The Cover Girls (A One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter 48 - Ridiculous News

A/N: I'm gonna stop giving excuses for why I haven't been updating, y'all know how hard it is to find time to do what you love :/

I hope you homies are having a great day! Give someone you love a hug! :D

Short lil chapter, trying and failing to not rush through this book to FINALLY JUST GET TO THE SEQUEL I WANT TO WRITE IT SO BADLY GAH

Comment your favorite 5SOS song, mine is on the side ;)

~Grace xx

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~Louis~

 

The morning after our airport attack I woke to find multiple messages on my phone from Simon. I knew it was bad the instant I saw it, and some part of me wished I could leave April to sleep through her first press “scandal” but I knew she would have to face it head on. All I could do was be supportive, and make sure she knew I was there to talk. Something, however, told me that wouldn’t be quite enough.

I reached over and rested my hand on my girlfriend’s shoulder, hesitating.

“April?” I whispered.

“Hrrmmm?” She replied sleepily. Suddenly I remembered how exhausted she had been the night before and a new wave of guilt swept over me.

“April, you need to wake up.”

“Why?” April mumbled, turning over and furrowing her brows at me.

“Just… because you need to,” I said softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll go make some breakfast.”

Within the first five minutes of making pancakes the doorbell rang. Waiting outside was Kris and Harry, looking as bad as I did. The rest followed in pairs until everyone but April was sitting silently in my living room. The lads and I were used to the tolls traveling takes on you, but they looked extremely tired and stressed. They knew exactly what was coming, and they knew April wouldn’t take it very well. I bet they woke up to the same messages I did, and I’m extremely glad they came for moral support.

“Are those pancakes I smell?” April’s voice floats cheerfully from the stairs and I jump in my skin, laying a couple pancakes on a plate for her. “I haven’t had pancakes for breakfast in ages!”

I walk out of the kitchen to look up at her, like the rest of our solemn group was.

“What’s going on?” April asked, eyes wide, lips pursed. She was answered by silence. Nobody knew what to say.

“We should probably call and talk to Simon,” Harry spoke up, “then Abigail. She might know what to do.”

“Huh? Why do we need to call Simon? And why do we need to know what to do? Guys, what’s going on?” I stepped up and wrapped an arm around April’s waist, walking her to the free chair in the living room, and taking a seat on the floor next to her.

I glanced around at my friends. The guys had the same expression I did, however the girls looked slightly confused. I would bet that Harry, Niall, and Zayn told Kris, Heather, and Rikki a little about what was going on, but Erin looked like April.

“I’ll say it again, what the heck is going on?”

“This,” Kris said quietly, pulling up something on her phone and handing it to April, “I’m so sorry babe.”

“Rising Singer Lashes out at One Direction’s Fans,” April read aloud before looking up at us. She turned back to the phone, her hands starting to shake. “New talent April Paige was found screaming and cussing at a group of One Direction’s followers. Sources report she was overcome with jealousy and couldn’t help lashing out at the teenage girls, even trying to punch one of them.”

“April-”

“What the hell?!” April shouted. “I didn’t try to punch anybody! I was trying to stop them from murdering my friend, for fuck’s sake!”

“We know that, but they don’t-”

“Isn’t there something we can do?! Like put out a statement or whatever?!”

“We’ll call our managers and talk to them about it,” Kris says, “but for now we all just need to stay calm. That link is from such an unknown news website that I bet nobody will trust it anyway. I’m sure we can get this all worked out and forgotten.”

April’s expression turns to stone and she remains quiet. She must know that Kris has no idea what’s gonna happen, and her words are just hopeful thinking. I make some breakfast for the rest of our group, and we call up Abigail, but still, April doesn’t speak. Apparently their manager had already talked to some Syco Records people and they’d decided to wait a day or two to see if the story blows up, and if it does, April’s supposed to release a statement on Twitter, since they figured that might help convince people that’s it’s not a huge deal.

It pisses me off that these “news” reporters are just trying to make money from hurting people. Considering what a couple of those fans were doing to Erin, April had a right to tell them to knock it off. Maybe not so harshly, but I definitely understand what it feels like when you’re trying to protect a best friend.

The rest of the day drags on, unnervingly quiet. Our friends go home, and April spends the day on her phone, probably reading the story over and over again. I wish I could tell her everything will be fine, and really mean it, but I have no idea if it will be.  I just hope to hell it is.

“You know this isn’t your fault, right?” I say to April that night, while we’re lying silently next to each other in bed. “Everybody who was there knows you were only trying to look out for Erin.”

“I know,” She replies distantly. It’s not the truth.

“This kind of thing happens to us all the time,” I say, taking her hand under the covers.

“But you’re already established,” April speaks, “what if I completely messed this whole thing up? What if I’ve permanently screwed with our band’s reputation? We don’t even have any music out yet! People have no reason to give us the benefit of the doubt.”

“Don’t worry,” I pull her over and set her head on my shoulder, “there are good people out there. The ones that will give you the benefit of the doubt. You have years to show everyone how amazing you guys are. All the while, you’ll have your five biggest fans right here to support you.”

She’s quiet, but I know she’s thinking about what I said, convincing herself that it’s correct. April kisses me on the cheek and snuggles into my side. I wrap another arm around her, and fall asleep slowly.