She's Not Afraid

CHAPTER TWO: PHOTOSHOOT MAYHEM

CHAPTER TWO: PHOTOSHOOT MAYHEM

“Wow… you had a pretty tough childhood.” Marshall commented after my half a day storytelling.

“And that’s why I don’t want to meet those jerks ever again. You understand me, right?”

“Yeah. Sure. Let’s just cancel.” And this is why my manager’s cool.

“Thanks. This really means a lot to me.” I gave him a one in a million grateful smile of mine since I’m not really a grateful person at all.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a staff meeting tomorrow at 3 AM regarding your new album. Be there alright and wear something… sexy.” He coughed the last word out.

What’s that supposed to mean?                                             

*AT THE STUDIO, THE NEXT DAY*

“Mar---“ I opened the door to the studio only to find the whole staff running about as they busily set the studio up.

“There you are! You’re five minutes late. Cher, I want you to meet… ONE DIRECTION.” My jaw dropped open as Marshall pointed towards ‘their’ direction.

The photographer was already snapping some pictures of them being in such a playful atmosphere which freaked the hell out of me due to sudden shock.

“Wha---“

“I lied. End of story. Now get out there and face your bullies. And I thought I told you to wear something girly?” What happened to the supposedly ‘cool’ manager that I thought I had?!

Marshall dragged me by the hood and pushed me directly towards ‘them’, making me bump into someone else’s chest pretty roughly.

“Careful.” I looked up and saw a pair of serious-looking brown eyes which belonged to Liam Payne, if I remember correctly and he still had the same wavy hairstyle as before.

“You must be Cher Lloyd.” The guy with an intense stare and black hair beside Liam said.

This one’s Zayn Malik whom I used to have a crush on a very long time ago but then A LOT of things happened which made me realize that I can never be with a guy who has four other ‘friends’ even if he’s the nicest one in the group.

I believe in the saying that if you commit to one guy then it is necessary to commit to your guy’s closest friends as well just like marrying the parents first before you get their approval or something like that.

“Nice to meet you!” The blonde guy greeted with bliss.

Still the same old Niall Horan, I see. Except that he apparently lost A LOT of pounds from the last time I saw him as the chubby kid who loves to steal my lunches.

“Aren’t you a beauty?” The curly-haired guy complimented and then he shook hands with me.

And how could I forget Harry Styles? Also known as my sworn enemy from the moment I was born or maybe in my case, the day I entered kindergarten.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a brunette lad with a pair of bluish-gray eyes who was snickering.

Louis Tomlinson, the real prankster of the group. He’s like Harry’s upper hand or something and Niall’s protector from me.

I just stood there right in front of them, without saying a word, completely frozen in place as I began to recall all of the bullying that they’ve put me through five years ago.

Wait a minute… perhaps they don’t remember me anymore?!

That is just… AWESOME!

Now all I have to do is act friendly with them and plot my revenge plan later.

“Okay, let’s get to work everyone! Hand Cher her jacket.” The photographer ordered.

I just noticed now that all five of them were wearing varsity jackets which should be the theme for this shoot.

“Now I need you to get closer with Harry and Zayn, just squeeze in between them.” He motioned me to stand beside the two biggest flirts that I knew back in the day, other than their being a ‘bully’ quality.

“You guys can put your arms around her as friendly as possible like long lost pals…” He added which made me all the more uncomfortable as Zayn placed an arm around my shoulder while Harry wrapped his arm around my waist!

More like I’m a long lost victim of theirs…

“Cher, your smile looks kind of fake.” I had a hard time smiling for real because it’s like being suffocated by a bunch of wild animals being too close for comfort.

My eyes landed on my manager and then I mouthed the ‘HELP!’ word to him which he happened to ignore! Ugh.

“Okay, how about Cher and Louis alone? They’re quite the pair to see…” Pair, my ass.

I nearly gagged at the word.

“Use the bouquet of flowers as props.” Louis directly followed the photographer’s order and got on one knee while offering the bouquet of red roses to me.

We had a brief eye contact with a bit of an electrifying tension and then he winked at me out of nowhere, making me break the eye contact first.

When will I ever win this eye contact thing with any of these guys?!

“Marvelous! Now Cher, if you could only show more candid expressions on your face other than your forced smile or stoic look.” This is harder than I thought…