The Shelley Bet (A George Shelley Fan Fiction)

Chapter 8

"Have fun!" Megan called at George's retreating back as he raced down the corridor to meet the others, trying to make up for lost time.

He spun around so that he was running backwards, gave Megan a big thumbs up and a wide smile before briskly returning to his frantic running.

Megan chuckled to herself before picking up a copy of 'Heat' magazine and making herself comfortable in the waiting room that she was told would broadcast the interview so she could hear it.

She was just getting herself acquainted with a story about Taylor Swift and Harry Styles when a girl came rushing into the room, her long, blonde hair falling down her back. Her face was clouded with confusion, her blue eyes full of panic.

She trotted over to Megan, "Hi, do you know whether Union J have gone for their interview yet?"

"Yeah, I came with George and he just went to meet them."

"Shit! Josh is gonna kill me!" She muttered under her breath.

Megan was overcome with sympathy for the girl, "Is everything alright?"

The girl slumped down in a chair next to Megan, "Not really...I'm Josh's girlfriend and I promised him I'd be on time because I'm always late for everything he does and," She suddenly turned to Megan, "And I'm being really rude! I'm Paulina."

"Nice to meet you, Paulina, I'm Megan. And don't worry about Josh, I'm sure he won't mind," Megan smiled reassuringly.

Paulina smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Megan, I hope so! Anyway, how do you know the boys?"

"George recently started at my school and I met the other boys at a party last night!"

Paulina grimaced, "Oh God, how bad of a state was Josh in?"

Megan laughed, "He was fine, honest."

Paulina took a piece of gum out of a packet and started chewing on it when a voice boomed out of the speakers in the room, "I'm very pleased to announce that UNION J ARE IN THE ROOM!"

Paulina let out a high-pitched squeal as she clapped her hands together excitedly, "That's them!"

The DJ's voice could be heard again, "Why don't you start off by introducing yourselves boys?"

There was a familiar giggle, "I'm George."

"Hi, I'm JJ!"

"I'm Josh."

Paulina let out another girly squeal, "That's my baby!" This caused a few heads to turn in the room.

Megan giggled, deciding that she liked Paulina.

"And I'm Jaymi!"

They listened to the rest of the interview in silence, not wanting to miss anything.

"It's lovely to meet you boys."

"And you," They chorused cheerfully.

"So tell me, how excited are you about starting the live shows next week?"

It was Jaymi's voice, "We're so stoked. This is our dream and the fact that it's becoming a reality is, well, it's pretty hard to believe!"

"Yeah, I mean we can't wait to get up on that stage and just sing our hearts out every week," Josh butted in, "And of course there's going to be lots of parties."

"And girls," George added cheekily.

Megan scoffed before pulling out her phone and typing a new message to George.

George's phone beeped in the studio. He subtly pulled it out of his pocket whilst the other boys were talking about Triple J.

From: Megan

I can hear you, you know.

He giggled, obviously a little too loudly as it caught the attention of the DJ.

Megan could hear George's random giggling and presumed that he'd got her message. She hadn't anticipated what happened next.

There was a tone of bemusement in the DJ's voice, "Got a funny text, have we, George?"

"Sorry," George replied sheepishly.

JJ, who must have read the text, exclaimed, "Ooh it's from Georgey's girlfriend."

You could just about hear George murmur, "Shut up, JJ!"

"Have you got yourself a girlfriend, George?" The DJ asked teasingly, "Can she not wait to see you? Tell her sorry from me for keeping you from her."

"Georgey's got a girlfriend! Georgey's got a girlfriend!" Jaymi and Josh sung in unison.

Megan buried her head in her hands. Oh God, what had she started?

"No no no, she's not my girlfriend! She's just a friend, I swear!" George said quickly.

"Ok, ok, I believe you," The DJ said unconvincingly,"But we may have to keep our eyes on this 'friendship'. What's her name?"

"Megan."

"How did you guys meet?"

"At school..." George giggled, "What is this, an interrogation?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Have you ever kissed her?"

There was a long pause. Too long.

"No?" George replied with uncertainty in his voice.

"I think that pause says otherwise," The DJ laughed, "You're in trouble now, boy."

George didn't say anything else so the DJ quickly moved onto another subject.

Megan resurfaced from behind her hands and shot a desperate look at Paulina, "Is it over?"

"Yeah, you're safe."

Megan bit her lip, "He's not too screwed, is he?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Megan. When the press found out about me and Josh, they went crazy. And that was at boot camp when they weren't even that popular yet. You're gonna have to deal with 'fan girls' as well."

Megan sighed, "Shit. But we're just friends! So everything will be okay, right? Everything will be okay."

Paulina smiled sympathetically, "Sure."

The interview must have finished because Union J appeared one by one in the doorway. Paulina ran over to Josh and kissed him affectionately, telling him that he was amazing on the radio.

George was the last to appear. Megan caught end his eye and mouthed, "I'm so sorry," at him. He waved his hand dismissively and mouthed, "It's fine," back.

George then jogged over to Megan and hugged her, his voice muffled by her hair, "Come on, let's get out of here."

She stepped away from him, breaking the hug, "George, I really am sorry. I didn't know that would happen, was just meant to be a joke and now --"

"Hey, Megan, I know. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks," He cut her off, looking her directly in the eyes.

She nodded, "Okay."

They said their goodbyes before George took Megan by the hand and led her out of the building to begin the rest of their day together.