It was a relief to finally get back to my hotel room. There had been a handful of paps and a crowd of fans outside the building, and it had taken me thirty minutes to get from the limo to the front door. It would have been longer, if Merinda hadn’t pulled me away from signing autographs. Thank god for her. Management said that I had to maintain my ‘overly nice, fan-caring attitude’, so whenever I was exhausted of spending time with fans, Merinda would pull me away, so that they’d think I would stay if I had the choice. I dunno. Showbiz was so confusing.
I collapsed onto the bed, kicking off my shoes. What a wild night this had been. Sitting up, I carefully shrugged off Harry’s jacket. It still smelled like him. Catching sight of the digits scrawled up my arm, I grinned. Now, where was my phone?
I had three new messages. My heart jumped into my mouth as I opened my inbox, and it was all I could do not to scream aloud.
Sender: Unknown number
Hey gorgeous ;)x How are you liking my jacket?
Quickly checking the number on my arm, I identified the sender as Harry. My fingers trembled as I added his contact. How many girls get this honour? It took a lot of thought before I sent my reply. What should I go for? Flirty, shy - or in between? I knew Mirinda would severely disapprove of this conversation. But, what the hell? This was my life. I could do whatever I liked – this was my choice, my mistake to make. My fingers hovered over the phone. I’d go with flirty.
To: Harry Styles
I’d like it better if it were you keeping me warm ;)x
My nerves skyrocketed as I sent the text. This was so unlike me, yet, it felt right. Quickly, I skimmed through my other texts.
Sender: Unknown number
Hey, it’s Liam, I just wanted to tell you again how amazing you were tonight :)
I quickly saved his number, my insides fuzzy. He was so sweet. Liam’s approach seemed so different from Harry’s. Liam was soft, and kind – but Harry was dangerous, exhilarating. I didn’t know which one was better – or more dangerous. Nerves buzzing, I typed a quick reply. Thanks, that means so much :) Say thanks to the lads for being so welcoming. x
The other text was from Mirinda, who’d sent me a copy of the photo of me and One Direction. I grinned as I saw it, and quickly saved it as my wallpaper. With nothing else to do except wait for Harry’s reply, I logged onto my Twitter account.
@TeganGrey5eva: @Real_Tegan_Grey OMG @HarryStyles IS FOLLOWING YOU!
I gasped, and quickly clicked onto my followers. Sure enough, Harry’s profile pic of his ridiculously messy hair turned up. Wow. This guy did move fast. My phone buzzed, and I quickly returned to my inbox.
Sender: Harry Styles
Isn’t that a bit racy to be sending to a potential stranger? not that I’m complaining ;)x but shouldn’t you be asking for that codeword?
My insides choked up, and I felt myself blushing. How could he turn the tables on me so quickly? rolling my eyes, I typed a reply.
Ok, what’s the codeword? ;)x
Sorry, I was too distracted by your beauty to remember ;) x
I couldn’t help myself – I burst out laughing.
Smooth. x
I know, so smooth I had to prompt you into it ;)x
Never saw it coming. Are your pick-up lines always so crappy?
:o I’m offended! That’s one of my best ;)xxx
Oh, right. What I meant was, are the receivers of your crappy pickup lines always dumb enough to fall for them? ;)
Well, I do have a thing for blondes…….x
Sorry to disappoint.
Oops. That came out kinda bitter.
Don’t be. I’m pretty sure my type changed as soon as I saw you x
My heart sped up. God, he was good. I was about to reply when my phone vibrated loudly, scaring the hell out of me. It was Mirinda calling. With a sigh, I raised the phone to my ear. “Hiii.”
“Tegan?”
“Who else?”
There was an audible sigh from the other end.
“We need to have a PR talk.”
I groaned. “Now? I’m so tired, Mirinda, can’t this wait till the morning?” What I meant was, not now there's a world-famous british hearthrob texting me a I would rather flirt with him than talk to you.
“I’m afraid it can’t. The internet doesn’t sleep, and neither do the tabloids.”
“What are you talking about?” Thoughts of Harry aside, my stomach clenched in worry. Was something wrong? Everything had been going so well…
“Rumours are spreading about you and that Styles boy. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that he followed you on twitter, and there are guesses as to who it was that loaned you that jacket.”
As she spoke, I reached out to the garment beside me, stroking the soft fabric. “It’s fine, Mirinda, I”-
“It is not fine,” she snapped. “We agreed to hold off on relationships and relationship rumours until next year! This has the potential to get too big, too quickly. We’ve spent so long on your image and your career!”
“What do you want me to do about it then?” I asked exasperatedly, clenching Harry’s jacket in my fist.
“Obviously we can’t just cut ties. One direction is too much of a valuable connection. But if you are in communications with that boy, and if you do meet him, you need to emphasise friendship, and the possibility of collaboration. Is that clear?”
I screwed my eyes shut in frustration. “Fine, fine. Whatever. You do whatever PR rumour-y thing you have to do.”
“Good. Just remember what I told you, Tegan, I don-” she was cut off as I hung up. All of this was pissing me off. I just wanted to be able to react like a normal teenage girl, and throw myself into whatever amazing thing had been created between Harry and I tonight. This was my chance, he was the boy of my dreams. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?
Groaning, I stood up, casting off my dress and jewellery and falling into bed, tossing my phone to the other side of the room. I was out in minutes. As I slept, my phone lit up, illuminated by my forgotten texts from Harry.
