They Don't Know About Us

Interview

"You ever coming down?" I looked up from my Mom's diary to see Niall in the doorway. I set my diary aside.

"Oh, sorry, I was just reading," I replied, "I lost track of time."

Niall walked over to me, and sat beside me, "Something wrong, love?" Niall asked me, concerned by the silence.

"Oh.... Well, it's just what I read in Mom's diary," I replied, trailing off at the end.

"What?" Niall asked, curious to know what I was talking about.

"Mom was abused by Father," I told him, my voice quiet.

"Wait, what?" Niall asked.

"Father hated Josh and me ever since we were born," I explained to Niall, "He was jealous of us. Father was so in love with Mom, that he couldn't love anyone else. But, he did have another problem... His anger issues. He grew so jealous that he got mad at Mom. H-He was always like that... He was always abusive, and I never knew."

I felt Niall pulling me close to his body. His lips lightly touched my forehead, "Don't worry about it anymore, Nicole," He whispered, "He's gone."

I sighed, "I wish I could simply say he's gone, but... He never leaves." I laid my head against Niall's chest. He wrapped his arms around my body, and I could feel his body warmth radiating through my body. We stayed like that, close together.

"I love you," I whispered into Niall's chest.

"I love you, too, baby," He whispered in reply. I wish we could stay like this forever. That feeling of protection. I never feel safe, unless I'm with Niall.

"I do remember Father yelling at Mom," I whispered, breaking the silence, "I-I just thought it was normal. I didn't realize it was that bad. But, why didn't he just hurt Mom in front of Josh and I? It makes no sense... He never loved us, so he wouldn't care if he scared us..."

"What about you're mom?" Niall asked. I frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Your Mom cared about you and Josh, right?" Niall asked. I nodded, so he continued, "If your Dad scared you guys it may have just led to him abusing you and your brother. That could be the thing that would've pushed your Mom into leaving him."

I thought about what Niall said, slowly fitting the pieces together, "That makes sense...."

"NIALL, WE HAVE AN INTERVIEW TO GO TO!" I heard Louis screech from downstairs. Niall unwrapped his arms from my body.

"Do you want to come?" Niall asked me. I thought about it for a moment, and nodded, "Sure, I'll come."

I stood up, and follow Niall downstairs.

"You're coming, Nicole?" Louis asked, once Niall and I were in the living room. I nodded, "Yeah, I've decided to come. I haven't been to an interview in a while, so I thought it wouldn't hurt."

"Well, the more the merrier," Louis replied, cheerfully. I heard the door open, and Zayn and Rachel walked inside.

"Sorry I'm late," Zayn said, "But, I've decided to announce that Rachel is pregnant during this interview."

"You haven't told the fans yet?" I asked in disbelief. Zayn nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "Um... No."

"Rachel is four months pregnant, how have you been able to hide the secret for so long?" I asked Zayn. Zayn shrugged, "I really don't know...." He mumbled.

"Well, let's go," Liam said, motioning for us to go into the car. We piled into two different cars, because we had a lot of people coming. We drove down to the place where we were having the interview, and saw the fans crowding the streets. Rachel walked behind Zayn, trying to hide her stomach as they walked. I walked beside Niall, hand in hand. The fans were cheering today, no hate. We walked into the building, and Zayn went with Rachel over to the director of the show. He had to tell him the news about Rachel before the interview started. The boys and I were taken to makeup to get ourselves ready. I had to sit at a chair, while one of the stylists inspected me. She placed her hand up to her chin, while she stared at me.

"Hmm..... The management told me to not cover up the scars and bruises, apparently it will make a good story. So, we'll just give you some light makeup and a nice dress to wear."

I nodded, listening to what she was saying. She fixed my curly hair and put on some light makeup. I was then pushed into a changing room and handed a dress and pair of shoes. I slipped off my jeans and jumper. I slipped on the dress, and replaced my moccasins with a pair of black flats. I walked out of the changing room and examined myself in the mirror. Not too bad. I was pushed out of the dressing room, and into the hallway where I joined the boys.

"They didn't cover up your scars?" Harry asked, confused.

"The makeup artist said something about how it's going to be used in the interview," I answered.

"Do you want to talk about them?" Niall asked. I looked at the floor, "N-Not really..." I mumbled.

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to," Niall told me, walking over to me.

"Try telling the interviewer that..." I muttered under my breath. Niall sighed, understanding that there was no way for him to prevent the interviewer from asking about them.

A worker told us to follow him on set. We followed behind him, and were taken to the stage. There was a live studio audience, and the worst part was that this interview was also live. We sat down. I sat in between Liam and Niall. I noticed that there were two empty seats. Must be for Zayn and Rachel. I waited for the interview to start, and sat in silence beside Niall.

I felt Niall's hand reach down and intertwine his fingers with mine. He squeezed my hand slightly. I weakly smiled at him, a little nervous about the interview.

"Don't be nervous, love," Niall whispered. I smiled at him, thinking it was funny how Niall could practically read me like a book. The interview was about to start, so Niall and I let go.

"Hi, I'm here with the one and only, One Direction!" The interviewer loudly announced. The crowd cheered loudly, and the interviewer waited for the crowd to die down before continuing. He started talking to the boys about their new album coming out. I didn't really participate in that conversation. Then, he turned back to me, "So, Nicole I see that you came with Niall today. You haven't been to any interviews in a while. Any reason for that?"

"Well, I've just started college recently, so I've been more busy than I was before," I answered, truthfully. He nodded, "A lot of people have been wondering about the scars and bruises you have... Mind telling us about that?"

The room fell silent, as everyone anticipated my answer. I really wasn't sure what I should say. Should I lie about it or tell the truth? I found myself glancing at Niall for a second, then back to the interviewer, "U-Um, well, I sort of got hurt by someone." I answered, keeping it vague.

"Who?" The interviewer asked, anxious to know the answer.

"I-I don't know... It was in the hospital when it happened. Some guy used a shot to make me fall unconscious and they... Um... Cut me." I answered. The room fell silent at my one comment. I felt my cheeks going red, at the silence I caused. I stared at the floor, unsure of what I should say.

"Oh, well, did he cause the wound on your neck?" The interviewer asked, interrupting the silence. My hand subconsciously went up to my neck, and touched the band aid, remembering it was there.

"Oh, um, he didn't cause that... My Grandfather did," I answered. He didn't say anymore. The room was quiet, everyone starting to realize what had happened to me.

"Um, well, as you all probably have noticed, Zayn isn't here," He said, quickly filling the awkward silence, "He has some interesting news for all of you. Come on out Zayn and Rachel."

Zayn and Rachel walked out, hand in hand. Rachel was hidden behind Zayn. They walked forward, and sat in the chairs.

"Zayn, you want to announce the big news?" The interviewer asked. Zayn nodded, "Sure."

I could see everyone staring at Rachel's large stomach. I could see her gaze fixed on Zayn, trying to avoid everyone else.

"Well, as you all can probably tell, my girlfriend Rachel is.. Pregnant," Zayn announced. A few cheers came from the audience, but it was mostly silence. Everyone was just staring at Rachel, that's when it all happened.

"WHORE!" was the first insult screamed towards Rachel. I could see Rachel cringe at the insult. Then, other fans joined in on the horrible fun, "BITCH!"

Rachel bit her lip nervously. I could see Zayn staring at the audience in complete shock. He reached down, and squeezed Rachel's hand, trying to make her feel reassured. She just stared at the audience, in shock.

"SLUT, YOU DON'T DESERVE ZAYN!" Another insult was screamed at Rachel. I could see a tear roll down Rachel's cheek. She looked at the ground, trying to hide her face.

"Now, let's go to commercials," The interviewer quickly interrupted the insults. Rachel ran offstage, once the camera stopped rolling. Zayn ran after her.

"Damn it..." Niall cussed under his breath, "This is going great..." He mumbled sarcastically. Niall looked up at me. I wasn't sure what to think. I feel so bad for Rachel.... Can't anyone just understand the fact that they can't have Zayn? He is in love with Rachel.... Can't anyone just accept their relationship?

"You okay?" Niall asked. I nodded slightly, "Yeah... I'm fine."

Soon, the commercial break ended, and the interviewer turned back to me, "Nicole, I don't know if you know this, but one of the pictures of you and Niall has become pretty famous all over the internet."

I looked up at him, confused, "What picture?"

The picture was cued up on the screen. I recognized that picture. It was when Niall and I were leaving the hospital, after the stalker had cut my skin multiple times. I had stitches all over my body. I was collapsed on the ground of the parking lot, people surrounding me. I was in Niall's arms as he held me close to his body, comforting me, as I cried. We didn't care that others were taking pictures while we sat in the hospital parking lot.

"What happened to cause you to cry in the middle of the parking lot?" He asked me.

"Well, as I told you earlier, the guy had cut me, and I had just gotten stitches..." I told him, my voice trailing off in the end, "And, I was on the verge of a breakdown... I guess you could say. I collapsed in the parking lot in Niall's arms as he comforted me..."

There was a few 'awes' from the audience as I told the story. The interviewer turned back to the audience, "Well, that's all the time we had for today! Let's have another hand for One Direction!"

The crowd cheered, as the show ended.