the one that got away, zayn malik

chapter thirty four

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
29th of september 2016

OLIVE sat in her london apartment, her fingers tight around the phone as joanna's voice came through, the stress in her tone unmistakable. "olive, there's been a leak. one of your songs... it's out there."

olive felt her chest tighten as the words hit her. she'd worked so hard on this album, and now, before it was even released, someone had managed to ruin the surprise. the last thing she needed was the whole world hearing it early.

"what do you mean, it's out there. what song?" olive's voice was strained, and she tried to keep her cool, but the nerves were already gnawing at her.

" 'babe'. and i don't have all the details, but it's all over the internet. someone uploaded it, and it's spreading fast. we're trying to take it down, but you need to stay calm. don't respond to anything."

olive felt her stomach drop. she could already picture the headlines, the chaos—it was going to be everywhere. but before she could gather her thoughts, dylan's voice interrupted, too chipper, too relaxed.

"everything okay?" he asked, strolling into the room, his gaze lingering on her. "you look stressed."

olive gritted her teeth, her hand clutching the phone tighter. "not now, dylan," she snapped, hoping he'd get the hint.

but he didn't. instead, he slid up next to her, brushing his fingers along her arm like it was the most normal thing in the world. "hey, babe, don't let it get to you. it's just one song, right?"

olive wanted to scream. she could hear joanna still talking on the phone, but now dylan was too close, making everything worse. she tried to focus, but his fingers kept finding their way to her shoulders, his touch too soft, too persistent.

"dylan, i'm not in the mood," she said, her voice tight with frustration, but he didn't take the hint.

"you're stressing yourself out," he said, his voice dripping with false calmness. "you need to relax."

olive could feel the tension building in her chest as dylan leaned in closer, pressing against her. his hands started to move down her arms, completely oblivious to how badly this was only making things worse.

"i just need a minute to figure this out," olive muttered, feeling the walls close in around her. she didn't need dylan's touch, his distractions, or his obliviousness. she needed to focus, not be coddled.

but dylan wasn't getting it. his hands moved up her back, trying to massage the tension away. "you work so hard," he said in a soft voice, clearly thinking he was helping. "you deserve a break."

a break. a break? olive's frustration boiled over. she pushed his hand off her, turning slightly to look at him. "dylan, i don't need a break. i need you to stop touching me right now."

the words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of everything olive was trying to manage. the leak. the album. the pressure. and now, dylan's constant interruptions.

his face faltered for a second, but he didn't move away. instead, he shrugged, trying to play it off. "alright, alright. but don't say i didn't try to help."

olive took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. she didn't have the energy to deal with this right now. "i'm on the phone with joanna, dylan. can you just give me a minute?"