CHAPTER ONE

The air was harsh around my skin, ruthless against the nakedness of my hands and bare legs.  I stood there awkwardly behind Clara who pleaded shamelessly with the broad towering bouncer, stubborn and ignorant against her plea’s to be let through the closed metal doors.

‘’I don’t get why we aren’t allowed in! This is a public service, therefore we should be allowed through! You expect us to just go home after getting dressed up like this!’’ she thrashed her arms about in frustration, before reaching into her bag to pick up her vibrating cell. ‘’One minute babe’’ she gestured at me, as she turned away walking down the street, her heels tapping violently on the concrete below.

‘’You’re not gonna let us in are you?’’ I muttered whilst raising an eyebrow at the mute intimidating man. He shuffled slightly at my flat matter-of-fact voice, a big change from the aggressive tone of Clara’s.

‘’Sorry, it’s a private gig’’ he mumbled in a mono-tone as he shrugged lazily. I sighed heavily and murmured a quiet thanks before heading down to the back entrance to have a quick cigarette. It was absolutely freezing, as I had dressed to impress for the night out of ‘relentless clubbing’ as Clara had put it, before even checking to see if the club had actually been open for the night to members of the public. My little black dress gave no warmth whatsoever, and the persistent wind whipped my long brown curly hair in front of my face, tangling itself onto my lip-gloss which I had neatly applied, due to my excitement for the night. Shame the effort was wasted.

My heels clicked on the floor anxiously until I leant across the cold brick wall facing the back-entrance door which muffled pumping  dance music to a subtle beat in the background. I took out a cigarette and a lighter and attempted to light it, but to my dismay, it wasn’t strong enough to hold up

against the rough wind.

‘’Ugh’’

I sighed, shoving the lighter back into my bag, ruffling my hand through my tousled hair in irritation.

‘’Do you want my light?’’ a voice from my left enquired, making me gasp from the unexpectedness of it. I jumped back slightly as my eyes widened, shifting towards the owner of the smooth, friendly  voice. He was resting beside the same brick wall, half in the shadows making him undetectable if he had remained quiet. He stepped forward awkwardly to display a lighter in the centre of his hand, passing it over to me as I took in his appearance. ‘’Sorry I didn’t mean to scare ya’’ he smiled, slightly bemused by my reaction to his timid voice.

He was very good-looking. His eye-brows were symmetrically neat, laid under a mop of dishevelled brown hair, which he occasionally ran his hands through to keep it up and out of his face. His milky skin complexion glittered in the dim light omitted from the lamp-post situated a few feet away, outlining his gentle smile, laced subtly on his lips. He turned to the side for a fraction of a second, showing the curve of his nose and the strong shape of his jaw against his angled neck, then turned back gesturing towards me with  eyes questioning whether I was going to take the lighter or not.

‘’It’s okay and yeah…thanks’’ I smiled back, slightly flushing at the way my eyes disobediently flashed back and forth to his features  and took the lighter delicately, brushing the palm of his hand ever so slightly. I lit up my cigarette as he was half way through his, passing it back to him as he shoved it into his baggy hoody pocket, his arms dropping whenever he wasn’t taking a drag.

We were distanced a few feet apart from each other, slouched on the same wall, both giving small glances back and forth to each other until he broke the unwanted silence.

‘So how come your all glammed up and not inside?’ his voice had a slight tang of an accent, one which made no matter what he said seem welcoming and pleasant. He motioned to my outfit and raised an eyebrow, which made me silently catch my breath in awe. I stupidly looked down to see what I was wearing, despite being fully aware of every pore of my appearance and lifted my eyes to meet his gaze.

‘’They won’t let me and my friend in, cause of  some sort of private gig’’ I rolled my eyes and scoffed as he began to laugh aside to himself. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling at his laugh…for some strange reason it was difficult not to laugh with him, even though I hadn’t a clue what was so amusing. There was something so familiar about him as well which I couldn’t place my finger on…

‘I’m sure I can sneak you both in’ he winked and  accompanied a tusk of his tongue along with it which made me laugh ‘’You did make the effort and all. I’m Aiden by the way’’

‘I’m Summer’ my eyes dropped from a momentary embarrassment, then met his again ‘and really, you could do that?’ my voice sounded doubtful, despite that it was hard not to put trust into his friendly manner, although I had known him for a grand total of 3 minutes. He looked down at the floor and started to chuckle again, lifting his head up at the sky, always flitting his eyes here and there, sometimes meeting my gaze, sometimes not.

‘Yeah I’m pretty sure I can pull some strings. I know the guy who’s performing here you see’ he had a knowing glint in his eyes, that made it impossible to disbelieve him. ‘Summer…that’s a gorgeous name’ he spoke as if he was speaking to himself, and made my heart flutter at an impossible speed. What was going on? I barely knew this guy, and look what an effect he had on me!

‘Thanks’ I smiled ‘and Aiden, that would be amazing! I’m just gonna call my friend Clara to get over here, she’ll be over the moon’ I bit my lip again, and pulled my cell out texting her the new arrangement. I finished the cigarette and put it out against the wall.

 ‘Erm, okay so I’m just gonna go run in quickly and get ya some stamps to put on your hands so you don’t get kicked back out. I’ll leave the door open and the stamp on the floor, so you can let yourselves in. I’m late for something, so hopefully I’ll see you inside?’ he waited for an approval from me as I nodded a bit too enthusiastically. ‘Sick’ he smiled as he bended and leant forward for a very awkward peck on the cheek, before running up the steps and placing the card around his neck to the beeper on the door allowing him in. He half rotated and waved a ‘see ya later’ salute whilst pulling a face. I stood there, frozen almost, smiling to the floor over what had just happened.

 ‘Haha, no waaay!’ Clara ran up to me like a penguin, her heels dragging across the floor, and swivelled me around in an embrace, giggling. ‘Your such a legend for getting us in! So who’d you have to chat up to let us in hey?’ she pulled back and winked, making me return her cheeky look.

‘Well…I don’t like to kiss and tell…’ I teased mysteriously, as she gasped and shook my shoulders unbelievingly. ‘No, I’m kidding! I just met a cool guy round the back who leant me a lighter and we got talking and said he could pull a few strings. No biggie’ I bluffed, as she turned away from me so we could begin to walk inside, stamping our hands and shoving the stamp in my handbag. I removed the lodged piece of wood which prevented the door from shutting and kept my hand on the door, looking around cautiously as we crept inside. The music was quiet-ish  for a club, so I presumed that the performance was going to take place soon, so we got ourselves seated on two bar stools positioned towards the stage, but not a particularly great view.

‘So, was he hot? Is he here now? Ooh point him out to me’ she gushed after ordering drinks, standing up and poking her nose about looking at all the random men around us. I rolled my eyes and laughed, silently still scanning the room to see if I could spot him. But with no luck again after the 5 minutes we had been seated.

‘Yes he was good looking. And you know what, if I see him again, I see him again. I’m not too bothered. After all we are here for a girls night out, right?’ I lied, talking over the round of applauses and dramatic stage introduction. ‘Who’s actually performing tonight here, I wonder’ I exchanged a curious glance with Clara as we observed the occurrences in front of us.

The place was cramped, and full of people all squished up at the very foot of the stage which was lined with metal gates restraining them from getting too close. We were the very few people who didn’t push up to be nearer towards the stage as we sat still in confusion and excitement. Girls began to scream hysterically all of a sudden. The very familiar X-factor music began to blare out of the huge speakers, thumping into my eardrums. And then a man walked on stage, as Clara inhaled a sharp breath and a squeal.

‘NO WAY, I freaking LOVE this dude!’ she jumped off her stool and joined the mass packed crowd, screaming frantically. I remained sat on the stool frozen and still, as the hysteric crowd chanted one name - ‘Aiden’.

CHAPTER TWO

‘Hey, so um, Imma be singing for you tonight’ he paused, laughing bashfully as the crowd went wild, screams of ‘We love you Aiden’, echoing throughout the room. ‘Let’s start off with a cover of Mumford and Sons, The Cave…sing along if you know the words’ he nodded to cue the music, as it began.

Flash photography lit up his face, and highlighted his glimmering eyes.

‘It’s empty in the valley of your heart, The sun, it rises slowly as you walk, away from all the fears and all the faults you’ve left behind…’ he began to a song I knew so very well, as I took in a sharp intake of breath at how unique and amazing his voice was. The atmosphere was buzzing, and the echoes of the crowd singing along must have been beyond uplifting to him, even though he held a bottle of beer in his hand like he was unsure of the reaction. My mind couldn’t function properly whatsoever, only thinking about how stupid I acted in the alley by not recognising who he was! He was familiar, of course, but never had I paused to match him as a contestant on The X-Factor, as I had never really watched the show religiously, but only caught glimpses of it now and then.

‘The harvest left no food for you to eat, you cannibal, you meat-eater, you see, but I have seen the same, I know the shame in your defeat…But I will hold on hope ,and I won’t let you choke, on the noose around your neck….’
His voice was almost as beautiful as he was. So distinct and different -my genre of music completely. I was singing word for word along with him, half laughing under my breath at the sudden realisation of who I had just met and the stupidity over my actions in the alley. Aiden Grimshaw. Of course…his name was splashed throughout every newspaper recently, and as he was performing here, a sad comprehension occurred to me that he must have been evicted off of the show last weekend. But how could someone with so much talent be out of a singing competition and not win? He was an amazing performer. And even as not much of an X-factor follower, I knew the finals were quite a while away.

‘But I’ll find strength in pain, and I will change my ways, I’ll know my name as it’s called again’ his eyes skimmed around the room as he sang and stopped at me, his eyes meeting mine in a surreal moment. He gave a cheeky grin as he proceeded singing. ‘Cause I have other things to fill my time You take what is yours and I’ll take mine, now let me at the truth, which will refresh my broken mind’

Okay, I really liked this boy I admitted to myself, which doesn’t happen a lot. Slight problem…so did all of these screaming girls and the paparazzi. How the hell was I gonna be noticed? My heart dropped slightly at this thought and the floor felt like it was spinning. I broke the eye contact I held with Aiden and walked to the exit, feeling his puzzled eyes bearing into me. ‘…Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it’s meant to be…’

‘Summer, where are you?’ Clara screamed down the phone over the intense cheers and screams around her ‘You missed the whole gig!’

‘Yeah I know Clar. I’ll meet you inside, kay?’ I closed my cell, flashing the stamp on the back of my hand to the rugged bouncer who eyed me cautiously, so I could be let back in. The stage was empty, and now all there was left was cheap digital remixes hanging in the air, with young college students dancing and spilling drinks over each other. My eyes scanned around the room for her, and found her almost instantly, even in the dark strobe lights, her bright artificial red hair was hard to miss.

I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, before being dragged viciously into the toilets by her firm hand entwined around mine. The toilets were expectedly grubby and deserted, the tiling once white, now grey flickered as the light did.

‘Where did you go?! I turn my back for a second and your gone! You missed the whole entire gig of Aiden fucking Grimshaw!’ she turned her back on me to look in the mirror and lean on the sink, attacking her eyelashes with lashings of mascara. ‘I mean, come on…not often do you sneak into a club with a famous hot man performing inside! And I couldn’t enjoy staring at his beautiful face that much cause you wasn’t there! His voice aint half bad either-’

‘Clar, Aiden was the guy in the alley’ I shut her up instantly, as she swivelled around grabbing my shoulders, her eyes wide and glistening. She was speechless for a second, then went back to Clara mode.

‘NO FREAKING WAY…SUMMER!’ She whined, shaking me softly, as I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. ‘And your only telling me now?!’

‘Well I didn’t know until he came on stage! That’s why I sorta walked out, I have issues, never mind…but yeah.’ I shrugged nonchalantly, attempting to escape from the bathroom by walking steadily, but failing miserably as Clara followed.

‘So Aiden Grimshaw, snuck us in to his own gig!?’ she paused as I stared blankly back at her, indicating that she was correct. ‘That’s pretty cool. Didn’t he tell you who he was? We gotta go meet him backstage, he’ll be leaving soon, c’mon.’ She stormed off out of the bathroom, with my wide eyes following her in horror.

‘Clara! Clara, no! No way!’ My voice strained over the music. I tried to grab her to stop her strong power walk, but she shoved past my feeble attempts to bring her to a halt. ‘What are you doing!?’ I pleaded.

‘I’m making us meet Aiden backstage. You won’t see him again if we don’t do this, and I really wanna meet him, so I’m scrounging off you and your connections with him to get a picture. Okay?’ she blasted ahead of me at a frustrating speed, and tapped one of the workers identified by his navy uniformed polo tee-shirt, who was blocking the stage. ‘Can you go in and tell Aiden that Summer’s here for him please. She knows him.’

I gaped at her, and her outlandishness. He stared blankly at her, almost shocked at her straightforward request, the way most people did when she spoke to them, the way I did right then.

‘Um, I’ll send in a request for you’ He unclipped a walkie-talkie from his black jeans – he was very slim and had a bold shouting voice – one which people in the military tended to use. ‘There’s a Summer here to see Aiden Grimshaw, ask him if he’s familiar with the name and if he is okay with letting her through’

A muffled response must have been sent back through, as he held it close to his ear, squinting to listen to whatever was inaudible. He lifted it back over his mouth again. ‘Okay’. We both stared at him for an answer to give back to us. ‘Oh, they’re just asking him’

I took the waiting as an opportunity to slap Clara on the shoulder, not holding back on my strength. She recoiled due to the pain, and I felt no sympathy.

‘Ouch! What the hell was that for?!’ she shouted, her eyes huge and falsely innocent, as if oblivious to what she had just done. I just scowled in response, rolling my eyes to display my clear annoyance. We stood there for a moment awkwardly until the man stepped forward and asked us to make our way through the back of the stage. Clara widened her eyes in surprise at me as if to say ‘Jackpot’, and I lowered mine in embarrassment of what was to come.

He must think I’m right desperate. And a fame-seeker. I was going to murder Clara, after all of this. Although, I couldn’t help my heart from leaping at the thought of seeing him again, but I pushed this to the back of my mind.

We were led to a crummy dressing room, which was cold and empty, the least sort of room I would a T.V star to hang around in before a gig. It was grey and dull with no carpet, but a stage floor which was chipped and scratched by dragging chairs and tables back and forth it most probably. And then I reverted my gaze to the end of the room to a sofa, where Aiden was shoving things into a rucksack, his face a mask of concentration, his perfect eyebrows creased down. He looked up at the disturbance in the door where me, Clara and the worker were staring at him. Aiden thanked the worker, as he retreated back to the main quarters of the club.

‘Summer!’ he greeted me, a slow smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Clara nudged me continuously as her eyes expanded, her mouth in a pressed narrow line.

‘Aiden’ I smiled. ‘Um this is Clara’ I forced out, after a strong blow to my ribs.

‘Aiden! I thought you were brilliant tonight! You should have definitely won The X-factor! I voted for you and everything. Can I take a picture?’ she gushed, as he knocked his head back in surprise. I cringed, and slapped my forehead as I mimed a sorry.

‘Oh right, thanks, and of course’ he stepped forward to take the photo with Clara, as I sighed. She was being literal when she said she was going to leech off of my ‘connection’ for all it was worth. She took the photo, and then stepped back, breaking the awkward silence as me and Aiden both stared at her.

‘Well I’m gonna go and make a call…I’ll be right outside, Summer. Nice to meet you Aiden’ she whipped out her phone and glanced at me, fluttering knowingful glares as I prayed Aiden didn’t see. The door shut behind her, and it was silent for a short moment as we both found the floor very interesting all of a sudden.

‘So…your an X-factor contestant’

‘An ex-X-factor contestant’ he corrected me, he pressed his lips and looked across at me under his long eyelashes. ‘How come you walked out of my gig? Didn’t you like my covers?’ he asked innocently, hurt lining the edges of his velvet voice.

‘No I loved them!’ I answered a bit too quickly.  ‘Honestly! Well I stayed for the Mumford and Sons one, and I thought it was amazing! I just needed air. You’ve got the most amazing voice though, honestly’ I beamed as I received a smirk from Aiden in return. He moved closer, and leant on the wall over me almost,  so he was within touching distance. My heart skipped a beat.

‘Thanks, but you feel better now though?’ his voice was laced with concern and he studied my face as I nodded numerously.

‘I’m not gonna lie Aiden, it was pretty strange seeing you on stage with all of them girls screaming your name and the paparazzi taking your pictures. It must feel so surreal.’ I paused, tracing the emotions that flickered across his face. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t realise who you were in the alley.  You must think I’m so stupid’ I laughed at myself in shame. He returned an assuring smile.

‘No I don’t, it was cool having you look at me like a normal person! And yeah it’s pretty strange. I can’t complain..’ He ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. He grabbed  my hand lightly suddenly, and studied it carefully. His touch was soft, and tickled slightly. ‘Sick, you like John Mayer?’ his voice perked up instantly, as he gestured towards the scruffy lyrics I had written on my back of  my hand.

I was momentarily taken aback by his sudden confidence and the fact my hand was in his, that it took me a moment to configure coherent words in my head. He half realised the brashness of his movement caught me by surprise, and dropped my hand carefully, his eyes averting mine to the floor.

‘Yeah I love him!’ I touched his hand for assurance that he shouldn’t be embarrassed, as his surge of confidence and touch had sent shivers down  my spine. His head bobbed up and was level with mine,  and a smile tugged on his lips. ‘Lyrics of Why Georgia, I didn’t realise I didn’t take it off! That  man can make the cheesiest words seem so meaningful and romantic, he’s amazing.’

‘Exactly! Not many people are like that nowadays. You get all these trashy electro remakes which I hate. And he writes his own stuff. Not many people do that either’ he scowled at the soft beat that was the club music from outside. I laughed at his facial expression, his face was like play-dough.

‘I know exactly what you mean. Do you write songs?’ I enquired curiously, my eyes scanning the features of his perfect face.

‘Yeah I do try. Imma bit rubbish though’

‘I very much doubt it Aiden. You’ve got an amazing taste in music, which I’m sure comes out in your work. He grinned back. ‘By the way, I’m sorry for barging my way in here with Clara, it was her idea, she practically dragged  me here to get her picture with you’ And hook us up, I mentally added.

‘It’s cool, I’m glad you did. To be completely honest with you, if you gave me another 10 minutes, I would have asked one of the workers to come and find you so I could talk to you properly. I never do this at all though, honestly! It’s just, you seem so cool and your gorgeous and everything’ he watched me closely with an innocence about his smile and eyes.

My stomach knotted in a way that made my insides tingle. I started to feel myself flush slightly, as the widest smile blossomed on my face uncontrollably, so I looked down at the floor.

‘Thank-you’ I bit my lip unintentionally, as I prayed I wasn’t turning pink. We stood there and carried on talking for what seemed like such a brash amount of time, yet the aches in my leg had told me otherwise. I shifted my legs, and blinked back the stiffness of them.

‘I’ll tell you what, if I give you my number, we could meet up again when I’m in the area?’ he asked in the middle of our conversation, something which he had clearly debated with himself whether to ask or not. He pulled a face at himself for the timing of it as if he were frustrated with himself and I laughed.

‘Of course,  lets swap phones’

We gave each other our phones, and punched in each other’s numbers, as I couldn’t help but notice his wallpaper was of a beautiful little baby girl, with Aiden’s eyes. ‘Whose this?’ I prayed she wasn’t his daughter. He was the same age as me I had heard from Clara – 19, but there was always the off chance.

‘My little sister Libby-Mae. Isn’t she a beauty’ he leaned forward and admired the picture, tapping the glass on his phone gently, showing his clear affection for her.

‘She’s beautiful. Looks just like you, quiff and all’ we both laughed in sync, before Aiden looked down at his watch abruptly, and pulled another one of his faces.

‘Summer it was really nice meeting you. Imma call you tomorrow? I need to get home for a school gig I’m doing early in the morning, and my mum’s gonna kill me if I wake the whole house up when I get back, so bye’ he came in for a hug awkwardly, and I met my body with his, kissing his cheek for an instant and then relaxing my body around him, feeling the warmth through his thick overcoat.

Something happened then, that confused all my senses. Because from that position and embrace, in a sudden blur we were kissing, his soft lips caressing mine as he held me by the waist. I ran my fingers through his soft hair and inhaled his wonderful scent. This was crazy.

I broke off when I realised what was happening, with a tremendous amount of self-restraint I didn’t know I had possessed. I fluttered my eyes open and looked up at him.

‘I can’t believe I did that, I’m so sorry! We just met!’ I whispered underneath my breath, my head hitting his shoulder.

‘It wasn’t just you Summer’ he smiled gently.

.

 CHAPTER THREE

A few days had passed, and me and Aiden had texted non-stop. He told me everything about what he was doing, where he was gigging, his reactions to the commotion surrounding him. Considering the amount of time we had known each other…conversation never, ever got awkward, and most of all, I enjoyed talking to him. My heart raced pathetically whenever my cell went off. Especially when I received the next text.

Summer, I’m down at the studios tomorrow and was wondering if you’d come and see me after at 8?I really want to see you again before I’m out of town!  A x

With no hesitation or pause I texted back too fast for my brain to register what I was writing.

Of course, I wanna see you too. See you there Aiden xx

Fuck. Was it like a date? What do I wear? I phoned Clara immediately.

‘What happened with Aiden this time?’ she answered, a smile in her voice.

Lunch with Mum was dreadfully slow. I stared at my watch. 2PM. There was ages to go yet, and mum was sitting there staring at me intently, talking, my face and mind blank as she did so.

‘So you’ve been good?’ she picked at her salad slowly, as time refused to move.

‘Mhmm’

‘Have you found a boy yet?’ she enquired as I paused, nearly choking on a piece of cucumber.

‘No’ I coughed and wheezed, as she raised her eyebrow suspiciously.

‘Ooo so there’s someone you like?’ she shifted herself closer, smiling like she was amused at my slipup of actually showing emotion when talking to her. Oh god.

‘Um yeah sort of. It’s not important. So, how have you been?’ I tried to side-track the conversation, but from her wide eyes I knew she wasn’t going to budge with this topic of discussion.

‘Don’t gimme that, come on. What’s his name? Talk to me Summer, I know you’re not a little girl anymore!’ she pushed with a hopeful expression, making me sigh heavily, giving in to her attempts to bond. She did try – it was undeniable - and I wasn’t going to fault her for doing so.

‘I’ve only met him once, but he’s really nice. We swapped numbers and everything, and called me a couple of times. I’m going to see him later tonight. His name is Aiden.’ I continued chewing on my food, failing to hide an oncoming smile, remembering his face as my insides melted. A surge of excitement jolted through me at remembering the spark that had screamed between us, and the thought of having that again when I saw him in the next few hours.

‘Aw that’s lovely Sum. I hope that works out well for you darling’

‘Yeah me too’ I replied.

Aiden was a couple of minutes late and showed up with a familiar face I matched with one from the X-factor. I couldn’t match a name to him immediately though, but I had seen him in a recent headline. Aiden half ran ahead of him, greeted me and pulled a face. He was dressed quite smartly, in a brown blazer and an open top shirt, looking dashing in the dark streets illuminated by the street-lamps opposite the train station, a corner around from the studios.

‘I’m so sorry, there’s been a change of plans Summer. Well I sorta have to go to this small wrap party to the bar across the road tonight, would you like to come with me…well, us? It’s been hectic today’ he sighed, and motioned towards the man who just caught up with us.

‘Hey nice to meet you Summer, I’m Matt’ he gave a lopsided smile, as my brain clicked. Matt Cardle, that’s it. ‘Can I just say that Aiden hasn’t shut-up about you all flipping day and actually gave me an earache, so I’m kind of happy your coming with us’ he gave a cheeky grin, as Aiden stood awkwardly behind him, running his hand through his quiff, his eyes widening.                                             

‘Just wait until I see Grace later tonight…oh, and your mum’ he spoke through gritted teeth in Matt’s ear and elbowed Matt in the gut, as Matt doubled over and I burst out laughing. Aiden continued to glare at him whilst shaking his head and Matt kept on laughing, walking at a slightly higher pace leaving me and Aiden alone walking, catching up on conversation.

The bar across the road called ‘blue-check’ was the one we were headed to, and the front doors were closed, a couple of men with camera’s standing still talking to each other. When we arrived close to the doors, my sight was blinded by a flood of white and deep shouting voices.

‘Matt, Matt, Matt, Aiden, Aiden, Aiden’ was all I could catch as we eventually made it into the small cosy bar, illuminated a soft yellow.

I stuck by Aiden for most of the night, his arm wrapped around my waist after consuming a couple of drinks, and pretty much greeting people now and then. We talked through most of it, then Aiden would spot someone he knew passing by and have a small conversation about how he was missed from the show greatly, and how he missed the people who worked there just as much. A few faces that were recognisable walked past occasionally, probably some of the current or ex X-factor contestants, like Aiden.

‘What were you up to in the studios anyway?’ I enquired after our conversation steered towards his time on the show.

‘Well tomorrow I’m going on the panel on Xtra-Factor just to help support Matt and everything, so we were just running through what we had to say and everything. And I was just there for moral support’ he added, nodding towards a little too drunk Matt wearing a pair of fake plastic geek glasses that belonged to Aiden. I looked down and let out a breath of laughter.

‘You’re actually amazing’ I said, looking down at the floor shaking my head slowly.

‘Nah.’ His eyebrows furrowed down, his lips curving upwards slightly. ‘He would have  done the same I’m sure’

Matt must have spotted us looking at him, as he hopped off of his stool and stumbled towards us, falling on us almost as he leaned his head on Aiden, who slightly jolted from the shift in weight.

‘Thanks for coming to the studio man, I love you’ he mumbled into Aiden’s arm, as Aiden laughed in breaths, looking down at him like he was a child.

‘It’s alright mate, I love you too!’ he patted Matt’s head which was flopped on his shoulder.

‘And you got yourself a really pretty girlfriend, I think you should keep her!’ he whispered in a stage like manner, as we both turned away and laughed at him, and how he believed he wasn’t audible to me.

‘I know!’ Aiden stage- whispered back.

It was 3AM and quite possibly one of the best nights of my life, hooked around Aiden, talking and smiling, and meeting new people as he introduced me to them. Aiden called a cab for me once we decided it was time to head home, and waited with me sitting down outside across a shop ledge, talking and laughing over a story he had shared; one of him walking into a lamp-post along a busy road.

‘We need to do this again, Summer’ he said, after I stopped laughing, with a serious face, his head turned sideways to look up at me.

‘I know, I had too much fun tonight’ My smile refused to fade, as I failed to conceal it. An engine hummed in the background as I watched Aiden, and pulled up opposite us.

‘Damn, your cabs here’ he stood up, as my heart sunk slowly. He outstretched a  hand and hauled me up, waving at the cab so they knew it was reserved for me. ‘I’ll see you later Summer’

He pulled me in for a hug which lasted a fraction of a second too long. I clung to his back, inhaling his wonderful scent, closing my eyes imagining staying there forever. If only. I pulled back and his head weaved in for a kiss, my toes tip-toed slightly so I could meet my mouth with his.

His lips were soft, banishing the cold I felt as I shared his body warmth. I lifted my head back and whispered a breathless ‘Bye’ and got into the cab, watching him watch me leave.

CHAPTER FOUR

Axed Aiden’s Speedy Recovery

Oh my god.

I stared at the papers in disbelief, as my mum tapped her foot, waiting for a reply. I couldn’t physically say anything. My mouth couldn’t form words.

A couple of pages into The Sun, was me and Aiden kissing intensely, my arms around his neck and his hands around my waist as the majority of the page, and a smaller picture of me, Aiden and Matt arriving at Blue-check. The writing, in white against the background was small against the headline, and had an icon of Aiden reluctantly holding hands with who I presumed was Katie, on the live shows.

Axed X-factor star Aiden Grimshaw was spotted smooching yesterday with Manchester beaut Summer Claremont outside of a secret X-factor party. She arrived with the X-factor pin-up with the bookies favourite Matt Cardle who is reportedly also dating, with Grace Woodward, the show’s stylist.

The 18 year old was axed last weekend from the show after being controversially sent to deadlock with Katie Waissel, who was there 3 times previous. An uproar of internet support petitioning for Aiden to be put back into the competition called ‘The Grimlings’ have surfaced after his shock exit. Many of these ‘Grimlings’ may be left with broken hearts after seeing this picture however, as the couple look very intimate and very much in love.

‘I – I have no idea how this happened!’ eyes still scanned the picture of me and Aiden, it seeming more of a dream than a memory.

‘You’re dating Aiden Grimshaw? And you didn’t bother to tell me? This is big news! I absolutely adored him on the X-factor!’ She sounded half excited and half disappointed, and continued after I didn’t reply. ‘And the paper says you’re in love? Is that true?’

‘No, of course not, we only just met recently!’ I protested, as I slammed the paper shut and laid it on the kitchen table. ‘And I did tell you, just not the whole truth. I’m sorry’ I felt bad all of a sudden, for keeping my life shadowed from her constantly when all she did was try to build a close relationship with me. It was just something I did unconsciously.

‘Its fine, I’m not angry, just surprised. He’s absolutely gorgeous isn’t he’ she stated as I smiled in return, looking down, feeling my eyelashes scraping the top of my eyelids.

‘It has my full name in there. Oh my god. This is crazy’ I broke the long silence, as we stood there, staring at the shut newspaper.

I picked up my phone which was thrown on my bed, and sat crossed legged as I examined it. 4 missed calls from Clara, 1from Aiden. And another million missed calls from other friends and acquaintances which I ignored. 5 texts from Clara, none from Aiden.

I dialled.

‘Summer! How you coping babe?’ Aiden answered, as I imagined him ruffling his hair with his fingers casually, which always seemed to captivate me in his sheer nonchalance to how beautiful he was. ‘I tried calling you earlier, just to see how you was but it went to voicemail’

‘Yeah, sorry I was busy.’ I breathed. His voice calmed me ridiculously, and I pushed my hair behind my ears, concentrating on his smooth voice. ‘Are you talking about the paper?’

‘No, I was talking about how much we drunk yesterday, but the paper?’ he responded, sounding puzzled.

‘Yeah, Aiden, we’re in the paper’ I paused ‘Kissing’ I felt myself flush slightly, repositioning myself from sitting to standing.

‘Are we? Ah.’ There was a silence as he considered this. ‘Well it was going to get out sooner or later right? I’m nearly 19, they know imma be dating eventually’ he stopped again ‘I just didn’t know the paparazzi were there, I’m sorry.  Are you okay with this?’

 ‘Yes’ I replied surely but hesitantly, after a long pause. ‘But won’t this affect you badly? The paper hinted your fans wouldn’t like the fact your with someone…and they’ll be upset, and I don’t wanna-‘

‘Summer, I like you, and I wanna see how this works out.  I’d be devastated if the people who like me decides to not like me anymore, but I’d be more devastated if I couldn’t date you, I think’ he spoke slowly, and I noticed how he didn’t use the word ‘fans’, my stomach fluttered ridiculously.

‘So we’re dating?’ I asked, shivering slightly at the word, talking with a grin in my voice.

‘I mean, if you want to obviously’ I could hear a smile in his.

‘Yeah, I do’ I spoke softly.

‘Me too’

A week had passed, and I had seen Aiden quite frequently, meeting him at the gigs he was doing around the area, as I had to work during day hours for my gap year – one which I had taken to earn money. I felt slightly pathetic Aiden was also on his gap year and had accomplished so much already and after everything he had been through, I doubt he would be going back.

The time I spent with him always seemed to go too fast, yet it also felt I had known him for a lot longer, ending our time together with kisses that would make me feel dizzy and reluctant to leave him. We were so comfortable around each other already it was ridiculous, I wouldn’t be afraid to grab his hand to hold it or play fight him until we ended up kissing and smiling like idiots. This would always be behind the scenes however; as even he knew that his fans didn’t deserve that.

He had then invited me to the live X-factor show which he wanted to be there to support Matt, and I couldn’t refuse. I had YouTubed Aiden’s auditions, and was absolutely mesmerised by his performances, and thought it a travesty he was eliminated.  I had also seen Matt’s and realised why Aiden was so adamant he should win, aside from the fact they were so close. And I wanted to go, not just because of the outstanding talent that obviously came from the show, but also the staging and the excitement, and of course the hours with Aiden I could get to spend with him.

Backstage was huge and spacious, and I spent most of the time being hauled through the dark corridors by Aiden who grasped my hand tightly, guiding me through the maze of the place. He greeted people now and then, and some even said hello to me, remembering me from the last wrap-party.

Me and Aiden were mucking around backstage where all the sound people were, observing when the finalists took to the stage to do run-throughs and sound checks with their dancers, when a beautiful mixed-race woman came up to Aiden for a hug, taking him by surprise.

‘Beccs! How have you been?!’ he gushed excitedly, seeming genuinely happy to be reunited with her.

‘I’ve been good! Just the same old! Who’s this then?’ she smiled at me, her eyes flashing at Aiden, hinting for an introduction. She was so glamorous yet timid, and her voice was laced with a very strong Liverpoolian accent.

 ‘Summer this is Rebecca, and Beccs this is my girlfriend Summer’ he spoke carefully and deliberately.

My head turned to him at the word ‘girlfriend’ reflexively, as this was the first time he had used the term and my heart stopped when he did. I knew he was fully aware of this as his eyes met mine as his mouth was pulled upwards at the corners, saying my name as if he were proud. Aiden, my boyfriend, I recited in my head, an urge to kiss him leaping throughout my body.

Rebecca caught the moment and admired us, smiling gently.

‘Nice to meet you Summer. She’s an absolute stunner Aiden, I’m happy for you’ she said, her accent radiating kindness as she winked at Aiden, a dimple surfacing on her cheek as she smiled. ‘Alright I need to see Savan, see you guys later’ she waved as she walked off towards the stage.

Aiden stood there awkwardly after Rebecca had left, his hand behind his head.  I half jumped on him in return, my arms flinging around his neck as I pulled him in to kiss me, open mouthed and messy as I felt his smile against my lips.

CHAPTER FIVE

Aiden had gone to be with Matt in the dressing room, who was having his make-up and image done before the show which aired in less than 2 hours. In the meanwhile, I was meant to be eating in the cafeteria, but I physically couldn’t- I was too excited and unsettled to even think about food, so instead I sat in the café, sipping on a juice box, talking to Clara on the phone.

‘Dude, if you see Liam Payne, tell him to get into my bed, so I can show him a good time. Kthanksbye’ she said as I laughed out loud, accidentally blowing bubbles in my juice, chewing the straw tremendously.

‘Sure thing babe. And who is Liam Payne can I ask? Is it the one with the JB haircut and tall?’

‘Uhuh. The one which would make any girl jizz within a 5 mile radius’

‘Ha! Jizz worthy huh? Must be special!’ I exclaimed, before hearing a chuckle of low laughter behind me, making me swivel my chair backwards.

Ah, of course he would be sitting right behind me. He sported windswept honey hair which was perfectly in place, and was positioned to the side when I turned back, his face looking down at his phone as his lips were pressed into a hard line, but his eyes were clearly amused. My eyes widened as I pulled a face and swivelled back round.

‘Er…so Clara, I’m going now. Bye!’

‘But-’ I shut my cell quickly feeling very aware of my surroundings. I turned myself ever so slightly round to see if Liam was still laughing but caught him looking at me, his eyebrow raised.

‘Jizz worthy?’ he questioned, smiling, his eyes crinkling at the edges. My cheeks flared and my hands automatically rose to my cheeks to hide the colour, laughing sheepishly as I did so.

‘Yeah…sorry, I didn’t realise you were there…my friend Clara-’

‘No its fine, I find it quite funny to be honest’ he paused, scraping his chair across the floor next to mine. His voice had a very clear Birmingham accent that intrigued me when he spoke…it made him seem very friendly – a bit like Aiden’s accent. ‘So I haven’t seen you around here before’

‘How would you know? There are so many people here; surely you can’t remember them all!’ I gushed awkwardly as he leaned forward slightly, looking very comfortable and at ease. He was blatantly used to female attention and attention in general as shown by his confidence in his posture.

‘Yeah, but not all of them are as pretty as you are’ he said as if it were obvious, in his matter-of-fact tone.

‘Ah so you’re the flirt of the band, are you?’ I rolled my eyes patronisingly, as his head perked up.

‘Oi, no actually that would be Harry. I am the calm, mature, level headed charmer of the group’ he lifted his torso up, staring upwards, obviously making fun of himself.

‘Oh and don’t forget, the modest one’ I said sarcastically as he chuckled softly. He was such a pretty boy. In a different way from Aiden. He was more perfected- flawless – whereas Aiden had his small flaws which I was grateful for, as it made him seem more beautiful and real to me.

 ‘Well, not all of us can afford to be cute and shy’ he nodded towards me as I let out a breath of denial ‘Some of us have to be confident to bag the prize’

‘And this prize you’re referring to?’ I asked curiously, shaking my head in disapproval.

‘The girl’ he winked at me as we both began to burst out laughing in unison at his terrible flirting.

‘You are disgraceful at pulling!’ I said in-between breaths, my eyes watering slightly.

‘Oi, leave me! I would have normally bagged them by now, just by showing up! So my flirting skills are pretty rusty. Okay, how would you bag the boy?’ he retorted, his light brown eyes in the shape of a curve from laughing.

‘I wouldn’t need to, cause I already have a boyfriend’ I stopped slurping from my straw and left it on the table, as Liam seemed unphased by what I had just said. He leaned back slightly and flicked his hair back, so every single strand was perfectly in place. I was mesmerised by the movement for a second, confused at how that small movement could have detangled and positioned his hair ideally.

‘Hmm, but is your boyfriend on the X-factor’ he continued to joke around now, obviously seeing his opportunity lost, but pushed on for the fun of it, obviously enjoying just messing around as much as I did.

‘Well actually…’ my phone vibrated on my lap and I picked it up ‘Hi Aiden’ I said through a smile, watching Liam put his face in his hands, smiling from embarrassment, he leaned back and faced the ceiling for the duration of my phone-call, his hands in a triangle over his mouth as he laughed.

‘Hey babe, where are you? You finished eating yet?’ he asked, sounding very hyper – probably the company with Matt.

‘Er, sure. I’m still in the canteen, come and get me’ I replied as he agreed, and I shut my cell. I giggled at Liam’s position and he rose up again, his face a slight shade of pink.

‘So your Aiden’s girlfriend’ he stated as we both laughed and I nodded. A boy who looked slightly younger with dishevelled curly hair called for Liam at quite a distance and Liam hopped up and started to walk off. ‘I’ll catch you later…’

‘Summer’ I faced him and said as ran over to the cute looking boy who eyed me for a second.

‘Woah she is FIT!’ he exclaimed loudly and unshamefully, as my eyebrows furrowed in confusion, looking around me seeing who he was referring to.

‘She is Aiden’s’ I heard Liam mutter, patting him on the back and dragging him along to face the corridor they would have to walk up. I laughed and shook my head slowly.

BZZZZZ. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZ.

My alarm went off and my eyes awakened groggily. I looked up at Aiden who stirred above me, his little face waking up and blinking steadily. Because we had made it so early into the studios, we had no chance of making it all the way through the night of the shows and the journey back home, so we had decided to rest in one of the empty dressing rooms, because of all the ex-contestants vacancy. Aiden ended up sleeping upright on the sofa, as I slept huddled on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his chest on my body, his arm holding me close.

‘Hey’ my voice was quiet from being sleepy as I smiled up at him.

‘Hey’ he responded, smiling back. We both sat up and began scrubbing up for the show which aired in half an hour. Aiden began to wax his hair into a quiff which I had seen him wear during the live shows, and which I thought suited him perfectly. I topped up on make-up and let my hair down as Aiden watched me, intrigued. I began to feel self-conscious so I paused, looking at him in the mirror.

‘What?’ I laughed at his expression.

‘Nothing. You’re really beautiful you know. I don’t think I’ve told you’ he stared at my reflection for a second, and then continued faffing about, messing with his bag like he never said anything, as he left me watching him, my heart beating at a pathetic pace. I was left speechless as I considered everything. How did I manage to get so lucky with him?

‘Aiden, it’s a long trip home. Do you wanna come back to mine tonight? It’s nearer’ I said in a trance like state, very aware of what I was saying, watching him still.

Aiden looked up, stopped what he was doing and met my gaze holding it for a few seconds before responding.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked seriously, his eyebrows raised and I just stared at him blankly.

 ‘Well, yes… and my mum is out of town as well…so more space’ I added awkwardly my words fumbling out of my mouth. He chuckled at this.

‘I would love to’ he simply said, ducking down back to whatever he was messing around with as I went back to doing my make-up, us both pretending we never said anything to save us the embarrassment.

Me and Aiden got ourselves seated as the show was about to start. We both wished Matt luck beforehand, and I even got a quick glance of Liam as well – even though it was a brief awkward encounter with me and Aiden, when Liam had to disappear to an imaginary call.

The lights blinded, the sound and theme boomed and Dermot was on the stage introducing the acts. I grabbed Aiden’s hand in excitement, and during the whole show his thumb rubbed gentle circles on the back of my hand, calming me slightly. All of the acts were good…apart from Wagner. Why was he still there? How could Aiden be sat next to me, and he be on stage? It angered me in a way nothing had angered me before.

A few of the acts stuck out in particular. One Direction for obvious reasons – their dashing good looks and adorable faces were going to get them a lot of attention, and they were obviously cheeky lads. Well I knew one of them was. Cher stuck out at me, simply because I thought she was absolutely stunning. I had heard about the speculations about her and Aiden getting it on and questioned him about it, but he hadn’t really had an opinion on her. I was glad - she would make a fierce love rival.

Rebecca and her stunning voice. It matched my initial impression of her – beautiful, lovely and calming. And then Katie came on the stage, and I felt Aiden stiffen beside me. My head snapped to him and he looked at me, pulling a slight face, indicating he wasn’t her biggest fan. I thought she was pretty and her voice was nice…but she had nothing on Aiden.

When Matt came on, Aiden stood up whooping and screaming as I joined in laughing. Matt was amazing, he made the high notes seem effortless, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation once he had finished.  The whole thing was electrifying. The only thing I regretted was that I hadn’t known Aiden sooner, to see him perform up there.

When the show finished, it also ended all of the tense vibes beforehand which included nervousness and anxiousness, so people were more calm and relaxed as they were surer of their performance. One act had to leave though, but it was tomorrow’s problem. All the contestants were being interviewed on stage for the Xtra factor, and me and Aiden got up from our seats and just wondered around, waiting for the show to end so we could congratulate everyone on their performance. Once they were free, Aiden ran up to Matt and hugged him, exchanging assuring words that he ‘smashed it’.

Aiden then introduced me to the contestants I half knew, and who all seemed very friendly and nice. Wagner, instead of kissing me on the cheek like everyone else, just stood their locking me into an embrace telling me how beautiful I was, as everyone chuckled at my reaction. Apparently Wagner was something you just got used to.

It became so hard not to laugh as Aiden introduced me to Liam, who also pressed his lips together to refrain from laughing and looking very embarrassed.

‘Nice to meet you Liam’ I said sarcastically as we then moved on to the curly-haired boy from earlier who winked at Aiden once greeting me. He laughed cheekily and whispered something in Aiden’s ear as Aiden began to laugh in a high pitch, his nose crinkling up as he did, and I looked on, confused. His laugh made me smile though; it made him seem younger.

After hanging around for a bit with a few of the finalists, I found comfort in One Direction and Matt the most, as they were so easy to hang around with and have a laugh. They were both excessively rude and audacious, but that was why it was so easy to make friends with them. You could answer back and call them names and mess around. The way I liked it.

It was very late, and after hanging around the studios for a long while, Aiden pulled me aside from everyone. His hands resting on my hips, as mine rested around his neck.

‘It’s a bit late Summer, we could do this another time, I don’t mind’ he said, his voice gentle and caressing as I smiled up at him shaking my head.

‘No I want this’ I assured him, pulling him down to kiss me, as his arms wrapped themselves tighter around my waist, as I felt his warm breath against my mouth. Tingling sensations ran through my whole body and my hand moved to his face, stroking his jawline as he kissed me, feeling the movement of it.

‘OI OI, GET A ROOM!’ Louis shouted, drawing attention to us, as we both pulled away laughing, Aiden shaking his head manically. Everyone began to giggle, slapping Louis on the head for interrupting us. People began to leave, getting in black taxis and greeting the few fans which had waited for hours just to catch a glimpse of them.

Aiden grabbed my hand as we made our way home. 

 CHAPTER SIX

We both stumbled into my apartment, kissing intensely as we both moved our bodies closer and I unbuttoned his coat, letting him shrug it off.  His hands slithered down the back of my body until they reached the back of my thighs and hauled me up, my legs wrapping around his waist as he kissed my neck, my hands running through his soft hair. He lifted me on the kitchen counter, my legs still wrapped around him, and his hands reached the back of my dress, lightly searching for the zip as I began to unbutton his shirt.

A light flicked on upstairs, and footsteps echoed above us.

‘Summer?’ my mum’s voice questioned, as she began to walk down the stairs. Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.

I sighed heavily and banged my head against Aiden’s shoulder, who froze and had a slight smile on his lips, obviously appreciating how unfortunate our situation was. He dropped me so I could stand and moved back slightly, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. Mum paused on the stairs as she saw us, obviously noticing what had just happened. She looked very apologetic.  Then her eyes brightened as she saw Aiden, looking very star-struck indeed.

 ‘Oh guys I’m so sorry!’ she put her hand over her mouth ‘I had to come home from Sarah’s early Summer, I didn’t realise you would have company! I can head out if you want!’ she rambled as I laughed underneath my breath.

‘Mum its fine, don’t worry about it. This is Aiden, and Aiden this is my mum’ I gestured, as I stood back and watched awkwardly.

‘Nice to meet you Mrs Evans’ he waved, as she displayed the hugest smile I’ve ever seen her wear.

‘Oh, nice to meet you too Aiden! I’m a big fan! I really wanted you to win X-factor!’ she gushed as I face-palmed my forehead. He murmured a thanks as she said goodnight, leaving us downstairs, Aiden chuckling over the events which had just occurred.

‘I am so, so sorry’ I spoke with disbelievement. He pulled me closer to him but kept his face at a distance.

‘Honestly its fine Summer’ he smiled, the shade of the moon through the windows highlighting the features of his face as the room was shrouded with darkness. ‘We’ll do this another time’

‘I know. I’m just…disappointed that it’s not tonight’ I admitted, the touch of Aiden’s fingertips on the skin of my hips, where my top was slightly above my jeans, soft and smooth.

‘Me too’ he looked down at me, moving my hair to the side exposing my shoulder, as he kissed it once, his warm lips leaving a trail of fire. ‘I better be off home now’

‘Do you have to?’ I whined, holding onto him tightly as he laughed. ‘I don’t want you to leave’

‘Too much temptation here’ he winked ‘I’ll see ya tomorrow’ he kissed me, as he picked up his coat from the floor and left.

‘Oh my god Clara, it was the worst’ I muttered, as she giggled uncontrollably.

‘Sounds like it!’ she managed to say in-between breaths, slurping on her Frappuccino. ‘So when are you gonna seal the deal?’ she winked as I laughed. ‘Gosh you’re so lucky! He’s so HOT! I would die to tap that, just saying’

‘That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about!’ I carried on laughing, as she shrugged. ‘And I don’t know. I’m seeing him later tonight, but where would we go? He lives with his mum, I live with mine’

‘Pshhh I’m sure he’s very aware that your mum lives with you now babe!’ she scoffed and I rolled my eyes. ‘But seriously, there are hotels right round the corner from the studios. Why don’t you just go there?’

‘A hotel? He’s gonna think I’m a right sleaze!’

‘Would he be wrong?’ she whispered as I shot her a glare ‘I’m joking! Babe, it could be quite romantic if you think about it…just book it or suggest it to him. I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to screw you…I mean damn, has he seen you? Even I would!’ she winked as we both cracked up laughing.

‘And the act I’m putting through is going to have to be…Mary’ Louis announced. After a double elimination, Katie and Wagner were out of the competition. Just how I would have imagined. Aiden and I were very pleased with the results of tonight, and everyone seemed in a good mood, as both of the acts which were leaving had accepted their fate and was happy with how far they had reached. Personally, I thought we should have seen that day a long time before Aiden’s, but I spose it was never my place to decide.

Wagner proposed that everyone have a party at the X-factor house, as he didn’t want to spend his last night in the house as ‘miserable’.  Katie agreed to this, and everyone headed back to the house, stocking up on alcohol and liquor. We were one of the few to be invited back, as no-one was really meant to be there, apart from the finalists, but because it was Aiden and his girlfriend, they made an exception.

Oh my god I was too drunk. The walls spinned and the floor shook and I didn’t know which way was up or down. I slumped forward into something hard.

‘Woah, watch yourself there Summer’ I heard a voice from above me say worriedly, holding me upright as I refocused my senses and found my position on the ground. I looked up and saw Liam, and how I was against his chest which is what I must have fallen against.

‘Eurgh I feel sick’ I moaned against him, smelling his aftershave on his shirt. It was nice.

‘You look it babe. Do you want me to take you to the toilets or something?’ he tried to help me stand by myself by holding me back. I managed to hold myself up for a bit.

‘No, I want Aiden.’ I said firmly, stumbling my way to try and find him ‘Where is he?’

‘Of course, uh…I don’t know. I think he’s in the front room with Harry and Louis. You want me to take you?’ I nodded as he slotted his arm around my waist, practically hauling me around the house which resembled a maze because of its size.  A blur happened, and all of a sudden we were in the front room, Liam’s arm wasn’t around me and a bunch of ‘Waheys’ had rung out from Louis, Harry, Niall and Zayn. I gave a feeble smile and collapsed on Aiden’s lap as he huddled me close to his chest, looking down at me chuckling.

‘Had too much to drink?’ he moved some hair out of my face, his touch lingering on my skin. His usual clean fragrant scent had been replaced with the smell of beer, but being so near didn’t change the butterflies which screamed in my stomach, despite both of our un-sober states.

‘Uh-huh’ I mumbled ‘Tonight was so fun though’ my voice was slurred uncontrollably, as I blinked hard to refocus what was happening around me.

‘It was nice you being here Sum’ Harry winked, letting out a fierce burst of laughter with it, as Aiden threw something at him, it bouncing off of Harry’s head as the group went into hysterics.

‘Stop making movements to my girlfriend!’ he laughed, catching the attempt Harry threw back at him, and stuffing it into his coat pocket.

‘Hey, Sum, the intense eye-linered Matt’s bitch Aiden Grimshaw, OR the beautiful, cute, charming funny, au naturel Harry Styles?’ Harry questioned as Zayn scoffed loudly.

‘Dude, you wear more make-up then all of us put together on the show!’ he laughed, running his hands through Harry’s curly, messy hair as Harry pulled a face.

‘At least I don’t wear make-up ALL the time!’ he retorted as everyone began to burst out laughing despite the protests from Zayn. ‘Summer answer the question, or are you afraid of your true answer?’ he flashed his eyes attempting to look scary. Anyone with those dimples would fail as miserably as he did.

‘Well I would have thought the answer would be obvious’ I kissed Aiden under his jaw once as he beamed, raising a hand gesture at Harry. ‘Obviously Harry’ I joked as everyone began to whoop and cheer.

‘Yes! I knew it all along’ Harry got up and kissed me on the cheek, and then disappearing off to the kitchen in search of more alcohol. Liam who had sat quietly in the corner, phone began to ring, so he got up and left the room. Louis who seemed pretty mellow from the alcohol, got up dragging Zayn with him as they went in search of Harry.

Me and Aiden just sat there alone, me lying on his lap, him holding me close just letting me listen to his breathing pattern. 

‘How do you do it Summer? Everyone loves you’ he said after a moment of silence, as a smile etched its way onto my mouth.

‘Really?’ I asked as I felt his nod, and the slow rise and fall of his chest. ‘It’s probably cause you make me happy’ I blurted out, my mind not controlling my speech.

‘I make you happy?’ I looked up at him as his perfectly shaped eyebrows were positioned upwards.

‘Yeah of course. I havn’t been this happy in a long while’ I admitted, instantly regretting it. We had been seeing eachother for roughly a month. Information like this wasn’t meant to be shared so early in a relationship, but the alcohol made my words fumble out of my mouth uncontrollably.

‘You make me happy too. The happiest I’ve probably ever been with a girl, and I know it sounds stupid, cos we’ve known each other for such a short amount of time, but it’s true’  he replied, and all of a sudden I wasn’t regretful at all.

 I awoke on Aiden’s chest, my head pounding and my eyes flashing strange colours which didn’t exist that hurt my brain. I groaned as I held my head, trying to stop the pain that resounded inside it. As I rose, my neck clicked from sleeping on the sofa in a pretty uncomfortable position with Aiden, who was out like a light, looking very adorable and cute. I couldn’t even remember most of last night, I don’t think.

‘Bacon?’  I heard Liam enter the room, propping himself down on the chair opposite me, chewing on what looked absolutely vile. I made gagging noises as I ran my hand through my knotted hair.

‘Do I look like I want to be chewing on pig fat right now, Liam?’ I said through my teeth, wincing as my brain rattled in my head.

‘Always’ he replied cheekily, as I gave him a slight smile in return. ‘Why are you up so early anyways? Everyone else is still sleeping or passed out, it’s only 9’

‘Well I could ask you the same thing. I woke cause I always wake up early – hangover or no hangover. But I must admit…this is one beast of a hangover.’

‘I didn’t drink last night’ he stated casually, as my eyebrows furrowed down.

‘How come?’ I questioned as he shrugged nonchalantly. Aiden stirred beside me and fluttered his eyes opened, as his hands flashed up to his head, clearly in pain.

‘Oh my god. Am I dead? If I’m not shoot me please, nothing is worth this pain’ he pleaded, his voice gravelly as he had just woken up.

‘Morning sunshine’ I greeted him, laughing at his reaction ever so slightly, as if I moved my head too much, too quickly, my head may explode. He returned the smile feebly, clearly in as much pain as I was.

‘Morning. Oh god, I need pills. Sup Liam’ he started, hauling himself up making his way towards the kitchen as Liam looked on silently, saying a ‘hey’ after chewing on his sandwich.

‘Stop looking so content’ I moaned at Liam who laughed as I winced at the throbbing pain in my head ‘Your making me jealous’

‘I could say the same for you, with you and lover boy’ he mocked, as I chucked a pillow at him, it skimming his head, despite how close I was to him and how big the pillow was. He scowled at me.

‘You throw like a girl’

‘I wonder why that is’ I said sarcastically, making funny noises and clapping. He fell backwards laughing, his eyes doing that crinkly thing again that made me smile, when I tried my hardest to keep a poker-face.

‘Do you have a shower here?’ I looked towards the door, imagining the water cooling and soothing me and my headache down, and shivered with pleasure at the thought.

‘No, there’s only 14 people living here so we don’t tend to have showers in this huge massive house’ he replied sarcastically as I nodded in approval.

‘Touchѐ’

Aiden shuffled in with a huge glass of water, and a box of pills. He downed his pills and a gulp of water and gave them to me as I did the same. We both lay there for about 10 minutes not saying anything as we waited for the drugs to kick start, and as soon as they did I went to use the shower.

I came out feeling completely refreshed, any sign of a hang-over long gone. My hair was wet, so I just left it to dry naturally around my face, whilst getting rid of last night’s make-up completely.

 I felt confident without make-up simply because, my face suited natural, as my skin never had any problems with spots or marks…I just left it how it was and it seemed to work out well. I had fairly long eyelashes anyway, so mascara didn’t make a huge difference…only the eyeliner did which made my blue eyes stand out more, against my frame of brown curly hair.

I bumped into Katie in the hallway who ignored me point blanc…she did look pretty devastated though – whether it was the results from yesterday or the hangover today I wasn’t sure. She was probably getting prepared for moving out as well. I also bumped into Harry who walked as if he had an accident in his trousers, his eyes all squinty and his hair all messy.

‘S’appnin’ he greeted me, his voice lower than it had been yesterday.

‘Sup’ I replied back. He stood there for a minute swaying, as if he were going to collapse at any minute. I pushed his hair back and felt his forehead, feeling the warmth boil beneath my palm. ‘Ouch, Harry you better go back to bed, you’ve got a high temperature’

‘Care to nurse me?’ he asked in his chester accent, his voice going higher through the sentence. ‘I have a uniform and everything’

‘Why do I believe you? I’m a bit bored, so I’d love to see how you would fare in a fight with Aiden’ I joked, as he pushed me to the side, laughing as he rubbed his little eyes, stumbling back to his room.

‘Summer?’ Aiden’s voice rung through the corridor in a whisper, attempting not to wake anyone.

‘I’m here Aid’ I ran to him as he took in my appearance. I had no tights on as I binned them after last night, so I was also bare foot. Yesterday I wore a short black dress, which I still wore, but instead had my extra-long grey knitted cardigan which was longer than it slightly– but I had brung along because of its comfort. My hair was damp and untamed, my curls falling way past my shoulder.

‘Just checking on you – you look amazing like that’ he stuttered, as I scoffed, being pulled in by his hand on my waist as I laid my hands on his chest and shoulders.

‘Ha! I look like a tramp!’ I looked up at him- he was quite tall compared to me. He moved a strand of hair away from my face.

‘Well I hear that’s the new style going around’ he winked as I playfully hit him on the shoulder, and he kissed me softly on my neck.

‘What are you doing tonight?’ I questioned breathless, as he continued to caress my neck.

‘Nothing, why?’ he moved his face to be opposite mine.

‘Wanna spend it with me?’ I asked innocently, playing with the collar of his cardigan.

‘Doing what?’ his eyebrows raised, a smile playing on his lips.

‘I dunno…anything’ I looked down embarrassingly, and Aiden did that thing where he turned to the side and laughed, exposing his jawline and retracting his mouth open slightly.

‘Well I would love to do anything with you. Where though?’

‘Well I was thinking, cause our mum’s are at home and everything, that we could go to a hotel’ I forced out, speaking carefully and deliberately.

‘That’s a great idea…why didn’t I think of that?’ He looked up through his eyelashes, looking frustrated with himself.

‘Cause I’m obviously amazing’ I flashed a cheesy grin at him, one of which he gave when he was on the live shows…a Wallace type smile.

‘Obviously’ It fell silent for a short while as he held me, until he broke it ‘But I’m glad we waited in a way. I’m not in this for sex. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind it’ he paused laughing ‘but I’m in this cause I really, really like you- and waiting made me realise that, I think’

‘That’s a shame, cause I’m just in it for the sex’ I joked, as he let out a breath, smiling, pulling me in for a brief kiss.

As we left the house and passed the gates, there was a group of fans outside who wanted to take pictures with Aiden.  I stood there patiently as he greeted everyone and posed for photos, and a few fans asked if I was his girlfriend. He looked up immediately, waiting for my answer.

‘Me and Aiden? No, we’re just friends’ I smiled, trying to look as convincing as possible. They seemed to look relieved, and Aiden looked back at me with a knowing glance, and went back to posing for pictures.

Seeing them so happy just to get to touch him, or have a photo, broke my heart. They were so grateful. I was so lucky to have Aiden. Judging by their posters, they had initially come to see One Direction – well mostly Harry, and had waited outside for a few hours and travelled quite a bit to do so. I nudged Aiden to text him to come outside after he was feeling better, and received endless thank-you’s and hugs.

As Aiden and I walked to the station, I noticed the paparazzi and distanced myself from him slightly, feeling very aware of lens aimed at us. He noticed.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked gently, looking over at me.

‘Uh..the camera. I don’t want you to lose any more fans’ I held my hand up as he began to protest ‘Aiden, I saw them girl’s faces, and they looked genuinely relieved thinking you were single. Just let them think that if it makes them happy’ I said, as he didn’t say anything back, speechless.

It was quite dark and late after we had finished eating in the small restaurant hidden from everyone, and reached the hotel. We had collected some things from our own houses beforehand for the overnight stay, and I began to get slightly nervous, so ordered a few drinks to relax me. I began to feel more confident as the night went on.

We checked in to the hotel, his hand in mine, as the receptionist eyed us suspiciously. She appeared to give me dirty looks every now and again, but maybe it was just my imagination.

We opened the hotel room, and dumped our bags on the floor. He turned around, about a metre away from me, swaying his arms awkwardly.

‘So…-’

I jumped on him, crushing my lips on his, making him stagger back momentarily until he caught me firmly, hooking my legs around him. I think he got the memo I didn’t like small talk. He carried me over to the bed where he let me fall, him hovering over me, kissing me gently as I pulled him in tighter, sliding his jacket off of his shoulders, and letting it fall to the floor. My hands ran from his chest to his neck, as he kissed my neck, me positioning myself up slightly to get more comfortable. Both of our breathing were heavy, like we were out of breath already. I tumbled over, so I straddled him, our lips still entwined as his hands stroked my hair, then slid down my back steady and smooth, to the back of my dress which he unzipped it slowly. This time, no interruptions came.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I woke up, my arms wrapped around Aiden, my head on his chest. Memories of last night came flooding back and I was overwhelmed with happiness. Everything about it was amazing, and perfect, and passionate…the best. I watched him sleep for a few minutes before he woke, and he was so cute, butterflies spun in my stomach. His fingers came to life, stroking the bare skin on my arm and then his eyes opened, him giving a small smirk as I stroked the side of his face. His eye squinted adjusting to the brightness of the room.

‘Morning beautiful’ he said, stroking my bare back with his hand.

‘Hey’ I breathed, moving in for a slow meaningful open-mouthed kiss. I pulled back slightly, so our noses were touching ‘Last night was amazing’

‘It was’ he winked, giving a smirk. His hair was all messy, and it looked funny, but in a way I preferred it like that. But his quiff was his trademark.

I began to get up, before his arm held my body from doing so.

‘Woah, where are you going?’

‘Cut it out Aid!’ I giggled, trying to get free from his grip ‘I need to get ready or order breakfast or something.I cancelled on work today so I need to feel like I’m doing something’

‘Why? Stay in bed, we don’t have anything to do today’ he persisted, as I writhed free of his arms. I picked Aiden’s shirt up which had been discarded on the floor yesterday, and did the buttons up…it looked like a dress on me.

‘I know, imma just go and call room service for some toast, kay?’ I kissed him on the end of his nose as he nodded, picking up his phone to scroll through his messages. I disappeared quietly to the front room (as the suite we were staying in was huge) and picked up the phone, dialling quickly.

‘Hello, Clara speaking’ she spoke formally in a high pitched friendly tone.

‘Clara! Are you at work? Its Summer’ I whispered, as she let out a small squeak and loads of ruffling noises rang in my ear.

‘Yes and OH MY GOD. What happened? Was he good? Did you do it? Did you get me Liam’s number?’ the words seemed to fall out of her mouth continuously as I silently laughed, feeling almost high on this feeling of happiness.

‘We went to the hotel, yes he was, yes we did and no I didn’t. Sorry’ I said twirling my fingers around the cable connecting the phone to the holder. She took in a sharp intake of breath.

‘Was he like gooooood, or good’ I felt her curiosity bubble away at her, eating her up. I knew her too well, and could feel how she was dying a little bit inside to know every single detail. And I knew it was my duty as a best friend, which is why I felt the need to call her.

‘Gooooood would be an understatement’ I bit my lip smiling as she squealed on the other end of the phone.

‘Oh my fucking god, I’m going to be forever alone aren’t I. I’m going to have 92 cats, while you have 3 beautiful quiff haired children with your sexy husband’ she joked as I actually laughed a little too loud, throwing my hand over my mouth after the realisation that he might hear me.

‘No, I’ll work on Liam giving you his number don’t worry’ I assured her

‘Ha! You better. Wait- are you still at the hotel?’ she asked as I confirmed I was ‘Dude, get back to bed with your gorgeous boyfriend before I do’

‘Aye aye captain. I’ll give him a snog for you. Later Clar’

‘Later babe’ I shut the phone hopping back to bed where Aiden was on his laptop on twitter.

I rested my head against his shoulder as he scrolled through his mention, which were coming in at hundreds per second. Girls calling him sexy, gorgeous, hot, spamming him 50 times for a follow and begging for him to just say something simple like a ‘hi’. It was crazy.

‘Was Clara alright then?’ he simply said, as my eyes widened, sitting up to look at him.

‘How do you know I was talking to Clara?’ I asked, puzzled and embarrassed, flushing.

‘You were really loud, when you were trying to be quiet’ he chuckled as I face-palmed my forehead. I sat silently, observing as he replied a few of the hundreds of messages pouring in at a blinding speed. He was so cute, and hyper the way he typed. Spelling words like ‘sik’ and ‘tho’.

‘They want you to do a twitcam babe. What’s a twitcam?’ I asked, as the two words seemed to crop up every 5 seconds accompanied by the words ‘when’ and ‘please’.

‘Yeah I know. Don’t think that’d be appropriate though as that involves me being on webcam to 1,000 people who are asking me questions about where and who I’ve been with’ he stated, his eyes looking down to me, a half smile on his lips.

‘Oh’ was all I said as we fell silent for a few minutes as he tweeted.

He began to tweet Matt ‘See you soon loverboy!! X’ with a small smirk on his face looking at me as I stared at the screen and burst out laughing.

‘HA! See this is why I love y-’ I caught my tongue and threw my hands up to my mouth as Aiden sat up suddenly, a  grin on his face as my eyes widened.

‘What were you going to say Summer?’ Aiden pushed, his hand on my shoulder, a sly smile on his lips, his hair almost reaching his eyes.  He was kneeling now, mirroring my position of shock.

‘Nothing!’ I answered too quickly as I flushed red. He chuckled cheekily.

‘Were you gonna say what I think you was gonna say?’ he asked as I got too flustered and ran into the toilet. Oh my god. What the actual fuck. He began to walk towards the toilet, but I shut the door and locked it, banging my head against the wood. How embarrassing.

‘Hey Sum, come on I’m not making fun I swear’ his voice was close but muffled, so I knew he was leaning against the doorframe as I was.

‘I don’t care! I didn’t mean to say it and technically I didn’t…’ my voice trailed off as I cringed.

‘Come out Summer I wanna talk to you’ his voice was stern yet gentle, and the way his voice pressed made my stomach rage with butterflies.

‘No. I’m never leaving this bathroom’ I replied stubborn.

‘Your phones out here Sum. Imma read all of yours and Clara’s texts if you don’t come out now’ he threatened, as I dove for the door immediately. He peeked through the gap and smiled, pulling the door open completely as I stared at the floor in shame. ‘Did you mean what you were gonna say or was it just a slip of the tongue?’

‘Slip of the tongue’ I replied defensively, as Aiden stared down at the floor, wearing a poker face. I hesitated before carrying on; deliberating whether I should say what was weighing down my heart for the past month. ‘But I do think I’m falling for you Aiden’

There was a slight second when he didn’t say anything back and just stared at me, his eyebrows slanted down. He took a step forward and put his hand on my cheek.

‘I know I’m falling for you’ he simply said.

At work in topshop was long and tiring. I knew they only employed me because I have that particular topshop look that girls seem to shop for around in this area, and not because of my crappy attention span. In uni, I actually gave my attention and did my work as I knew it would contribute to a better life. But Topshop? It would just pay off my uni debts which was boring in itself.

I drummed my fingers on the desk, pulling my blackberry out as it vibrated, a little too quickly.

‘Helloooo?’ I answered chirpy, staring at the abandoned floor and wishing I was somewhere else.

‘Hey Summer, it’s Liam’ his familiar Birmingham accent rang in my ear as I straightened up.

‘Oh hey Liam’ I begn to chew on my sandwich even though I wasn’t hungry. I just spoke with my mouthful, not caring. Liam had already seen my hungover and almost puking at bacon. I was beyond caring about how lady-like I seemed to him. ‘How’d you get my number?’

‘What the hell are you eating, it sounds disgusting’ he whined chuckling ‘and I sorta stole it from Harry who stole it from Aiden…never mind. I need your help with finding a birthday present for Aiden. I’m a bit rubbish at these things’

‘Hmm. Well I was just gonna buy him an expensive hotel room and-’

‘Okay I really don’t want to know the end of that sentence’ he interrupted as I laughed. ‘Got any tips or idea’s though?’

‘Umm… I don’t know!’ I pulled a face, trying to scan my brain for things he could buy him, and almost laughed at the huge sign right in front of me ‘Oh wait, he likes Topman. I can give ya discount as well’

‘Yeah I love that shop too.  And seriously? Okay I’m just going to get him something from there. Cheer’s Summer’

‘You’re welcome!’ I was ready to put the phone down, thinking that was the end of the conversation, but I heard him continue.

‘I’m sure it wont be good as your present though’ he stated amused, as I rolled my eyes and giggled.

‘Of course not. I’m just scared Matt will give him the same thing’ we both chuckled and carried on talking through the whole of my work-session- as the shop was literally dead, and the manager was too busy downstairs. It was nice- Liam was a cool guy, and the banter we both had was absolutely hilarious. It took my mind off of the horror which was work, and my unhealthy constant thoughts of Aiden.

I ran down the stairs quickly in my heels, feeling quite glamorous but overdressed. I wore a tight fitting halter neck red dress which flared out slightly cutting off below the knee, and had my hair straightened for the first time since meeting Aiden.

Aiden was downstairs waiting for me, like it was our prom or something, in a black open top suit.  I couldn’t control my squeal when I saw him and he caught me as I kissed him firmly on his lips.

‘Happy birthday!!’ He swung me around as I hugged him, laughing. ‘Nine…teen!’ I managed to force out in-between kisses.

‘Thanks! You look absolutely amazing Summer. I can’t wait to show you off tonight’ he held me back, looking at my dress and taking in my appearance. I bit my lip just staring at him, smiling non-stop, my arms around his neck.

‘How many people are gonna be there?’ I enquired as he pulled an unsure face.

‘No idea…it’s in a really posh bar, but we have our own V.I.P area. To be honest I’d just rather have your present’ he pressed his lips together winking, as I pressed my cheek against his chest. I had told him about my plan to pay for the hotel room for the next day beforehand; as he knew I had little money, but he seemed genuinely made up about it.

‘Tommorow night’ was all I said, as I smelt his aftershave on his neck. It was delicious. After saying goodbye to my flustered mother who had practically been waiting downstairs for hours waiting for his arrival at the door whilst I got ready in anticipation, Aiden opened his car door for me. Whom, he had nicknamed Silvia. This was why me and him had gotten on so well…he was so random and weird. It was the best.

‘Oh my goodness you’re bloody gorgeous!’ Aiden’s mum exclaimed as she pulled me in for a hug. She smiled warmly, and was absolutely stunning. Definitely why Aiden was so good-looking. Aiden stood to the side,  his eyebrows furrowing down and his eyes narrowing, looking very embarrassed as his mum let out the most funny and friendly laugh I have ever heard.

‘So are you! It’s so nice to meet you!’ I beamed looking down at her, as she was an inch shorter than me.

‘I’m so happy Aiden’s gone and got himself a proper girlfriend at last! He’s been so busy gigging lately as well bless him!’ she bent over to kiss him on the cheek as Aiden looked horrified, staggering back.

‘Woah, okay that’s enough drink for you mum’ he simply said, watching her with that funny horrified expression. She giggled and pulled a classic Aiden face.

‘Welcome to the family darling’ she winked and scattered off, drink in hand. Aiden pulled me under his arm as I looked up at him. He was happy, I could tell, but he was masking it under arrogance after his introduction to me and his mother.

‘Your mum is hot’ I added as he rolled his eyes and gave a small smile.

‘You’re not the only one who thinks so’ he gestured towards Harry who seemed to be talking to her, as he wore his cheeky dimpled grin. I laughed and the rest of the night progressed on. The bar was huge, and full of people dressed in the most beautiful clothes. I never realised he knew so many people. Of course Matt hung around him like a cute fly, wearing his trademark hat with his posh suit.

People were dancing on the dancefloor, drinking at the bar, socialising at the sofa’s and Aiden was Aiden, being absolutely amazing, funny and lovely through the whole night.

Before things started to go horribly wrong.

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘Liam!’ I walked up to him quickly, and stumbled, falling forward and catching myself on his chest.

‘You’ve really got to stop greeting me like this’ he laughed, picking me up and helping me regain my balance.

‘Tell me about it. Why am I always wasted when I see you?’ I looked up at him for an answer, as his face seemed to sway side to side. Or was that just me swaying?

‘Cause your fun. I’m also drinking tonight, so I’ve joined your ‘always drunk’ policy’ he chuckled, as I registered he had a beer in his hand and judging by his zoned out eyes, there was plenty more where that came from. ‘You look stunning by the way’

‘Why thank-you Liam. Looking rather dashing yourself’ I punched his shoulder in a sisterly way, as he failed to break eye contact with me. I began to feel uncomfortable. How many drinks had he had? ‘You enjoying the party then?’

‘Yep, not seen much of Aiden though, even though it’s his party’ he sounded regretful, shoving his hands into his suit pocket and scanned the room looking for him.

‘Yeah there are a lot of people here; he’s just getting caught up by everyone I think. That’s why I thought I’d better leave him to it…plus, Matt is getting Aiden withdrawal’ I laughed, looking after Matt who waved at me, bless him. ‘I’ve met all of his family, made a good impression, so now it’s time to get hammered’ I winked at him, as I spun my way towards the bar.

I think it was safe to say, after 2 more hours, everyone was completely drunk. I spent most of the night with Liam and Aiden, drifting between the two. Aiden would go all soppy and kiss me in front of everyone, and I loved how we could just show how we felt and not feel remorseful. Then he had to go over to the boys for a bit, so I thought I’d let him get to it, and hung around with Liam who had drunk a little too much.

‘Summer, I feel sick, come outside with me’ I felt him tug on my hand, as I pulled away wryly, hoping I didn’t offend him. I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. He didn’t seem to notice though, and I was glad. I followed him out the back exit, as at the front, there were quite a few paparazzi trying to get pictures of all the finalists which were a hot topic in all of the papers.

We reached outside which was practically abandoned, just the smell of fresh rain which glistened on the floor, and then an ugly tall picket fence boarding the main road from the club. Liam was quiet for a moment as he stared at me, and I pretended not to notice.

‘Are you okay now Liam?’ I asked, now meeting his gaze. He looked really drunk, and inhaled deeply.

‘Yeah I just needed some air’ he persuaded, flashing a half smile. ‘Tonight was hilarious’

‘I know! My stomach hurts from laughing so much!’ I giggled, and then looked down to fix my dress, smoothing it down. ‘Oh it’s freezing, come lets go back inside’

‘Wait, Summer –’ he grabbed me as I turned, then dove his head down and brought his lips crushing down on mine, whilst securing me close by putting both hands on my hips. Shock ran through my body and as soon as I realised what was happening I brought my hands up to his slim chest as I struggled to breathe. I pushed him as hard as I could, a few times to break his hold on me, and he staggered back, his eyes half closed and his face confused.

‘What the FUCK was that Liam?’ I shouted at him, as he recoiled, bringing his hand to his forehead looking stressed. Anger bubbled beneath my veins. He was Aiden’s friend, he was my friend and he forced himself on me?

‘I didn’t- oh shit. I’m sorry…Summer -’ he called out after me, as I ran through the doors, pushing my way through the people to get to the sofa’s where I sat myself down and clenched my fists.

Once I had calmed down enough to recollect my thoughts, I asked around for Aiden, needing him to use his calming effects on me, just so I didn’t go back and punch Liam straight in the face. No-one knew where he was, even Matt – so I decided to look outside in the smoking area, knowing he most likely was out there. I huddled myself as the cold air hit me again, and found the small back smoking area, which was very much like where Liam and I were 5 minutes ago.

Aiden was there; his back turned, and then swivelled around immediately after hearing my heels click on the floor behind him.

‘Summer!’ he acknowledged, a slight tremble in his voice. He shifted uneasily, and then as he did, I noticed a pretty blonde girl wearing heavy smoky make-up, standing behind him, dressed in shorts with bare legs, and a tight vest top. She didn’t take her eyes off of Aiden, her eyebrows down like she was waiting for something.

‘Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything’ I smiled, and began to turn as Aiden grabbed my arm lightly yet the movement was quite mechanical.

‘No, don’t leave’ he simply said, as the girl then eyed me for the first time since my arrival.

‘Yeah I was leaving anyway. See you later Aid’ she spoke, her voice smooth and sensual, as she strutted across towards the door. She had an amazing body. I broke out of my trance and noticed how he seemed look so awkward all of a sudden.

‘Who was she?’ I asked, slightly suspicious.

 ‘Uh…no-one. One of the dancers on the show’ he looked down at the floor and kept on moving his eye-contact everywhere but mine. He looked like he didn’t want to talk about it, and I trusted him, so I restrained myself from intruding.

 Instead I had a yearning for him, one which required his smell, his touch and his laugh. I stepped forward and put my hand up to his jaw, kissing him soft and slowly, but his hands swung at his sides and not in their usual place resting around my waist.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, concerned. I had a feeling it had something to do with that girl. He shook his head and smiled convincingly and placed his head against my cheek, so his mouth was next to my ear and his arms around me.

‘I love you Summer’ he mumbled, as his breath tickled the inside of my ear giving me goose-bumps. Something possessed me for a second and an outburst of words ran from my mouth.

‘Aiden, Liam kissed me’ I stated as he pulled back immediately, his hazel eyes alert.

‘He what?’ his face was a mask of disgust and his hands dropped from my body.

‘He’s really drunk, and he just sort of kissed me. I pushed him away of course. He probably didn’t even know what he was doing. I don’t want any trouble between you two, but you should know, right?’ I stuttered, becoming flustered as Aiden just stared at me with a blank expression on his face like he was trying to register the words I fumbled and stumbled on. He sighed and it was quiet for a moment. He dropped his head.

‘Its fine Summer’ he sounded frustrated and tense as he reconnected his arms around me again. Why couldn’t he look at me?

‘You’re angry’ I stated, as he caught me gaze and then quickly dropped it again.

‘No, I’m not. I just…Liam should stay away for a while, yeah?’ he said, as I nodded in agreement. His body was tense. I didn’t like him like this. I brought my hands up to his chest and embraced the silence.

‘Hey, and I love you too’                                              I smiled, meaning every single word. He gave a half smile in return and stroked my bare shoulder with his hand delicately.

‘Yeah?’ he said, his eyebrow raised and his face expressionless.

‘Yeah’ I wrapped him into a hug, placing my chin on his shoulder, feeling like home.

I woke up to a dry mouth, a banging head, and an aching body. I was laying on something, and I realised it was Aiden dressed in last night’s clothes which made me realise that I was too. I sat up to look around the unfamiliar surroundings, and realised me must have checked into a hotel, and then passed out on the bed.

I got up and called room service for some breakfast – not feeling hungry, but knowing it would make me feel better. As I waited, I showered and stole one of Aiden’s oversized cardigans and wore it with a pair of jeans I had stashed in my overnight bag. Room service eventually came, and I forced down some of the English breakfast before I began to feel sick, so I stopped. A newspaper was laid out on the tray, so I distracted myself by opening up and flicking through the pictures.

That was when I saw it.

I sat there, staring at the article for a good 10 minutes, trying to make sense of it. Surely it was a lie. But it made sense. My hands were shaking, and despair washed through me, overwhelming every cell of my body and drowning it. I stood up and stormed into the bedroom where Aiden lay there, curled up sleeping.

I took the newspaper and threw it at him, and watched as he stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes confused. He recoiled from the pain which was probably due to last night’s drinks and then looked at me puzzled, as he saw the tears glistening in my eyes.

‘Babe what’s –’ he started, his voice caring.

‘Don’t babe me Aiden. Look in the paper’ I demanded as I couldn’t look at him. Even now, he still had this effect on me which made me want to kiss him, just to make everything better. He looked down at the paper and flicked through it, then looked back up at me, and screwed up his face sighing like he was only just remembering the events.

‘No Summer it’s not…’ he looked panicky and he brought his hand up to his hair, where he pushed it back firmly. He stumbled up and reached my shoulders, looking in my eyes. I turned my head so I didn’t have to face him. Sobs broke out from my chest.

‘Aiden, of all the guys I’ve ever been with. I would have least expected something like this to happen from you’ I cried, as Aiden turned my cheek so I could look at him.

‘Look, lemme explain first. I was really, really drunk. And she came on to me-’

‘Aiden, I was really, really drunk and Liam came on to me. But I still managed to push him away’ I croaked, pushing myself away from his arms. ‘Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for me? You introduce me to your family and friends, and then in the newspaper is the headline ‘Love rat Aiden’? And what’s worse is that you’re holding her close, and with me you’re not even acknowledging I’m there’ I spat, rendering him speechless. ‘Shows your true feeling doesn’t it’

‘No! Summer I love you, like how I said last night! Just let me explain…’ he protested but I shook my head. I couldn’t stand this.

I grabbed my phone and headed for the door as Aiden caught my hand. I shot him a glare and he dropped it, letting me slam the door as I ran down the stairs, my heart breaking more with every step I took.

CHAPTER NINE

3 days passed, and I ignored every single one of Aiden’s calls and texts and just slept round Clara’s. She was the only one who could make me smile despite everything that had happened – even when she fancied the pants off of Liam, who had also called. And I ignored of course.

But the worst thing was coming to terms with how Aiden stooped so low to kiss back that dancer and then 5 minutes later say he loved me. And I had said it back, the idiot I am.

I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. Everyone knew - all the readers of the article, his fans, my mum, my friends and his family. And what’s worse is that he looked like he was enjoying the kiss with her more.

‘Babe maybe you ought to look at his twitter, he wrote something about what happened’ Clara said as I groaned, and went to lay my head against her shoulder as she scrolled through the twitlonger link.

Hey guys, just to clear everything up bout the article. It was completely taken out of context!  It was my 19^th Birthday party and was with some of the guys from X-factor, my family and my girlfriend Summer who I was pictured with before.

The other picture concerning Caoife Coleman and me was unfortunate; as she came to kiss me thinking I was single, when in fact I wasn’t. The paparazzi which took that photo obviously wanted all of this to happen!

This whole situation was a whole misunderstanding, and just wanted to say sorry and I still wuv you guys!  Much love Xxx

I sighed heavily and was jolted by a knock on the door. I looked at the time on the laptop screen and looked up at Clara who also looked confused.

‘Who the hell is that? It’s 10 o clock’ she got up and opened the door, and I heard murmuring voices exchanging a brief compromise, before footsteps rang through the corridor and Aiden stood there, wearing his long black jacket and his hair was styled up. He looked cold and stood there floundering, giving a tender smile which didn’t quite reach his eyes.

‘Hey’ he played with his bracelets distractingly, as I returned his small smile.

‘Hey’ I replied, standing up. Clara hovered behind Aiden, nodding to see if I was okay and when she realised I was, went upstairs, most definitely eavesdropping. The distance between me and Aiden was significantly big.

‘You didn’t return any of my calls’ he stated, looking down. I hadn’t seen him this shy and unconfident since the first time I met him.

‘I didn’t have anything to say. How the hell did you know I was here?’ I questioned, suddenly remembering I was at Clara’s.

‘Your mum gave me the address, sorry’ he looked down guiltily again and it fell silent once more. ‘Can I please explain myself Sum?’ he asked, as I shut my eyes, and ruffled my hair in anxiety. Did I really want to hear this? I nodded regardless. ‘Look Summer, I can’t let this end. I did mean it when I said I loved you. And this whole thing with Caoife…we knew eachother from the show, and I didn’t even realise she…and she kissed me and I didn’t even realise what was happening…’ he trailed off and I didn’t say anything. His words were very careful and his beautiful Blackpool accent melted my heart.’And then I just remember putting my hands on her to push her away and remembering you, but then she pulled back and I realised I hadn’t pushed her away’ he flinched in disgust at the memory ‘She asked me to come back to her’s and I said no, and then she asked me why, and then you came’ he finished, and then came closer to me, putting his hand on my face as I recoiled, my gaze reverting from him instinctively. His face looked pained as I did so, but he settled to just standing close.

‘Aiden, I don’t even care about that. You didn’t tell me. I told you straight away about Liam, and you had the chance to say this and I would have been okay with it-’

‘I was going to Summer! I was! But then you said what happened with Liam and how you pushed him away and I felt like such an idiot for not pushing her away. And what’s worse is that Liam is one of the most wanted boys out there…has most women pining over him, and I was scared you would realise what a loser I am and how you could do so much better’ he pushed, as I let a small smile escape my lips.

‘You’re not a loser Aid’ was all I said as he looked up letting a tiny flicker of a grin across his mouth ‘And it’s up to me who I date. You were mr.perfect to me. Compared to anyone’ he flinched slightly at the word ‘were’.

‘Look, I’m sorry how this all turned out. But this isn’t enough to let what we have end so soon. It was just a-’

‘Misunderstanding. Yeah I read your tweet’ I paused as he waited for me to elaborate ‘I don’t want this to end either. I kinda love you. But tell me next time Aiden if you want me to trust you. Cause there will be a next time. Your gorgeous and there are gonna be girls after you, and I don’t want to find out via newspaper again’ I stated, as he nodded, and I pulled him in to a hug where my arms were around his neck, pulling him down to my shoulder as he kissed my neck once. My whole body melted around his, my legs becoming pathetically weak.

‘I missed you’ he said, as I closed my eyes and felt his warm breath tickle the side of my neck.

‘I missed you too’ and then I realised just how much.

Clara pushed that I was a bit pathetic for giving in so easily to his apology so early, as we both knew I couldn’t stand being away from him for too long, but she reckoned I should have stood my ground a bit more. But being with him was fascinating, and he made me feel like I was something special and I knew he would never do anything like that unintentionally again. He was gentle.

Time scrolled by and before I knew it, it was the Sunday finals. After countless weeks of avoiding Liam, Liam avoiding us and endless encounters where Liam had to be out of a group discussion because Aiden and I were there, I decided to confront him. He was stood frozen, a woman sweeping make-up on to his skin as he shut his eyes, his hands violently shaking. Matt, Rebecca and the rest of One Direction were also hanging about, getting prepped and getting last minute things done to them, before they headed out to what was going to be the biggest night of their lives. I was rooting for silently for Matt because of the bromance him and Aiden had and of course his talent, but made sure I appeared impartial, as I was close to most of them now. The atmosphere was overloaded with tension and anxiety.

‘Liam, chill. You’ll be fine’ I soothed, as his eyes snapped open, shocked to find me acknowledging him.

‘Thanks’ he brought his hand down wryly, as he attempted to hide it trembling. ‘Summer, this whole thing-’ he began, after what seemed like a long time as he deliberated what he was going to say.

‘Yeah I know’ I paused, as we both stood facing each-other awkwardly. ‘Good luck’ I said, moving back to Aiden, who passed a small smile to Liam and raised his hand – his way of saying they were okay. At least he could focus completely on doing well tonight, and not over a drunken mistake. I was still not completely okay with him though – something as reckless as his unloyalty could have cost me the best relationship I’ve ever had.

‘I’m so nervous’ I bit my lip and brought my hands to Aiden’s face. ‘And this is gonna be the first time I see you on the X factor stage!’ I squealed as he gave a grin. They had dressed him in all white, and he made his trademark by wearing a green scarf, and black geek glasses. He reminded me of an angel, one that had been killed off from the show tragically, and then resurrected to sing again. Cheesy, I know.

‘I have a 10 second part, and it’s pre-recorded…hardly anything to get excited about’ he looked at me unassured, but I kissed him on the cheek, wiping off the lipstick stain mark I left on there.

‘Well I am. And I can’t wait for the moment when Maiden is reunited on stage in front of millions of viewers live…try and make it not too fruity though’ I winked as he rolled his eyes smiling.

‘I can’t make that promise’ he replied and winked back, making my heart flutter pathetically. His teeth were dazzling against the whiteness of his shirt which was buttoned up too much. I fiddled with it absent-mindedly and undone one, as I gave the seal of approval.

‘That looks hot’ I gazed up at him, a grin tugging on the corners of my lips. He raised his eyebrow and returned the smile, holding my gaze then looked around, laughing silently.

‘You need to stop’ he pulled me closer to him, and I tip-toed, pressing my lips against his ear.

‘Can’t help your so gorgeous’ I teased, then grabbed his glasses, running away from him laughing as he attempted to take them back. Everyone always took them off of him…90% of the time they were worn by someone else. I then went to make my way over to Matt, who took unnecessary swigs of his water, pacing up and down.

‘Hey Matt, good luck babe, imma be voting for you during the breaks. Don’t tell anyone though’ I winked as he gave a small grin in return. He was so nervous.

‘Aw thanks hun. I don’t know why, I just can’t stand still. I’ve never felt this scared in my whole entire life’ he said in his sweet voice as his hands also trembled. I leant forward and kissed him on the cheek and smiled reassuringly.

‘Your amazing Matt, don’t worry bout anything. And even 3^rd place sounds appealing, right?’ I asked, as he lifted his head looking a lot more convinced. He nodded in agreement and said his thanks. I then quickly ran over to rest of One direction, kissed them all on the cheek and wished them a brief good luck as well.

Poor Rebecca was too busy getting swarmed by make-up artists for me to get anywhere near her, so I left it and stood back as everyone seemed to be preoccupied, even Aiden who was getting his hair styled again.  Then all of a sudden, the show was on the road.

I sat back in my seat, and twiddled my thumbs excitedly as the judges were cued to sit down in their seats. Danni looked stunning as usual, and was wearing the lucky charm Aiden had bought her as a thank-you, around her expensive silver bracelet. He had introduced me to her in one of the previous weeks, and she completely captivated me with how down to earth she was. Aiden looked at her like she was his mum or something. There was so much admiration and gratefulness.

Screams erupted around me as the theme music played, and Dermot came through the doors with his tux and microphone, introducing everybody to what would be the final X factor for this year. Next thing I knew, he was introducing some of the acts which didn’t make it to the final, and then Trey-C was on, a light shining on her as she sung. Then Aiden appeared and the cheer’s excelled as his stunning voice filled up the room, and he stared straight at me, smiling, before he had to look down the camera. He also did the thing where he stroked the microphone stand unconsciously, which I had noticed he did a lot when he sung. I told him how I thought it was sexy once, and he gave me a knowing glance in return. Then he was gone. It was all too brief.

I went back backstage to meet Aiden again, who became very bashful all of a sudden. I kissed him quickly as wrapped my arm around his waist as we waited anxiously for the results on who came third. Matt was called first and me and Aiden screamed with happiness, yessing and hugging each-other. Relief overwhelmed us for such a brief moment before Dermot had to announce another name. Which was Rebecca. The crowd gasped with shock, and One Direction stood there almost awkward, my heart sinking for them.

As the breaks were on, and Rebecca and Matt had to get ready to perform their winner’s song, we made our way over to One Direction. Harry was in floods of tears, so I wrapped my arms around him as he leant on my shoulder and cried. It was completely heart-breaking. Zayn, Niall, Louis and Liam seemed a little worn out and upset, but happy they had accomplished 3^rd place. But after all this speculation that they were going to win, it must have been a huge blow to their egos. Aiden hugged them all, and then they all went off to their family and friends, Louis practically collapsing on Hannah who I had become quite close with at the studios. We had found things in common – we were the same age, had amazing famous boyfriends, and had to deal with fan and occasional press speculation. She was a lovely, lovely girl who was now holding Louis, as if he were a small child, cradling him. Aiden saw me watching them and came up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissed my hair.

‘You think they’ll be okay?’ I asked worriedly. Seeing someone as bubbly and full of life as Harry being reduced down into tears was such a shock. Patches of his tears were still lingering on my cardigan.

‘Yeah. If they are anything like me, they’ll realise life goes on. Especially for them. Simon will make sure they have an amazing future ahead of them’ he convinced, and I swivelled myself round to look at him face to face. I twiddled with his scarf as I spoke.

‘And how did you cope?’ It had been playing on my mind for the last couple of weeks, as I had grown to see acts eliminated from the competition, and everyone had a different reaction to the news behind the scenes. He seemed to fascinate me in everything he did, so I wondered what his reaction was like.

‘I…got drunk. Very drunk’ he sighed ‘And had a bit of a cry with Matt. It was a bit sad to be honest but oh well’ he flinched at the memory and his pain thumped through my chest.

‘Aw Aid’ I sympathised sadly, as he turned his head away half smiling, clearly embarrassed.

‘Yeah. But if I knew then, that I would be this happy already, I wouldn’t have worried’ he stated, smiling down at me. I kissed the end of his nose and he crinkled it up as I laughed.

We made our way back to the seats which we had rarely used the whole night, as we had been watching from the screen backstage, and my legs shook nervously. Matt went first, and the music for ‘Many of horror’, one of my favourite songs, cued and he sang. Aiden and I were already up on our feet, clapping.

‘You say I love you boy…’ he sang into the microphone, his eyes shut ‘I know you lie. I trust you all the same…I don’t know why. Cause when my back is turned…my bruises shine. Our broken fairytale, so hard to hide. I still believe, it’s you and me till the end of time’

He hit every single note perfectly, so that the hairs on my arms stood up and sent shivers down my spine. Aiden put his arm around me, and we stood amongst the crowd of people shrowded in darkness, watching the spot-light which was focused on Matt and his moment.

‘When we collide we come together, if we don’t we’ll always be apart. I’ll take a bruise I know you’re worth it. When you hit me, hit me hard’ I found myself singing along, and I looked up and realised Aiden was too.

When it came to the final note, Matt collapsed on his knees and reached it with such a tone and pitch that the crowd went wild like I had never seen them go wild. I clapped as I wiped away some of the pathetic tears I had cried during the song. It was so beautiful. Aiden looked down at me whilst clapping and took his hand, lifting my chin up as I laughed at myself embarrassed. He took my hand and we made our way back stage again.

We found Matt backstage holding his head in his hands, watching the screen which showed Rebecca singing. She was very, very good tonight, and I feared for Matt in a way.

‘Oh my god…the results are so near!’ he looked up at us, biting his nails. We both went up and hugged him and congratulated him on how well his song went.

‘Matt you were bloody amazing’ Aiden said, patting him on the shoulder ‘You even made her cry’ he pointed at me as I covered my face, preventing them from looking at me.

‘Yeah thanks for that Aiden’ I punched him on the shoulder as he recoiled in pain.

‘Ouch!’

‘Your such a wuss!’ Matt commented as we both laughed at his campness, and then Matt’s gaze flickered to the screen again, and then his complexion paled and he swigged at his water.

‘Matt, seriously, calm down. The song was beautiful’ I soothed as Matt still stared at Rebecca’s lips moving, like he couldn’t even hear me. Aiden sighed and tapped the shoulder of a worker and asked to use his phone. He dialled carefully as I watched him.

‘What are you doing?’ I questioned, curious, as he hung up then redialled repeatedly.

‘Voting for Matt of course’ he replied, like it was obvious.

‘Why don’t you use your phone?’ I asked puzzled. Matt seemed to be in his own little bubble as we talked.

‘Cause I never have any credit, silly’ he hung up then dialled again. I grabbed his hand stopping him.

‘Aiden! You can’t do that! That’s someone’s credit you’re wasting’ I protested, as he eyed me, looking slightly guilty. I winked and turned around and asked for the nearest person’s phone, dialling the numbers as he laughed, getting back to dialling his.

‘And the winner of the X-factor 2010…is…’ I brought my hand and covered my mouth, and Aiden did the same. We were backstage with the rest of the 10 other finalists dressed in white, as they had to run on stage once the winner was revealed and when they had to sing their winner’s song. The whole crowd of us huddled amongst the small TV held our breath.

‘Matt!’

Screams and cheers erupted around us, and everyone seemed to jump on Aiden, who was grinning madly. They all knew how much Aiden wanted him to win, and just how close they were. The judges gave a standing ovation for him, as I onlooked with happiness, watching the look of bliss on Matt’s face. He was completely shocked.

They passed him his microphone and he began to sing many of horror shakily, tears in his eyes. A man with an earpiece asked all the finalists to move towards the side of the stage. They all shuffled off excitedly, and Aiden jumped over to me, kissing me intensely before running off to join them.

I watched on the TV, Matt still singing, coming up to the climax of the song. I could see Niall and Aiden sprinting forward, followed by everyone else on the stage and suddenly confetti rained down from the ceiling. Matt’s face when he saw everyone running towards him was so loving and caring – especially to Aiden, and he practically ignored everyone else on stage, and sung the rest of the song facing him, like he was singing it to him. Aiden also recited the words back at him, and I brought my hand back over my mouth again, tears in my eyes. The last final note Matt sung, was forced out as he threw himself at Aiden for a hug and everyone jumped on them, attempting to touch or hug him. Even Danni was thrown back. Nothing could break Maiden, I smiled to myself.