Fame ***

“Whoa.”

I laughed when I saw Jem’s wide eyes and spun in a circle to show off the dress a little more. “Does this look okay then?”

“Uh.”

“Very articulate.” I stepped into his apartment without asking for permission, barely hearing him close the door behind me. “Where’s Beth?”

“Here!” she called, emerging from Jem’s bedroom, hooking a sparkly, chandelier-like earring through her small ear. “Oh, Lilah, you look beautiful.”

“Why, thank you.” I gave her a small curtsy and returned the compliment, nodding toward her classic little black dress, which was adorned with white details to keep it from behind too boring. “I adore that.”

“Just let me know if you ever want to borrow it,” she granted. Thank God we were the same size. “Alright, let’s get going before we’re late.”

I followed behind her as she made her way out to the hallway, while Jem brought up the rear to close and lock his door. Once he was all set, his hurried footsteps were audible as his girlfriend and I made some comfortable small talk. I always admired how easy it was for Beth to make conversation with people and sound like she actually cared about stupid things, whereas I always sounded uninterested in those rare occasions where I actually made the effort to go up to random people and start talking with them.

And soon enough, after a short limo ride, we pulled up to the venue for the party. It was already incredibly packed with paparazzi, the cameras pulsing like strobe lights every time they clicked and making me feel dizzy. For whatever reason, once I stopped being surrounded by the flashes constantly, my eyes went back to the way they’d been before they’d grown used to them.

I made my rounds, posing differently for each angle and each reporter that I could, showing off my silver dress that separated in the middle, making it look like a high-waisted pencil skirt and a crop top. It was fun, showing a small strip of my tanned stomach, while still maintaining an air of sophistication that was so important to my image just then. I knew that my hair looked good from the amount of time I’d spent on it in the mirror, still not able to reach my goal of becoming big enough to get my own hair and makeup people to get me ready for events.

When I was finally inside, I was instantly embraced by Selena, who thanked me for coming and showed me where the food and drinks were before she moved on to another group that had just entered.

After scanning the crowd a few times for Jem and Beth, watching for her distinct caramel locks in the sea of heads, I gave up and headed to the food, figuring that I’d see them eventually enough.

Whoever had been booked to cater for the party had been the right decision. The food was incredibly cute, with small sandwiches of all kinds of varieties, hors d’oeuvres that made my mouth water, and simple salads and vegetable sticks for people who were harder to please.

I put a few things on my plate to nibble on, not wanting to make people think that I was trying to pack on the weight, and turned, taking a bite out of something that looked like a stuffed mushroom.

And there he was, making his way toward the food table. If he hadn’t so recently re-dyed his hair, the almost-platinum color sticking out among the crowd, I probably would have missed him. I hadn’t been looking for him, after all, and seeing him in person instantly made my knees weak and my heart pound viciously.

I probably should have put my food back on the table for one of the waiters to pick up and dispose of before hiding in the bathroom and avoiding any kind of awkwardness. But I’d been waiting to talk to Niall again for the longest time. Since he told me never to call him again, I’d followed his orders, and we’d had no contact whatsoever. Unless me stalking him on the internet counted, but I didn’t think it did.

He didn’t seem to notice me, just plucking up various foods that struck his fancy without thinking about how it would make him look. Even after the whole disaster, it still didn’t occur to him to stress about how the public perceived him.

“Hi.”

The word came out before I could stop it, and it took all my self-control to keep me from smacking myself in the forehead. I should have thought more about what I was going to say before initiating a conversation, and I probably should have made sure that Niall knew I was close by. I’d just assumed that he could see me standing there, which couldn't have been more wrong, since he jumped, startled, and dropped everything from his plate on the floor.

“Nice job,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Did you just come out of the wallpaper or something?”

“Sorry,” I muttered, feeling my cheeks fill with a blush. “So, um, how have you been?”

For a second, he looked at me with disbelief and opened his mouth, probably to ask me if I was being serious. Then, thinking about it again, he cleared his throat and straightened out his jacket. God, he looked beautiful. “I’m fine. I’ve been fine. My girlfriend’s around here somewhere…”

“Oh, I’d like to meet her, if you ever find her.” I gave him a small smile and expected him to ask me how I had been, but he didn’t. There was just an awkward silence where he grabbed another specimen of each food that had been tossed on the floor.

It didn’t occur to me until then, but I’d so been hoping that his girlfriend was just a rumor. I’d wanted more than just closure; I’d wanted a traditional chick flick ending, where our fight turned out to mean nothing, and we got back together as we slow-danced to some cheesy 80’s ballad.

But that wasn’t real life, and things didn’t work out that way.

“Did you have anything else to say, Lilah?”

The question was so curt, almost the point of being rude, that I was taken aback. “Look, Niall,” I started, cutting straight to the chase so I didn’t delay his party any further, “I’m sorry for what happened. I hope you realize that the story was not my idea, and my old agent put it out there as revenge when I fired her. If you ever want to hear the entire story, I’ll be more than happy to tell you, but it’s not really something I can say right here.” I took a short breath and looked him in the eye, trying to ignore the fact that it was making my vital signs go crazy. “But please know that I never intended to hurt you and that I really did care about you. I’m so sorry that happened, and I would have done anything in my power to stop it.”

Niall didn’t say anything, his eyes so intense that I could feel my confidence wavering. “Well, I’m going to find my friends, if we’re all done here,” I mumbled, inching my way back toward the mingling crowd.

I was just about to push my way through when I heard it, the words I’d been dying to hear for the past couple of months: “I forgive you, Lilah.”

That was all I’d ever needed, and although it didn’t change the fact that he had a girlfriend, that he’d moved on, at least I had the closure I’d so desperately needed.

And like I’d offered, Niall did end up calling me to get the entire story. Although the truth had hurt him, like how he was originally a tool for me to get more publicity, the reality of the situation helped him get the closure that he so obviously desired.

Because, in the end, the truth was all we really needed. To have everything out in the open, without secrets, without any acting or sneaking around, everyone could be happy. It wasn’t always the easiest route, but it was the right one.

At least, it was the right one for me.