Pride

Melissa’s head feels like it’s about to explode at any minute, which she wouldn’t mind if it would mean that the headache that’s splitting her skull in two would be over. And she wouldn’t taste the animal that died in her mouth anymore either.

“Had fun last night, I see,” Melissa’s younger brother observes, a grin on his face. Melissa shouldn’t expect sympathy from him.

A groan falls from Melissa’s lips as she sits down at the table. She can feel her father’s eyes on her as he peers over the morning paper at his disheveled daughter.

“Mel, did you drink last night?” Her father asks her disapprovingly. He’s an hypocrite that way, he himself drinks two beers a day but he doesn’t want Melissa to drink any alcohol at all.

“Yeah and threw up on Tomlinson’s shoes,” Melissa mutters, her voice low with irritation.
“You what?!” Melissa’s mother suddenly screeches from the kitchen, startling her daughter. A bolt of pain shoots through her skull at the loud noise.

“Mum, please don’t yell,” Melissa pleads with the upset woman in the kitchen. She lifts her hands to her temples and starts rubbing them, hoping that it will chase the headache away.
“I’m not yelling,” Betty denies in a high pitched voice.

Melissa turns her head to look at her mother, who has appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She’s donned an apron – apparently its omelet day today – and is holding a spoon in her trembling fingers.

“I’m just upset, as I should be.” Betty furrows her eyebrows in disapproval. “You threw up on Tomlinson. He’s been nothing but nice to you. He doesn’t have to, but he has. And now you threw up on his shoes?”

“It’s not as if I did it on purpose,” Melissa mutters. She turns her head to glare at her empty plate. It appears that her mother has forgotten that it was Tomlinson who made Melissa class mates turn on her.

Her parents have always looked up to rich people, have idolized them. They were the ones who had what they couldn’t even and instead of this filling her parents with resentment, it had called admiration forth in them.

Being able to send Melissa to St. Bernard was their way of trying to put one of Melissa’s feet in the world or rich people. They saw it as an opportunity for their daughter to rise higher in society than they ever could.

That’s why they had decided not to take her away from the school. Even though she may now be in a living hell, as long as she graduates it would still lead to a better life.

“Just don’t drink the next time you go to a party like that,” Betty advices her daughter, assuming that Melissa will be invited to a high society party a second time. “That way, you won’t throw up in them. Just apologize to Tomlinson that you ruined his shoes and everything will be alright.”

“I will,” Melissa lies.

Of course, Tomlinson, like her mother, thinks that Melissa should apologize to him. He walks up to her the moment she enters the school building and tells her as much, a scowl accompanying his words.

“No, I won’t. I don’t owe you any apology,” Melissa tells Tomlinson. She has her eyes narrowed at him and is staring him down with her angry glare.

The whole hallway has fallen silent. Everybody is staring at the heated exchange. Melissa and Louis are like two comets, heading for a collision and people can’t look away.

Melissa is ready for a fight. She had though that she would slink away from Tomlinson if he confronted her, but instead of feeling afraid, she feels angry. She doesn’t want to be like the girl at the party, who was too afraid of her abuser to confront him. That’s not her.

Not that she’s going to confront Tomlinson with what he’s done, with everybody watching, but she’s not going to allow him to walk all over her. If he thinks she’s going to apologize, he’s got another thing coming.

“You do, you ruined my shoes,” Tomlinson barks at Melissa. She can see a vein in his right temple throb as he clenches his jaw.

“I highly doubt they were your only shoes. You probably have loads of them. I really don’t understand why you’re so upset.” The tone of Melissa’s voice is light, but she is aware that she’s playing with fire. He could hit her, beat her up and no one would help her. But she’s not going to back down, she has had enough of Tomlinson’s bullshit.

“You’re lucky I don’t hit women,” Tomlinson lets Melissa know through clinched teeth.
“No, you let others do it for you,” Melissa scoffs.

His hands clinch into fists and for a moment Melissa think he’s going to hit her, despite the moral code he apparently has. But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes a step back and sneers at Melissa.

“You wish you had people who did your dirty work.”

Well, that goes to show how much or rather how little Tomlinson knows about Melissa. She would never want anyone to do something she isn’t willing to do herself.

“If you really think that I want to be like you, you’re even crazier than I thought.” Melissa crosses her arms and looks at Tomlinson with defiance in her eyes. Everybody is looking at her, waiting for what she’s going to say next. “I would rather be dead then ever be anything like you.”

Melissa has had enough of this conversation. She has better things to do, like going to class for example. So she walks past Tomlinson, who does nothing to stop her and stalks away from her tormentor.

When Melissa arrives, Niall is already standing on front of the class, waiting for her. His face lights up when he sees her but when he sees his friend’s angry face, the smile disappears from his lips.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice worried. He walks up to her and grabs her hand. “What happened.”

“Tomlinson is what happened,” Melissa mutters. She squeezes Niall’s hand to show him she appreciates his concern. “Bumped into him. He was a douchebag, as per usual.”

Other students are walking past them, watching the two friends for a few seconds before piling into the classroom. For a change they don’t bump into them on purpose or send them angry glares. They just seem surprised that the two of them are not entering the classroom.
“Did he hurt you?” Niall exclaims and he starts checking for bruises or blood right away, turning her this and that way to take a proper look at her skin.

“Niall, stop it,” Melissa orders Niall, voice tainted with irritation. “He didn’t hurt me. Apparently, he doesn’t hit women.”

Niall’s eyebrows are furrowed in confusion as he lets go of Melissa. “But what happened, then.”

“He told me I should apologize for throwing up on him. I told him to shove it.” Melissa shrugs her shoulders.

“Lissa,” Niall exclaims, eyes wide with fright. “Why did you do that? Now he’s going to come after us again.”

“What more can he do to us. We’re already pariahs, people are free to bully us and no one will help us. “

Melissa is lying of course. She has no doubt that if there’s someone who can be creative with punishing, it is Louis Tomlinson. But it doesn’t frighten her, not anymore. She has had enough of Tomlinson’s crap, she’s just done. She doesn’t care what he’s going to do to her.
But Niall cares, he is going to get scared if he thinks Tomlinson will go after them again. So, Melissa lies.

“Let’s just go inside,” Melissa proposes, nodding in the direction of the classroom. All of their classmates are already seated behind their desks.

“Okay,” Niall gives in and he follows Melissa into the classroom.

As soon as Melissa sits down at her desk, the redheaded monster punches on her like a scavenger bird on a dead animal. The blonde and the brunette follow right behind her.

“You must be really happy,” the monster guesses as she sits down on Melissa desk, drawing out the ‘really’. She looks at the other girl with her usual disdain. “Now that Suzanne is going to America you have Zayn all to yourself.”

“Suzanne is going to America?” Melissa exclaims, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Don’t act like you didn’t know,” the redhead monster scoffs. “It’s in all the magazines. Hell, it’s even in the papers. There’s no way you could’ve missed it.”

“Why is she going?” Melissa asks the other girl, too flabbergasted to realize how odd it is that she’s asking her bully for this information.

“She’s going to study law.” A scowl of disgusted erupts on the redhead’s face. “Apparently she wants to be a solicitor for poor people.”

If Melissa hadn’t known Suzanne personally, this information would have surprised her –the three dimwits were probably surprised when they found out – but as she does, it doesn’t come out of the blue. In the short period that Melissa has known the model, it had become clear that she has a big heart.

Melissa would have liked to have asked the three girls for more information , no matter how awkward that would’ve been, but the teacher decides to start class at the moment, so her sources of information return to their own desks.

The news about Suzanne’s imminent departure has Melissa so rattled that she doesn’t think of anything else for hours, even after she’s started her shift at the bakery.

Natasha picks up on her lack of attention. She takes Mellissa by the arm when there aren’t any costumers in the shop and turns her around so she’s facing Natasha.

“Is something wrong? Did you get another red notice?” Natasha asks, concern coloring her voice.

“You can’t get two red notices,” Melissa informs her friend. She escapes the hold of the other girl’s hand and leans back against the counter. The cold granite digs into her arse, her height making it impossible to be comfortable in this position. “It’s just…”

Melissa lets a sigh escape from between her lips and runs a hand through her hair. “Suzanne is going to America to study law and for some reason it’s all I can think about ever since I found out.”

“Maybe because it means you may have a chance with Malik,” Natasha guesses, her lips pulled into a grin as the words leave her mouth. “With her out of the way, you can impress Mr. McDreamy and make him fall in love with you.”

It does sound like Natasha is speaking the truth. It make sense if that’s the reason why Melissa can’t get the fact that Suzanne is going to go to the other side of the world out of her mind. But at the same time, it does not.

Melissa knows Suzanne being away will not help her with Zayn. He’s still going to be in love with her even when she’s not around – he had been before she had decided to return. Distance does make the heart grow fonder. He’s already devoted to her, only a blind man couldn’t see, and it will only get worse when he can’t spend time with her.

No, Melissa thinks it’s because Zayn is in love with her and she’s going to leave him. For a good cause, of course, but still, she’s going to leave him behind and Melissa can’t understand how she can. How can she abandon Zayn if she has his love.

Suddenly, the bell above the door announces that someone has entered the bakery. Suzanne’s voice sounds only a fraction of a second later, causing Melissa’s heart to stop beating for a moment.

“Melissa.”

“Hey, Suzanne,” Melissa greets the model. The smile unlike that of Natasha, is forced when she turns around to face their new costumer. “What can I get for you today?”

“I’m not here to buy something,” Suzanne admits with a wave of her hand, surprising Melissa.

The confusion most show clearly on Melissa’s face, because Suzanne giggles. Her eyes seem to shine with happiness as she leans her arms on the display. “I’m here to ask you for a favor.”

“What favor?” Melissa asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I’m leaving for America tonight,” Suzanne announces. She stands up straight again and smiles at the younger girl. “I want you to be there when I catch my plane. I consider you a friend, I would like you to be there.”

Melissa should say no. The F4 are going to be there and she doesn’t want to spend any time with these boys outside of school – with the exception of Zayn of course. And she’s going to have to bear witness to Suzanne and Zayn having a tearful goodbye.

But despite these obvious reasons to decline, she finds herself saying she’s going to come. Suzanne’s eyes pleaded her to. She can’t say no if something so small means so much to someone.

“I’m really glad,” Suzanne admits. She grins at Melissa and nods her head. “See you at ten, then.”

When Melissa arrives at ten at Heathrow Airport, Liam, Harry and Louis have already arrived. Strangely enough, Zayn is missing. All three boys are standing surrounding Suzanne, like they’re planets and Suzanne is their beautiful star.

“What are you doing here?” Tomlinson asks as soon as he catches sight of Melissa. Like always, there’s a sneer of disdain on his face.

“I asked her to come,” Suzanne tells him.

Suzanne extracts herself from the group and walks up to Melissa, a smile on her painted lips. The older girl is dressed in high jeans and a woolen crop top with a stitched kitten on it. Like the model she is, she’s traveling in style.

A gasps of surprise escapes Melissa as Suzanne takes her into her arms. She has to lean down to be able to pull it off, as Suzanne has the height that Melissa lacks.

“Take care of them, yeah?” Suzanne requests in an hushed voice. She pulls Melissa closer, overwhelming the younger girl with the apple based perfume she’s wearing. “Especially Zayn. The boys need someone like you.”

Melissa is too stunned to be able to say anything in reply. All she can do is look into the distance with wide eyes that disclose her surprise.

To Suzanne, her silence must appear to be a sign of consent because when she pulls out of the hug with a wide grin on her face, she says, “Just take good care of them, yeah? All of them have so much potential if only they had someone to kick their arses into gear. That used to be my job, now it’s yours.”

“Zayn, finally,” Tomlinson suddenly exclaims, startling both Suzanne and Melissa.

Even though Zayn still looks fit as hell, he doesn’t look too well. There are dark rings under his eyes, his hair is even more disheveled then usual and there’s a look of desperation in his brown eyes.

Suzanne immediately turns around and smiles at him. But then she sees the suitcase in the dark-haired boy’s hand and the smile disappears from her face.

“Zayn what..” Suzanne starts but Zayn interrupts her.

“I’m coming with you. I’m joining you in America,” Zayn announces, jutting his chin forward.
His eyes harden. He doesn’t look lost anymore, instead he looks as someone who’s made up his mind. His friends aren’t going to be able to dissuade him.

The thought of Zayn leaving doesn’t feel as painful Melissa thought it would. For some reason, her heart isn’t breaking into a million pieces. She even feels a little relieved. Maybe it’s because it means that Zayn isn’t going to be separated from the woman he apparently loves.

Melissa can feel someone stare at her and when she turns her head to find out who it is, it doesn’t surprise her that it’s Tomlinson who has his eyes fixed on her. What does surprise her is the intensity with which he’s looking at her.

Much to her mortification, Melissa can feel herself blush under his scrutiny. She quickly turns her head, focusing on her friend and her crush instead of her tormentor.

“Zayn, what are you doing?” Suzanne asks, confused. She stalks towards her friend and stops when she’s standing on front of him. “You can’t come with me. What are you going to do in America? Besides, I don’t think your father would approve. You’re still attending school.”

“Dad has given me permission to go,” Zayn tells Suzanne. He takes a step closer and takes her into his arms. The suitcase bumps up against Suzanne’s bum but she doesn’t seem to notice as she stares into Zayn’s eyes.

This does hurt. Seeing Suzanne and Zayn together like this, does break Melissa’s heart. She has to divert her eyes, she can’t stand look at them.

Her own feelings are given her a whiplash. One moment she seems to be okay with her crush loving another and the next moment she can’t stand him being in love with someone who isn’t her.

“Are you sure?” Suzanne asks, voice hoarse. “You won’t have anything to do in America.”

Like the fool she is, she returns her eyes to the lovers, in time to see Zayn lean forward.
“I’ll spend all of my time loving you.”

Zayn closes the remaining distance and presses his lips on Suzanne’s. Cheers erupt as the lovers kiss. Liam and Harry are apparently really happy that their friends are locking lips.

This is too much. Melissa can’t be here. She needs to leave before she bursts into tears.
She turns around to flee but she only manages to take a few steps before she’s stopped. Someone grabs her by her arm, preventing her from leaving with her dignity.

It is Tomlinson who Melissa sees when she turns her head to tell the person holding unto her arm to let it go. He’s looking at her with narrowed eyes.

“I’m taking you on a date tomorrow. I’ll text you the details.”

After having given his command, Tomlinson lets go of Melissa. The girl turns around, her eyes filled with tears, and then she runs away.

Notes

Please, let me know your thoughts.