Chapter 2

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When I woke up the next morning, I was confused to see someone sleeping next to me on my couch. But then I remembered that it was Nathan, and everything that had happened to me the night before came rushing back to me. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down. I looked over at Nathan, and began to study his face. He looked really familiar to me, like I had seen him before last night, but I couldn’t quite place why or where I could have possibly seen him. Deciding he probably just looked like someone else I knew, I pushed it out of my mind and headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

The smell of toast, eggs and tea filled the kitchen and around ten Nathan sauntered in. “Morning Sophie, I’m sorry, I wasn’t planning to fall asleep here last night.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, thank you for looking out for me, you really saved me from an awful situation.” He smiled at me and I handed him a plate of eggs and toast and poured him some tea. He took it and started digging in.

While he was eating I turned on the telly to catch the end of the morning news. I looked to see Nathan’s face and mine on the screen. The presenter started to speak:

“Last night The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes was seen exiting a London club, his arm around a visibly upset woman’s shoulders. Sources from inside the club claim that another man made unwanted advances towards the woman and Sykes became physical against him after the man would not stop. Sykes apparently punched the man in the face, breaking his nose in the process. No word on who the woman Sykes rescued is, however another source claimed to see the two entering a London flat together, presumably belonging to the woman. Could a new relationship for Sykes be in the works? And who is this damsel in distress? We will keep you updated on the details. Thank and you that concludes our morning broadcast.”  

I turned off the telly and stared at the blank screen in shock. The reason he had looked so familiar earlier now made sense. Nathan Sykes, from The Wanted. I knew of the band; they were quite popular in the UK and were just starting to gain popularity in America right now. Before I could say anything to Nathan, he started speaking: “Shit, Sophie I’m so sorry. I had no idea that would end up in the press. You probably didn’t even know who I was last night and now that picture of us will end up everywhere. Fuck!” He slammed his fist down on the kitchen table, clearly angry.

            “Hey, it’s alright, there’s no need to get angry. I’ll admit I had no clue who you were last night, but I was drunk. I thought you looked familiar this morning though…”

I drifted away into my thoughts, unsure of what else to say. I wasn’t exactly pleased with that picture spreading around the country, for one it wasn’t the most flattering picture of me as my eyes were all red and puffy and my long brown hair was in my face. I also hoped that whoever it was that saw us entering my flat didn’t release my address to the press. That would be the absolute worst thing that could happen. I looked over at Nathan, who had his head leaning into his hands. “Well, it seems sort of inevitable that the press will probably get a hold of my name eventually…”

“I’m so sorry, really. I know the last thing you probably wanted to happen was to have a bunch of nosey people learn what happened to you last night… I can clear up the rumour that we may be dating though. That one’s an easy fix at least.” He looked at me with a small reassuring smile.

“Dating? Oh right, yeah that’s an easy one…” There was a pang in my head and I suddenly felt nauseous. The effects of my drinks from last night were starting to get to me. I grabbed onto my stomach and leaned over the sink, feeling very close to vomiting everywhere.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, I’m just not used to drinking, that’s all.”

I turned around away from the sink so that I was now facing Nathan. I turned too quickly though, as I was hit with such a wave of nausea that I fell to the floor. Immediately, Nathan was out of his seat and helping me up. “Whoa! Here, let me help you. Maybe you should lie down for a bit, yeah?” Nathan had his arm around my waist and I leaned against his chest, hoping my nausea would pass. However, it only seemed to be getting worse.

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Nathan quickly pulled over the bin so it was in front of me, just in time too, as I proceeded to vomit until my stomach felt like it was completely empty. He held my hair back for me so it wouldn’t get in the way. I’ll admit, it was one of those moments I had read about in books and always thought sounded so adorable, minus the vomiting part.

“God, I’m sorry for that. That was absolutely disgusting.”

“It’s alright, babe. It happens.” Now that I was no longer feeling nauseous, I could stand up straight and without the help of Nathan. I suddenly became extremely self-conscious of how shitty I must look. After an awkward moment where neither of us spoke, I said “Well, I should probably clean up, take a shower or something.”

“Oh right yeah, I should probably get going.” He hesitated before speaking again. “Listen, because of this press thing we should probably keep in contact so I can help you deal with anything that might come your way. Why don’t I give you my mobile number and I’ll call if anything happens.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan. How about I tell you my number and then you can just text me or something?” I then told him my number and a moment later my phone buzzed announcing his text. I added him to my contacts.

We stared at each other for a moment, both of us unsure of what to say. After what felt like five minutes of us just standing there awkwardly, I said “Well, erm, why don’t I walk you to the door?”

“That’s alright, I can see myself out.”

“Oh, okay. Well hey, thanks again for helping me out last night. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t.” I tried my best to show my appreciation through my smile. Not sure I really succeeded though, considering I looked like a mess.

“No problem Sophie, I’m glad you’re okay.” He headed over to the door then turned around and smiled saying “Well I’ll see you later. Go take that shower, trust me you’ll feel much better.” He winked, opened the door, and then closed it softly behind him. I stared at the door with a smile on my face before I went over to the door and locked it, then headed straight for the bathroom to take my shower.

I took a really long hot shower, letting the steam completely surround me. I let the water wash away the griminess I felt from the night before. As I stood under the water, all I could think about was Nathan. For someone who was well known, he was pretty laid back and genuinely a nice person, not stuck up like I normally pictured celebrities to be. He didn’t even know me, yet he went out of his way to look after me and make sure I was okay. It had been a while since anyone had cared for me like that and I couldn’t help but have a deep sense of admiration for him. After I got out of the shower and changed into a clean set of clothes, I looked over at my phone and saw that I had one new text message. It was from Nathan. A smile slowly crept onto my face as I read it: “Hey Sophie, hope you’re starting to feel better. I’m going to talk to my manager about the press. Let you know more soon. Xx”.

I put down my phone and decided to check my email. I was surprised to see that I had over twenty emails. Usually when I checked my email I only had one or two. I opened my inbox to see about three from my mum, two from my dad, five from my close friend Kate, one from my brother and the rest were from addresses I didn’t recognise. I clicked on one of the emails from an address that I didn’t know and saw that it was from the woman who does the morning news on the telly. After reading the first line, I whipped out my phone and texted Nathan: “The press has figured out my name and my email. What if my mobile number or address is next?”

I received a text back from Nathan immediately: “I’m coming over. Stay in your flat, I’ll be there soon.”

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