Chapter Three – ‘Bitch Dressed As Model’

Lacey had been nervous about her first story, having not had any real facts or stories to incorporate. However, come Monday she needn’t have worried as Ian was in fits of giggles before he’d finished the first page. She could at least relax for a while.

The boy’s had been excited today. Having given her the grand tour of the house the previous evening they were gearing up to show her the studio this afternoon. From there they’d be going to a photo-shoot and had decided to drag Lacey along as well.

The studio was stereotypical of what Lacey had thought it would be. A large room with fuzzy maroon walls. Plenty of seating one side with a very complicated looking sound panel and chair. The other half of the room was taken up by the glass sound room where various microphones and instruments were set up. After several moments of preparation the boys entered the glass room leaving Lacey to plonk herself in a nearby chair and watch.

It wasn’t half as boring as shed expected but it was still rather dull. She’d never heard the boys sing live beforehand it was quite an experience. Their voices were so good she had shivers down her back for most of the performance. She’d gotten out a small pad and pen and was writing the occasional note down. Ian had loved the giant bunny story but wanted the following stories to be more personal and involve activities or fun moments that the boys had actually had.

Lacey understood what he meant and was looking forward to writing her next story piece. The boys were being rather accommodating about it but she was still having problems with Oliver. As far as she knew she’d done nothing to deserve his odd behaviour but he continued to be grumpy and bitter and sneered at her whenever they made contact.

Lacey tried to shrug off his bizarre behaviour but it was definitely making her uncomfortable. While she’d been thinking of Oliver, another of the boys had come to greet her.

“We’re almost done here, we’ve just packing up and then we’ll grab some lunch on the way to the shoot” said Bradley.

Lacey nodded absentmindedly.

“Hey Lacey have you got twitter?” asked Jack loudly.

Lacey shook her head negatively and Jack gasped clutching his chest.

“This is something we need to fix” he said.

“Nope” replied Lacey cheekily.

Jack glared at her “I will wear you down, you’ll end up with an account, just you wait and see!” he declared.

Lacey shook her head at him, he was most determined for her to have twitter. She never wanted to have one; she’d heard reports from others with twitter and had made the conclusion that twitter was the online equivalent of bullying. In most cases twitter was fine but Lacey had decided she wasn’t going to take the risk. However, it now seemed she had no choice, if the twinkle in Jack’s eye was anything to go on.

“Come on you two, we’re going now” said Bradley as he returned to the room.

Lacey followed Jack and Bradley out of the room, the car was already waiting for them and luckily there were no fans lurking nearby. The boys couldn’t decide where they wanted to eat. Steve, who was used to their bickering, was getting increasingly annoyed and pulled into the nearest drive-through Burger King and demanded the boys ordered food pronto.

Lacey laughed at the affronted faces of the boys upon their realisation that they had no say in the matter and in their vengeance they ordered quite a lot of food. Lacey wasn’t that hungry and only ordered a portion of chips. It was a good thing to as watching the boys stuff their faces with food wasn’t exactly appealing.

By the time they reached their next destination, they had all finished eating and the boys were busy wiping ketchup from around their mouths. Lacey would have laughed at them had Steve not suddenly forced them from the car. The boys were in good spirits now that they had food in their bellies and were excited for the upcoming photo shoot. Lacey understood that Jennifer would be there as their stylist so the shoot would be less formal. Lacey was still getting used to their busy lifestyle, this was only the second trip of the day and she was already getting tired…how pathetic.

Jennifer clapped her hands and grinned wildly when she saw Lacey with the boys “I was so hoping they’d managed to get you to come with them, we’re going to have so much fun!” she squealed.

“What? No, I’m just here to watch” replied Lacey.

“Oh sweetie, no wonder they convinced you to come. I can’t believe you boys didn’t tell you, you’re as much a part of this shoot as they are” said Jennifer.

“What?!” cried Lacey.

“You didn’t think you could win a highly publicised competition and not be publicised yourself? This photo shoot is to launch you as the winner” said Jennifer.

Lacey rolled her eyes in annoyance. She liked fashion but preferred to dress herself rather than let someone else do it.

“Oh boys, looks like Lacey’s going to need more persuading. Why don’t you head off to the fitting rooms while I change her mind” said Jennifer.

The boys nodded.

“You know you secretly want to pose with us” said Silas with a wink “everyone would”.

“Yeah we’ll see you on the other side” said Jack.

“You’re in good hands with Jenny” said Bradley.

Lacey looked at Oliver expecting him to add something but he merely scowled and then looked away. The boys retreated through one of the doors and Jennifer whipped round to face Lacey.

“Now is not the time to be shy. I know you entered the competition because of the chance of writing and you are unlike any other girl. You treat the boys like normal people and that’s commendable. You’re beautiful; all I’m going to do is add to that. Please, this is my job and I love it, plus you’re way nicer than some of the other girls I have to work with” said Jennifer, she was giving Lacey a puppy dog expression that was hard to ignore.

“Fine” said Lacey with a small smile.

Jennifer squealed and wrapped her arms around Lacey in a brief hug.

“Oh god, so you’re the one who won the competition” the voice travelled towards Lacey and Jennifer as the sound of high heels clicking on the floor, Lacey felt Jennifer tense as she stepped out of the hug so she turned to face the approaching person.

Lacey felt like she should know who this was but she couldn’t pinpoint it for her. The girl looked like one of those stuck up models that didn’t have much sense. She had incredibly fake blonde hair and was wearing so much make-up it looked like it had been painted on. She had managed to squeeze herself into clothes that were too small and although Lacey thought she looked repulsive, the girl in question obviously thought she looked attractive.

“Wow Ollie’s description of you wasn’t enough, I knew you would be plain and boring but he didn’t mention how unforgettable you’d be” said the girl.

Lacey blushed and looked down at the floor, ashamed that Oliver thought so little of her.

“I can’t believe you’re in this photo shoot. You’re going to bring the whole shoot down. You might be able to glam her with clothes but you won’t be able to hide her humungous hips. She’s a bookworm and an uptight little girl”.

“Just because you think you’re god’s gift doesn’t mean you can insult others that are worth ten of you” said Jennifer.

“Whatever JEN, where’s Ollie?” asked the woman.

Jennifer pointed to the doorway the boys had left through and the girl walked away. Once she’d gone Jennifer turned towards Lacey and noticed her dejected expression.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s a bitch and always has been” said Jennifer.

“Who is she?” asked Lacey.

“Monica Summers, Ollie’s on-off girlfriend. Apparently they’re on again. She’s the most disgraceful person I’ve ever met, please don’t listen to anything she says” said Jennifer.

Lacey nodded her head but she was trapped in the words that Monica said.

Jennifer sighed “come on, let’s get you changed”.

For the next couple of hours Lacey tried to focus on the shoot and nothing else. Jennifer’s concept of the shoot was quite creative, she had the boys all dressed in black and then Lacey dressed in bright colours.

Lacey was rather quiet during the shoot. It was obvious that the others noticed but they didn’t say anything. Lacey knew she wasn’t beautiful; she’d had a few romances and knew she could pass as being pretty. However, like the saying ‘always the bridesmaid, never the bride’, Lacey seemed to always be the friend never the girlfriend. She’d met girls like Monica before but the words had really hurt her. Perhaps it was because of the suddenness of the remarks or perhaps it was the fact that she now understood what Oliver thought of her. He saw her as an uptight bookworm with no looks. It hurt her that he’d made his assumption without bothering to get to know her.

She noticed Monica standing off to the side during the shoot. She kept smirking at Lacey and making unkind gestures at the size of her hips. As the shoot came to a close, Lacey could not see Monica anywhere and relaxed assuming she’d left. As Lacey left to get changed, Jennifer rounded on the boys.

“Why is Lacey so sad? What happened?” asked Jack, concern showing in her eyes.

Jennifer glared at Oliver “I thought you were done with Monica. I can’t believe you bought her here!”

“So what if I bought her here?” said Oliver.

“I don’t know what your problem is or why you’ve decided that Lacey isn’t worth your time. Lacey is a beautiful, intelligent, wonderful girl and you’d be lucky to have her as a friend…but no, you decide to hate her and then moan about her to Monica. Monica then decides to share this information with Lacey, telling her you think she’s a boring, uptight bookworm. Monica also insulted her looks and made Lacey feel insignificant. Mark my words Ollie, if you don’t make this right, you will not like what I do to your wardrobe!” growled Jennifer.

Jack looked crestfallen when he said “she hurt Lacey didn’t she”, at Jennifer’s nod he continued “I like Lacey”.

“You are an asshole sometimes” said Silas shaking his head.

“Hey guys” said Lacey quietly as she entered the room, “Steve says we have to leave now!” she walked from the room, not waiting for the boys to follow.

It was a tense and silent car journey but they managed. They had this meeting with management and were then free for the remainder of the day. Lacey had even less desire to see Mr Big than she had of seeing Monica again but unfortunately she didn’t have much choice in the matter.

“Ahh boys, please sit down” said Mr Big as they entered the room. He nodded to Lacey but didn’t offer her a chair, which she thought was rather rude.

Mr Big started to prep the boys on the upcoming tour. As she wasn’t included in the talk, Lacey’s mind began to drift but she zoned in again when they started talking destinations. Lacey hadn’t travelled much but had always wanted to. During the tour they’d be travelling to twenty-six venues over six countries, so she was rather excited about that.

Rather quickly before they headed off to leave, Mr Big informed them of a ball they had to attend before the tour started. The way his eyes flickered to Lacey made her realise that she’d definitely be forced to attend and that Mr Big would enjoy seeing her struggle to fit in. She decided then and there that she didn’t much like Mr Big.

AN: Chapter dedicated to my good friend Ella, who sat through hours of me reading this out to her ~ Hannah.