Overjoyed

Chapter 25 - Led by a beating heart

I was pissed, to say the least. I had just arrived home after being hit on by the God-awful David Rancid and was now sitting at the kitchen island in front of my laptop surfing the web for pictures of Dan and I. There were quite a few. The more acceptable ones were those taken of us being interviewed by Lacy Schneider at the concert. I smiled upon seeing the photograph of us together. There were more inappropriate ones, such as the snaps of us outside The Courtley, giving off the obvious connotations. However, the one that really galled me was of us getting cosy in Nirvana. We were kissing and Dan had his hand on my thigh, just above the hem of my dress. I was appalled; I looked like a common slut. Anger coursed through my veins and at that moment I despised Dan’s fame.

I texted him furiously. I could have guessed these pictures were all over social media. Dan had showed some of the tweets and things fans sent him, some of which made me quite uneasy. These girls felt things for him, so there must have been quite some uproar about these pictures of us in such compromising positions. I felt a little sick. This was not me; I wasn’t the girl who got caught with a guy’s hand up her dress in a club. Bile started to rise to my throat at the thought of our private lives becoming more public as Dan continued to rise to fame. 

“Wow Liza, that’s quite a position you’re in there” Courtney said, glancing at the picture and taking the bar stool next to mine. “It’s not the end of the world babe” she said when I glared at her. “You clearly don’t remember how you felt about the YouTube incident” I said icily. “Yeah, because that was different, I was puking on a celebrity, you’re being felt up by one.” I shook my head and she laughed. “Come on, it’s Dan Smith” she said with a giggle, “now all those adolescent fan-girls know he’s yours.” I looked at her face and burst out laughing. I told Court about the ‘episode’ with David after work and her mouth hung open. “The fucker!” she exclaimed, “please tell me this means you’re going to quit that shitty job and go to London with Dan? Maybe even live there permanently.” The thought had never even crossed my mind. Dan and I couldn’t always live apart from one another- that would be detrimental to our relationship, but moving to England? That was a massive step on my part, one I didn’t think I was ready to take.

My phone went off, just as I was drifting off to sleep and I groggily checked it. It was a text from Dan, apologising profusely for the picture. Suddenly his caller ID came up on the screen and I answered. “Baby?” he yelled. Wherever he was, it sure was loud. Music and people screaming and laughing. “Where are you?” I asked. After saying “what?” a few times, he told me to hold on as he went to somewhere quieter. “Sorry” he mumbled. “It’s okay” I sighed, “Where are you?” “At a festival. Eliza, I’m so sorry about those pictures, I had no idea” he said, distressed. “They’re just pictures” I said, with assurance I didn’t feel. “I miss you. Please say you’ll come to London with me” he said earnestly. Thoughts of David Rancid filled my mind and I immediately knew I was going with Dan. “Okay, I’ll come” I murmured and I could sense him beaming on the other end of the line.