My old friend (One Direction fanfiction)

Chapter 16

A new start

Emma's POV

5 months later

I furiously threw my fist forward, satisfied with the noise as it hit the red punching bag in front of me, quickly followed by my other hand. I sent several swift kicks and attacks towards the bag before stopping, letting it swing to a halt as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

I sighed as I picked up my bag, shoving my jumper in it and zipping it up. As I walked out of the empty hall I gave a small wave to Tom as he swept the stone floor around the boxing ring.
He smiled,
"See you tomorrow."
I nodded curtly, leaving the building and beginning to walk.

I climbed the fire escape, the sound of my trainers as they hit the metal echoing across the estate. Reaching the fifth floor, I forced open the window of what I liked to call 'my flat', and climbed inside, closing it behind me.

When I had left Harry and the four other people I had managed to make my friends that night, I had no idea where I would go, or what I would do.
I ended up living on the streets and travelling for four days, eating whatever scraps I could find. Eventually, I found this estate, obviously previously lived in, but now left empty by the government, who no doubt would begin renovating it soon. I enjoyed having a place to sleep whilst it was available. I drank and washed using the taps before the water ran out, the bill obviously long forgotten.

For what seemed like months, but could only have been a day or two, I lay on the grey and rotting sofa in the flat, watching the tarpaulin covering the chandelier above me flutter in the breeze filtering through the window. I lost all sense of hope and light that I had regained spending time with Harry's band. Thinking solidly for that long can create dangerous thoughts in your mind, most of which I managed to push out of my head.

Pathetic, I thought to myself. Useless, worthless, friendless.

I don't know how or why, but one day I just decided that I had spent too long being this weak, innocent creature that always needed saving. That morning I had sobbed and sobbed, curled up on the sofa, as I thought of the fact that I had nothing, nowhere, no one left. My skin and hair were greasy, and hunger gnawed at my stomach. I had lived my life as a pathetic, needy little girl who couldn't stand up for herself, and I couldn't take it for much longer.

I cleaned up as best I could, and faced rejection from people at Starbucks, Costa and H&M, presumably because of my attire. Eventually, I managed to persuade the owner of a small café and bakery to let me have a job waiting on people and cleaning up. My clothes were old and dirty, and I knew I didn't look acceptable, but I begged and bargained with the woman that owned it.

"Please," I asked. This was my last hope. "I just need this job to support myself. You don't have to pay me much, but I'll do anything you tell me to. Any job, big or small. Please."

She stood around the same height as me, her eyes calculating my face, until her soldiers suddenly relaxed slightly.

"Okay, I'll give you a job here, but you have to show me it was worth it. We already have enough staff."

I almost cried, and had to restrain myself from hugging her as I thanked her profusely, and began working immediately. I didn't earn much, but it was enough to buy me a sandwich and a bottle of water a day, and once I saved up, I bought myself some new clothes - the cheapest I could find, as well as any other essential items.

I often thought of Harry, and Louis, and all of them. I knew they would be wondering where I had gone, but I tried to push the image of them thinking about me out of my head.

They don't care anymore, remember? And neither do you.

One day I came into work, feeling as hopeless as ever. I was dirty, weak, and felt disgusting. I was surprised to see a girl behind the counter, watching something on her phone with one earphone in.
I had seen her around the café, baking furiously or laughing on the phone on her break, but we'd never spoken.

I let the door swing shut behind me, alerting her of my arrival. She looked up, her eyes wide, and there was silence as we examined each other. She was pretty, with pale skin, and copper-coloured hair messily tied back.

Suddenly she seemed to snap out of her trance, and smiled at me enthusiastically.

"Hi! Are you the new girl?" She asked rather forcefully and loudly.

I was taken aback. "Uh... I..."

"Sorry that was rude," she said, her voice softer now. "I'm Jenna."

I thought about the new person I wanted to be, and pushed any anxiety away.

"Hi, I'm Emma," I spoke loud and clear, "It's fine, I am new, just getting used to everything I guess." Speaking so confidently fely unnatural, but... good.

Her smile instantly widened,
"Great! I'll show you the ropes and stuff, right after I finish this video." I smiled gratefully and walked over.

"What is it?" I looked over her shoulder and my heart dropped, my lungs constricting.

"One Direction." She spoke as she pressed play, smiling softly. "It was them on stage about a year ago. Me and my sister were there. We are massive fans." I watched, my mind reeling, as I saw the miniature Harry, Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn jump around in an arena full of people.

The camera zoomed in on Harry's face as he held the microphone to his mouth and sang, smiling. I thought of every time he had smiled at me, when we were children and more recently.

"You wanna listen?" Jenna's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I moved my head before my eyes as I turned to her, dragging them away from the screen to see her holding up the other earphone. It took me a while to answer, and I just stared, until I realised she must have thought I was weird, and snapped out of it.

"Uh, yeah, please." She smiled and I took it from her, slotting it into my ear.
I had never heard them sing or watched them perform before. It was... perfect. The song was catchy and I soon found myself tapping my foot along to the beat. It was odd seeing these people I felt I knew so well, being adored by this many people, one of them right next to me.

After that Jenna and I became friends. Not too close, but we enjoyed each others company.

I was still determined to harden myself, and become someone strong.

I wouldn't eat for three or four days some weeks, in order to save up enough money for a gym membership for a year. It was costly, but worth it.

I wanted to become strong, fit, and learn how to defend myself. The first time I went, I ran on a treadmill for a while, before I became too physically exhausted, partly from hunger. That day I was able to have my first shower in about three weeks. People literally steered clear of me because I smelt and looked so bad, so i was glad to finally get clean. I had never appreciated warm water enough.

As the weeks went on, Jenna taught me how to bake and make drinks properly, meaning I was promoted and better payed. I persuaded Nancy, the owner, to pay me daily instead of weekly, and I got £6 an hour, meaning my daily income was around £30, which was more than I ever could have hoped for.

I went to the gym every single day, slowly becoming fitter and stronger, and then taking up self defence classes where I learnt how to fight.

As I did this, I also became stronger in my personality. I learnt to drown out all the problems of my past and only focus on the good bits. I tried to never think of One Direction, although it proved difficult working with Jenna. I distanced myself from people, refusing to let myself become close to anyone.

However, I couldn't forget entirely. The band was everywhere, I couldn't escape that, and sometimes I couldn't help the memories that flitted through my mind, good or bad.

The bruises I had received in my past had all faded, but the scars still remained.

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PLEASE PUT DOWN THE KNIVES IM SORRY IM SORRY