Limelight

So it begins

The shower I took did wonders for me. I had let today’s horrific events stream off me with the water and was ready to face anything. It’s weird how a few hours ago I felt like I had hit rock bottom and now... I was fine. Numb. But fine. I’d cleaned up my living room and was now lying on my couch, staring at the ceiling. I’d turned my TV on to have something to listen too, but couldn’t really focus on the programme. In just a few minutes I would see Marca again and prepare for tonight. A little smile crept up my face, I was actually kind of excited. I grabbed my phone and went onto twitter.

@ItsCassieCarter: Yaaaay, finally decided to get an Instagram account :)  

I definitely did not remember posting that. It was probably the first of many tweets to be sent off my account by Modest. I downloaded the Instagram app and searched my name. An account popped up with a picture of me in a yellow dress. I smiled to myself as I recognised my outfit from yesterday. It was only a short while ago, but it seemed like ages. I couldn’t help but feel pleased with the fact they had cut Bee out of the picture. It was just me looking genuinely happy, laughing with rosy cheeks, eyes alive. A knock on my door pulled me out of my thoughts and I pushed myself off the couch. Opening the door Marca stormed in, followed by a woman around the same age as me with light lavender coloured hair. I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed it wasn’t Madge who was going to do my make-up, but I figured I couldn’t be picky.

“Cassie, darling, I cannot believe you live here. What an awful neighbourhood!” Marca whined. I felt a bit hurt at her statement, the apartment was close to central London and I had done my best to fix the place up.

“Don’t mind her, she’s been like this all day. I figure the stress of this whole situation is getting to her a bit.” The purple haired woman whispered to me. I smiled back at her.

“Hi, I’m Lou.” She said, extending her hand.

“Cassie.” I shook her hand, while eying Marca. She was moving my coffee table out of the way and motioned for me to sit back on the couch.

“OK, introductions are out of the way, now let’s get down to business.” Marca smiled clapping her hands. “I assume you have taken care of you little... Situation?” She asked me, brows raised. I nodded, not wanting to talk about it.

“Good! Well, then let’s get on to the good part! Lou here has brought some outfits, we didn’t really know your sizes, so we just picked something. She’ll also do your hair and make-up while we discuss what’s going to happen.” After that we spend an hour to find the perfect outfit. Eventually we decided to go for a bit of a casual look with some highwaisted shorts and a plain white tee. Paired with some red high heels and an amazing leather jacket I looked every bit the model I was pretending to be. Lou had started opening all her boxes and pulled out different kinds of make-up, as Marca took a seat across from me.

“So tonight is a big night. ” She said, as Lou started smearing make-up on my face. “We need you to be on your best behaviour. Be polite, be charming, basically be the best you you can be. You’re getting a VIP pass, so you can watch the show from backstage. You will be as close to the stage as you can though, because Harry will be joining Olly for one song. After this we want to make sure people see you talking to each other just offstage. Just smile a lot, even if what he says isn’t funny in the least.” Marca instructed. Lou rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, you’d better be prepared for not funny. He is quite the lame joker.” She grinned. I tried not to laugh as she was applying lipstick, but a stifled giggle still made its way through my pinched lips. A lot of instructions followed about how to act when seeing any of the crew and fans.

“Then afterwards, we want you to leave with Harry and Olly. We’ll make sure lots of paparazzi know where you will be, so we can get a few nice shots of you. Now smile for the camera!” She said as Lou finished my make-up. Holding up my iPhone she snapped a picture.