Dance in the Family (1D, bk 2)

Chapter Five

Mica's POV

I have a secret that I've been hiding since I left last time. Since long before Haley's coma, and this fight with Zayn. And this stupid plot she and Skylar came up with to get me and Niall together. But this secret will fix a lot of things... I hope. Unfortunately... I can't share my secret.

I was watching Haley from across the room as she hugged Sky, and it almost physically hurt me that she was crying again. Stupid Zayn, hurting her. Stupid Haley for being stubborn. I sighed, throwing my arm around the ever-present Harry. "I know what you're doing," I whispered to him, earning a look from Niall. Harry smiled at me, but I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Are you angry about it?" he whispered back. I rolled my eyes and smirked.

"No. More amused than anything. Haley comes up with the weirdest plots sometimes," I assured him. He laughed with me.

"Well, if you know, does that mean I can stop?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It's too amusing. And it's making Haley smile again, so it's worth the small discomfort. Because I'm sorry, but I'm not attracted to you in the slightest," I informed him quietly. He smirked and nodded.

"I'm not attracted to you either. No offence. I'm doing it because she said it would make her feel better. I figure this way I can at least help one of them. Zayn is just... he pretty much locked himself in his mind. He doesn't know what to do. And Perrie is calling every day. Somehow she found out he'd be with me, so she's calling me too. I only answered once, by accident," he told me.

"She really needs to move on. She's the one who cheated on him," I snapped without thinking. Harry gave me a weird look.

"No she didn't. They broke up because she didn't want the good-girl image dating Zayn gave her. It was management that drove them apart, not cheating. Zayn made that story up right after it happened, to give her the image she wanted and make himself feel better. That's all that was," he whispered, making sure Haley wasn't listening. By now, Liam was listening in.

"Yeah, she contacted him after our first interview with that story to thank him. And tell him she'd always love him no matter what. But he told her not to talk to him anymore, because she'd hurt him beyond what he could take," Li added.

"I'd forgotten that. Guess she's changed her mind now. She's been caught by the paps with multiple men, and I know her management is content. She probably wants Zayn back so she can have some kind of peace again," Harry finished. I was scowling.

"She's completely using him! She has no idea what this is doing, does she? Does she even know about Zayn and Haley?" I demanded.

"That's the thing. She seems to think this whole thing with Haley is publicity like what her management pressed her to do. She doesn't understand that for them it's real, and that Zayn has finally moved on. That he doesn't want her anymore. It's killing her that he's 'playing hard to get'," Harry replied.

"Which is stupid, if you think about it. Her management called them both into the meeting and straight up told them that Zayn's rep was fine. He's perfect as he is, no matter what he does. And they started dating before Haley was even close to signed. Perrie needed to change, and Zayn couldn't help her. She made the decision to let him go because they thought she'd sell more songs that way. The latest guy showed up at the bar she just happened to be at with Jesy because management sent him. Now she's tired of it and wants a break, so she'll be with him until she's done with the domestic, and then she'll break his heart again. But he's finally not going to let her," Liam added.

"You're talking about Perrie? Yeah, she's a piece of work," Niall butted in. He gave me a small smile. I looked across the room to check on Haley and make sure she wasn't listening, but she wasn't in the room anymore. "Skylar and Louis took her out to get some chinese and rent some movies for the night. They're dropping Christell off at home because she forgot her medicine. I guess she's got hayfever, which I didn't even notice..." he told me.