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28. Stories that I can't explain

My first feeling was one of relief. Harry and I hadn't been outted after all. That was good.

But that emotion was quickly replaced with annoyance. What had Harry been doing in the corridor with Ilona McClusky that made the girls from Syco think they were together? What was Ilona doing here in the first place?

And who the fuck did they think they were, planning on selling Harry out to the media, even if the girl he was photographed with wasn't the one he was actually seeing? Well, kind of seeing.

I was rapidly going from rather annoyed to extremely pissed off, but I wasn't quite sure what to do next.

My brain was still churning when, without thinking, I reached forward and flushed the loo.

Shrill Voice muttered, "Shit, somebody's in here!"

"Fuck," hissed one of the other girls.

I could hide no longer. I took a deep breath, opened the door and walked out past the row of toilets, and then around the corner to the front part of the restroom, where three girls were standing by the sinks. They all stared at me like deers caught in headlights, and I couldn't help thinking they must be wondering if I'd heard them discussing selling the photo of Harry.

They needed to be stopped before they tried to make money out of Harry like that. It wasn't on, cashing in on him.

So how was I going to stop them?

I took a deep breath, opened my mouth, and came out with the first thing that came to mind.

"Hi!" I said, all bright and bouncy.

The one holding the phone, a short brunette who had to be Deep Voice, cautiously replied, "Hi."

"So do you ladies work for Syco?" I asked, turning on the tap to wash my hands.

Now they knew I'd heard at least part of the conversation.

"Uh, yeah," said Deep Voice, looking very uncomfortable.

"How cool is that!" My voice rose an octave. "So do you get to come to loads of these concerts?"

"Yeah, we do," said a girl with black hair in a ponytail, whose accent identified her as The Londoner.

"Wow! How amazing!" I said, sounding like I was about to burst a gasket with excitement.

Deep Voice exchanged looks with the blonde girl next to her, who had to be Shrill Voice. They were probably thinking, We've got a right one here.

"It must be sooo amazing having your job!"

As I turned off the tap I could see them relaxing a little. They clearly thought I was just an overexcited fan who was more interested in the fact that they worked for Syco than anything else I might have overheard.

"Yeah, it is cool, I guess," said Shrill Voice.

"You must get to see the guys up close all the time," I said, drying my hands on a paper towel.

"Yeah, we do," said Shrill Voice, sounding bored. "We get used to it though."

Go on, keep thinking I'm an airhead fangirl, I thought, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone.

"Hey, I couldn't get a selfie with you, could I? That would be so cool."

They exchanged looks, a kind of silent code for 'She's mad', but before they had the chance to say no, I turned my back to them, held up the phone and snapped a quick pic of me in the foreground and the three of them behind me.