Mark My Words

Chapter 10: Pretend

“You’re joking, right? You can’t be serious, he’s only 18. Besides, why would anyone want to get married? What’s the fun in that?” Zayn was totally missing the point. “Who is he marrying?”

I stopped crying for a few seconds and laughed. “Um, hello? Doctor Air Head? Lay off the weed before you damage your brain. Who else would Liam be marrying but Danielle?”

Zayn’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Liam and Danielle are going to get married?”

I nodded as a long chill went up my back. I shivered. For some reason Zayn was looking very uneasy. “Zayn? Everything okay?” I asked, shaking his arm. His coffee sloshed around in his other hand and I was pretty sure he was going to drop it. I took it from him.

“Liam can’t get married! What about us? Did he think about his bandmates at all? How am I going to tell Harry, Louis, and Niall? I don’t think they’ll understand considering I don’t…” He picked up his phone to call someone.

“You’re not calling Liam, are you?” I asked.

“No,” he retorted.

“Oh, the boys then?”

“No.”

“Who else could you possibly be calling?”

“Danielle.”

My blood felt as if it were boiling. Her name disgusted me. I liked her just fine as a person, but I didn’t want her with Liam. I hated picturing Mr. and Mrs. Payne spending eternity holding hands and being in love. If that’s what you’d call it.

Zayn stood up and walked away once Danielle answered. After about ten minutes of sitting alone, I found Zayn and grabbed him by the arm. He hung up the phone.

“They made her turn off her phone,” he explained.

“Why were you calling Danielle?” I deserved an explanation, I thought.

He hesitated. “Listen, Jordin, I have something to tell you. I wasn’t completely honest with you. It’s not that I lied but I did forget to tell you something.”

“What?”

“One morning while you were asleep, Liam came in and talked to me. About you. And afterwards I did something bad.”

I had to pretend I didn’t know about Zayn and that model. “What did you do?”

He bit his lip and called me in for a hug. “Please try to understand this. I feel like a shitty friend, that’s for sure.”

“Just spit it out.”

“I sort of hooked up with Danielle in our shower.”

This was NOT what I thought happened. I saw the girl at the beach. The model! How did Zayn and Danielle hook up? It didn’t seem physically possible.

“You WHAT?” 

“Jordin, I…”

“Oh my fucking God! Holy shit! You hooked up with your friend’s girlfriend? That’s a scummy thing to do. What were you thinking? And who was that girl on the beach? How did you even get away with that? I saw them in the lobby together before you even came downstairs. Her hair was dry! I can’t believe you’d stoop that low. I thought you were a different type of guy. I guess I really don’t know you, Zayn. If I can’t trust you, then who can I trust? This whole thing is bullshit. This whole week has been ridiculously unbelievable.”

“I didn’t want her in the first place!” He snapped back. “She wanted me! I was glad to help.”

“Help what? Fill her holes? You’re disgusting.”

“How about you? You tried to steal Liam away this whole week. And for what? Because you feel like shit for rejecting him in grade school? Grow up!”

“I cannot even believe you’re calling me out about a mistake I made so long ago! You know better than to mess around with your friend’s girl. That’s in the bro code.”

“What about the girl code? Don’t you have some sort of respect rule as well?”

“That’s about your friend’s exes. Danielle is not my friend and Liam isn’t her ex.”

“Quit transporting the blame! We’re much too old to be playing the blame game, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know.” I stopped talking and took a deep breath. 

“Zayn, if you got together with Danielle, then who was the girl I saw on the beach?”

“Oh, that girl.” He whistled. “Her name is Eleanor. She’s lovely, I’d date her.”

“Did you two do the deed, as well?” I felt awkward asking that.

“Erm, yes.”

I thought I was going to throw up. Zayn got his way with every girl he met except for me. “Well, we should probably go back to the hotel.” I muttered.

“Yes. Oh, and Jordin?” He gently took my hand. “I’m so sorry about what I said. Just please try and forgive me.”

“I do.” I gave him a hug. Yes, I forgave him for being a pig, but I had to get back at him somehow. And let’s face it, after all of this crap I was dealing with because of Liam, I needed some fun. When we got back to the hotel, it began.

“I’m going to hit the hay.” Zayn said. “Goodnight, Jordin.”

“Goodnight. I’ll be down in the gym if you need me,” I lied. I was going to work out, but not on a treadmill. I went down the hallway and passed Louis and Harry.

“Hey, Jordin!” Harry said giving me a hug. Louis hugged me, too. These One Direction boys were the sweetest, probably because I didn’t know them all too well. Either way, I liked them.

“What are you guys doing out here so late?” I asked curiously. Louis had on swim trunks but Harry was dressed casually.

“I’m going swimming,” Louis told me. “Harry is going to pick up some Chinese food for me, Alex, Frankie, Niall, and Billy. Are you and Zayn interested?” 

“Zayn went to bed, actually. And no thank you, I ate already.” Another lie. 

We chatted a little more and they went off to their designated locations. I was hoping they’d take a long time because I had some business to take care of. I knocked on the door, my stomach twisting into knots. “Hello, Frankie.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Hey, Jordin. You al-” He stopped speaking. I kissed him. “Alright?”

“I’d be better, but I need your help.” He smiled at me. His smile was so beautiful, almost as perfect as his carved abs. “Listen, I know we only met, but…”

“Let’s pretend it’s love.” He winked.

I bit my thumbnail and nodded. Exactly.

“Why don’t you come on in, then?”

“How about you come in?” I replied. Bam.

Day 4 in the Week of Mistakes: All the Mistakes I Made That Day: (and it was only maybe 3am!)

1) I almost lost my best friend.

2) I spent the night with Frankie.