1Dentity (One Direction Affection: Book 1) [Watty Awards 2012]

3: Surprise, Surprise!

Should I do it? I ask myself. 

My hand was hovering over the Enter key as I mentally debate with myself. Part of me wants to see what people are saying; I mean, I have the right to know, don't I? They are talking about me. However, another part of me doesn't want to find out. What if what everyone else is saying is worse than what I got back at Starbucks? If so, then I don't want to see it. I don't want to read a bunch of rude comments. Those people don't even know the truth.

The truth.

That was something that would've been valuable to me last night. Why didn't Harry tell me that he was in a boy band? He could've said, "Hey, my name is Harry Styles and I'm in One Direction. Mind if I spend the night with you and make you forget all about your problems?" If he said that, all of this could've been avoided.

If he told me that how would I have reacted? Would I have treated him the same as I did last night? I'd like to think I would have.

Truth was, I never really cared for One Direction. I don't know much about them except for the fact that they are British, they sing, girls faint in their presence, and their song What Makes You Beautiful is constantly playing at work. I never really hopped on board the 1D Train, nor did I have any intention to.

I sigh, staring at my computer screen. I had Google up, the words "Harry Styles in Sydney" already typed in. My curiosity got the better of me. All I had to do was press Enter. 

And that's exactly what I do.

My heart pounds as I wait for the search engine to load up and when it finally does, I look through the articles. Most of them are about the One Direction Concert late tonight and how this is their last show before they hit America. 

However, I pause when I see the images that pop up with the search.

It was the same picture that the girls at Starbucks had shown me. Without hesitation, I click the picture and it redirects me to Twitter. I scroll through the comments.

- Really @Harry_Styles? You can't stay out of trouble for one night? :P #SydneySexcapades

-Out of all the girls @Harry_Styles can screw, he chose her? #HarrysMysteryGirl #Don'tMakeMeSick

-You'd think that @Harry_Styles would go for someone prettier than her. Who is this girl anyway? #HarrysMysteryGirl #Confused

- Do you think she's a fan? God, I wish that was me! @Harry_Styles I love you! Can I be next? #HarrysMysteryGirl

- What a slut! Stealing my man! Doesn't she know @Harry_Styles and I are going to get married soon? We just need to meet... #ICanKillSomeone #HarrysMysteryGirl

Those replies were pretty much repeated throughout a majority of the comments regarding the picture. There was an occasional comment where the person would defend me, but that was rare compared to the amount of death threats I got.

I close the laptop, not wanting to read anymore. 

It was weird reading something about me on the Internet. I mean, here were all these girls talking about me as if I was someone to gossip about. 

Which, now I guess I was.

"Paige?" 

Aunt Julia's sweet voice rang throughout my empty apartment. Her and Uncle Mike are really my only visitors, besides the mailman. My aunt and uncle both come in as they please, considering I gave them an extra key. They thought it would be a good idea if they had a spare just in case I lock myself out. 

I've only lived in this apartment for about three months. The second I turned eighteen, I wanted to move out. It's not like my aunt and uncle were horrible people, it's just I prefer a living space to myself. It was something I was accustomed to when I was growing up, considering my parents were never really watching me.

"I'm in my room!" I call out to her.

A few seconds later, Aunt Julia peers through the threshold. Her slightly grey-ish brown hair was  in her usual loose ponytail, a pair of wire rimmed glasses rests on her round nose. In her arms she is holding a paper bag that is no doubt filled with groceries.

"Hey, girlie," she smiles, then nods toward her bag. "I just thought I'd bring over some food that your uncle and I won't eat."

"Thank you, Aunt Julia," I say with a genuine smile.

Aunt Julia was always bringing over food. I knew she was going out and buying me food since she knew I can't afford much of anything on a waitress salary. She always made some excuse to give me food. At first, I stubborn with accepting it, but over time I just learned to accept it. Even though I wasn't living with Aunt Julia or Uncle Mike anymore, they still treated me like the child they could never have.

"How was your sleep?" She asks, shifting her weight between feet.

She knew I had the dreams. She was probably the only one that knew about them. Back when I used to live with her, anytime I had the dream, she would stay with me, rubbing my back as she sang me to sleep. Now, since I moved out; I had to take walks to calm me down.

"It was good," I lie, not even ready to explain my night.

"I'm glad, sweetie," She says and then adds as she nods to the paper bag. "I'm just going to put these away for you."

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Julia," I call out as she walks back into the kitchen.

I can't help but wonder if Aunt Julia knows about what happened last night. Did she see the picture? Does she know that I unknowingly spent the night with a member of One Direction?  I mean, I knew she wouldn't because she was never one to keep up with the tabloids. However I couldn't help but worry.

I could already hear Aunt Julia tell me how dangerous it is to sleep on a beach, on top of being there with a guy that I didn't even know. And what would Uncle Mike say? Probably something about using protection, which is just as embarrassing.

The sound of a knock on my front door pulls my attention back to the preset. 

I listen as I hear my Aunt pull the front door open. "Hello," She greets.

"Hello," a male voice answers back in a pleasant tone. I hear a hint of an accent but I can't pin it, nor do I recognize it. "I was wondering if I could speak to Paige. Is she home?"

"Yes, she is. Hold on," Aunt Julia says, and then calls out. "Paige! Door!" Then, back to the guest. "Would you like to come in?"

I got up from my bed, pushing my laptop off to the side. I slowly make my way to the living room.

"Oh, no thank you. I don't plan on staying long." They answer back right when I come into view.

My eyes lock with the visitors. Just like his voice, I didn't recognize him. He had dark brown hair that was slicked in a comb-over fashion, which framed his porcelain skin and dark eyes. He had slight bags under his eyes and age lines. A forced smile spreads across his mouth, exposing his bright, white teeth. It's obvious that this guy cares about his image and I can't help but roll my eyes internally at that.

"And you must be Paige!" He says in an overly excited voice. He was maybe a little too excited. 

"Yeah," I say cautiously. How did this guy know who I was? Was he some paparazzi who came here to get the scoop on what happened last night? "Uh, who are you exactly?"

He didn't answer me. "Do you suppose we can talk out here?"

I narrow my eyes at him and then turn my gaze to Aunt Julia, who was too busy washing out lettuce to notice what the man offered. 

"You can't talk to me here?" 

"Outside will work even better," he says, the forced smile still playing on his lips.

"Aunt Julia, I'll be outside," I say as I step through the front door. Before I shut the door behind me, I hear my aunt shout back a quick approval. "Okay, now who are you?"

"My name is Vincent Waller," he pauses as if his name was supposed to mean something to me. When I didn't respond, he continues. "And I'm One Direction's Manager."

I let out a small sigh of relief. Well, at least he wasn't here to get an inside scoop on Harry. However, being One Direction's Manager was the next worst thing. What could he want with me? I didn't do anything. Does he think that I told Harry to sneak out? How did he know where I live?

"How did you even find me?" I ask curiously. I didn't leave any traces for them to follow. I mean, I didn't even tell Harry my name.

"Some girls at a Starbucks claimed they saw you. Your name was on your cup. Then I just asked around and I ended up here," he answers, obviously proud with his detective work.

"Um, okay. But did I do something wrong?" I ask, but before I let Vincent answer, I continue. "Because if Harry told you that I convinced him to sneak out, he's a liar! I don't even know the guy and in all honesty, I wish last night never happened. I mean, how the heck was I supposed to know that he was famous? It's not my fault! And I ca-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Vincent says as he holds his hands up to calm me down. For the first time since he's been over, a real smile was on display. "We aren't blaming you for anything."

I cock my head and let out a deep breath. "Well, then what are you here for?"

"We just need to talk to you about something," he answers vaguely.

"Okay, and that would be?"

"It's best if we don't talk about it here." he says quietly. 

"Then where?" I ask. Man, this guy was demanding. First he didn't want to talk in my apartment, and now he can't talk outside. What else does he want?

"I want you to meet me and the boys in our hotel later on today so we can discuss our situation."

"The boys?"

"One Direction."

"Oh," My mouth holds the 'o' shape. 

Vincent shoves a business card into my hand before I can respond. "We're staying at The Amara. Call me if you need a lift. Have a nice day, Paige. Oh, and do me a favor and don't tell your mom about this conversation. It's best if we keep this hush-hush."

I have no chance to respond as Vincent Waller walks down the steps and towards the car lot. Mr. Waller didn't even give me time to even think about what just happened. I didn't even realize that he called Aunt Julia my mom. 

All I can think is that something big is going to happen. I just can't tell if that something was good or bad.

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A/N

Okay, so this chapter is longer! Yay! More Harry in the next chapter! 

I apprecaite all the comments and votes i've gotten! They make my day! :D I already have the next chapter written, so I might post it today :P

THANK YOU!