Ladies First (Zayn Malik) Book 4

Chapter 7

“Ahhh!” a screech erupts through the airport before I’m tackled to the ground. “Oh my god, oh my god oh my god!” Haley shrieks deafeningly. I let out a laugh rubbing my ears.

“It’s good to see you to,” I say with a grin as she releases me. I scramble up to my feet, ignoring the looks of the other people in the airport terminal.

“Oh my god! This is incredible! This is great! I mean, I knew you were good but—oh my god!” she cheers, throwing her arms around me again.

“I haven’t made it yet Haley,” I say with a laugh, patting her on the back. “We just made it to the judge’s house” I add with a grin.

“Oh shush. Let me bask in the happiness of being the best friend of a future superstar” she says jokingly before glancing over my shoulder, a confused look appearing on her face. I look over confused, to see Hannah standing there quietly.

“Oh” I say quickly, having forgotten. “Haley, this is Hannah. Hannah, this is my best friend Haley.” A smile immediately lights up on Haley’s face and she pulls Hannah into a hug.

“Hi” she says cheerfully before releasing her.

“Hannah will be staying with us a couple days, then we’ll be going to Carmen’s so we can practice before the judge’s house.” I explain. Hannah had been reluctant to go home. She hadn’t explained why and I didn’t want to pry, but I’d invited her to our house until we went to Carmen’s and she’d accepted.

“Aww you’re not staying here?” Haley whines and I shake my head. She lets out a depressing sigh. “Well are you at least going to be here when your audition plays? I was hoping we’d all be able to watch it together.” I smile and nod my head.

“We’re leaving the day after it premiers. The smile appears back on her face.

“C’mon” she says, linking her arm with mine. “Your sister has been dying to see you,” she says as the three of us head out the door to where her car was parked.

“Is there anyone here who would want to see me?” I call out as I walk into the house. There’s a moment of silence before I hear a door slam shut, footsteps running towards us. “Too bad. No one wants to see me,” I say jokingly as Maddie runs into the room, her face alight.

“I do. I do!” she says excitedly, rushing over and giving me a hug. I chuckle, hugging her back.

“Hey hun, how’ve you been?” I ask, not able to control the smile on my face.

“I missed you,” she says, her voice muffled by my shirt.

“I missed you to.” I pull back and turn to Hannah. “Maddie, this is Hannah.  Hannah, this is my sister Maddie,” I say carefully, watching her reaction. I see shock fleet across her expression and I stiffen slightly. I was always protective over Maddie and hated when people treated her differently.

“I didn’t know you had a sister” Hannah says causing a smile to break out on my face.

“Are you going to be on TV also?” Maddie asks Hannah. Hannah nods, giving a small smile.

“Yea, Emily and I are going to be singing together,” Hannah replies. Maddie nods her head, her face alight. She looks at the three of us for a minute longer, before heading back to her room. I laugh as I realize she probably stopped a movie when I came home and was eager to return to it.

“That’s Maddie for ya” I say with a chuckle.

“Oh my god, oh my god it’s starting!” Haley calls from the living room. I hear the theme music float through the kitchen and I hurriedly pour the popcorn into some bowls and run out, spilling a few pieces onto the floor. I plop down onto the couch between Haley and Hannah while Maddie was in the armchair to the side. I pass a bowl to Maddie, placing the second on my lap so Hannah and Haley could grab some when they wanted it.