The perfect princess.

Violets P.O.V

“Mum what are you doing?” I ask from my position at the bottom of the staircase. She pulls her eyes away from the container sat on the table in front of her and turns to me with a startled expression.

“You scared me, baby” she says holding a frail hand to her chest “how long have you been there?”

I’d been sitting there for an hour, watching the tears pour down her face as she swallowed pill after pill from the container. But even as a 9 year old, I knew better than to tell the truth “I just came down for a drink of water a minute ago” I say cautiously.”Why are you swallowing all those pills, mummy? Aren’t they medication? Are you sick?”The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them.

She looks down at the sphere shaped container before walking over towards me and pulling me in for a hug “Everyone has their ways of dealing with things, honey, I’m not sick. I just get sad sometimes” she says as she runs her hand repeatedly through my hair.

“Why are you sad mummy?” I ask curiously, not understanding how someone as beautiful and charming as my mother could find anything to feel sad about.

“I just have a lot of regrets... but don’t worry sweetheart. Everything’s going to be okay, just don’t tell your daddy about this, alright. This’ll just be our little secret” tears spill down her face as she kisses my cheek and I agree not to tell anyone. Sharing a secret with my mum seemed like the most exciting thing in the world...

“Vi! Vi, you’re doing it again” says Eric clicking his fingers in front or my face. I burst out of my trip down happy memory lane and smack his hand away.

“Stop clicking at me, I’m not a dog” I say with annoyance, adjusting my dress so that it wasn’t riding up and exposing my pale legs.

“You know I really think you should see a therapist about that” he says with amusement, making sure to keep his voice down even though it was so noisy in the room, there really was no point.

“About what?” I ask, even though I couldn’t care less. All I wanted was to get out of this stupid dress, find a bottle of vodka and get drunk watching Greece.

“The frequency in which you disappear inside your head” he says in a tedious voice “seriously though, if you got out of your mind once in a while you’d realise what a beautiful world we live in and how much of it you have yet to see. It’s also very rude.”

“Fuck you” I say irritably “you’re hardly Ghandi.”

He laughs. “Now that is not the talk of a princess, tut tut...” Before I have time to strangle him, the lights dim and a few orange stage lights turn on. “Ahhh yes, time for the acts,” says Eric as he props his legs up on the seat in front of him.

“Put your feet down, Eric,” I murmur to him but he only chuckles and puts an arm around my shoulders.

Music starts playing and 5 young boys appear on stage, a blonde one who looks ridiculously like Justin Bieber starts singing “You’re insecure, don’t know what for... You’re turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or. Don’t need make-up to cover up... being the way that you are, is en-o-o-ugh.”

And that’s when something truly unreal happens.

Harry starts singing.

Harry’s boy band! I can’t fucking believe it. This must be fate. It just has to be. He has a nice voice and I can’t help but feel satisfaction from the fact that I’d had a conversation with him, he was like a god. Even Eric’s snide comments about getting a real job couldn’t stop the flutter in my chest. This boy was born a performer.

When I was 13, after a particularly bad row I had with dad. Mum came into my room and told me the story of the ‘mask’. I found out that day, the calm and collected expression my mum always wore, was really just a good poker face.

“Letting a man know what you’re feeling is a dangerous thing, Violet,” she wipes a tear that was trickling down my cheek and stands me up in front of the mirror.

“Never let your guard down around a man” she warns before dabbing at my wet eyes with the back of her sleeve “if he knows your true feelings for him, he’ll take advantage of it.” She smiles at me through the mirror, her beautiful face wearing its usual red lipstick and smoky eye make-up. I had a feeling she was talking about her relationship with dad now, but I don’t say anything. Instead I copy the expression on her face and she smiles warmly at me.

“Good girl” she strokes a finger along my cheek “A lady always conceals her feelings”.

Since then, even when I felt like a complete wreck or about to die from happiness, you would never know. I’d perfected the mask.

So hidden behind my unreadable mask, for the next 3 minutes, or however long the song is, I didn’t take my eyes off him. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

If cupid was real, he totally just shot me

Harry’s P.O.V

I could see her eyeing me the entire performance. I caught her eyes a few times but her face was unreadable. She was always unreadable though. If there was anything I’d learned from the four hour plane ride with her, it was that her body guards weren't her only layer of defence. I guess she doesn't like feeling vulnerable.

“Harry!” I blink my eyes and focus on the girl standing in front of me. Taylor Swift. “Were you even listening to anything I just said?”

“Yeah, course babe” I say and she blushes slightly because I called her ‘babe’. What is it with girls and being called babe? They love it.

“So... now you can text me,” she says happily and I nod.

“Definitely... I’ll just go get us some drinks yeah?” I give her a kiss on the cheek before she has time to open her mouth and leave through the crowds. I make my way over to the food and drinks table, keeping my eyes peeled for Violet. A few minutes later, I find her and her brother sitting with more people in suits, her face in its usual -good-luck-reading-my-expression- motherfucker- . With the help from my good friend vodka, I find the courage and walk towards her before greeting her and her company.

“Nice to meet ya,” I shake hands with her brother, who introduces himself as Eric. Violet eyes me, her head tilted and her eyes skimming across mine.

“Mind if I borrow Violet for a dance?” I ask Eric, but to be honest I think he was too drunk to play the big brother game. He merely shrugs and gives Violet a cheeky look.

I hold my hand out to her and she takes it, her eyes boring into me. “I had no idea you could be so polite,” she says as I lead her through the dark crowded room. Through the sweaty bodies, one of which I swear was Katy Perry, I find a quiet corner and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her in closer. She puts hers around my neck and rests her head in the nape of my neck. I could smell her vanilla perfume and feel the soft beating of her heart through the slim material of her dress. It felt like all my senses of her were heightened, but everything else in the room was slipping away. It was just me and her.

“There is a lot you don’t know about me, princess,” I say and she stifles a laugh.

“You do know we’re slow dancing to Jason Derulo, right?” she says with amusement.

“I didn’t really notice...” I reply truthfully. “Are you just trying to stray the conversation from the fact that you’re stalking me?”

“Stalking you?” she scoffs.

“Well yeah... But don’t worry, you won’t be the first.” I murmur softly.

“Such a big ego for someone who wears onesies,” she laughs.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” It was then that I notice her fingers were in my hair and twirling my curls.

“You’re girlfriends looking for you,” She turns us around and over her shoulder I see Taylor standing exactly where I left her, looking extremely agitated as her eyes search through the crowds.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I say quickly.

“She’s pretty,” Violet says quietly. I swear I would give anything just to know what was going through her head right now. Was she jealous? I wish she’d just let her guard down. I would never hurt her.

“She’s not you”