Sk8r Boi

Chapter One

"C'mon, honey, eat your peas," I coaxed a spoonful into the toddler's mouth. Dawn shook her head and pouted. I sighed. It'd been months since I started babysitting for Dawn and her older sister, Natalie, but Dawn still didn't trust me. She was only 2 years old and just barely potty trained, but she wouldn't eat anything if I was the one feeding her. It bothered me a little bit, but her thirteen-year-old sister liked me enough for the two of them. I had the radio playing the top 40 hits in the background and I perked up slightly when I heard the name One Direction said on the radio.

"After the devastating news for the fandom," the radio voice said. "We figured we'd throw it back with a classic." The beginning of one of their old songs filled the kitchen. I knew some of their music, mostly the popular ones, as I listened to the radio a lot, but Natalie was a huge fan of the band. She was especially a fan after I showed her old photos from my school days where I was in the same class as her favorite member, Zayn.

"HANNAH!" Natalie screeched in her thick New York accent. She ran down the hallway of her parent's penthouse to meet me in the lavious kitchen. "You'll never believe what just happened to me!" She said through tears, rushing towards me to hug me.

"What is it? Are you hurt? Are you okay?" I asked, holding her tight. She'd grown very close to me and her parents appreciated that she trusted and liked me so much. They worked all day and often left their home here in New York to travel for their jobs. Natalie pulled away from me, wiping her face.

"Zayn left the band!" She cried. "They just announced, he's leaving the band." My eyes widened.

"What do you mean, he's leaving the band?" I asked her. She plopped herself down at the breakfast bar and put her head in her hands.

"I mean, they just announced that he's not going to be in the band anymore. They're continuing the tour without him."

"What's he going to do?"

"He claims he wants to be a normal 22 year old," she whined. I walked through the kitchen to the living room and turned on the TV. She followed me and watched as I flipped through the channels to get to the news. When the commercial ended, they flashed the announcement on the screen. Natalie clinged on me as we watched in silence. The newscaster talked about the tweets and official statements the band had made, and how Zayn was going to perform one last show here in New York City next week. They switched topics and I turned the TV off.

"You have to call him," she said to me, tugging on my arm. "You know him, you have to talk to him. I have to know why."

"Natalie, I haven't talked to him since we graduated," I shook my head, walking back into the kitchen. "And besides, we never talked while we were in school together." She pouted like her little sister and I gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, honey, but it would be weird and unwelcomed if I reached out to him." I tried to give Dawn another bite of her lunch, but she just kept her mouth shut.

"Your phone is ringing," Natalie said to me, still a little upset at me. She handed me my phone and I saw it was Olivia. I answered right away.

"Hi, Olivia," I said warmly. It'd been a while since I talked to her. My job dancing and babysitting kept me busy and she still lived in London, so our hours were completely flopped.

"Hannah! Did you hear?" She shouted through the phone.

"Hear what?"

"About Zayn, of course!" I could practically hear her roll her eyes at me. "We all thought he finally got his life on track, and then he quits the best thing that's ever happened to him."

"Well, is that really the right thing to say?" I questioned her, moving around. I could never stand still on the phone. "Just because he wasn't great in high school didn't mean his life wasn't on track."

"I'm surprised you, of all people, would say that," she said. "You were valedictorian, you of all people would think that how you do in school is extremely important. And he did awful, and still went off and got famous, and now he's throwing it all away."

"I really don't think it's our place to say what is best for him," I replied. "People didn't think I'd make it at Juilliard, and look where I am." She laughed lightly at this.

"You're working as a nanny to make ends meet," she said sympathetically. "New York City Ballet doesn't pay you enough for your rent and all your other expenses. Not to mention loans!"

"I know," I sighed. "But I don't mind being a nanny. I really like the kids. Natalie is a huge fan of Zayn and the band." She perked up from the kitchen bar at that.

"Is that Zayn? Is that a friend of Zayn's? Can I talk to Zayn?" Natalie practically screeched.

"It's not," I said to her. "It's an old friend of mine."

"Well, speaking of fans of the band," Olivia said, clear excitement in her voice. "Guess who got tickets?"

"What?"

"I did! My mother thought I was a fan just because I knew him in college, and she bought me tickets to their last show with Zayn in the band. I have an extra one, you want to come?" I stood still, in silence. Natalie watched me closely. Tiny little Dawn threw her spoon on the floor. I picked it up. "Hannah?"

"I'm tied to New York," I said softly.

"That's the best part, they're in New York!"

"Olivia, as much as I'd love to see you and go to a concert with you, I don't think I can do that," I said sadly. "If I'm not here at the penthouse, I'm in the studio, or I'm sleeping. I won't have the time to take off and go to a concert. I couldn't even ask off of work!"

"It's in Madison Square Garden," she coaxed me. That got me. That was my dream venue of seeing a band, honestly, any band, there. It was such a beautiful arena and I've always wanted to go to a concert there. "C'mon, Hannah, we'll be gals out on the town in New York City together. It's on a Friday night, and I'll stay an extra long weekend, we can hang out." I felt the wheels turn in my head on how I can pull this off, considering I typically have long rehearsals on Fridays and all day rehearsals on Saturdays, and spend the rest of the weekend with the kids. If I call in sick, and request time off, if I can convince them to switch me out for a different dance...

"Okay," I whispered.

a/n: so i know that their last show wasn't in new york city and i'm changing it haha i don't really care about realistically in this one.  also, i just started college so sorry if my uploads are crazy inaccurate and all over the place my mind is wack right now lmao