"You're not going to mention anything you saw last night to anyone." Jeff states, pacing through the living room.
He and Calum's management came over today, to discuss the events that took place last night. So pretty much, there are a bunch of grown men trying to convince two teenagers to keep a secret.
I've kept my arms folded across my chest the entire time, and Calum is so tense he seems like a statue.
"So we're just not going to talk about it?" I ask, looking up at Jeff before glancing at Abe. "We just have to act like we didn't see it?"
Silence washes over us and it causes anger to pulse through my veins. I stand up, raising my voice in case they didn't hear me.
"We are children, Jeff. We're supposed to be finishing school and you're forcing us to act like we don't know that Abe killed someone!" I point a finger at Abe, not wanting to even look at him. "If you would take the time to explain this to us, we would possibly be okay with all of this."
They all stare at me like I'm insane as the only sound in the room is the clock on the wall. Calum's manager, Matt Emsell, finally speaks up as he approaches me.
"We can work something out where the media won't be suspicious." He holds his hands out as if he's handing me something, slowly walking towards me. Calum grabs my hand, gently distancing me from Matt as he proceeds to talk. "You two have to act as if there's something going on between the two of you."
My jaw drops and I feel my body turn into a ball of fire.
"I refuse to pretend I'm in a relationship. I can't have friends but you want me to have a fake boyfriend? There's no way I'm-" I begin to yell at this point, Jeff approaching me.
"Margo, you're an actress, this is your job." His voice is soft and my ears are ringing.
"I'm not going to be someone's beard, Jeff. I want to be a fucking kid." I spit his name out like venom, causing him to slowly back up. "If i have to be in a fake relationship then I get to call the shots from now on. First up on the list, I want to hangout with One Direction and Calum's band all the time."
"Fine," Jeff rolls his eyes, turning to Matt. "We can work something out."
"I'm not done." I hold a finger up, walking towards him. "You don't get to overwork any of us. If we're tired, we get a break, and don't you dare say that won't work because I know it will."
He stands in front of me, shocked at my knowledge of everything.
"Finally, you're going to tell me what the hell is going on with Abe."
———
We've been out at dinner for a couple hours and I don't think Calum likes how heavily I'm monitored.
"Hold my hand." I whisper to Calum, not taking my eyes off of the crowd in front of us.
He looks at me quizzically and I mentally roll my eyes, grabbing his hand.
I watch as the crowd exchange glances of confusion and interest, pointing their cameras towards us. I smile and nudge Calum, silently telling him to follow my actions.
We approach the car as the cameras come closer. The closer they get, the tighter Calum holds my hand.
I give him a look of confusion, noticing he's subconsciously chewing the skin off of his lip.
"Look at me, hey," I grab his face softly and notice his pupils dilate as soon as he lays his eyes on me. "We've got this. We're gonna be okay."
He forces a smile before going back to chewing on his lip. I try to think of ways to distract him before finally coming up with an idea.
"Can I kiss you?" I whisper and he stops moving, his eyes widen as he looks at me. "I'm serious." He slowly nods and I smile, grabbing his face and planting a kiss on his cheek.
Abe pushes us further towards the car, the driver holding the door open. Calum helps me climb into the car when a paparazzi pushes past the fence, coming closer to us.
"Are the two of you the new hottest couple?" He asks, not bothering to pay attention to Abe.
Calum shoots me a look of fear so I poke my head out of the car, answering them.
"Yeah, now move along before I contact your boss and make you lose your job." He backs away as soon as he can, my response leaving him stunned.
Calum eventually climbs into the car, sitting next to me. The driver closes the door, leaving Calum and I pressed together since Abe is sitting in the backseat with us. Abe has his headphones in though, possibly because he wants to ignore my endless questions.
"How are you so good at thinking of comebacks?" Calum asks, looking at me as the car begins moving.
"It's not hard, I learned a lot of things in Australia." I shrug, looking down at my hands which are resting on my lap.
"Do you still talk to your friends from back home? I remember you were well-known at school." He asks and I accidentally laugh.
"I didn't really have many friends back home, Calum. I spent so much time working." I look up at him and he furrows his eyebrows.
"That's not true, you hung out with-"
"Giselle?" I interrupt him and he nods. "She wasn't my friend, she would spread rumours about me. Then right before I left she told me she was going to..."
I trail off, scared I may say too much and he knots his eyebrows together.
"She was going to what?"
"She told me she was going to tell my crush that I like them, despite the knowledge that it would ruin so much for me." I mumble, looking back down at my lap. "It's dumb, really."
He places his hand on my thigh and I feel my heartbeat slow down.
"It's not dumb, I used to have a crush on this one girl and Luke recently almost told her that I liked her." He reassures me and I smile, tilting my head as I study his features.
"Who did you like?" I question him, causing his cheeks to flush a crimson shade. "Okay fine, don't tell me the name but describe her to me."
He sighs, looking out the window.
"She's smart, like, super smart. She speaks so highly about everyone despite knowing how much wrong they've done." He begins explaining the mystery girl and it causes warmth to fill my chest. "That smile of hers is one that I can never get enough of, and her laugh alone could put the stars in the sky." He turns to look at me once again, continuing the description. "She finds small things she enjoys and she never stops talking about them, it's adorable really. Everything about her is amazing, but her eyes are what stand out." He stares into my eyes almost as if he's talking about me before whispering the last sentence. "Her eyes hold stories that she may never tell, but everyone wants to hear."
I get lost in his eyes, almost forgetting what we're talking about.
"What made you like her so much?" I ask softly, scare that if I look away I'll ruin the moment.
"The way she handled things with grace and elegance. She would look at people's demons in the eyes and laugh as if she's seen worse. Her attitude changed the way I looked at life."
I breathe out, still scared to look away. The way he talks about this girl breaks my heart and makes me happy altogether.
"Do the two of you still talk?" I ask, finally looking away.
"Yeah, I don't think she's the same person she used to be though. She's much more confident now." He explains and I nod.
"You should invite her over, I can pay to fly her out here." I smile and he shakes his head. "Why not?"
"She's already here, she moved here before I did. I just hate confrontation."
I furrow my eyebrows, trying to think of anyone he could possibly be talking about. I don't remember anyone else from Australia moving out here before him.
"That'll make things easier," I turn to him once again and he sighs. "We can all hangout sometime. You can invite the other guys as well if you don't want it to just be the two of you."
He scratches the back of his neck and sighs yet again before responding.
"Yeah, I guess."
Why is he acting so bummed out? I'm offering for him to hang out with his crush since before his big debut and he's acting like I just kicked him in the face.
The rest of the car ride is silent, my head filling with different scenarios as we make our way back to the house. We park in my driveway and I notice Jeff standing outside.
Calum helps me out of the car, closing the door behind us as we approach Jeff who looks pissed.
"What the hell did you do?" He angrily asks me and I furrow my eyebrows. "The media won't shut up about you."
I shrug and he continues his pointless rant.
"You told them that the two of you are dating? What the hell Margo?"
"I thought that you wanted them to know that we're 'dating?'" I ask, confused as to why he's mad. "Didn't you say any publicity is good publicity?"
He pinches his nose bridge, right between his eyes before forming a response.
"Margo, I wanted you to ease them into it, not yell at them right before threatening their job! Did you not learn anything in media training?" His argument is making my head hurt so I begin to walk away, causing him to grab my arm as hard as he can. "Tell me what is going on in your fucking head."
"Let go of me." I try to wiggle out of his grasp and he tightens his grip on me, causing me to flinch in pain.
"Answer me." He stares at me like I just lit his house on fire and I feel like I'm going to pass out.
"Jeff, I think you're hurting her." Calum tries to talk some sense into Jeff, who ignores him.
"I said answer me!" Jeff yells again and I begin to cry this time.
"I don't know, I-"
"Bull shit!" He yells, finally dropping my arm but slapping me across the face.
We all stand in front of my house, stunned with fear, shock and confusion.
"Margo..." Calum reaches out to grab me as I touch my face, my cheek burning against my hand.
"Get away from me."
I run into my house, getting up to my room as fast as I can. I've always been scared of Jeff but I've never expected him to hit me.
I look around my room, trying to find my pills to calm down.
"You're just overreacting Margo, calm down." I whisper to myself, but it isn't working.
After a few minutes of flinging my belongings around my room, I back away from my dresser, the back of my legs slamming into my bed.
My heart is pounding in my ears and my head feels as if it's going to explode.
I fall to the ground, pulling my legs up to my chest and burying my head into my knees.
I start hitting my head as an attempt to distract myself, but that doesn't work either.
"I said, you're just overreacting." I whisper to myself again, not wanting to have a panic attack.
Think happy thoughts Margo, think about Australia.
The way everything felt safe in Australia because that is where your friends are. That's where all of your core memories are. Associate it with happy things.
Associate it with people you love.
People like Calum.
Oh no.