Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 131

Lie To Me-Chapter 131

(Harry's POV)

What an idiot... What kind of guy actually comes up with the grand idea to sit down for a lengthy "discussion" with his girlfriend, and her rather pissed off best friend?!?

Apparently this one...

The entire ride home had consisted of near silence, which was both scary, and honestly kind of nice. But, since we'd arrived, Bree had been a lot more vocal of her issues with what had happened outside the restaurant. She scolded Riley for not standing up for herself, and she scolded me for bending to what the young girl wanted without even a thought to how it might make Riley feel. But the part that really got to her was the lack of publicity in our relationship.

Sure, we'd been fairly open with the people we'd seen this week, and even shared our relationship with some of our closer friends. But, we'd yet to share it with the fans...

"...And what about them?!? Don't you think these girls have a right to know about this?!? You're not going to be able to hide it forever..."

I hesitated to answer before Riley, knowing that it wasn't me trying to keep things quiet. It wasn't me that wanted to hide our relationship from the fans...

"Harry?" Bree gave me a look that could easily rival my mother's...

"It's not me! Look, I get what you're saying Bree, and honestly, I agree with you. But, I'm not the only one in this relationship, and I'm not the one that stands to get hurt when the news does come out... So, cut us a little slack, okay?"

Bree turned to Riley, a shocked look on her face. "It's you that's keeping this quiet?!?"

Riley's mouth flattened as she looked at me, her brows furrowing. "Thanks, Harry... Way to throw me under the bus."

"Baby, I'm sorry..." I went around the table to take the seat next to her, pulling her hand in mine. "But, you know she does have a point... We're in love. And that's not going to change. So, why are we still hiding it?"

She sighed audibly. "Fine. You guys win. Let's tweet it out, spread the word, and I can become the most hated person on the planet. And then, if anything ever happens to us, I'll be seen as the biggest idiot on the planet, too. But, who cares right?"

"Riley..." Bree and I spoke in unison, the both of us feeling guilty for turning the tables on her.

But it was true... As much as Bree and I both had a point, so did Riley. In the history of my relationships, whatever woman I was with seemed to instantly become public enemy number one. Even if I'd just been spending time with someone, they always received hate for it. Riley herself had to fight through so much already, just with us being roommates and friends. It had taken months for the tweets, Instagram edits, and hurtful letters to die down. Lord knows she didn't deserve to go through that again...

"I just... I'm scared... I'm scared of everyone hating me." She turned to face me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I know that's selfish, but it's true. All of the girls I've talked to, all of your fans... I love them, Harry! They are some of the sweetest people I've ever met, and if I hurt them... If this hurts them... It's going to kill me..."

"Hey." I gently brushed her hair behind her ear. "I love how much you love the fans. They mean the world to me, and I would never want them to hurt either. But, what you don't seem to see is that they love you too! They know that you're a part of my life, that you're not going anywhere, and they love you." Riley moved to shake her head at me, but I stopped her, my hand coming to rest on her cheek.