Represent

Chapter 12

Dorian had followed through on her promise to spend time with us at the after party. I was thankful for it, because her lively personality helped take my mind off seeing Liam again. And the next morning, I was too hungover to do much except hang around the apartment like a vegetable. I didn't check my phone until right before it was time for Dorian to pick us up, about 12pm.

I unlocked my phone to the weirdest message. "Good morning," it read. It was from Liam.

I nearly dropped the phone when I first read it. I actually locked it so I could try the whole thing over again. "Good morning," is still what the text read. It was still from Liam. I was so confused. Wasn't that just a week ago that Liam stormed out of the private room like I had done something awful to him? Wasn't that just a few days ago that Liam hadn't texted me at all since the whole private room thing? And now he wants to "chill" with me? Now he's sending good morning texts? It was all too strange. I hadn't had much experience with relationships, like I said. An awkward sophomoric fling in high school and a few scattered things that didn't go far did not give me much to work off. But I knew well enough to know that guys didn't do this. They didn't treat you nicely when you wanted them to. They weren't actually sweet. And as awesome as it would be, I knew that Liam couldn't be interested in me the way I was in him. So what the hell was going on with him?

I shot back a hasty, "Oh hi, lol. I was still sleep." And once Dorian arrived, I turned the damn thing off.

I should have known turning my phone off was a pointless thing to do. It was day two of Lollapalooza, which was the day Dorian was scheduled to perform at 5pm. This meant that all of G.O.O.D. music would be here to scout her out. This also meant that Zarry would be here to network. And everyone knew that Zarry didn't go anywhere without the rest of the Blood Knights, which meant that there was a 100% chance that I would see Liam at least once today. Multiply that chance by 100% again, because today is also the day that Chance the Rapper was to perform. And everyone wanted to see the Chicago native onstage. Liam was sure to be in that crowd.

For day two, I decided to get a little more creative with my outfit. I wore brown tribal print high-waisted shorts with summer boots. This was matched with a pink bandeau top and an unbuttoned jean shirt. My jewelry was gold and, thanks to Dorian's makeup people, my makeup was on point. Dorian dropped us off just in time to see Chance the Rapper, but she didn't leave before making us promise to meet her behind stage B before she went on. She was not watching the show with us because she had to go prepare for her own. She was a bit nervous, and she really wanted us in the wings for support. I was fine with that, as long as a certain crew didn't join us back there.

Once again, I had to push my way up to the front, but this time Nia joined me since she was also a Chance fan. Due to the home field advantage, this show was even more crowded than J Cole's. I was grateful for the extra protection that should have given me. I was actually able to enjoy the set this time. It was always impressive to see such flawless execution of those difficult rhymes and wordplays. Zayn was going to have a hard act to follow when Zarry performed.

Speak of the devil. Once Chance the Rapper finished his show and the area began to clear out, I spotted Liam's head poking out over the crowd, along with Louis and Niall. I knew in the back of my mind that they'd be out here, but I'd allowed myself to think that I wouldn't have to see them.

"Come on," I hissed, grabbing Nia by the arm. I ignored her complaints and dragged her toward stage B, praying that Dorian hadn't invited the Blood Knights backstage as well. Thankfully, the crowd had covered us and we made it backstage undetected. Still, I was on edge until Dorian actually started her set. I knew that once they'd decided where they were going to enjoy the show, they wouldn't move from their spots. This meant I had at least another hour of freedom from thoughts of Liam.