Dance in the Family (1D, bk 2)

Chapter Eight

 *Perrie's POV*

I was watching out the window for most of the uncomfortably silent drive to the hospital. I recognized one of the two new girls right away as Chrissy, who I'd met the day before. The other girl must have been Melody, because nobody seemed to recognize her, yet she was still getting into the car.

"Hi guys. Nice to finally meet the other girls!" Mel said quietly, settling in beside me. I watched Haley cringe slightly, and then realized that Dani didn't know about this girl. She had to know that if she'd moved on, Liam would too... but this would still be hard for her.

"I'm Perrie, and these are Haley, Eleanor, and Danielle. It's lovely to meet you!" I gushed, making up for the awkwardness. That's what I did, see. I couldn't stand awkward silence if it could be avoided. And now it could be.

The car was quiet, but not silent. El and Dani were talking up front, and Haley was sending me odd looks every few seconds. Chrissy and Melody were talking amongst themselves, and once Chrissy took some kind of medicine for her hay fever. But it was still too quiet. Too many bad memories happened in the silence. I couldn't stand it. And just when I was going to say something stupid or crazy, we made it to the mall.

*Haley's POV*

The mall wasn't crowded at all. Probably because it was a weekday, so the teenagers were still in school. We were lucky not to be spotted, since four of us were famous. I wasn't sure who would be recognized first: Perrie the rockstar, Dani the dancer, Eleanor the supermodel, or me. I wasn't much... just touring with the most popular boyband in the world. That made me pretty recognizable.

"Who do you think will be recognized first, guys?" I asked, amused. They all immediately pointed to me, even Perrie. I rolled my eyes but laughed and nodded. We'd already passed two magazines with my face plastered on the front. At least it was a good picture...

 As it turned out, Melody was the first to be recognized. Someone from the hospital came running over and hugged her tightly. They had a short conversation, and then the girl left again.

I wasn't recognized until we were leaving, and it wasn't a fan that recognized me. It was David.

"Haley!" he called, walking straight towards me. I tried very hard not to fangirl at him, but it was David Tennant and he was walking striaght towards me! "It's good to see you again. Matt told me you're usually too busy to go see them, so I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Oh, yeah well. I've been stuck in a studio most days, practicing for my first real concert. Just a week away, and I'll be singing in front of thousands of screaming girls. I've been talking to Beth, but I haven't gotten to stop by the house since the last time I saw you," I explained.

"Well then it's good that I caught you here. Firstly, I'd like to state that I'll be in that audience too. Georgia wants to see it, and since I knew you... I went ahead and got us both tickets and backstage passes. Thought it'd be good to tell you before I just showed up back there to see you. Also, I wanted to give you these," he said, pulling two little stubs of paper out of his pocket. I took them and saw that they were tickets. "My next show is coming up, and I thought you and Zayn might be interested in seeing it."

I'm certain I shocked him when I threw my arms around him and hugged him, but oh well. "Thank you so much! We'll definitely be there!" I exclaimed, but quietly. The last thing either of us needed was to be spotted together and mobbed. He nodded, smiling.

"I'll let you ladies get back to whatever you're up to. I came to get new converse. Mine are a bit worn," he informed us. We managed to part ways without being seen. We made it all the way back to Mica's house before we were seen, and it was by the wrong people.

"Haley, Haley, over here! What do you have to say to the rumors that you and Zayn have split up?" a reporter shouted.

"Haley, how long were you going to hide your pregnancy from the boys?" another called.

They were swarming us, and I could barely breathe. I'd never had a problem with the paps before, but I was never with only the girlsbefore, either. There was no Paul here to protect me, and no Zayn to stop them from hurting me... How was I going to get out of this?!

Eleanor's POV

The paps were closing in on us, and it was alarming me. I could feel the baby kicking me, and I didn't know how to save him. I had gotten separated from the others, and normally Dani would be running interference for me...

I could hear sirens, meaning the police would be with us any minute, but it wouldn't be soon enough. I could feel the panic overtaking me, and nobody would back off. And then, out of nowhere, Perrie was there and making them back away. 

"Can you not see how badly you're freaking her out?! Go bother somebody who wants to talk to you! We're just trying to get home!" she shouted, sending them running. I'd forgotten how intimidating Perrie could be in times of crisis. 

"Thank you... I think you just saved my life," I told her, giving her a brief hug.

"No, not your life. Maybe your dignity. If you'd passed out, you'd never live it down," she replied, smiling slightly. I was scanning the diminishing crowd, looking for the other girls, when I heard Hayley screaming. Perrie met my eyes, and we were running towards the sound, shoving people out of our way when they didn't move fast enough.

While Perrie had saved me from the panic attack, nobody had managed to get to Hayley in time. She was on her knees, clutching her head and fighting to stay conscious. I dropped to my knees beside her, rubbing her back. "Hayley, focus on my voice. The crowd is all gone, and it's just us. Nobody is going to hurt you, nothing is going to happen. We need to get you home, to Zayn, okay?" I said quietly, trying to talk her out of it. The other girls were there now, and Melody was nodding to me. I'd forgotten she was  nurse!

"Zayn... I need to..." she was breathing hard, clearly fighting to calm down. Slowly, she managed to catch her breath and stand back up. We got her inside of Mica's house and called Zayn's cell to get him there. Mica and Skylar were both trying not to freak out over the condition Hayley was in, and I was mostly focusing on calming down myself. I went and sat on the couch away from everyone to have a minute to myself. 

"Are you holding up okay? I know you were on the brink of that too," Perrie asked, sitting beside me carefully. I nodded.

"I'm fine, just trying to calm down. I could have gotten through my own panic just fine, but adding Hayley's... I'm not meant to have stress like this so close to my due-date," I replied quietly.

"You're a good friend, staying beside her through all of that. I know she appreciates it," Perrie reminded me.

"I know she does. I'd do it for any one of you. But I shouldn't, and Lou is going to kill me when he finds out. I can already feel the baby being more anxious than normal," I sighed. She nodded in sympathy. 

"What name did the two of you choose?" she asked, sitting back. I smiled slightly.

"His name is Christopher James. He's due at the beginning of next month," I informed her. She nodded. 

Hayley's POV

I was beyond embarassed that they had to call Zayn to come get me. I hadn't had a panic attack in months, and certainly not over paps. I was getting too... I didn't even know. Maybe it was time for a break. I stuck my hand into my pocket to feel the tickets David had given me and smiled slightly. I'd go see his show, do my concert, and then take a plane to the states. Mica and Skylar could come with me. Actually, all the girls could! It could count as our bachelorette party. 

Taking a deep breath, I stood to go meet Zayn at the door. Time to face reality again.

Hello, all. It's been FOREVER, but I'm back. I've rewritten this chapter five times, and I'm still not thrilled with it. Maybe I'll go back and change it later, who knows. But for now, here is chapter eight, and chapter nine comes soon!