Fame ***

Harry’s words kept running through my head when I tried to sleep that night. What if he convinced Niall that I was nothing but a publicity-hungry hound? The whole plan would be ruined, and I’d stay B-list until another musical act or actor my age got to be as huge as One Direction was. Which was incredibly risky and unreliable.

Harry better not have ruined everything for me. He’d be sorry if he ever did anything to destroy whatever progress I’d made, if it was the last thing I ever did with my career.

Finally giving up on the prospect of sleep, I padded into the living room around five thirty AM and powered up my hot pink laptop to look for any news that might have arisen from the events of the night before.

My stomach churned with anxiety as I typed in a few key words that would lead to any articles about the altercation Harry and I had at the X Factor after party. Obviously, I wasn’t a person who was afraid of publicity, but that wasn’t the kind of image I wanted to portray. I was supposed to be sweet and bashful, not a bitch who could hold her ground in a confrontation. Maybe I should have acted more embarrassed by his aggression instead of matching him.

But when I hit enter in the search engine, the only things that came up were the hits on my individual name, with all the articles speculating about a possible romance blossoming between Niall and me.

Wow! Dads’ star Lilah Monroe is on the prowl! After One Direction singer Harry Styles was caught leaving her apartment last week with some VERY messed up curls, (pics here!) we figured Monroe had found someone to keep her interest.

Not so! At least, not according to an anonymous source, who told People.com, “Lilah just didn’t feel much of a spark with Harry. She still thinks he’s a sweetheart and a good-looking guy, but they’re better off as friends.”

Yikes! Maybe Harry’s lip-locking abilities aren’t up to Lilah’s standards! After all, she’s shared on-screen kisses with Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, and Taylor Lautner. Her bar must be raised pretty high!

But last night at an X Factor party, taking place right after One Direction performed on the hit talent show, Lilah was seen talking to Niall Horan, another member of the band, and the two looked quite cozy!

Here at People.com, we doubt Niall’s kissing could be any better than Harry’s, but we’ll have to see how the romance develops.

Well, that made me sound shallow. That I only went out with guys if they were incredible kissers. And it wasn’t even true. When I’d first started in the business, I’d gone out with a newbie like me, who was getting some recognition for a new sitcom he starred in. He’d since slipped under the radar, doing mostly unsuccessful indies, but at the time, he was a major heartthrob.

But anyway, the point was that he kissed with way too much tongue, all the time, and it was disgusting. Even so, I went out with him for two months to boost my status and had to deal with the incredibly horrible make-out sessions.

So there. I was selfless sometimes. Not that I got any credit for it. And in the end, he was even the one that broke up with me, saying that I “wasn’t interesting enough for him” and that I didn’t “have enough personality”. That prick wouldn’t have known personality if it was put in an enema and shoved up his ass.

Not that Harry was a bad kisser, anyway. He was actually a really great kisser. But, like I said, it wasn’t about his kissing ability. It was about how much publicity the relationship could give me.

The screen on my cell phone lit up as it began to vibrate against the tabletop, signaling an incoming call from Heather.

“Okay,” I answered, my tone immediately taking a sharp turn, “what’s with the article on People.com? It makes me sound like I’m a whore who can’t go out with a guy more than once if he’s not the best kisser on the planet!”

Heather took an audible deep breath into the receiver. “I knew nothing about that. I gave the quote, and that was it. But it’s not that bad.”

I glared at the air space in front of me and allowed my tongue to get more venomous. “Anything that makes me look like anything other than a sweet girl is bad, Heather. That article made me look selfish.”

There was a long, awkward pause, thick with the implication that Heather thought I was just that. And while it might have been true (though I didn’t think so), that didn’t mean that she could let articles tell it to the whole country.

“I think we should sue for deformation of character,” I continued harshly. “File up the paperwork and call my lawyer.”

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” my agent finally responded. “You don’t want that kind of publicity, either, being the girl that picks up and sues magazines at the drop of a hat. They didn’t say anything seriously demeaning about you, even if it may seem that way. Okay?”

I just hoped she was right. Because if she was wrong, even though I paid her as much as I did, she’d be kissing the ground outside her office in a heartbeat. I didn’t put up with lazy, useless people. “Fine.”

“So how is the Niall thing going? Has he contacted you?”

“No. And it’s pissing me off. I wonder if he’s not going to be interested yet because Harry told him that I was just trying to use him.”

“How would Harry know?”

“He’s guessing.” I let out a long sigh. “But it’s not like I can move on to another one of them now. Then it’ll be obvious that I’m just looking for some attention. I’ll work on it.”

“Why don’t you go to that Starbucks down the street and see if you run into him? I hear that he goes about three times a day.”

“Whatever.” I was still pissed at her for not listening to my complaints, but I knew I couldn’t fire her just yet. First, I had to make sure that I was at a place where publicists/agents were throwing themselves at my feet for me to hire them because it would make them look good. “I’m going to go get ready now, since it looks like that shitty Starbucks thing is the best option I’m going to get. I wish I’d gotten his number before Harry interrupted us at the party.”

“Good luck!” Heather granted, ignoring the rest of my statement. She sounded distracted again, and it was obvious that she was paying no attention to whatever worries I had.

Furrowing my brows in irritation, I hung up on her and threw my cell phone onto the table next to my computer.

“Fucking useless bitch,” I muttered to myself, gritting my teeth together as I clicked around on my computer. “Just wait until I fucking drop you on your fucking ass. Then we’ll see whose opinion really matters.”

Letting out a sharp breath, I slapped the top of my laptop shut and made my way toward my room, hoping that I could finally get some sleep. Because if I was going to sweep Niall of his feet, then I was going to have to get as much beauty rest as possible.

No one likes a girl with nasty purple bags under her eyes, and some imperfections, even concealer couldn’t hide.