Teardrops on My Guitar

"I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl's he talks about and she's got everything that I have to live without." - Taylor Swift

The sound of music inside William’s apartment made me smile as I stepped closer to the wooden door and raised my fist to knock on it. It didn’t take long for the door to open and William’s face to be smiling down at me, causing my heart to flutter and butterflies erupt in my stomach.

“You’re early,” he stated looking at his watch. "And you're first dressed."

“I know,” I replied wrapping my arms around his waist. “But I left my curlers here.”

A chuckle escaped his lips and caused his chest to rumble, make me laugh myself. We detached ourselves from each other and I stepped around him to walk into his apartment, which, as per usual, was a complete and utter mess.

“This place looks like a bomb hit it,” I told William as we walked past me towards his bedroom.

“I’ve just got back from tour, what do you expect?” he asked.

I just shrugged and put my bag on the floor before following him to the bedroom. He pulled his top off as I rooted in his beside draw for my curling tongs.

“Someone’s being wishful,” I stated holding up a strip of condoms.

“Would you rather I got her pregnant?” he countered as he stepped into the bathroom.

“No,” I shouted as I pulled my curlers out.

His chuckle echoed through to the bedroom and I laughed lightly myself as I set up the curlers on his bedside table. William was out of the shower before I had finished and the sight of him with just a towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water running down his chest, was enough to make my knickers wet and the breath hitch in my throat.

“What time is it?” he asked walking over to his wardrobe and pulling out some clothes.

“What?” I started snapping out of my trance of staring at him. “It’s quarter past six,” I told him looking at my phone.”

“Shit everyone will be here soon,” he muttered as he walked around to the opposite side of bed to give himself some privacy.

“How come Nadine’s not staying with you?” I asked as I felt the bed go down.

“She wanted to stay with the girls, you know coz there all in a foreign country,” he replied.

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me, and carried on doing my hair, not really wanting to get onto the topic of Nadine. The sound of Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances,” filled the room from William’s TV and a giggle fell from my lips.

“This song reminds me of you,” he told me. “Coz you’re always taking chances.”

“I love this song,” I told him. “Don’t know much about your life, don’t know much about your world but, don’t wanna be alone tonight on this planet they call Earth. You don’t know about my past and I don’t have a future figured out and maybe this going too fast and maybe it’s not meant to last,” I sang along.

“I miss hearing you sing,” William whispered falling back on the bed so his head was next to my thigh. “I always loved it.”

“Thanks,” I muttered as a blush began to form on my neck.

“Lie down with me,” he said as I put the tongs away.

I swivelled around and fell back on the bed so I was parallel with William and my head was resting on his outstretched arm, my hand resting on my stomach. We lay there talking about university, our childhood, tours I had been on with him and tours I hadn’t.

“So what’s this deal with Chris?” he asked toying with my hair.

“There’s no deal, we’re just going to the pictures,” I told him. “There’s nothing going on.”

“His eyes told a different story,” he informed me a little coldly. “He was looking at you like you were a piece of meat.”

I rolled my eyes at his comment and shook my head: he could be so childish when he wanted to be.

“No need to be jealous,” I told him patting his chest. “You’ll always be my other half.”

He turned his head to look at me and smiled, kissing my cheek softly. The sound of knocking on the front door made us – reluctantly – get up from the bed. William went to open while I sat on the couch, messing with my phone which I had just gotten out of my bag.

“Beverley,” William said, making me wince at the sound of my full name but catching my attention. “This is my girlfriend Nadine.”

I looked at her and smiled as best as I could, earning a glare from her.

“Nadine, this is my best friend Bev,” he told her.

“Nice to meet you,” she said in her thick Irish accent, holding her perfectly manicured hand out to me.

“Same here,” I replied holding out my bitten and chewed hand.

The doorbell rang again and William excused himself to go and answer it. Nadine – who was still holding my hand – pulled me closer to her.

“You dare break me and William up, I swear to God I will hurt you,” she hissed in my ear.

“You dare hurt William, I swear to God I will kill you and trust me, my threat’s more believable than yours,” I hissed back. “You’re plastic, fake and orange, the most you could do to me is cover me in fake tan.”

The sound of William walking back into the room made her pull away from me and turn to look at him, a fake smile plastered on her overly orange face.

“This is the rest of Nadine’s band,” he told me. “This is Bev,” he told them. “You know them don’t you?” he asked.

“I have an eleven year old cousin whose one of the biggest chavs going, course I do,” I replied.

William glared at me from next to Nadine, but I just shrugged and walked over to my bag, taking out my packet of cigarettes and lighter.

“When Nicholas comes, tell him I’m outside, I needed a smoke,” I told William.

“Oh I need one too,” Nadine said picking her own bag up. “Do you mind if I come too?” she asked, a fake smile plastered on her fake face.

I went to say yes, I do mind, but the look on Willam’s face made me change my mind. “Of course I don’t,” I smiled falsely. “You can tell me how you and William met while we’re out there. He never did tell me.”

“Of course I will, anyone else coming?” Nadine asked turning to look at her band.

They all shook their heads and went sit down around the room whilst William walked into his bedroom. I looked at the door confused until he came out holding two hoodies, throwing one at me and putting the other one on himself.

“It’s too cold,” I said as I sat down on the bench on William’s balcony.

“It’s Chicago, of course it’s cold,” he replied wrapping his arms around Nadine.

I smiled weakly at him before attempting to light my cigarette but failing to do so as it was so cold. I dared glance at William who was shielding Nadine from the cold whilst she lit her own. My heart tugged slightly as I realised that I was always going to be second best to some other girl when it came to William, I was never gonna be his and he was never gonna be mine.