Kat’s P.O.V
I woke up Christmas morning to Safaa excitedly jumping up and down. When I sat up she grabbed my hand pulling me out of bed. In a cute bossy manner she ordered me to shower and get dressed. Presents couldn’t be opened until everyone was downstairs. So following my orders I showered, dressed, and went downstairs. First Tricia made everyone gather at the table for breakfast. I wasn’t used to doing such things. Since my sophomore year in high school my family had spent Christmas by waking up late, going to a relative’s house for dinner, and then doing our own thing. Typically I ended up with Sammy. After breakfast we all moved to the living room much to the insistence of Safaa who was itching to get her hands on a present. I got presents for all of them on my own which I handed out as they all exchanged their gifts.
Tricia smiled, “You didn’t have to get us anything.”
I shrugged lightly. “It’s not a big deal.” It really wasn’t. We get holiday bonuses at work, my rent is cheap, my car is paid off, insurance is covered by my parents, and my cell phone bill is pretty cheap too. I ended with some extra bucks every month that sit in my bank account until need be.
“We got you something too Kat.” Safaa informed me nudging Waliyha who handed me a creatively decorated box.
“It was Safaa’s idea,” she warned with an unsure expression. Warily I lifted the lid of the box and peeked inside. Instantly I laughed.
“Wow,” I managed to breathe out as Zayn looked over at the gift.
He smiled mischievously, “You have to use that all of the time.” He ordered.
“What did they buy?” Yasser questioned since I still hadn’t revealed the gift for everyone else. I pulled out the pillow and held it up. It was official One Direction merchandise with a picture of Zayn, of course, on it. I had seen one before at Claire’s when I was shopping with the girls (that must have been how they got the idea). Yasser chuckled, “It’s exactly what you wanted.” He joked as Doniya commented as well.
“You poor girl,” her voice was filled with sympathy. “At least it’s not a shirt.”
“I got one of those for my birthday,” I informed her, “from Zayn.” I added with a fake cough. Tricia shook her head with a humored smile.
“Maybe he did better this time,” she offered causing me to turn my attention to Zayn who was sitting beside me. He shrugged handing me a long flat box wrapped in silver paper.
“I swear if it’s flight tickets again,” I began tentatively tearing off the paper and opening the box. A goofy smile crossed my lips as my eyes landed on the small heart shaped locket on the thin gold chain. I lifted it carefully opening the locket to reveal a small picture of me and Zayn (the one Sammy took of us at the beach only it was now in black and white) and the words I Love You engraved on the right side. I turned to him with a frown. “This is much better than my gift for you,” I whined causing everyone to laugh as I handed him the white envelope.
“What is it?” he asked slowly opening the envelope.
I gave him a dumbfounded expression. “You have to open it to see, duh.” I rolled my eyes as Triscia offered to put the necklace on for me. As she clasped it around my neck Zayn gasped excitedly.
“No way,” he whooped. “This show was sold out.” He continued causing me to smile victoriously. In case you’re wondering my present to him were front row VIP tickets to his current favorite singer’s only show in the London O2 arena on New Year’s Eve. He had mentioned it once in passing, but I somehow managed to remember. Hundreds of dollars later and one vicious bidding war on eBay the tickets were now in his hands. “You’re the best,” he smiled pulling me into a hug.
I laughed lightly, “It’s not as great as my beautiful necklace, but you’re welcome.” I responded toying with the necklace now around my neck. If I had known we were doing gifts like this I would have gotten him something other than concert tickets. The thought caused me to frown again.
“What's wrong?” Zayn inquired looking at me with a cocked head.
“You're gift to me is better.” I pointed out. He would remember that night until something better came along, but I would have this locket forever. Wow I just said forever in relation to Zayn.
Zayn showed his annoyance shaking his head and kissing my cheek. “All that matters is that I get to spend time with you.” He mumbled into my ear bringing a warm tint to my cheeks and a smile to my lips. Later I took a picture of myself looking up at the camera with an excited smile as I craned my neck to show off my necklace.
@KatBXoXo: Loving my custom locket given by @zaynmalik this guy is the best! :D pic.twitter.com/p/pJk56n
@zaynmalik: My New Year’s plans are looking great. Thanks @KatBXoXo!
~~*~~*~~
Third Person P.O.V
The holidays did not mean an end of hate Kat quickly learned the day after Christmas when her Twitter mentions were flooded with a mix of messages. She bit her tongue, hid her phone from herself, and did her best to forget it all. She enjoyed the day with the Malik family learning more about them. For the most part it didn’t matter.
“You know whenever they would be really nasty to Perrie she would just log off for a while. Maybe that’ll work for you too.” Doniya offered her advice as they stood in the upstairs hallway. Kat had thought she was alone and stopped to check her notifications. It was a bad idea.
She groaned leaning her head against the wall. “I just don’t understand.” She complained feeling more frustrated. “I don’t say anything or do anything and yet the hate keeps on rolling in. Zayn warned me about this, but I guess I just thought it would get better after a while.”
“It could,” Doniya interfered in Kat’s rant.
Kat rolled her eyes looking at Doniya. “It’s been six months, eight if you count that hazy time when we weren’t defined, and they still don’t like me.” She frowned folding her arms.
“Some of them like you.” Doniya reached for Kat’s phone scrolling through the mentions. “ZatShipper101 said, ‘Kat you are absolutely gorgeous. I look up to you.’ Some girl who fancies herself a Malik said that you’re her inspiration for continuing school after graduation. Oh and let’s not forget the countless guys who beg you to break-up with my brother for them.” Doniya moved her head as she spoke.
“Which you really should do, because you’re entirely too good for him.” Waliyha joked joining them in the hallway. “Besides Kat, we all like you. Safaa is obsessed with you and at the end of the day Zayn loves you and that’s all that matters really.” Kat smiled at their words.
“You two are right. I am just being silly and letting it get to me.” She decided following the girls downstairs leaving their eavesdropper alone. Around the corner Zayn sighed heavily leaning his head against the wall. He knew One Direction fans tweeted Kat from time to time, but he had no clue how bad it was. As he looked down his timeline he quickly realized why she was so bothered by it all. The things he read were sometimes downright nasty and he was sure that wasn’t half of it. Zayn wasn’t sure what to do. He had seen hate from fans and too much attention break up several relationships since One Direction became mainstream. Even one of his band mates suffered in his relationship because of the fans. He knew it was best not to retaliate. The last time he did that, things did not go over well. Management gave him hell and the media had a field day. Subconsciously Zayn pushed himself off the wall and went to search for his dad. He found him quietly watching TV. Slowly he entered the room taking a seat in the leather chair.
“Hey Dad,” he spoke heavily consumed with thoughts.
Yasser turned to his son, “Zayn what’s wrong?” He could sense the tension.
Zayn scratched the back of his neck, “I’m not sure.” He admitted. “The fans don’t like Kat and she doesn’t like the things they say. I’ve had this problem before and it didn’t work out so well.”
“Do you love her?” Yasser asked seriously. Zayn snorted leaning his elbows on his knees. He wasn’t used to talking to his parents about his relationships. It was odd. It was something you didn’t do. His father raised his hands in surrender. “I’m only asking because if you truly love then none of that other stuff should matter.” He turned back to the TV. “Although I know you do,” he added casually causing his son to look at him. “You look at like she's the only other person in the world.”
Zayn stood suddenly, “I’m leaving now.” He decided swiftly. “Thanks Dad.” He patted his father’s shoulder before walking out of the room. The encouraging words had made his plan concrete.

Notes