Haunted

“Ooh, dinner smells nice,” I smiled, coming into the kitchen and giving Xander a kiss.
“Pasta and garlic bread.” So it wasn’t anything fancy but compared to the food Xander usually made, this was gourmet.
“Yummy.”
“Just to let you know, we’re going round Isabelle’s tomorrow. Oh joy,” he joked.
“Don’t be mean, she’s lovely.”
“You’re right. She always has a lot of food.”
“Shut up,” I laughed, “You know the other night?”
“Yeah.”
“When you said you’ve liked me for ages? How long exactly?” He shrugged, looking down at the floor.
“I don’t know, a little while I guess.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. I’m not really sure.” I kind of knew what he meant. I mean, I’d loved him for ages but I’d loved Liam too and it was so confusing.
“Okay, why didn’t you say something sooner?” He thought for a minute.
“Because you were with dipshit. As much as I hate him, I didn’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“What made you change your mind?” Xander laughed.
“God, it’s like I’m doing another interview.”
“Sorry, I just really want to know.” He laughed again.
“It’s okay. Umm…I guess it’s because…” he trailed off, and thought for a few minutes, pushing his food around on his plate.
“I didn’t want to say anything because if you didn’t feel the same way, it would be awkward between up and stuff but after what happened with Leven, I wouldn’t see you again anyway so it was worth a shot at least.”
“Aww, you’re kind of cute really.”
“Shut up you,” he laughed.

I woke up early the next morning, and got ready. Xander’s apartment was unusually messy so I ran the hoover round and cleared up a bit. “Hey,” Xander mumbled, wandering into the kitchen, still half asleep.
“Hi,” I smiled, “I made you breakfast.” I handed him a plate of bacon sandwiches.
“My favorite, ta babe,” he said, giving me a kiss.
“Anytime.”
“I gotta tell you – three weeks’ time, it’s the Lone Survivor red carpet premiere,” he explained.
“Oh really? Where’s that then?”
“It’s in Hollywood but I just wondering something.”
“Yeah?”
“Well…obviously…I can take someone but I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, it would be great to have you there – I don’t want you feeling you’re not welcome. It’s just…you know what the fans are like; it’s fucking insane. They can be pretty mean when it comes to me having a girlfriend. I don’t want to put any extra stress on you.” I was so happy he’d invited me but I was also confused. He didn’t want to tell anyone about his relationship with Leven, why was he desperate to tell people about us?
“Yeah…I really don’t mind. It would be great to come but like you said, I don’t know if I can put up with all the hate I’m gonna get.”
“Exactly. It’s nothing personal what they say; they do it to every girl I’m rumored to be dating. I just don’t want you getting a load of hassle, it’s the last thing you need. Obviously, they’re going to find out at some point, I just don’t think now is the right time. It’s completely up to you though,” he reasoned.
“Okay…well, I’ll think about it and let you know. Right now, we need to get to Isabelle’s.” I really wasn’t sure what to do. The idea of going to a movie premiere was awesome but I couldn’t cope if I started getting a load of crap from his fans. Pushing the thought to the back of my mind, I picked up the keys and we headed out. No sooner had we stepped out the front door were we greeted by screams, cheers and camera flashes. Hundreds of reporters, photographers and fans had congregated. Someone had told them about us, and there were no prizes for guessing who that was. Xander immediately pulled me inside and slammed the door. “What the fuck?” he cried. This was crazy. I fought to hold back tears. Was this my life from now on? Would I constantly be surrounded by reporters and Alexander Ludwig fans?
“What are we gonna do?” I asked quietly. Xander wrapped his arms round me and we both remained silent for a few seconds.
“Okay, I’m gonna phone my mum, she’ll do some damage control and this is all gonna be sorted out, yeah?” His mum was his manager; therefore I trusted she’d know what to do. Even so, I wasn’t sure this would all get sorted out. They knew about us, and we couldn’t undo that. I hated Liam so much, even more than I did before, if that was possible. How could he do this? Why was he doing this? This wasn’t his secret to tell. Xander and I both knew the real reason I felt sick with fear though; I was scared Liam had told the real secret. That wasn’t fair. Xander wouldn’t stay with me when the whole world knew he was dating an abused and fucked-up freak. Xander paced back and forth as the phone rang.
“Hi, mum!” he cried, when she picked up. There was a pause. “My house if fucking surrounded by reporters. Someone told them about me and Danni…no mum, I’m not with Leven anymore…yes you can meet Danni but now is not the time…what the fuck are we meant to do…I can’t get out my house…alright, see you soon…yeah bye,” he said, hanging up.
“What’s she said?”
“She said to stay in, don’t talk to any reporters – she’s getting the next plane; she should be here in a few hours,” he explained. His family lived in Vancouver so we were pretty much stuck at home all day.
“What about Isabelle?” I asked, a tear slipping down my cheek. He cupped my cheeks, wiping the tear away with his thump.
“I’ll phone her. She can come round here.”