She's Not Afraid

CHAPTER NINE: THE CONTRACT

CHAPTER NINE: THE CONTRACT

"You better make this quick before somebody else sees us together..." I told Zayn directly as I sat opposite to him in a coffee shop.

He gave me a call last night which has got something to do with Louis' endless pranks.

"You do know that Louis isn't just the only one who's behind all this bullying, right? He usually seeks confirmations and advises from Harry." I knew it! Harry's always the mastermind right from the start.

"Anyway, the thing is, I've thought of a solution so that they'll quit bullying you once and for all." He continued.

"I'm listening..." This ought to be a good idea.

"You see, I don't really approve of their 'ganging up' on you since I like you as a person, you know that right? Ever since way back..." He tried to explain.

"But you're not fully against them either. What makes you think that I'll trust you on this?" There's nothing wrong with being a skeptic since he's one of 'them' after all so you can never be too careful.

"Uh, I don't know, I thought that you'd be delighted about someone offering his help but I guess not..." He stood up.

"Okay, okay, don't be such a girl... sit back down. I'll hear you out until the end." I sighed.

"I just thought about this randomly last night and since I'm such a good guy who wants to pull you out from your awful situation concerning my friends, I thought, hey, why not present the idea to Cher herself but I don't know if you'll cooperate so..." He went on and on.

"Just tell me what this 'solution' is." I instructed him to go straight to the point.

"Let me be your boyfriend." Zayn proposed.

What?

"I demand for more details." I inquired.

"It's just for show though, like those 'fake' relationships in movies wherein two celebrities or pop stars agree to make a contract about dating publicly to get more fame... It'll be good for both our images so... I brought a contract which I made by myself for you to sign if ever you're okay with it." He handed me three pages of paper.

Am I okay with it?

"Are you nuts? I don't see the point of how becoming your girlfriend is a solution to all of my problems... more like it's the solution to your publicity stunts idea." And here I thought this was all about 'helping me'.

"Now that's where you're wrong, I'm not finished explaining just yet. You see, me and the guys made a pact or like a bro code to never lay even a single finger on one of our women or girlfriends... so consider yourself safe in my arms." He smiled genuinely.

Is this for real?

Well, I don't think Zayn's the type to make pranks like Louis and Harry but... is this even safe?

"I'll have to think about it." I finally decided after going over the contents of the contract.

"What's there to think about? I'm completely harmless... being onscreen lovers is just like holding hands for the world to see which is not that hard since there's basically no feelings attached." He tried to persuade me into agreeing.

He's got a point.

I mean, I once had a crush on him but that was nothing serious and maybe this is just a way for him to see lots of other girls, considering the player that he is.

So it's basically a win-win for both of us since the other members of One Direction can't touch me any longer!

Is this freedom I hear ringing in my ears? It has got to be...

"Here." I quickly fixated my signature on the last page of the contract above my name.

"Smart move." He grabbed the papers back to him to sign it as well.

"Now let's introduce you to my fellow band mates as my current 'girlfriend', love." He grinned from ear to ear.

Say what? As in, right now?!

"I'm not prepared to put on an act as your girlfriend. They might find out that we're just faking it right away..." I tried to convince him to meet them some other time as in... never.

"You don't have to worry about that, I've got great acting skills! Just follow my lead, will you?"

******

"Cher and I are together now." Zayn announced after he gathered the rest of the four members into the living room of their apartment.

"What the f---" Harry blurted out all of a sudden.

"I don't believe you." Louis said.

"I don't expect you to." Zayn placed an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

Niall stood up and marched right back into his room without saying a word while Liam looked uninterested and then he stood up as well, marching right... towards me?

He grabbed me by the arm then dragged me in the hallways.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked me.

"About what?" About being Zayn's girlfriend?

"He knows, Cher." Zayn appeared right beside him.

"Why'd you tell him? I thought no one can know about this?" I folded my arms.

"Well, there's no point in trying to hide things from Liam because he'll find out eventually but I assure you that he's no threat to us." Zayn fidgeted.

"Where'd those three go?" I heard Louis voice approaching us.

"In the closet, now!" Zayn pushed me and Liam inside the nearest closet in sight.

"Why are we hiding?" I asked him.

"They might have overheard us earlier, we need to make sure. Shh!" Zayn covered my mouth with his hand from behind me.

The closet was especially cramped with no space left for us to even move and so I was sandwiched between Liam and Zayn's bodies.

I was facing Liam awkwardly and so he tried to look elsewhere but was distracted with my hands resting on his chest while Zayn was right behind me so my back was pinned against him and the three of us were breathing rather heavily...