Behind The Camera

Chapter Fourteen

I couldn't believe this was actually happening right now.

I had finally gotten to kiss Harry and it was everything I could have ever dreamed it would be and now Lexi was a few feet away from us, probably about to open up the fort and see me in here with Harry.

Harry quickly tossed a blanket over me and climbed out of the fort.

"Hey I didn't think you were staying here tonight?" He said as he stood up to meet her.

"Nice to see you too." She replied coldy.

"Anyway we ended up at a club close to this one so I figured I'd meet you here. What's all this?" She asked and I prayed that she wouldn't look inside.

"Oh I just got bored and built a fort, I was about to fall asleep to be honest." Harry replied and I heard her scoff.

"So you were building a fort and didn't have a spare second to look at your phone? Ridiculous." She said in a bitter tone.

"Sorry." I heard Harry mutter.

"Well I'm not sleeping in that thing so let's go find a spare bedroom yeah?" She asked and I heard both of their footsteps leave the room.

On one hand I was incredibly relieved that she hadn't seen me but I was also heartbroken to know that Harry was going to be sleeping in the same bed as her tonight.

I quietly climbed out of the fort and tiptoed my way towards Simon's room, knowing that I couldn't exactly sleep in the fort without arousing suspicion from Lexi in the morning.

I opened Simon's bedroom door and used my phone's flashlight to guide me to the bed.

Well at least there was nobody else in there with him.

I could spot a t-shirt sitting on an armchair so I grabbed it and peeled my dress off, replacing it with Simon's shirt instead.

I then climbed under the covers and sank into Simon's massive bed. It was probably the most comfortable bed I'd ever been in and I knew it wouldn't take long for me to fall asleep.

As I closed my eyes and let sleep consume me I could only replay one thing in my head and that was the feeling of Harry's lips on mine.

***

I woke up before Simon after tossing and turning all night.

I couldn't shake the thought of Harry in bed with Lexi after everything that had just happened between us, which was hypocritical considering I was in Simon's bed right now, but maybe that's why I was so quick to leave.

I put my dress from the night before back on and slowly crept out of the room, making sure not to wake Simon.

I walked through the hallway towards the front door and had to pass Harry's fort on the way.

My breath caught in my throat as I looked inside and saw that Harry was sleeping in there on his own. I covered him up with a blanket and took one last long look at him before walking out the front door and getting an Uber home.

I spent the rest of the day at home, running myself a bath and taking care of myself after the last few days of constant drinking.

I felt a lot better by the late afternoon, which ironically is when I got the phonecall from Simon.

"Hailey, I um, I need to see you. There's a situation that I need your help with." He said, worry in his voice, so I told him I'd be there soon.

When I got to his flat it was absolutely spotless, as though nothing happened last night. He was sitting at the table with somebody who looked like a manager of sorts and I stood up a little straighter and fixed my hair.

"Hey, Hailey, thanks for coming." Simon greeted me with a hug and sat me down at the table next to him.

"Yeah no problem, what's going on?" I asked, clearly very confused by what was happening.

"So um basically, shit how do I start this?" He said scratching his head before continuing.

"This is Mark, he's our PR manager, and my public image hasn't been the greatest lately after the um, breakup."

I nodded along, not really understanding why I was here.

"I've been hooking up with a lot of girls and I haven't been putting out a good image of myself. And these photos were taken of us last night and leaked to the press." He said and pulled up his Twitter which was spammed with pictures of us kissing in the club.

"Oh! Oh my god!" I replied trying to take everything in. That was my face, albeit hard to make out in the darkness, but it was definitely me kissing Simon.

"We're not sure who took the photos, but they're out there now and we have a bit of damage control to do." Mark started to explain.

"Simon has explained to me that he's had a rough few months and has acted out in some unprofessional ways. So we've decided to have him fake date someone for at least a few months to clear up this 'bad boy image' that the media is currently trying to portray." Mike said and Simon decided now was the time to cut in.

"Look Hailey, you don't have to say yes, it's not real dating or anything, just a few public appearances together while my reputation recovers. It's just that I'd prefer to do it with someone I actually like spending time with is all." Simon said, looking ashamed of himself.

I had absolutely no idea what to think of this proposal. Fake dating Simon Minter for a few months would have sounded like a dream to most girls and I definitely would have said yes if it weren't for the fact that I currently had feelings for Harry that I had no idea what to do about.

This is when Mike added in a few extra details.

"You'll get paid for your time and any expenses that you have during the agreement. And if it helps, you wouldn't be the only girl under contract for the time."

"Wait somebody else in the Sidemen is going to be fake dating someone?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, Harry has been a little off the rails lately. Him and Lexi started their contract a month ago... Officially anyway, we know they'd been fucking for a while." Simon told me and I started to put the pieces together.

Here I was worrying about my feelings for Harry this whole time when he was already in this weird half relationship with Lexi and failed to tell me.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I asked Mike how long Harry and Lexi's contract was.

"It's a little bit longer than yours, just under six months." He replied and it was this detail that did it for me.

"Sure. I can do it." I told them both as I was consumed with a wave of anger at Harry. Was there a time that he was going to bother to tell me about any of this?

Well two can play at this game, I thought to myself as I signed the contracts and gave Simon a reassuring smile.