It’s Saturday and as I don’t have to go to school, Dad asks me to come with him to the label to meet the artist he is working with: Ariel Hamilton. I’ve only heard her demo and I’m actually excited to meet such a talented kid. I also have to see how shy she is and advise my father as how to proceed with a girl like her. I have a feeling it’s not as terrible as Dad says, it’s just that he is overwhelmed and doesn’t know how to react, but once he has a clue things will go smoothly. If she is in this industry she can’t be that shy.

So now I find myself walking next to Dad down the corridors of Syco towards the meeting room in which the girl should be waiting with her manager. That’s what Dad said, that we would have a meeting first to get to know each other and then, if I wanted, I could go to the studio with them. Apparently, the girl has written loads of songs already so they only have to work on them, polish them before actually recording. It’s a good thing she’s a songwriter, not just a singer.

Dad opens the doors for me once we arrive and I walk in first to find three people, not two as I expected. First I see a girl, probably eighteen, with bright red hair that can’t be natural, blue eyes and bright rosy cheeks that tell me she’s embarrassed. Ariel, I tell myself. At her right there’s a woman, probably thirty something, in a very business-like outfit, glasses that only make her look more professional and a tight low bun. At Ariel’s left there’s a guy that looks fairly familiar, with brown wavy hair that is tamed with a kind of scarf slash bandana. He is very close to Ariel and smiles at her brightly until they notice we have arrived, then he turns to face Dad and I with a wide smile that shows his dimples.

Where have I seen him before?

“Louis, you make it right in time,” the woman speaks with a polite smile. “This is your daughter, right?”

“Yes, Patricia, this is my daughter Isabelle,” Dad introduces me.

The woman, Patricia, stands up and approaches me to give me a handshake. “Your father can only say good things about you,” she says with a warmer smile this time. “I’m Patricia, Ariel’s manager. This girl here is Ariel,” she points to the other girl in this room, the one I assumed was Ariel.

Ariel stands up and with her cheeks burning bright red, she smiles at me and offers me her hand. “N-nice to meet you,” she says in a shaky voice after taking a deep breath.

“Nice to meet you, too, Ariel, I’m Belle. I’ve heard your demo and I think it’s amazing. You have a beautiful voice,” I compliment and her smile widens as I let go of her shaky hand. She has very beautiful and dark blue eyes, almost blue navy, but these shine with innocence and hope. She gives me this vibe of pure girl.

I look at the boy, still trying to figure out where I have seen him before.

“Hello,” he says standing up. “I’m Harry, I’m in the same band as Liam,” he introduces himself and my eyes widen, finally putting the pieces together. That’s why he seemed familiar, I’ve seen him in pictures with Liam and in the cover of the album. And in the posters in the halls of the label. “You’re his girlfriend, right?” he asks shaking my hand.

“Yeah,” I answer not very thrilled and Harry laughs.

“Yeah, I understand you,” he adds although I haven’t said anything but I think he really understands. I don’t know if he knows that all this boyfriend-girlfriend thing is nothing but a scheme, but I rather not say. “I’m Ariel’s boyfriend,” he adds next which explains why he is here. Good, I didn’t feel it was polite to ask him why he was also here.

“I-I asked him to be here,” Ariel points out. “It’s… it’s easier when he’s here.” Harry looks at her with a loving smile and I have the impression they forgot I’m also here. I feel something inside me when I see them looking at each other that way, so devoted to each other.

“The media doesn’t know about their relationship and we want to keep it like that,” Patricia intervenes. “So please, don’t comment this to anyone outside the label.”

“Of course,” I agree.

Patricia goes to sit next to my father and they start to discuss some legal issues that are clearly none of my business, so I take the seat the manager was using before. Ariel and Harry also go back to their seats and we ignore the other two people in the room. Dad brought me to help him with Ariel so I need to get to know her.

“So, all this is new to you, right? How did you end up here?” I ask with my most cordial smile, trying to make her feel at ease.

“Yes. I always wanted to be a singer but I’m… I have social anxiety disorder, so any kind of social interaction is just so hard for me,” she explains and I try to control my surprise. It’s not just that she’s shy, she actually has a condition. “I’m under treatment now to control the anxiety, but it’s still difficult. Harry says I’ll get used to it little by little.”

“Oh, you will, love. Don’t worry about that, just be brave,” I tell her encouragingly. “But can I ask how you two met? Did you meet here?”

“No,” Harry replies, taking Ariel’s hand and I smile at the gesture. “I met her during the summer when I went to a retreat centre. At first I didn’t even know she could sing but once she told me she always wanted to be a singer I helped her. I introduced her to Patricia and moved some strings. But she’s so talented that even without my help I know she could’ve done it,” Harry explains and his eyes actually sparkle with love. I never thought I could see something like that.

I was a kid but I remember Dad looking at Mum like that, like she was the only woman on the planet and seeing Harry staring at Ariel in that way makes me feel nostalgic.

“Harry has been of big support for me since I came to London. I think I would’ve had a panic attack if he hadn’t been here with me the first time I had a meeting,” Ariel tells me still looking at Harry.

I see she takes strength from his presence and contact. Her voice is still shaky and she avoids my eyes, due to her body language I can tell she’s not comfortable with my presence and that she’s nervous. I won’t ask about what kind of medication she receives but I bet the doses for when she’s on stage will have to be a lot stronger. It amazes me that despite that she still wants to do this.

“Well, now that you’ve decided to pursue this career you’ll meet loads of people!” I tell her to see her reaction. She tenses a bit but then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

“I know and it makes me so nervous, but I chose this. This is what I want. I want the world, even if it’s just a small part of it, to listen to my songs.”

I smile at her reply, thinking it’s wonderful. “It’ll be fine. I know meeting people is scary and most of the people here are quite intimidating. I mean, I don’t even work here and I can tell!” I say almost as a confession. Ariel giggles. “But with time you’ll get used to and as long as you have those you can rely on, you’ll be fine. It’s the same for everyone, love. I’m a teacher and the first time I had to give a lesson I thought I was going to faint.”

“You’re a teacher?” she asks, fascinated.

“Yes, primary teacher. I feel the pressure of teaching kids, I feel responsible for them, you know? I have to deal with amazing parents and with some that, in all honesty, shouldn’t be parents. I feel nervous and scared, but with time I’ve learnt how to deal with the situation. I’m not going to lie and tell you that it’ll pass, but it gets easier and you learn what you should focus on.”

Ariel looks at me for a few seconds and a small smile starts to appear on her lips, a different kind of smile.

“We don’t know how it’s going to be for you, but we know something for sure and it’s that you have people who support you. My father is a great man and he’ll do his best to help you, but go easy on him,” I laugh. “He doesn’t have experience with shy people so he might say some weird things, be he doesn’t mean any harm.”

Ariel looks at my dad and smiles candidly.

“And I’ll be here if you need help. I know you have Harry and Patricia, but it’s good to have a girl friend sometimes, right?” I offer surprising myself that I’m actually offering my friendship. I don’t do this kind of stuff, but for my father I somehow always end up doing things that I never expected I would do.

“Thank you, Belle,” she says and I smile at her. Then I look at Harry and I see the gratitude in his eyes. “I’ll do my best,” she adds and I’m not sure if she means with her work or something else.

“That’s the spirit, plus, if we are dating members of the same band we need to stick together, don’t we?” I joke and that makes her laugh. “But here between us, I think you are luckier. Harry is clearly nicer,” I whisper leaning closer to her.

Ariel laughs. “I’m the luckiest,” she replies and I accept it, I feel totally jealous of how in love she is. To the point of being disgusted, I would say.

Teenage love is too sweet and I’m not used to it. It makes me feel like a spinster surrounded with cats… with the only difference I don’t like cats. It’s actually sad to feel like this when I’m barely twenty-one. Oh dear Lord, what does the future hold for me?

“Kids, what do you say if we hit the studio now?” Dad asks interrupting my train of thoughts. “Marty is waiting,” he adds and I look at Ariel because I have no idea who Marty is.

“Another songwriter. He’s working with me to improve the songs,” she replies and I nod. “Let’s go,” she replies and I notice her voice sounds firm this time, more confident.

I realise then that this girl, even with her condition, has the determination to do this and no matter what treatment she’s under, it would be useless if she didn’t really want to do it. She’s going to be fine, even if it’s going to be difficult.

We all leave the meeting room and follow Dad and Patricia. I end up walking next to Harry who is still holding hands with Ariel.

“By the way, Belle, I’m sorry about Liam,” he says and I look at him. Ah, he knows about the scheme. “I was really surprised when I found out about the whole contract thing. I mean, we know he’s changed but no one imagined he would get that far as to demand for a girlfriend.”

“Almost everyone who knows about this apologises for him,” I say. “Has he really changed that much?” I ask next.

“Yes, he wasn’t like this before. I guess fame did get to his head. We don’t even recognise him anymore.”

I’m surprised by Harry’s tone, he sounds really concerned and sorry, almost as if he’s lost a loved one. For a second I feel like saying ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ even if Liam is still very alive.

“It’s a shame, I would’ve liked to meet him when he was a nice guy,” I comment realising that I actually mean it. I would’ve liked that. “But well, now I can only deal with what’s left of him.”

“I wish he could come back, though,” he confesses defeated.

“Yeah, it would be nice,” but impossible. He’s lost, I add in my mind, not daring to say such cruel words in front of Liam’s friend.

I repeat, it’s a real shame that the nice guy is gone.

-:-:-

I honestly thought it would take you many days to get the 500 votes. Not even 24 hours and you got 700! I'm amazed. Now, next update should be on Sunday... unless you get 1500 votes! Ha, let's see if you can do that :p

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