Georgia's P.O.V
I can't believe Lily is bulimic. How could I have not noticed before? She didn't seem skinnier at all but then again, neither me nor the boys hardly see her anymore. She's always dancing in a studio or empty room or sleeping in her bunk. She's rarely ever in the same place as us but now we know why.
She was hiding from us. The thought makes my heart ache for her terribly.
I'm so stupid to think that she was being a bitch towards us. It's so not her, she couldn't be a bitch if she tried. We're all stupid for letting the magazines brainwash us.
If we didn't believe them then we could've helped her sooner. We don't know how long this has been going on for or how severe it's gotten. Does she even eat anymore?
When me and Sam returned to the dressing room, Lily wasn't there. Instead, the other boys were there chatting amongst each other.
It's weird but nice seeing Jack and Nate speaking once again. After what happened with Lily I was really skeptical about their friendship ever returning to how it was but they've just learnt to move past it and get along.
Sam sat down in the free space on the couch next to Jack J and pulled me onto his lap; wrapping his arms securely around my waist, giving me a squeeze.
"Hey guy." Jack J greeted us. we both smiled in his direction warmly.
"Guys have any of you tried to speak to Lily?" I asked them. They needed to know what was going on. The more people she has to support her the better and easier it will be for her.
"Erm no? Why would we? She's being all bitchy towards us, remember?" Nate replied. I stood up from Sam's lap, in front of the boys, causing their eyes to fall on me.
"Guys, she needs help. We invited her for lunch with us today because Sam heard her being sick in the bathroom and he wanted to make sure she was ok. She didn't eat anything and when Sam asked why, she showed him her phone." I explained. The boys all looked confused as to where I was going with this explanation so I carried on.
"She showed him some tweets your fans sent her and nearly all of them commented on her weight, calling her fat and obese. Sam put two and two together and discovered she's bulimic." As soon as the last word left my lips all of the boys jaws dropped in shock.
"Is that why she's been dancing a lot as well?" Jack G asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. I nodded.
"I- I though she was just doing it for fun not to lose weight! She doesn't need to, she's got a stunning figure." Jack J explained in disbelief. I replied with a quick 'I know', letting them process what I just told them.
"We need to support her and show her she is perfect the way she is." Nate informed us, everyone agreeing strongly.
"Does anyone know where she is right now? We need to find her and sort this out and fast." Jack G asked.
"I'm right here." Lily's voice sounded from the doorway, all of our heads snapped in her direction. It was silent as we drank In her appearance.
She was wearing gym shorts and a vest top, clearly she had just been dancing as she was a tiny bit flushed.
What was really alarming was how tiny her body was. Her thighs were so far apart and her arms looked skeletal. Her collar bones protruded immensely from her skin which looked pale and dull. Her cheekbones were sharp and angular as was her jaw. Her hair had no life in it and just hung loosely on her shoulders.
I internally gasped. She looked so unhealthy, so gaunt. I can't believe she thought this was the definition of the perfect weight.
She slowly made her way over to us, her tiny legs carrying her over to where I was stood.
"I know i probably need help but can't you see that I'm just doing what your fans want?" She tried to defend herself. I shook my head at her silly explanation. How could she even try to justify this?
"Lily, you look unhealthy. It's scary to see you like this, to see you so bony." Nate told her, eyes wide as they trailed up and down her figure.
"But if I want to still hang out with you guys then I need to be like this so your fans accept me." She tried to reason with us again.
"We don't care what the fans say Lily, we want you to be healthy and making yourself sick isn't healthy. You need to eat and receive all the nutrients from your meals." Jack G tried to explain to her but she shook her head, not listening to a word we were saying.
"This is beautiful. Collar bones and hip bones and ribs sticking out are all beautiful. No stomach fat or rolls is beautiful. My thighs not touching is beautiful. Your fans only accept beautiful so that's what I'm trying to become." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she spoke strongly. My eyes watered too as I listened to why my best friend makes herself sick and starves herself. She doesn't think she's beautiful. How could she be so blind?
There are some terrible people in the world who don't think about how what they're saying could affect someone's life. They don't get how much words can hurt.
True fans will love people in the boys lives just as much as they love the boys themselves.
"We just want the real Lily back." I whispered through my tears, my voice hoarse with sadness and my hand rubbing her back.
As she looked at me and I looked at her, I think she finally understood what we were saying as she suddenly broke down in tears against me.
I pulled her into my arms and stroked her hair, cooing in her ear softly. I peered over her shaking body at the boys to see them all with glossy eyes and sadness plastered on their faces.
I gave them a tense nod and they all joined our embrace.
We all stood there in our group hug, crying together as a family.
We were going to help Lily beat this and get better. And I knew just what would help her.
Authors note
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please comment and vote. Thanks for reading cx
