Better Than Before (A One Direction Fanfic)

Chapter 21 Maybe

Hi everyone! I didn't think I would get to update today because I went to a wedding, which was really fun, by the way. But I did update, yay! Here's chapter 21. Enjoy! Please fan, comment, and vote! Love ya!

-K<3

Chapter 21

***Eleanor's POV***

I went into the den and saw that they were all on Skype.

A pretty girl with red hair and freckles came into focus, "CLAAAAAUD!" She screamed, "W-woah...YOU'RE WITH ONE DIRECTION!!!!!!"

"ABBYYYY!" Claudia screamed back., "Well, obviously!"

Abby's eyes went wide and I started to worry she might faint, "Oh. My. God. I'm Skyping with ONE DIRECTION!"

" 'Ello, love!" Zayn said.

"Y-y-you're ZAYN!" She screamed. This girl certainly had lungs.

"I am. How are you?" He said.

"THE BEST I'VE EVER BEEN!" Oh dear. This was going to be a long video chat.

"That's enough," Claudia said, acting as if she had seen this a million times...Oh wait, she probably had, "Can I see my family now?"

There was a bit of shuffling and a woman who looked a lot like Claudia came into view and immediately burst into tears.

"Mum...," Claudia said, holding back tears herself.

"Claudy!" A little girl said, popping up in front of the camera, followed by a younger girl.

"I miss you Claudy, come home!" The older one said, starting to cry.

"I miss you, too, Daisy," She said, not stopping the tears anymore.

"People?" The littlest girl said- Claud mentioned her earlier- Maddie? I don't remember her name...

"Malli wants to know who all the people are," Daisy elaborated. Ohhh.....Malli.

Another girl, who looked a little older than Claud came into the room, "I thought I'd have time to shower before Abby got here! That was literally the quickest shower- CLAUD!" She exclaimed.

"IVY ROSE!" She screamed back., "Guys, this is Louis, Liam, Niall, Harry, Louis' girlfriend Eleanor, and Liam's girlfriend Danielle," She pointed to each of us in turn.

"Who's him?" Malli asked, pointing to Zayn. Aww. Who's him.

"That's Zayn, your big brother," She said.

"I don't remember him...," Daisy said.

"That's because you were really little when he left," She patiently explained.

"Oh...Why'd he leave?"

"Because he wanted to become big and famous, and he did."

"Oh...Is he older than Ivy Rose?"

"No, Ivy Rose is 25 and he's 19."

"Oh...How old are you?"

"18."

"Oh...-"

Claudia cut her off, "That's enough questions for now, love."

"One more?"

"Okay."

"Why'd you leave us?" She asked, her lower lip trembling.

"There's not enough room back home. I miss you lots, but I'll come and visit soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Ivy Rose hadn't looked at the camera after Zayn was mentioned. She stared at her lap and played with the hem of her short black dress.

"Ivy Rose...," Zayn said.

She pretended not to hear him and continued to play with her dress.

"Ivy Rose...," He tried again.

"Ivy Wose, he want you," Malli said, making my heart melt. This kid was adorable! Too bad I pretty much despised her sister...

She finally looked up, "What?" She snapped.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Oh I don't know...you! The fact that you totally left us and never came home, never called, never wrote, never CARED! You're all 'big and famous' while we're trying to survive on an alarmingly low income, while Claudia took on the job as a single parent, while our family fell apart. Congrats Zayn, you made the almighty older sister fall apart because you left! On the outside, I acted like I didn't care, but I didn't care, more than anything, I just didn't have any will-power after you left. If you had maybe called once, just once, after the X-Factor, maybe we'd still be living in Bradford, maybe Mum wouldn't be so fragile and prone to random break-downs, maybe I wouldn't be on my way to NOTHING, maybe we wouldn't be living in a one bedroom apartment, maybe Daisy wouldn't be going to a school where she gets made fun of in KINDERGARTEN because of her Asian heritage, maybe the person who saved our family, A.K.A. Claud, would still be living with us, maybe your little sisters would have some sort of male figure in their life, maybe they would know who their big brother is, maybe they, along with the rest of us, would actually WANT TO!" Ivy Rose blurted, Wow, she certainly doesn't hold back. That wasn't how Claud described it at all. Claud wasn't lying. About anything. Maybe she doesn't even have plans to steal Lou from me...Oh, I felt absolutely awful. I wanted to cry, but I didn't. most people already were, though- Daisy and Malli, out of confusion and bewilderment, Ivy Rose was flat-out bawling, while Zayn, Claud, and their mum had tears streaming down their faces. Family sob session, oh my.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Zayn cried. He managed to get control of himself, "I never meant for any of that to happen," He said.

"Yeah?! Well it did!" Ivy Rose exclaimed, "What are ya gonna do now, huh?!"

"Well, for starters, I'm buying you guys a house- You want a penthouse, an entire apartment complex, the old house back in Bradford, wherever, whatever you want. From now on I'm paying for all of your expenses, from grocery bills to private school tuition. I know that no amount of anything will repay for the damage I've done, but even if you continue to hate me, I at least want you to live a better life!" He said. Wow, the people in his family have a way with words.

"Zayn, no," His mum said.

"I won't take no for an answer!" He declared.

"No, no," She tried again.

"All I heard out of that was 'Yes, I'd love for you to fix the mess you made of my life!'"

She sighed, "You're as stubborn as your father was," She said, sadly.

"I am, and always will be," Zayn said with a small smile.

His mum managed a weak smile. She put her hands up, "I surrender!"

"Ha. I win. We can talk later to figure all of the details for everything out."

"Okay."

"Zayn...," Ivy Rose spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"I miss you."

Author's Note

Aw, I love Malli, even though she doesn't say a lot. And Daisy's adorable, too. I love little kids!

What did you guys think of Ivy Rose's outburst? Funny to see what happened from a point of view other than Claud's, right? It sort of explained why she was no help when the family was falling apart, and made her seem like less of a bad person. Cuz she's not a bad person! But there will be bad people, just you wait and see, hint hint. But not for awhile, because I have other plans, MWAH HAH HAH! lol ;)

Yesterday was my 1 month anniversary on Wattpad, and I have 525 reads on this story! To a lot of people, that's nothing, but to me that's a lot. Thank you so much. Keep fanning, voting, and commenting; it means a LOT!

Love you guys!

-K<3 3="">