Anything But That

Chapter 10

"Okay, well you're not in New Hope Club. You're also not male." the muscular, tan man on the other side of the camera observed. "So who are you?"

Lydia stared at the computer screen with wide eyes. "I'm-I'm Lydia Taylor, I'm friends with New Hope Club and they couldn't make it on time so I picked up for them. And you're James McVey."

James released a small laugh before nodding. "That, I am."

Suddenly, two brunette heads popped in from outside of the frame - Brad and Connor. "Well, this is a bit awkward. Will the boys be here soon?" Brad asked.

Before he could say anything else, there was a loud noise of a door being opened, the smacking of feet across the ground, and a very pale underside of a nose filled the screen. "NEW HOPE CLUB!" the owner of the nose yelled, shaking his head wildly, making his shaggy blonde hair visible. Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he paused.

"Hang on," he said, scratching his head. "You're not New Hope Club."

"Wow, great observation skills, Tris. I think I've seen you before, on the boys' Instagrams, right?" Connor asked, directing the question at Lydia.

The blonde girl nodded, dumbfounded that he knew who she was, that he recognized her. Had he see her tagged in one of the boys' photos on Instagram and stalked her profile? That was a weird thing to think about; a celebrity peeping on the 'gram. She was freaking out at the very notion, even though it was incredibly unlikely that such an event had occurred.

Now, that's not to say that Lydia was a massive fan of the Vamps. Yes, she enjoyed their music, and yes, they were definitely attractive lads, but she had always been more of a Catfish and the Bottlemen/ Panic! At the Disco/ twentyone pilots sort of girl. Pop music was not exactly appealing to her, with the exception of One Direction and New Hope Club, of course.

However, these boys were famous, and they were staring at her. If she said that she wasn't hyperventilating, she would be lying, because they're the Vamps. Who wouldn't be crapping themselves if they were on a Skype call with the Vamps?

Luckily she was saved from embarrassing herself further by the door bursting open, revealing three flustered, out of breath boys.

"We're so sorry we're late!" Reece cried, worried, as he raced over to sit on his bed with Lydia. Blake and George were quick to follow, giving their own panicked apologies.

The Vamps laughed, shrugging. "It's no problem," Brad insisted, "you're here now, that's all that matters."

Tris nodded in agreement and looked like he was about to speak, before he glanced over at the blonde girl sat between Reece and George and bit his lip.

"Um, no offense or anything, but we're kind of going to be discussing private matters between bands, so..." he looked apologetic, giving her a nervous smile.

She stood up, understanding completely, but Reece grabbed onto her thigh and pushed her gently back onto the bed. "Sorry, guys, but Lydia is one of us now. She hears what we hear, she goes where we go." He said, green eyes sparkling as he winked at her.

Wow. This was news to her, and she couldn't help the blush that crept across her cheeks. "It's fine, Reece, I can go-"

But George nodded in agreement with his blonde haired bandmate, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Lydia stays, if that's okay with you guys." He said to the Vamps, who were watching the scene play out before them in amusement.

"Well, if you insist," Tris said with a laugh, "I suppose that's fine."

And so the meeting commenced.

***
They got the deal.

Of course they did, there was never any doubt in Lydia's mind that they would.

That didn't stop the proud tear from rolling down her face as soon as the Skype call ended and Blake, George and Reece exchanged incredulous looks. They didn't have a full on blowout though, not like the other night. It was like, yes, they had their doubts, but deep down, they knew they were going to get it, and the blue-eyed girl was so insanely happy for them, because they deserved it for how talented they were.

Suddenly, she gasped. "What's wrong?" Reece asked immediately, eyebrows quirking up in concern.

Lydia groaned. "I'm meant to go to a dinner with my parents tonight, and bring a date, but I didn't ask Mac because I was fighting with him, and then I just forgot. Now I don't have anyone to go with, and I need a date because it's some fancy UN delegate dinner or something..." she trailed off, putting her face into her hands.

The three boys exchanged glances before saying in unison, "I'll go with you."

She looked between them, distraught. "What?"

"I'll go." Reece said.

Blake gave him s side-long glare before shaking his head. "I will."

Before letting out a soft laugh, George rolled his eyes. "Reece, you have Maths tutoring, Blake, family dinner tonight, remember?"

The green-eyed blonde groaned, and out of the corner of her eye, Lydia saw Blake smack himself in the face. "I suppose that means you're going with George, then?" Reece muttered, visibly upset.

Lydia shrugged, to hide the fact that she was incredibly happy. She would've been, obviously, no matter what the outcome was. "I suppose."

George frowned. "A bit more enthusiasm, please. I'd rather not feel like I'm your only option."

The girl raised an eyebrow, stating in a teasing, "You are my only option..." before seeing the look he gave her, she trailed off before continuing, leaping up and slinging her arms around his neck. "And I'm so glad!"

She genuinely was. George was brilliant, cute, and he was always a laugh.

"I'm going to pretend that there was no sarcasm there," the blue-eyed boy laughed, returning her hug. "Now go get ready for our fancy UN dinner, ya beaut."

***

Lydia was sat on the end of her bed, confused, but she wasn't entirely sure why.

As the blonde girl started straightening her hair, all she could think about was the way that Blake had looked at her when she suggested dinner, the anticipation and hopefulness in his gaze.

As she started to put on her makeup, the face in her head was Reece's; the disappointment in his eyes when he realised that he couldn't go, the way he averted them so that his hair hung over them, hiding their green shine.

When all three of the boys offered to go to the dinner with her, she had felt so pleased, but when George ended up being the one to go, her excitement hadn't dimmed at all. It didn't seem possible to her at the time, but was it possible that she was catching feelings for George, or was he just a friend?

***
Ooh good question... what do you lot think? Is she catching feelings or is he just a friend?

Well I finally updated! Idek I like this chapter kind of, and next chapter is going to have some fun George-Lydia action. Gydia? Lyorge?

Also, life update: I'm now in the water polo team, I got through to the next round of swimming competitions, and I have my next round of volleyball competitions pretty soon. So that's cool

Anyway, don't forget to vote, comment and share this story! <3

Hannah xxx