Liam walks with such confidence and because of that I can tell how used to people taking photos of him he is. Before we make it to the door I take a look at Liam. He’s wearing a white shirt and dark jeans with light brown shoes that I wouldn’t normally like in a guy, but he can pull that off quite well. His hair is messy and it looks like he just got off the shower and I have to bite my tongue because he actually looks hot. Really hot. Nevertheless, I’m still offended that he said ‘hot enough’. Even if he looks hot, he is still an arse.

“My girlfriend,” Liam says to the guard and he only nods, letting us both walk in.

Inside is a party. Simple as that. A crowded party. People everywhere, a dance floor, a DJ on a stage above everyone else, reading the audience to know exactly what song to play next. A large bar with many people behind delivering drinks to even more people at the other side. There are different sections in this club, sofas and private booths, tables at the other side with waitress delivering typical orders, like chips and more alcohol. They scream, cheer and laugh out loud. None of them paying any attention to us.

Liam puts his hand on my waist and that brings me back to reality, I was too lost in the neon lights that gave a party-look to the whole place. He leans in and whispers in my ear.

“I’m gonna introduce you to Andrew. It’s his birthday so be nice,” he warns me and I roll my eyes.

“I’m not you,” I reply and he pulls back looking at me with an amused smile. I wasn’t trying to be funny, I was insulting him.

“Just try to be charming, okay?”

I roll my eyes one more time as he leads me to a private booth where a guy is surrounded by four girls and two other guys. They are laughing out loud and with glasses in their hands. I’m pretty sure they are all wasted. They look wasted.

When they see Liam approaching they all cheer like just the sun has come out. I’m impressed because Liam is not even the birthday buddy.

“Hey guys, this is Belle, my new girlfriend,” Liam introduces still with his hand on my waist. That until he calls for a waitress and grabs a bottle of beer.

A guy with dark skin and an amazing afro stands up and approaches me, a goofy smile on his lips. He’s tall and strong built, tattoos all over his arms and I see some designs creeping up his neck. He smiles and his teeth are white and perfect.

“Hi there! So it wasn’t a lie that Liam got a new girl. I’m Andrew,” he introduces himself and I smile brightly.

“Nice to meet you and happy birthday! I see you’re having a great time already,” I say with my best tone and Andrew’s smile widens.

“Thank you! Now you’ve joined the fun. It’s open bar so you can have whatever you want and when Liam gets wasted we’ll just call a taxi. No worries.”

“Oh great! I was getting nervous but now I can drink, too! I thought I would have to babysit,” I joke and Andrew laughs.

“Man, he knows you already!” Andrew laughs at Liam who’s been watching us interact the whole time. I notice his bottle is empty. “Don’t worry, Belle, this party is reckless-light-weights proof. So he shouldn’t kill himself tonight.”

“Brilliant, because I don’t want to lose my boyfriend yet!” I laugh as if I really couldn’t bear the thought of losing Liam. I even look at him like he’s the sunshine in my life, which he is not, but I can pretend. He smiles at me but I see the sarcasm in the gesture.

Andrew calls for a waiter and asks for more beers for them and I ask for a mojito and sit with them. Liam also sits with us but even though Andrew is his best friend, I’m the only one talking to him and I’m actually having a great time. Andrew is so not like Liam, he’s funny and witty, and he has manners. He’s thoughtful even when he’s wasted.

At some point, Liam leaves us and I even look sad for a moment.

“Don’t worry, he surely went to say hi to other friends,” Andrew tells me and I smile at him. “He’ll be fine.”

“And if he doesn’t come back, I can always go after him,” I say although I wouldn’t. I’m just pretending to be the girlfriend.

In fact, after a few minutes I totally forget I came here with Liam and have a great time with Andrew and the others. Lara, Agatha, Brit, Jean and Dean. They are all so nice and fun and loud, very loud. We even start doing a round of shots and as they have been drinking from before I got here, I totally win. By the end I’m already a tad-bit drunk.

I didn’t realise till that moment how much I needed to go out and have fun, to forget all my worries. It’s great to feel young and free again. After a few hours it doesn’t even bother me that I have to pretend to actually like Liam, because I like his friends. It’s good to know they are not like Liam. Plus, I’m finding out many things about my new boyfriend.

“Really, you should’ve seen him at the beginning. He was this skinny guy all lanky. It seemed like he could barely hold the mic. I guess when puberty hit him his confidence got boosted, too,” Andrew tells me laughing at loud at the memory. “He was such a good kid. He didn’t even drink when we got out!”

I turn to my right just to look for him and find him circled by many girls, laughing out loud, impressing them, being obnoxious. I can’t picture him like Andrew is describing, it seems impossible that this Liam is the same Liam Andrew is talking about.

“I have pictures!” Andrew says. “No one believes me when I say Liam was such a lame kid before so I need proof.”

I focus on Andrew again and he takes his phone to show me pictures of a teenager Liam, with his long hair that was straightened and combed to his left. He wears baggy cream trousers and a plaid shirt that’s buttoned up to the first one. He looks nothing like the guy I’ve met, yet I know it’s Liam. He has the same smile, but the boy of the picture looks nice and cute, not like an arrogant twat.

“I know,” Andrew says, reading my expression. “Now if you don’t break up with him after I showed you this I can tell for sure you’re in love. This is how I test his girlfriends,” Andrew confesses and I look at him.

If I weren’t with Liam because I signed a contract I would actually stay with him because of this picture, because it would give me hope that there’s a decent boy inside that jerk I know. In fact, this picture and old stories give me a bit of hope. Plus, Havi also said he wasn’t always like this. Maybe he buried deep underground the good boy, but that Liam must be somewhere. Maybe he can be reached. Although that seems pretty impossible. When I see Liam acting like the guy I met at the label it’s hard to believe he wasn’t like this before. Maybe he didn’t bury his old self, maybe he killed that part of him.

I sigh and focus on Andrew again and I’m just getting into a different topic when I feel someone grabbing my wrist. I look up and find Liam and I notice something I didn’t notice before, when he wasn’t here: he is wasted, completely wasted.

“Hey there, girlfriend!” he slurs and I blink. He doesn’t let go of my hand. “You’ve monopolised my friend and I demand time with my girlfriend. I have to show off what a babe I have with me. You look so hot, the rest need to see that.”

He sounds so drunk I’m impressed he’s still standing.

“Liam, you’re drunk. You should go back home,” I say but he shakes his head.

“I wanna dance with you. Come, come!” he urges me and pulls me. I don’t want to go but Andrew helps him and grabs my other arm, tugging me towards Liam.

“Go, have fun! If it gets too heated use a room or something,” Andrew laughs and I look at him scandalised. Liam only laughs as he pulls me against his body.

Too son his arms are wrapped around my waist and his face is hidden in my neck. I don’t know where to put my hands so I awkwardly place them on his shoulders, his strong and broad shoulders. He holds me tighter and starts to walk backwards, toward the dance floor.

“Did I tell you how hot you look tonight? It’s highly distracting,” he says and he doesn’t sound as drunk as before when talking to Andrew, but he doesn’t sound quite like himself either.

“No you didn’t, but thank you,” I reply and notice how he starts to move, a bit slower than the rhythm of the song.

“You’re indeed beautiful,” he adds and I smile. He is actually speaking in my neck, so close to my ear and I can feel his hot breath there, tickling my skin. “And so feisty.”

I chuckle at that. I don’t know the kind of girls he dated before, but it seems like they accepted his shit. I’m not like that. I’ll put Liam in his place every time I need to do so. One thing is signing a contract and another very different is to let people step on you.

“Thank you, Liam,” I say relaxing a bit and dancing with him, even if we’re off beat. He’s not exactly being a jerk, just a drunk idiot.

“Simon made a good decision,” he keeps talking in my ear, his large hands pressing strongly on my back, keeping me close to him. “You’re doing a good job. You even get on with my friends.”

“I signed for that,” I remind him and he holds me even tighter.

He pulls back and looks me in the eyes. His eyes are serious and dark. I remember the picture Andrew showed me in which his eyes shone bright and warm, but there’s not even a shadow of that boy in what I see now. Fame changed this boy, fame turned a nice boy into an arrogant jerk who demands for a girlfriend because he can’t bear the thought of going on his own to a premier.

“Yes, you signed to be my girlfriend. People need to believe that,” he says and I nod.

Clearly, I wasn’t exactly thinking the same thing that he was because when he lowers his head and crushes his lips against mine I’m totally caught off guard. I freeze in his arms and my eyes are wide open. He’s rough and pushy, he doesn’t even realise I’m not reacting to his kiss. He tastes like beer and I don’t like beer.

He finally pulls back and I only stare at him with eyes wide open. His hands are still on my waist and his eyes are even darker.

“You’re my girlfriend, Belle, you need to act as one,” he reminds me before he kisses me again and I close my eyes, regretting my choices so much. I don’t feel anything, just cold. I feel low and cheap and I hate this. But I got into this myself, I lost all right to complain. I knew this was part of the deal all along. People need to buy this whole dating thing and couples kiss.

Oh Lord, why did I sign that contract? Why?

-:-:-

Liam is a jerk hehehe what I miss the most from the teen version of this story is that Liam doesn't play bass here u.u can you imagine One Direction with instruments on stage, sweating and playing their hearts out... *fans herself* I can, perfectly.

Bel, xx