The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 33

Asher Halen:

"Dating" Paisley was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Especially since I was supposed to be the girl. 

Every time we were out in public, we had to play the part of a loving couple. I mentally cringed every time Paisley opened a door for me or paid for my meals, even though my rational mind knew that it was MY money that she was pulling out of MY wallet. 

The physical aspect of our "relationship" was a whole different story. For the first few days, we stood so far apart that you would think one of us had the plague. Finally, we were coerced into at least holding hands every once in a while by Leo, who told us that we were acting more like distant cousins than a couple supposedly in love. 

The paparazzi were relentless, and the fans even more so. Mere seconds after the news had broken about Paisley and I, there were suddenly hundreds of instagram pages dedicated to our new "relationship" and trying to find out who Paisley was.

That was the only saving grace of this whole situation: as of right now, no one knew Paisley's identity. Asher Halen was simply dating a "mystery brunette." For Paisley's sake, I hoped it stayed that way...

Of course, I should have known that it wouldn't. Why would it? Nothing else in our lives had been easy ever since the switch.

I was in bed one morning at a swanky hotel when I was suddenly awoken by the loud voices of Paisley and the boys coming from outside my door. 

"Would you guys shut up?" I bellowed, throwing a pillow at the door. It hit the wood and slid down to the floor with an unsatisfying plop only to be flung across the room two seconds later by my door, which was being shoved open by a frantic Paisley. Her eyes were wild and bloodshot and her hair was an unsightly mess on top of her head, the curls tangling around one another like a bird's nest. Her tee shirt was on inside out and backwards, and she was still in my favorite pair of tattered gray sweatpants that she wore to sleep every night. 

Tucker, Leo, and Zack were trailing close behind her with soothing expressions on their faces.

"It's not that big of a deal - we'll fix it," Leo was saying calmly, but I could see the anxiety in his eyes. 

"Yeah," Zack said, placing a comforting hand on Paisley's shoulder. "It's not a clear picture at all. They have no solid proof that it's you."

"They don't need solid proof!" Paisley wailed, turning to face the boys with a look like a caged animal. "They have her confirmation and that's all the proof they need!"

"What's going on?" I asked sleepily. "Whose confirmation about what?"

I got my answer when Paisley walked over and flung a magazine onto my chest, its glossy pages fluttering a few times before falling shut with a feeble smack. 

"Whatever it is, it can't possibly be that bad..." I began, sitting up and reaching for the magazine in exasperation. I trailed off when I saw the main article headline glaring up at me from the cover.

Asher Halen's Mystery Woman Revealed: Details Inside!

My blood instantly ran cold in my veins as I stared at the magazine cover. I completely ignored the cover model that was smiling up at me and instead focused all of my attention on the tiny inserted picture of Paisley and I holding hands as we ran from the paparazzi. Zack was right: the picture was blurry and my face was hidden, meaning that Paisley's identity was safe. What concerned me was the picture right next to it. What appeared to be a school picture of Paisley was situated next to the blurry shot with an arrow pointing to the image of the girl in the paparazzi photo. 

I tried not to hyperventilate as I frantically flipped through the magazine until I found the article mentioned on the cover. I cringed when I saw the author. Raymond McCormac was a constant thorn in my side, prying into my business every chance he could get ever since the band had started. 

"Has Asher Halen's mystery woman finally been revealed?" I began, reading the article out loud as Paisley paced nervously back and forth across the room. "Mackenzie Eldridge of Gilbert, Arizona has identified the lucky lady as Paisley Monroe, a former student at her high school. Eldridge dished on her close relationship with Paisley in an exclusive interview with our magazine, saying that the two have been best friends for years.

'She's great!' Eldridge gushed about the mysterious brunette. 'We're, like, best friends. I'm actually the one that introduced her to Asher. The three of us are all super close. Asher used to like me but I told him that he and Paisley would be sooooo adorable. And the rest is history!'"

I stopped reading when I heard Paisley let out a guttural growl. I looked up to see her looking rather pale in the corner of the room. Tucker was standing by her side, patting her shoulder and looking abashed.

"I'm sorry, Paisley. This is all my fault," he muttered.

"It's fine, Tucker," Paisley said in a resigned voice, still staring off into the distance as if in a daze. "It was bound to happen eventually. I'm so sorry, Asher."

I blinked twice in confusion and shook my head. 

"You're SORRY?" I asked. "What are you sorry for?"

"Now that everyone knows who I am, they're going to be disappointed. I'm not 'rockstar's girlfriend' material. If your image wasn't ruined before, it definitely is now," she said glumly, looking at me with sad eyes. 

I felt a little twinge in my chest at her words. I was a jerk. I was the one who had put those thoughts into her head in the first place. 

"Paisley, I don't care if people think I'm dating you," I said vehemently. "I'm GLAD they think I'm dating you. You're better than I deserve and I'm lucky to have you. Hypothetically, of course. Screw my image."

I saw her face soften and some color begin to creep back into her gray cheeks. 

"I'm mostly just worried about you," I continued. "Maybe Zack is right. There's no REAL proof. Who is Mackenzie, anyways? Some random high school girl? No one in their right mind is actually going to believe her without any solid evidence."

"Well..." Leo said, dragging out the word and wincing.

"About that..." Zack added, glancing at Paisley with nervous eyes.

"What?" I asked, looking back and forth between them and Paisley.

Paisley took a deep breath and pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through for a few moments until she had opened her instagram app. Slowly, she turned her phone to face me, and I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

Over three thousand friend requests and direct messages were visible on her home page, and more were rolling in by the second. I caught sight of one of the messages that popped up on the top of the screen and my heart jumped into my throat. 

Why TF would Asher Halen ever want to be with YOU? Who even ARE you? He deserves better than...

I was glad that the visibility of the message cut off there, because I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach as flashbacks of Maddison floated through my mind. This entire situation was entirely too familiar. 

My worst nightmare was unfolding again right before my eyes. 

-

A/N: Hello lovelies! Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I'm really trying to be more consistent but, you know, #NewMomLife. 

Thank you to those who have stuck with me even through the inconsistency. I promise that I AM going to finish this story. I won't leave y'all hanging, pinky swear <3

Xo, Adrienna