ASSUMPTIONS [H.S.]

chapter 11

"No yeah you're right..." Chloe says in a weird tone, then softly laughs, "See, I told you guys they aren't dating!" she swats her other two friends' shoulders, proving them wrong.

"Yeah you're always right," Lauren sighs, as the fog machines go off near the stage, filling the air with smoke, "Doesn't he only date older women and models anyway?"

"I wouldn't know," I shrug, growing more and more uncomfortable at the topic for some reason.

"You know, If you ask me, he doesn't seem like a nice guy. I met him at Liv's birthday party and he was very cold to me... I guess all popstars are the same," Chloe continues, and when I want to object, she just shrugs it off, "But I'm definitely just drunk and don't know anything."

"You were right about the other thing as well, Chlo." Liz quietly laughs, as I barely heard her comment over the pounding music around us.

What's that supposed to mean?

"What other thing?" I furrow my brows, as Liz stiffens in front of me, clearly surprised I heard her.

"Nothing," Lauren shrugs it off, but I give them all three a death glare until one of them breaks their act.

"Fine." Chloe rolls her eyes, playing with the straw in her drink. "No offense, but as a social media influencer, I could see you were giving Harry bad publicity from those articles."

Huh?

"What do you mean?" I search around the club for Olivia, spotting her still waiting at the bar for the drinks.

"It's just that... you're not really famous..." Chloe continues, so I give her a puzzled look, trying to figure out where she's leading with this.

"I mean, think about the articles if he's dating a model or a celebrity. And then think about the articles if he's supposedly dating someone known as a cheater. It's bad publicity. Especially if he's releasing new music, as you said. And if the articles continue, it could be the downfall of his career."

"Yeah, but I'm not a cheater," I contend, feeling somehow frustrated.

"Well, nobody knows that since you're not a celebrity," she explains, as I see Olivia coming our way with a tray of shots.

"Yeah, and imagine how messy the break-up would be if you two were actually dating. Remember how chaotic yours was the last time?" Liz continues, and when I want to tell her it wasn't my fault, Olivia strolls into our booth with a tray of vodka shots in her hand.

"What are y'all talking about?" she asks, handing each of us a shot, as I force out a "Nothing," offering her a smile.

She gives me a weird look but encourages us to empty the glasses. "Bottoms up!" so we all chug the shots, and I take two more, downing them consecutively, and chase it with a juice I couldn't tell the flavor of.

There's no way I could possibly be ruining his career.

Right?

I mean, Chloe's right. As weird as it sounds, if he's seen with someone with unexplained rumors tied to them, he gets shamed along with the person.

All this trouble just because people like to make assumptions about others.

"Enough of the gossip... There's this one movie that I think is going to do really well... And I got casted for it!" Olivia exclaims, wiping the corners of her mouth to remove the small droplets from her drink.

"No waaaaay! I'm so fucking proud!" I hug her once again, "You must invite me when you're receiving that first Oscar!" I cheer, referring to her biggest dream.