Moments In Time

Chapter 2

November 2018

Kacey looked down at her phone nervously. Twitter was buzzing with excitement, anticipating the event that was happening that night.

The American Music Awards. Tonight was a big night for a lot of people, Kacey being one of them.

Tonight would mark two firsts for her. It was her first public appearance since One Direction officially disbanded three months before. The split had been coming for some time. With Louis realizing that parenthood wasn't going to be easy while he was touring, and the others wanting to do their own thing, it was just inevitable that they would split.

The one thing they knew was mainly responsible, even though they didn't dare voice it out loud, was that things just weren't the same without Zayn.

No matter how many times they'd asked, Zayn didn't want to do another album. He was becoming one of the most respected names in music, and he wanted to move forward with that.

Kacey hadn't seen Zayn in two years after the first attempt of getting him back. It hurt her too much to see him. They would talk and occasionally tweet to each other, but it just wasn't the same.

That would be changing. She was presenting an award tonight in a category that he was nominated for, and that he was likely to win.

So not only was this her first solo public appearance, it would also be her first time seeing him in a long time.

Her brother, Marcus, was going to be her date. He'd just graduated from the University of North Carolina, and was looking forward to the event. One thing he loved to do was tease Kacey about Zayn, so when she asked him to accompany her, and he learned that she would be seeing Zayn again, Marcus agreed instantly. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to antagonize her.

"Nervous?" Marcus asked.

Kacey nodded.

"Just a little bit," she said, smoothing her dress.

"Because of the event or because of Zayn?" he asked, sipping his water.

"Both," Kacey admitted. "It's not easy. I'll be on my own with this, it's not something I'm used to."

Marcus squeezed her hand.

"You can do it," he said reassuringly. "They wouldn't have asked you if they didn't think you could."

"You sound like Mom," Kacey replied, a sad smile on her face. Their late mother had told her the same thing when she was asked to join One Direction.

The limo was slowing to a stop, so Kacey put her phone in her purse and got ready.

"I'll get out first," Marcus offered. Kacey nodded gratefully.

He opened the door and all Kacey saw was flashbulbs.

"Kacey! Kacey, this way!"

She took her brother's hand as he helped her out of the limo, and waved to the cameras and fans that were calling her name.

"You okay?" Marcus asked as she looped her arm through his.

"Kind of," Kacey said with a bright smile as they walked down the red carpet. She saw several friends of hers, but they were preoccupied with interviewers or stylists.

"I don't think he's here yet," Marcus said as he noticed Kacey looking around inconspicuously.

"Who?" she asked, acting as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

Marcus scoffed.

"Whatever, Kacey. Pretend you weren't looking for Zayn another time. It looks like Ryan wants to talk to you," he said, leading her to one of E!'s hosts for the night.