Even though I was pretty tired from the crazy day I had, Sofia and I still stayed up all night, smoking together. As I wake up, I realize we both fell asleep on the couch, her hogging the blanket we were sharing.
Once again, it's a knock at the door that wakes me up. I really should invest in some sort of 'do not disturb' sign, but I'm sure it wouldn't help. Especially considering that it's usually William banging at my door.
"What?" I mutter, rubbing my eye.
"Christ, did you just wake up?" He asks, leaning against the door frame. "It's two in the afternoon."
"Oops," I sigh, hanging my head back. "What's up?"
"I assume you haven't seen the news."
"What news?"
"Apparently, we're dating."
I give him a confused look, crossing my arms over my chest. "Says who?"
William huffs and opens his phone up, turning the screen towards me. There's a news article, titled 'British Star and... His New Lover?' with a picture of us in his car. He scrolls down a bit, letting me read how apparently we're a couple and he let his new girlfriend open for him.
"Wonderful," I mumble. Of course, he's not the worst guy to be paired with. He's an asshole to me, but not to the public, and we all know how handsome he is. But I automatically know I'll be called a slut for sleeping with a guy just to get ahead in the industry. "Can your team shut that down?"
"That's where I have some bad news."
I stay silent, scared for his response.
"They want us to pretend to date. It's a good PR stunt."
I laugh and shake my head, waving my hand at him. "Absolutely not,"
"Before you say that, check your following on everything. I've gained a good bit of traction from being in the news, and God knows it'll get your name out there."
"I can do it myself."
"You've been trying to do it yourself for years, right?" William asks, obviously frustrated. "And how's that going for ya? How many shows have you had?"
I take a deep breath as I stare at him. I hate it, but he has a point. I haven't looked at my phone yet, but I'm sure there's thousands of notifications. I always told myself I'd do whatever it takes, right? Even if it means losing a bit of my dignity? "Why do you want to do this?"
"Whenever someone is in a relationship, they get attention. I haven't had a girlfriend in two years. My team is begging me to do this. No, not begging. Forcing."
I swipe my tongue over my top teeth, a bit upset I have to do this. And I know Blair won't like it... will she even stay with me? "What do we have to do?"
"We're grabbing dinner tonight. We have seats reserved by a window so paparazzi can see. They have more planned if tonight goes fine."
"So, our entire 'relationship' will be planned out for us?"
He nods. "Don't worry, it won't be very long. Just long enough for me to be able to add another leg to tour and have it all get sold out and for you to become a D list celebrity."
"You know, you could word some things nicely, for once."
William grins. "I know. Be ready at six."
"Jesus," I mutter, closing the door and going back to the couch. Sofia is awake but silent, staring at the TV. She usually needs a few minutes in the morning to adjust. I grab my phone from the coffee table and feel my heart nearly burst at the insane amount of notifications. I look through each social media; Instagram has gone from four thousand followers to forty thousand; YouTube from six thousand to twenty thousand. I have DMs from random producers who want to work with me. I even already have fan accounts of William messaging me to get away from him. But then there's comments that tell me how amazing I am, completely making up for it. I respond to a good bit of people who were being nice, telling them I appreciate them. Finally, Sofia is fully awake.
"Why is he always here?"
"Well, he's my boyfriend now."
"Huh?"
I explain my new situation to her which makes her laugh.
"At least he's hot,"
"Yeah," I sigh, pulling the blanket back over me as I turn on the TV. "Fuck, I'm probably gonna have to kiss him."
"And you're complaining, why?"
"He's an asshole! And Blair is gonna freak out!" I pick up my phone. "I should let her know."
Me: Hiiii
Blair: Hey !! :) What's up???
Me: Wanna hear something funny?
Blair: Always
Me: The news thinks that I'm dating William! And his team is making us pretend to date for a bit!
Me: Isn't that funny?
Me: Hello?
Blair: Had to look it up
Blair: You opened for him last night?
Me: Yesss it was super last minute and he didn't let me invite you...
Blair: Why didn't you tell me?
Me: I just didn't think it was going to turn into this huge deal. I'm sorry :(
Blair: It's fine
Blair: How long do you have to date him for?
Me: Idk we're going out tonight but I assume it'll just be like a week or two.
Blair: Ok
Blair: Well do you still like me?
Me: Absolutely :)) Would you wanna come over after the date? Sofia has family up here and is spending the night with them so it'll just be us
Blair: Yeah that sounds perfect !!!
Me: Cool, see ya then :)
"That was easy."
"She must really like you." Sofia says. "I wouldn't feel comfy if the guy I was talking to had to date someone else."
I shrug and grin. "I'm just so charming."
"Right," She responds, picking a movie to watch. "I'm sure that's it."
