The "Biggest" Fan (EN)

33.

The absolute last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the same van as Skylar and Lottie. Three hours to go until the gig, and my head already hurt from all the small talk everyone was making. At least Jake, Lottie, and Richard were; Skylar sat in front, her arms crossed, not saying a word, ignoring everything.

Lottie, on the other hand, was sitting way too close to me, radiating an almost painful amount of positivity, "It's so cool that you guys get your own van! Do you think you'll do tours soon?"

I shifted my gaze away from the window and gave her a look, "If I have to go on a longer trip in this vehicle, I would probably throw myself out of it mid-drive," I said flatly. My butt was already protesting against these rock-hard seats. Painful.

"Right," she nodded, but didn't dare to whine herself. She was probably just thrilled she managed to snag a seat at all, "Will Harry come too?" She asked after a long silence.

The tension in the van ticked up a notch. Jake and Richard exchanged a glance but stayed quiet.

"Aren't you chatting with him too?" I asked Lottie, tipping my head towards her phone. Sarcasm was my only defense mechanism at this point.

She raised it, laughing, "Right, I haven't asked him that."

As she started typing, I cut her off, "He's coming," I said, a bit sharper than I intended. She nodded, satisfied, "He has, you know, actual drivers. The comfy car kind," that seemed to answer whatever follow-up question she was brewing.

"Okay, he's coming. That's nice," she said with a smile I didn't like.

"Oh, amazing, more rumors coming up," Skylar, who didn't even look like she was listening, snapped from the front seat. Her voice was as venomous as ever, and I swear my heart stopped for a second. What the hell was that about?

"What rumors?" Lottie asked immediately, her curiosity piqued. She looked between Skylar and me like a detective about to crack a case. Skylar, of course, kept ignoring us, so Lottie turned to me, her eyebrows raised, "What's she on about?"

I felt a drop of sweat forming at the base of my neck.

"Oh, you know," I said, forcing a laugh that came out sounding more like a wheeze, "Fans love making stuff up about everything."

"Like about..." Her voice dropped, almost whispering, "You and Skylar?"

I tensed, but nodded with a shrug. The thing was, the rumors about me and Skylar weren't the thing that was actually trending at the moment.

But Lottie wasn't satisfied. Of course she wasn't. She pulled out her phone and dove straight into Twitter.

"People are just jealous that you're famous," Richard said with a yawn. He shot a glance at Lottie's phone and then, as if realizing how bad this could get, coughed loudly, trying to shift attention, "How much longer till we're there?"

"Uh... I think..." I started.

"Oh my god, this edit is so cute," Lottie gushed, completely ignoring us. My stomach sank as the sound of that video filled the van — the video I'd seen at least a hundred times.

It was from our last interview. Harry looking at me, his eyes all soft, his voice dripping with sincerity as he said, 'Thanks, Lou.' And now, instead of rumors about us fighting, everyone was convinced we were... More than friends. Awesome. Victor was going to kill me. Sure, it was just a tiny rumor and I didn't break any rules to be exact, but still...

"Wait, does Harry actually call you 'Lou'?" Lottie asked, still scrolling.

"It was just a joke," I said, trying to sound breezy. My body was so tense I thought I might snap in half. I caught Richard throwing me a curious glance. I swear, if he said something, I'd fire him.