The Hired Girlfriend (Harry Styles Fanfiction)

Chapter Three

• Chapter Three •

Once my five hour shift at the pet store drew to an end, I signed my name out, clutched my canvas bag against my shoulder and exited Old Pete's Pet Store. I squinted at the sight of the piercing sun which caused me to miss the sight of Brandon's dark silver Jeep. Luckily, he efficiently beeped two times which caught my attention. It wasn't uncommon for Brandon to be waiting outside the store waiting to pick me up and dropped me home. It was convenient because there was a fast food joint across the road from the store which he and his soccer team always attended post practice.

I approached his car, placed my hand on the door handle of the passenger door and pushed down to have the door pop open for me to then yank the rest of the way out. I wriggled my body into the seat and clipped myself in before greeting my best friend. "Brandon, thanks for picking me up." I told him gratefully which caused his soft chuckle to erupt from his tanned throat.

His masculine hands, steered the steering wheel as he peeled out of the parking lot. "Noel, you say that each time you sit in the car. You know it's no problem." He tells me, his blue eyes never leaving the road. Brandon is a careful driver, sensible which I appreciated. I still thanked him again and he couldn't help but laugh.

"So how was your shift?" He asked and instantly my body stiffened. I felt a sudden urge to keep news of Harry Styles away from Brandon because then it would lead to the discussion of why I'm leaving in two weeks. I knew eventually I would have to tell him, I couldn't do it just before I left because that wouldn't be fair but I doubted now was hardly the time nor place.

I shifted in his black leather seats, "As eventful as a five hour pet store shift could possibly be." I disliked the fact that I wasn't telling Brandon the whole truth, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Ever since I could remember we would always tell each other everything, even silly things like finding a dead lizard. Although when we were younger, that was considered big news. Brandon was a big boy now, it was now or never to tell him. It wouldn't be like he would become super angry, he would have no reason to.

"Actually, Harry Styles is back in town. Do you remember him? He wanted some cat food for his cat," I could feel myself rambling, running over my words so fast I could barely spit them out. "Funny that he was mentioned because I actually wanted to tell you something. His mother has appointed me the position of being his fake girlfriend."

That was the moment Brandon slammed his canvas shoe on the brakes, spluttering "What?" My heart jolted from the force of impact, my body hustling forward with only the seat belt holding me back. Once overcoming shock, I pressed my back into the seat and waited for Brandon who pulled into the side of the road.

"Noel, can you please repeat that?" His words were pressed with his clenched jaw. I don't think I had ever seen Brandon in this state before, it was utterly strange.

I watched him skeptically as I repeated my previous sentence, soon to be greeted by a confused face. I then did my best to elaborate, explaining exactly what the job entailed and soon Brandon's confusion grew to anger. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, his teeth grounded onto each other and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Have you thought this through at all Noel? Nine months you will be away, we haven't been away from each other longer than three days since we first met and that was only because you had a weak infection of the chicken pox. Plus, Harry Styles is not good news. He is a reckless punk who doesn't care about anyone so why would you care about his welfare? You aren't going Noel." I could depict the feelings of pain and fear in his voice, I felt the same too.

"Brandon be reasonable. This will be hard for me too, it's not as though I want to leave. But this is for Oxford. Oxford Brandon. How many years have I been gushing and venting about how much I wanted to invest my money into my education at that school. Now I actually have a shot at doing that! Please, trust me, I know what I'm doing." Despite the fact that I didn't know exactly what I was doing, I still wanted to put Brandon's mind at ease.