What About Now (Westlife Fan Fiction)

Chapter 1

Krista was a journalist for a big London news company. She was crucial in the success of the magazine. She had her own double page spread, one about anything she liked. The only problem was that Krista no longer knew what to write about. She turned up for work the same as she always did, buzzing at the prospect of changing people’s reading. Today though when she smiled sweetly at the security guard, spoke softly to the man behind reception; she did it with less enthusiasm than she had hoped for. She trudged up the stairs to the second to top floor of the magazine headquarters and slumped down in her chair.

This was because many people didn’t know was that Krista was twenty five today. She was normally happy with each passing age but she longed for something more. She wanted something so simple yet she couldn’t find it anywhere… love.

She turned on the desktop computer fixed solidly to the table, pulled up her wheelie chair behind the desk and rested her head on her delicate hand. She logged in with the light press of keys on the keyboard and returned to her former position. She almost dosed off when her friend Penny; a bubbly, jumpy girl, came flying through the partition that separated journalists, and enclosed them in a cubbyhole with their thoughts, supposedly ‘promoting their writing flow’ as their weak-minded boss had told them. Penny perched on the end of Krista’s desk and looked into her sad eyes. She smiled and prodded her friend on the arm, causing Krista to snap out of her daydream.

“Penny, you frightened the life out of me!”

“Well you didn’t have much life in you when I came in, what’s the matter?” Penny stroked her friend’s arm, trying to get a response.

“Oh, you know, stuff”

“Holy chocolate éclair, you’re not still obsessing over love are you?”

“Have you got a problem with that Penny?”

“You can’t sit around waiting for it, it will just come to you”

“But how will I know?”

“Your heart will sing soft notes and the world will move with such a perfect grace”

“What a load of-”

“Krista! I need to talk to you” Krista was cut off by her boss, a moany but supportive man, aged 40. Penny quickly slunk off to avoid being told off by him.

“Yes Mr Connor, how can I help you?”

“You can start by telling me what your story is going to be about?”

“Ah, well you see sir, I kinda haven’t decided yet”

“Well, write what’s on your mind or what will be on the readers’ minds”

“Yes sir”

“But before you write that I need to tell you something. One of the superiors from the sales department will be joining us on our meeting this morning. I just wanted to warn you because well, he is strict and he may well pick on you, seeing as your article is the best in the magazine.”

“Okay, I think I can handle him”

“I’m sure you can, meeting starts in five minutes, oh and make yourself presentable”

“Excuse me?” He walked away without another word and Krista turned back to her desk, annoyed and confused.

Before the meeting she went to the ladies restroom and stared into the large mirrors behind the sink units. Her hair could have been better, and her trousers could have been ironed. Her pulled her blouse straight and tied her hair up in a high ponytail, revealing the cartilage piercing at the top of her left ear. She shrugged and made her way to the meeting room.

She sat down next to her boss and started to tap her fingers on the table, clearly bored. Mr Connor stopped her before the sales guy came in. When the guy did come in; five minutes late, he straightened his tie and paced down the longer side of the boardroom.

“Right you little prats, I don’t like the way things are running down here”

“What’s the problem sir” Mr Connor was such a suck up.

“I’ll tell you the problem Connor, your columns are designed to get the readers’ gossiping, and guess what, they’re not, so what are you gonna do about it?”

“Well, I could get my best writer to do a spread on something more exciting” He indicated to Krista when he said this, and she just sighed and looked at the merciless eyes of the git in the suit.

“You, you’re the best writer, no offence but I was picturing you as someone more, more sophisticated”

“well I pictured you as a weedy, desperate man who deserved a right good slap, and I wasn’t far wrong”

“Krista, don’t talk like that!” Mr Connor was, as always, trying to control the situation, unsuccessfully.

“No, no Connor, she has spirit, I like that. I have an idea for your department Connor, if Miss Big shot here thinks she can take me, then she won’t mind doing an undercover piece will she?”

“On what sir?” Mr Connor looked confused now, and he had a right to be.

“How about she proves to me how sophisticated she can be, how about you do a piece on the singer Kian Egan from Westlife, a little birdie told me that he has is co-presenting a new show, and I want you at the recording tomorrow, do you understand me?”

“It’s a little out of her comfort zone sir”

“I’m sure she can handle it, I want the draft in for this in two weeks, oh and big shot, I want something juicy, not the boring drivel you normally publish.” Krista raised her eyebrow to this, and as he left the room and firmly closed the door behind him, Krista muttered under her breath:

“Ugly pilock”

“Krista, you have crossed a line, now you have to deliver a story or we all get it in the neck”

“You have no faith Sir, in fact Kian Egan is my favourite member of Westlife, so this will be easy”

“You better hope it is”