CHAPTER THREE
Unseen Sides and Broken Souls
I’d lost count of how many times girls had asked me about the William Edwards. In fact, the mentions might’ve rivaled that of my own boyfriend. They always wanted to know, claimed to want the ‘truth’ about their crush. But they didn’t.
What they really wanted was a lie.
All they ever asked for was a way to attract him, a way to catch his attention. I guess they figured they could take it from there. Or maybe it wasn’t important what happened after, just so long as they got that one moment of him.
I tried to ward them off, lie, protect them from what I knew would be disastrous to the very fabric of their heart. But, like mesmerized moths to a lingering flame, they never realized the danger until it was far too late.
~ Claire Pia
*March 19, 2013 12:26am*
The strobe lights beat in time with the song's heavy bass and William could feel the slow buzz of adrenaline as it filled his veins. Catching a glimpse of a certain familiar face, he felt a smirking smile rise. Asim's challenge had been surprisingly more difficult than he had anticipated; William would never have expected any demands from such a loyal fan, let alone high ones. Usually such girls were the easiest to lure in, but the blond internet winner, she'd been quite the clever one. He sighed. Even now he admired her strength of mind amidst his fervent advances. In fact, he admitted to himself, she had been his biggest challenge yet. This particular venture had even earned what was called a ‘ship’ from fans. Lilliam, he believed it had been named, a combination of the pairs’ names.
Funny how he could remember something like that, but the girl's very name escaped him. Maybe it would have been different if Asim had been right about her, but she, like so many before her, had fallen neatly into his trap.
He snickered imperceptibly in anticipation, before quickening his pace, raising his hand in greeting to the band's guitarist.
"Asim, old friend, old pal," as he reached the man, William threw a lazy arm over his friend's shoulders, knowing that Asim would know exactly why he was here. The self-satisfied tone said it all. Asim turned, his eyes narrowing infinitesimally.
"No way. There is just no freaking way," the pianist’s voice was insultingly incredulous.
"Was there really ever any doubt?" arrogance oozed with every word.
At the look of small defeat, William's mind was drawn back to the day that he had met his new pianist. William had walked into rehearsal that afternoon, complete with blond, model, hanger on. When they had been introduced, the bimbo had gushed of William's natural ability to lead even the best girl astray, along with a few other of his...choice attributes. With each air headed sigh, William's pained smile had given way to pure annoyance. Ignoring her confused and hurt face, he had brushed the chatterer off, firmly shaking the other man's hand. Hearing the girl's praising, though slower now, continue, Asim, player turned husband, had gotten a sly sort of twinkle in his eyes. And the moment that the blond had left the room, Asim had turned to his new boss and thrown a challenge at him. Saying that he bet William couldn't even get to first base with the icy television host standing right across from them, almost as if he wished to live through Will. First base had been accomplished that evening, but William had always been an overachiever.
Since then, Asim had practically made it his mission to find a girl that could resist William's charms. That's why, when Asim brushed of his bruised ego and raised a pointing finger towards the bar, William knew exactly what he meant. He had known when he walked over that the pianist would already have a backup conquest ready. And William was ready tonight, top of his game.
