it for fame, we’re in it for love
@LeilaTesley Yeah, right, everyone knows you just want to be famous
@OfficialSpence You sound like a broken record, out of date and boring. When are you going to get on a subject that people actually care about?
Boom! I’m pretty proud of that comeback.
@LeilaTesley It’s 2012. That joke was soooo 4 years ago
Shit. I thought I had a good one. Wait…
@OfficialSpence Just like you
BURN!
So many accounts are tweeting me saying that I just owned her and they are on my side. My followers are defending me against her and it feels kind of nice instead of reading all the hate Spencer’s fans are giving me. And that last tweet shut her right up.
I exit out of Twitter and open up Facebook to see how my family and friends are doing. I scroll through and my heart sinks as I read what even my own friends are saying.
Has Leila gone off the deep end? I’ve been seeing her a lot lately in the news and it’s not good stuff, either.
There are a few comments to that status, so I click on it to see and I’m shocked. Cameron commented and defended me.
The media lies, don’t believe everything they say. If you want to know yourself, talk to Leila. I just did a few weeks ago and she seems like her usual self.
My friend replied back: Well, she’s in the media more which means she’s in the spotlight, getting all of the attention. The whole world sees this stuff and we can’t defend her against them. She’s not very well known, so it’s hard to be a good role model and nice celebrity if at first the entire world is judging you.
Cameron: There’s nothing that says we can’t try. You don’t know what the outcome will be if we don’t even try.
My friend: We’re two people against 4 billion.
Cameron: Fine, if you don’t even want to try, then get out of our lives. You’re no use to us and you’re definitely not a real friend if you won’t even commit to the friendship.
You go, Cameron. I still can’t believe he said that even after he wasn’t too keen on my relationship with Niall. His last comment makes so much sense and I’m realizing she’s not a friend after all. I click on her name and it goes to her page. I see the “friends” button and hit it, confirming that I do in fact want to “unfriend” her.
I continue scrolling through Facebook and unfriending people who are talking bad about me. There are only about 3 fake friends I unfriended and they’re all from my last high school. Of course.
After I’m done, I shut off my phone again and lay it on the nightstand. My anger is rising as I overthink everything. I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t stop. Have I changed? Am I not the same person I was before I left? Obviously not, I’ve moved to a big city and I’m living my dreams. I’m not going to be the same person. But have I gone insane? Am I letting the fame get to me? I really don’t even have any fame, not much, anyways. I’m always talked about, but not for my talent or my life. It’s for my relationship and the lies Spencer spins.
I need to show the world who I really am.
It might be crazy, but that’s the only way I’ll get some peace. They can talk about my relationship, I don’t really care, because they’re going to do that regardless. But I need to stand up and present my true self. They need to know that I’m not the bad guy, I’m not the insane celebrity, I’m not a good role model. Honestly, I do want to be a good role model and inspire kids to chase after their dreams. And that won’t happen if I’m being portrayed in the negative light. But how?
I genuinely don’t know how, but I really don’t feel like figuring it all out right now. I just need sleep. I need to forget everything and let it all go, at least for tonight. It’s still early, but I realize how tired I am.
Lazily, I get up and pad to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. My makeup is already off and my pajamas are on my body, so I’m pretty much done. After using the bathroom, I reenter my bedroom and crash on my bed, getting under the warm covers. My eyes slowly close and darkness clouds my sight, and I’m instantly asleep.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I jolt awake and grab my phone to silence the noise, but as I look at the screen, I realize it’s Niall calling me to video chat. Sighing, I open the lock screen and answer it.
“Hey, babe,” Niall greets me.
“Ugh, you woke me up 10 minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off,” I groan, happy but not happy at the same time.
“Sorry, it’s just that there isn’t any other time we can talk,” Niall says.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“You tell me,” he replies. What? I give him a confused look through the screen.
“Your tweets? I saw you and Spencer had a little fight,” he explains. Oh.
“Oh, that,” I respond, remembering.
“Are you going to explain?” he asks.
“Spencer set me up and blamed me for stealing her necklace when she threw it into my bag to see me get in trouble, and now I’m not allowed to leave the studio unless it’s to go home, so basically I can’t go out for lunch anymore,” I tell him.
“Seriously?” Niall replies.
“Yeah,” I say, not happy I had to repeat that story again.
“I’m sorry, love, if I was only there—”
“Niall, don’t apologize for not being here. You need to be where you are! Your brother and your family need you more than I do right now,” I persuade him. “It’s not your fault Spencer’s such a bitch and she won’t stop, but at the same time, I need to learn how to defend myself.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he apologizes again.
“Stop saying sorry, you sound pathetic,” I joke, smiling.
“Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to go back to that?” he asks, also grinning.
“Well, I’ve changed my mind,” I lie.
“Whatever,” he ends, rolling his eyes.
“Well, I’ve got to get ready, you wasted some of my morning time,” I challenge.
“Excuse me?” he defends.
“I’m kidding, I would rather talk to you and see your face than get ready,” I admit. “But yeah, you did cut into my morning time.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to get back and help, my mum is going crazy over this wedding,” he comments.
“Okay, have fun. I love you,” I say.
“I love you too, Leila,” Niall replies, and he hits the “End” button on his smiling face.
That is a great way to start the morning.
I stretch my arms over my head and roll out of bed, yawning as I head into the bathroom to prepare for today. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realize I look like a zombie. Great.
Soon, I’m already out the door and heading to the studio. It’s a beautiful day out here for a Friday, but I’m halted by the security as soon as I hit the gates. Oh yeah, I need to be patted down to make sure I’m “safe.”
The security guard holds out his wand and swipes my body, but nothing is there. He checks my ID to make sure I’m supposed to go in and then finally I’m able to walk past him and into the building.
The minute I step inside, I hear snickers coming from the corner.
“How’s the security? Are they going easy on you?” Spencer’s sly voice jeers.
“Oh, I hope you don’t steal my necklace, now, too!” Sierra comments after Spencer. They both skip past me and enter the dressing room, laughing.
My anger rises but I take a few deep breaths and keep going. No matter what, this is my job and I need to keep this or it’s bye bye, dream.
Spencer and Sierra are engaged in conversation when I walk in, and thankfully I don’t disturb them the entire time I get ready. Once I’m finished, Alexa and I hook arms and head out to the set to start for this morning.
Besides a few more snarky comments from Spencer and Sierra, nothing major has happened with them while we’re filming this morning. I’m so glad when Mr. Conners releases us for lunch but then I remember I’m not allowed to go out. Alexa and Max didn’t bring any food with them, so they head out to go get something, apologizing to me about the notice that they forgot.
I sigh and grab my lunch from the dressing room, thanking myself for remembering this morning even though Niall still distracted me. Then I have another thought: where am I supposed to eat? I can’t eat in the dressing room because the food can get on our outfits and it’ll just be a huge mess. I walk out the door and almost run into Mr. Conners.
“Oh, sorry, Mr. Conners! I didn’t see you there,” I apologize.
“That’s okay, I was actually coming to find you,” he says. “I remembered about our little deal and I was just wondering if you’d be alright if we could eat lunch together in my office? Assuming you weren’t sure where you were going to go?”
“Um, sure, why not?” I answer. It might be weird, but at the same time, I might be able to be friends with him and fix up this little issue. It’s worth a try.
I turn my phone off and set it down on my bed, getting up to go wipe off my makeup. Bella does a nice job, but sometimes it just feels like too much, like how much Sierra had when I first met her. I shudder at the thought and continue wiping my face in the bathroom. Just as I get most of it off, I realize how much I’m breaking out. Oh, well, it happens to everyone.
I sigh and finish washing my face with cleanser, heading back into my bedroom to change into my comfy, fuzzy pajama pants with a matching soft sweater. After I feel relaxed, I pick up my phone again and my phone’s lock screen tells me I have so many notifications from Twitter. As I scroll, I see things like, “Ooohhh, burn!” and, “This is going to be great!” and, “Shit’s going down!” That’s when I notice that Spencer replied to my tweet.
@LeilaTesley I’m the one who has to get on with life? You sob to Niall whenever something happens! You’re the one who can’t get over it!
Well, damn.
@OfficialSpence I would never steal a necklace and everybody knows that. Stop using me to get attention when your life is boring
@LeilaTesley Then stop using Niall for fame
@OfficialSpence We’re not in it for fame, we’re in it for love
@LeilaTesley Yeah, right, everyone knows you just want to be famous
@OfficialSpence You sound like a broken record, out of date and boring. When are you going to get on a subject that people actually care about?
Boom! I’m pretty proud of that comeback.
@LeilaTesley It’s 2012. That joke was soooo 4 years ago
Shit. I thought I had a good one. Wait…
@OfficialSpence Just like you
BURN!
So many accounts are tweeting me saying that I just owned her and they are on my side. My followers are defending me against her and it feels kind of nice instead of reading all the hate Spencer’s fans are giving me. And that last tweet shut her right up.
I exit out of Twitter and open up Facebook to see how my family and friends are doing. I scroll through and my heart sinks as I read what even my own friends are saying.
Has Leila gone off the deep end? I’ve been seeing her a lot lately in the news and it’s not good stuff, either.
There are a few comments to that status, so I click on it to see and I’m shocked. Cameron commented and defended me.
The media lies, don’t believe everything they say. If you want to know yourself, talk to Leila. I just did a few weeks ago and she seems like her usual self.
My friend replied back: Well, she’s in the media more which means she’s in the spotlight, getting all of the attention. The whole world sees this stuff and we can’t defend her against them. She’s not very well known, so it’s hard to be a good role model and nice celebrity if at first the entire world is judging you.
Cameron: There’s nothing that says we can’t try. You don’t know what the outcome will be if we don’t even try.
My friend: We’re two people against 4 billion.
Cameron: Fine, if you don’t even want to try, then get out of our lives. You’re no use to us and you’re definitely not a real friend if you won’t even commit to the friendship.
You go, Cameron. I still can’t believe he said that even after he wasn’t too keen on my relationship with Niall. His last comment makes so much sense and I’m realizing she’s not a friend after all. I click on her name and it goes to her page. I see the “friends” button and hit it, confirming that I do in fact want to “unfriend” her.
I continue scrolling through Facebook and unfriending people who are talking bad about me. There are only about 3 fake friends I unfriended and they’re all from my last high school. Of course.
After I’m done, I shut off my phone again and lay it on the nightstand. My anger is rising as I overthink everything. I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t stop. Have I changed? Am I not the same person I was before I left? Obviously not, I’ve moved to a big city and I’m living my dreams. I’m not going to be the same person. But have I gone insane? Am I letting the fame get to me? I really don’t even have any fame, not much, anyways. I’m always talked about, but not for my talent or my life. It’s for my relationship and the lies Spencer spins.
I need to show the world who I really am.
It might be crazy, but that’s the only way I’ll get some peace. They can talk about my relationship, I don’t really care, because they’re going to do that regardless. But I need to stand up and present my true self. They need to know that I’m not the bad guy, I’m not the insane celebrity, I’m not a good role model. Honestly, I do want to be a good role model and inspire kids to chase after their dreams. And that won’t happen if I’m being portrayed in the negative light. But how?
I genuinely don’t know how, but I really don’t feel like figuring it all out right now. I just need sleep. I need to forget everything and let it all go, at least for tonight. It’s still early, but I realize how tired I am.
Lazily, I get up and pad to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. My makeup is already off and my pajamas are on my body, so I’m pretty much done. After using the bathroom, I reenter my bedroom and crash on my bed, getting under the warm covers. My eyes slowly close and darkness clouds my sight, and I’m instantly asleep.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I jolt awake and grab my phone to silence the noise, but as I look at the screen, I realize it’s Niall calling me to video chat. Sighing, I open the lock screen and answer it.
“Hey, babe,” Niall greets me.
“Ugh, you woke me up 10 minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off,” I groan, happy but not happy at the same time.
“Sorry, it’s just that there isn’t any other time we can talk,” Niall says.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“You tell me,” he replies. What? I give him a confused look through the screen.
“Your tweets? I saw you and Spencer had a little fight,” he explains. Oh.
“Oh, that,” I respond, remembering.
“Are you going to explain?” he asks.
“Spencer set me up and blamed me for stealing her necklace when she threw it into my bag to see me get in trouble, and now I’m not allowed to leave the studio unless it’s to go home, so basically I can’t go out for lunch anymore,” I tell him.
“Seriously?” Niall replies.
“Yeah,” I say, not happy I had to repeat that story again.
“I’m sorry, love, if I was only there—”
“Niall, don’t apologize for not being here. You need to be where you are! Your brother and your family need you more than I do right now,” I persuade him. “It’s not your fault Spencer’s such a bitch and she won’t stop, but at the same time, I need to learn how to defend myself.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he apologizes again.
“Stop saying sorry, you sound pathetic,” I joke, smiling.
“Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to go back to that?” he asks, also grinning.
“Well, I’ve changed my mind,” I lie.
“Whatever,” he ends, rolling his eyes.
“Well, I’ve got to get ready, you wasted some of my morning time,” I challenge.
“Excuse me?” he defends.
“I’m kidding, I would rather talk to you and see your face than get ready,” I admit. “But yeah, you did cut into my morning time.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to get back and help, my mum is going crazy over this wedding,” he comments.
“Okay, have fun. I love you,” I say.
“I love you too, Leila,” Niall replies, and he hits the “End” button on his smiling face.
That is a great way to start the morning.
I stretch my arms over my head and roll out of bed, yawning as I head into the bathroom to prepare for today. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realize I look like a zombie. Great.
Soon, I’m already out the door and heading to the studio. It’s a beautiful day out here for a Friday, but I’m halted by the security as soon as I hit the gates. Oh yeah, I need to be patted down to make sure I’m “safe.”
The security guard holds out his wand and swipes my body, but nothing is there. He checks my ID to make sure I’m supposed to go in and then finally I’m able to walk past him and into the building.
The minute I step inside, I hear snickers coming from the corner.
“How’s the security? Are they going easy on you?” Spencer’s sly voice jeers.
“Oh, I hope you don’t steal my necklace, now, too!” Sierra comments after Spencer. They both skip past me and enter the dressing room, laughing.
My anger rises but I take a few deep breaths and keep going. No matter what, this is my job and I need to keep this or it’s bye bye, dream.
Spencer and Sierra are engaged in conversation when I walk in, and thankfully I don’t disturb them the entire time I get ready. Once I’m finished, Alexa and I hook arms and head out to the set to start for this morning.
Besides a few more snarky comments from Spencer and Sierra, nothing major has happened with them while we’re filming this morning. I’m so glad when Mr. Conners releases us for lunch but then I remember I’m not allowed to go out. Alexa and Max didn’t bring any food with them, so they head out to go get something, apologizing to me about the notice that they forgot.
I sigh and grab my lunch from the dressing room, thanking myself for remembering this morning even though Niall still distracted me. Then I have another thought: where am I supposed to eat? I can’t eat in the dressing room because the food can get on our outfits and it’ll just be a huge mess. I walk out the door and almost run into Mr. Conners.
“Oh, sorry, Mr. Conners! I didn’t see you there,” I apologize.
“That’s okay, I was actually coming to find you,” he says. “I remembered about our little deal and I was just wondering if you’d be alright if we could eat lunch together in my office? Assuming you weren’t sure where you were going to go?”
“Um, sure, why not?” I answer. It might be weird, but at the same time, I might be able to be friends with him and fix up this little issue. It’s worth a try.
Notes
THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE IN NIALL’S P.O.V. SO MAKE SURE YOU READ THE VERY BEGINNING OF EACH CHAPTER FROM NOW ON BECAUSE I’LL SWITCH BETWEEN PEOPLE. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE AND HOW OFTEN I WILL SWITCH, BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WILL BE HAPPENING.Rachel :)
Make a Sequel please.
9/13/14