Behind The Camera

Chapter Twenty Six

Perri's POV;

I had tried calling Tee to let her know I was stuck in traffic but would be at the studio as soon as I could, I found it weird that her phone was just ringing out though, it was unlike her not to answer my call. I shrug the thought off, she was probably busy, or maybe she got stuck in traffic too. I decide to ring Jordan to see what he was up to, maybe he could tell me if Tee was at the studio. As the tone dial sounds, Jord doesn't take too long to answer the phone. "Sup Pel" "Nothing stuck in traffic aint I" I laugh, "Is Tee at the studio?" I ask, hoping that she was so I knew where she was but, if she was there that didn't explain why she wasn't answering her phone. "Erm she was, me and Ash are outside so i'll check and let you know bro, what's taken you so long?" He asks, I roll my eyes. "traffic?" I say, but it comes out as more of a question. "You think its traffic or it is traffic? roads were clear just" He states. "Were moving slowly" I mutter. "Aight, i'll see you in a bit then" He chuckles, before hanging up, clearly I was just destined to not see Tee today. 

I take this as an opportunity to talk to some fans on Instagram, I hadn't really been playing attention to it the last few days, Ash had mentioned about the possibility of a new tour, he was just waiting on the dates to be confirmed before we released the details, it had got me pumped, but obviously the thoughts on my mind was what would happen to me and Tee whilst I was in a different city most nights. I record a video for my story, saying that I was stuck in traffic and bored, and hundreds of messages flood my DM's, I reply to a few, but click on to the photo of me and Tee, looking at the reactions we had got, I needed to come clean to the fans, it was right for them to know the truth about us, but it needed to be Tee's choice as much as mine. I click on Tee's profile to see her beautiful face, but the comments under her latest photo make my stomach churn, how could people say that to her? I click back onto my story, and click to upload a new story. I snap a photo of me with my head in one hand, trying to look as serious as I could, which didn't really happen often. 'I think people who sit behind a phone or a keyboard and write horrible things are the worst type of people, what happened to being supportive of everyone, if a world where you can be anything, be kind.' I post it to my story and ring Jord, praying Tee was okay.

Jord answers his phone on the second ring. "Did you find her?" I ask. "I think you need to get here soon Pel, she hasn't stopped crying since me and Ash walked in" he whispers, I feel the tears prick at my eyes, this was my fault, I wanted to show her off to the world and all I did was make her feel like she wasn't good enough. "I'm coming now" I say as I hang up, I tell Dave to meet me at the studio later, as I walk as quick as I can down the pathway, I don't know why I didn't think about walking it anyway, it wasn't like it wasn't ten minutes away from the studio. As I walk in the studio I hear Tee sob from the corner, she was literally a mess. Her head was on Ash's shoulder, her usually straight hair was attached to her face from the tears she had let fall, and her bright blue eyes were a dark grey. I walk over quietly, giving Jord the milkshakes which I was pretty sure had melted. I kneel in front of Tee. "Babe?" I whisper. Her head shoots up from Ash's arm and looks at me, it broke my heart with what I saw, how could people do this to another person, another innocent person. "Pel" She whispers, her voice cracking. I open my arms and she crawls into my lap, she nuzzles her head into my chest and she literally breaks down. I take a deep breath, trying to compose myself. I look around the room and see her phone smashed against the mirror, I look at Ash who mouths 'it doesn't matter' I nod. I look at Jord who looks helpless. Ash gives Jord a look as if to say 'lets go' and they both walk out of the studio quietly.

"Tee?" I whisper looking down at her, she shakes her head and buries herself deeper in my chest, as if that was even possible. "Tee, talk to me" I whisper, she ignores me, making my chest feel heavy. "Please" I whisper, kissing the top of her head. She looks up at me, her eyes all red, the brightness that was usually there gone, replaced with a dark grey. "They hate me" She whispers, just loud enough for me to hear. I shake my head. "They don't know you" I whisper back. Kissing her head again, and rubbing her back. "You haven't read the comments" She mutters, digging her head in deeper. I play with her hair. "Tee, I like you a lot okay, I want them to know you, I don't want to see them break you." I whisper. "They already have" She sniffles, lifting her head up and looking at me. "Can you not see the mess I am" She mutters, wiping her face. "You've never looked more beautiful" I whisper, kissing a stray tear away from her cheek. She gives me a small smile. "I'm going to go live on Instagram, we are going to sit here and we are going to talk about how this" I say, moving my hand between me and her, "This is happening, and what I've read in the last twenty minutes is not okay" I mutter, playing with the bun on my head. "I'm not going to sit here and let this happen, whether i'm a dancer or not, I promised to look after you and keep you safe and I intend on keeping that promise" I reply, brushing the stray hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I cant talk you out of this can I" she whispers. I shake my head 'no'. "well can I go sort my face out first" she whispers, I sigh but nod my head, letting her out of my reach, instantly feeling cold.