The Pretender

Oliver Sykes was everything she hated.

She hated his stupid hair which he spent more time styling than any other girl would have done. She hated his stupid band and his stupid music, which you were unable to deduce a single lyric from due to the monstrous screams that slaughtered the songs. She hated his broad Sheffield accent when he spoke and his inability to say his 'h's' properly. She hated his tattoos that shone from practically every inch of his skin in vivid colours that burned the eye. She hated his stupid pretentious clothing line, which was only sold to mindless masses that accepted whatever their favourite sunny boy threw at them, at least that was her opinion. She fully supported the idea that Bring Me The Horizon's EP was 'shit' and that they were 'overrated' and that people only liked them because of Oli's hair.

Pippa Renshaw was one of the few girls that had class; she was one of those girls that didn't have to try. Chanel and Prada were her constant companions and yet it never looked as though she was out to impress. She did what she wanted to and didn't care for what others had to say about her.

Some people said that she was stuck up or a cold-hearted bitch, when in fact the simple truth was that Pippa knew exactly what was good for her and what wasn't. This knowledge was something that other girls of her age severely lacked, and therefore they found themselves in situations they would much rather have avoided if they had known the truth.

Heartbreak was the cause of not knowing what was good for you. It was a malady that Pippa never suffered from, and she prided herself on this. In all honesty she was often the cause of several boys heartaches but she never dwelt on that thought for long, brushing the love lorn pleas of the boys that she left in her wake aside.

What Pippa was about to do, she was going to do for herself. She was going to be selfish. No girl had asked her to do it and most defiantly there was no secret pact to bring about as much harm as possible to the fancy haired singer of Britain's least comprehendible band.

Pippa was out to break Oli Sykes heart simply because she wanted to.

She wanted to break it because she wanted to prove to everyone, including herself, that she could it. Maybe it was to comfort all those other girls that were bruised and lost after their relationships with Oli, or maybe it was because Pippa needed to show what she was worth, either way Oli Sykes was not going to walk away with his smug grin in place.

Pippa was not a jilted girl of Oliver's and neither was he a love interest for her. However Pippa Renshaw was exactly that to Oli. He had been jilted by her on more than one occasion, and over the past six months had been making eyes at her, unbeknown to the fierce brunette who had the potential to be Britain's Best Dressed Girl of the year.

Pippa was clever. She watched life from the sidelines, taking in everyone else's character traits, their strengths and their weaknesses. What made them tick and what kept them going. Only once she had acquired all the necessary information did she dare mingle in the strictly kept friendship circles. She made sure that Oli Sykes saw and heard enough about her to raise his curiosity, this resulted in unmatched success.

The first time Oli saw Pippa, she was wearing a short silver sequined dress and the highest heels know to Dolce and Gabbana. In one hand was her vintage clutch, in the other a can of Carlsberg, which she carried with such attitude that it could have been a martini. She smiled her electric pink lipstick smile and laughed at all the right things. She asked all the right questions about the band and showed enough interest in their music to make her stand out from everyone else.

She left the party early and in her wake left an awe struck Oliver Sykes who had sworn to himself that he would never ever fall to his knees over a girl, and much less grovel to get her attention.

However all of the latter things, he did. He grovelled for all he was worth. He seemed unable to form a sentence that did not feature Pippa in some form or other, and he had only talked to the girl twice. His band mates shook their heads and muttered their concerns about his mental health to each other, whilst Oli was in another reverie about all the fantastic things that concerned Pippa.

She played her cards well agreeing, after Oli's six proposal, to a date at the cinema. Once again she proved her worth and walked into the shabby cinema as if it were a yacht, however without the air of pretentiousness that most people associated with her. It was a perfume that did not suit her, and Pippa knew it. She never pretended to be better than Oli, she simply was. If they had been playing by the rules set down in stone in high school years, Pippa and Oli were worlds apart. She was too good for him, yet this was a truth Oli refused to face and he wore the illusion of her dedicated affections round his eyes like a blindfold.

The problem with Olive Sykes is that he only sees what he wants to, and that is why he saw Pippa. However in his eyes she was a different girl, less stubborn, more romantic and needy of his attention.

She was none of the above and liked to prove so too. Pippa kept Oli on the edge, not returning his calls or text messages, not going to any of the bars that he hung out where he waited for her with pathetic desperation and she refused to go to any of their shows.

To Oli it felt like she was avoiding him, however he knew better than to think that Pippa would choose such an obvious escape route. After three days of cat and mouse he saw Pippa again in the bar where on most Friday nights Oliver Sykes makes his presence loud and clear. She was there with her friends and she was dressed to kill in a tiny purple satin dress that did every inch of her justice. Oli walked towards her, a strut lining his every step and confidence oozing out of his pores, when she turned her back to him and greeted a male friend of hers in a highly attached way, placing a kiss on both of his cheeks.

Oli's confidence deflated like a balloon, and he stood riveted to the spot watching Pippa in the mass of people, greeting every person with affection and love, yet ignoring him. Head hung low Oli walked back to his place at the bar and ordered another drink.

When he turned back to the crowd, the girl in purple had gone and was nowhere to be found. With little shame Oli attempted to track her down, causing his band mates and friends to feel very flustered and a little ashamed for the obsession of their friend.

The next day the vibration of Pippa's phone pulled her out of a deep and peaceful sleep. With a slight groan she reached for the phone that lay on her bedside table.

A new voicemail messaged greeted her tiered ears.

"I think I'm falling for you."

She had him where she wanted him.

Twenty minutes after the decisive voicemail, her phone vibrated again, this time announcing a text message from Oli that pleaded with her to come to their show tonight.

Pippa smiled her smug smile. She didn't text back that she would be in attendance. She knew that Oli would be looking out for her in the crowd from the minute he got on stage, she knew he would expect her there and she knew that the absence of the affirmation of her presence would eat him up right until the moment that he saw her.

Oliver Sykes was like putty in Pippa's French manicured hands, and he didn't know it.

That night Oli was sat back stage, completely antsy, running his hands through the hair which was adored by so many female and male fans alike, wishing that he could just know if she was going to be there

Curtis placed a comforting hand on Oli's shoulder. It provided little solace but left him feeling less alone with his thoughts that were beginning to cause a headache of gigantic proportions.

Somehow Oli made it onto the stage, his usual smile in place ready for the crowd. However tonight his performance was lacking. He wasn't paying much attention and seemed to be with his thoughts far off. His interaction with the audience was abysmal by his usual standards and in the end Curtis took over in order to save themselves more embarrassment.

They all knew whom he was looking for, when Oli searched the crowd intently during every song, and finally four songs in, his eyes landed on what he had been searching for. But what he saw caused him to stop singing and drop the microphone onto the stage floor.

Pippa Renshaw was stood at the back of the room in a green Betsey Johnson dress and brown boots. Her smile was visible even from the distance of the stage. But her smile was not for Oli. It was a present to the tall and well-dressed boy next to her, who had a mop of blonde hair on his head and eyes for Pippa only. With horror Oli realized that they were holding hands and standing far too close for his liking.

After fleeing from the stage having played the final song, Oli dived into the crowd rather shamelessly in what seemed to be a futile search for Pippa. He brushed fans aside and ignored their requests for pictures and autographs. He was hell bent on finding Pippa.

Which he finally did.

She was standing at the bar, around her waist was an arm that was connected to the body of the tall and well dressed blonde boy that Oli had seen from the stage. With judgemental contempt in his eyes Oli scanned the blonde boy from a slight distance. The outfit comprised of pointy black shoes, skinny jeans and a grey v-necked sweater and not a tattoo was visible on the unblemished skin.

Taking an angry breath in Oli strode towards the couple.

"Pippa," he said with a smile that was shockingly enough a true and honest smile, despite all the negative emotions that were running amok inside him. "You made it."

Pippa turned her head away from her companion and shot Oli that smile which had him hooked from day one, she laughed a small laugh and pushed her fringe out of her eyes.

"Yeah I did, Matt's a big fan and really wanted to see you guys," she said gesturing at the now named boy, and resting her hand lovingly on his forearm. "So here we are." She finished with a slight laugh and a coy smile was shot up at Matt who sent an equally love struck smile back down her way.

Oliver knew what was going on, yet he refused to see the truth. The blindfold that had bee wrapped around his eyes for so long was finally being lifted off with a vengeance.

'How do you two know each other?" Oli asked carefully and slowly, dreading the answer before he had even finished his question.

"Oh we’re dating," Matt said all chipper and contented. The smile spread out on his face shining with true happiness. "Almost a year now."

Pippa and Matt watched as the world fell in around Oli. It was like a hurricane had just swept through his life and ripped down everything he had laboured over. He had been fooled. Fooled in the highest sense of the word. She had had a boyfriend all along, she known exactly what she was doing. It explained her weariness of him and how reluctant she was to meet up with him, but once she realized that she could break Oliver Sykes she had a mission, and so sadly for Oliver Sykes he had fallen for a girl who had backstabbed him in the worst way possible.

And she had broken his heart.

For Pippa Renshaw: mission accomplished.