Just a Fan (29 page)

Connor sighed, gathering me to him. 'Well, I suppose I do get homesick,' he replied quietly. 'Even though I don't have particularly fond memories of my life in Glasgow, I really do miss that place sometimes. Scotland's such a beautiful country...I still remember the green hills and stormy moors around Straiton, where we used to live. I don't know...sometimes when I'm on my own and in the middle of a busy city like this, I just have this great need to see that lovely countryside and breathe that cold, pure air again...' He gave a sad little laugh. 'It's making me homesick just thinking about it, now...'

I curled myself closer to him, leaning my head against his chest and gently stroking his slightly rough, stubbly cheek.

'Don't be sad, Connor...' I comforted him, and he looked down at me with a faraway smile, those pale blue eyes still full of wild moorlands and verdant hills.

'You know what?' he murmured to me softly. 'I don't think I ever
can
be sad again...'

Chapter 20

Scandal

I smiled to myself excitedly as I logged in to my email account the next day. Wouldn't Julie be surprised when she heard I was in a magazine! Wasting no time, I opened up a new email and wrote:

"To:
Julie Sanders

Subject: Guess what?!!!

Hi, Julie! I know I haven't emailed you in a long time...I've just been very, very busy. :) I'm sorry I left at such short notice, but I really had no choice. I'm also really glad that you understand...Kate wasn't so happy.

New York is better than I ever thought it would be, and Connor's got one hell of a lovely penthouse in Manhattan. You can see the skyscrapers all lit up at night, and it's got a huge window that takes up a whole wall. And to think I let him see my crappy little flat...:S

I've met some of his friends, and they are really nice - well, except for this blond little idiot who tags along all the time. Even Connor doesn't really like him that much - he just started following him around because of his sister. His name's Francis, and his sister Jocelyn had a crush on Connor...I had the bad luck to meet her at a party, and she was such a bitch to me! I had no idea people could be so openly unkind to people they don't even know. But I was rescued by another of Connor's friends, and so I'm fine now.

In fact, I'm better than fine - Connor and I had an interview and a photoshoot, and we're both in
Starwatchers Weekly
!!! Go and pick up a copy, you'll see!! I told my mum over the phone, and she was so surprised! I can hardly believe it myself...:)

I'm really missing you, too!

Love,

Lilly.
"

I sent it, then sat back in the chair. I wished I could be able to see the surprise on Julie's face when she bought that magazine and saw my face in it...!

Smiling, I was about to turn the computer off and go back downstairs, when an irresistible urge came to me. I slyly looked up at the address bar. Why not...? My hands hovered for a moment over the keyboard, then I typed in the all-too-familiar address of the gossip site. What would they have to say about our lovely article, I wondered?

The garish bright logo appeared on the screen, and I quickly did a search for posts about Connor and I. Finally, a long list popped up, and I looked at the most recent -

My look of anticipation fell right off my face, replaced instead by a stare of blank surprise and horror.

The most recent title on the list was "
Scottish Superstar's Girlfriend in Two-Timing Scandal!!
". I frowned at it, not understanding at all. What was this? It surely couldn't mean
me
...maybe I had mis-typed something in the search bar...

But no, I hadn't. The article was tagged with my name underneath. I turned my eyes back to the worrying title - that had
two
exclamation marks - and mouthed the words again silently, unable to believe what I was reading.
Two-timing scandal
? What the hell...?

Fingers trembling with dread, I clicked on the link. The article opened, and as soon as I saw it I covered my mouth with a hand in shock.

'Oh, no...no, no,
no
...'

Right there, under the excitedly accusatory title, was a group of three or four photos showing me at the little café with George - where Michaela had dropped me off right after our little tour of the city. Hand still over my mouth, I ran my eyes over each of the little thumbnails. This was ridiculous...the photos were only of me having a drink and talking with him...

But the largest picture, which was right beside the title and suspiciously blurry, was not as innocent as the others. Although it was barely distinguishable, it showed me and George leaning a little more closer together...

I gave an angry sigh of outrage, hardly able to believe this. However much it might appear to scandal-hungry people that I was making advances on him, it couldn't be further from the truth - this blurry, rather shady photo must have been taken the moment when I leaned towards him to be better heard over the noise of the café. It was terrible to think that people were using this to harm my image, and maybe even ruin my relationship with -

I froze.

No...this couldn't be right...but it
must
have been her. She had threatened me, after all, hadn't she? Shaking, I quickly read the article. It was very vague, and drew its own conclusions from the photos, but it also said the information was given "
from an anonymous source
".

'The
bitch
!' I gasped, appalled and shocked beyond words. Numbly, I leant back in my chair.
What would Connor say if he heard...?
I didn't even want to
think
about it. This was terrible...George was his
friend
, and Michaela's
boyfriend
, too! Uncontrollable tears of horror began to form in my eyes. How could that Jocelyn do this? How could she be heartless enough to threaten my relationship with my new friends
and
Connor?

I pressed my lips tightly together, fists clenching in bitter rage. Oh, I knew the answer - she
could
do it, and easily enough, too...

Feverishly, I scrolled down and read the comments:

"
Ti8282 - 15th February 8:02:

OMG.

YoMama- 15th February, 8:02:

no waaaaay

Jings - 15th February, 8:04:

noooo how can she do this to connor???? who is that guy anyway?? he's nowehre near as fitt as connor, either!!!

Stickit- 15th February, 8:04:

I knew she wasnt good for him, he should never have gone out with some random person, he should of stuck with other cellebs.

Candi - 15th February, 8:05:

ZOMG I CANT BELEIVE IT!! i feel sosorry for connor omg he's gonna be so pissd off at her!!

diA - 15th February, 8:06:

come ON, people! That's no kiss, what the hell?! you cant even SEE anything! the "source" who tipped off the paps must be just stirring up trouble.

CheekyCouscous- 15th February, 8:06:

I dont believe lilian could do something like this. She'd never cheat on Connor. There's no proof, anyway, so we can't say anything!

Sel - 15th February, 8:09:

she should be ashamed of herself i mean come on thats taking thing's a bit far, connor would never do this to her

attitood - 15th February, 8:10:

I'm not making any judgments because the photo is way blurry.

Lake64 - 15th February, 8:10:

BLURRY PHOTO. who is he anyway...

MacGFan - 15th February, 8:10:

Oh, snap! caught redhanded the day after valentine's! XD

IHeartConnor - 15th February, 8:16:

That's not a kiss, and anyway, I saw the magazine article with them and they looked so happy.

Mushrum - 15th February, 8:16:

#12 - thats called pretending for the press."

I closed the window in disgust, feeling light-headed. This was very bad indeed...

I needed to tell Connor about this as soon as possible - to say to him that I'd been framed by that jealous would-be rival of mine, and that everything was a huge misunderstanding. However, Connor was out of the house, having just finished filming and gone briefly to pick something up for lunch. I had no choice but to wait in tense, worried silence, perched on the sofa, until he returned.

A full hour and a half later, I heard the door open. Relieved that he was back, but at the same time dreading the fact that I had to break his happy mood, I ran up to him -

He turned around, and I faltered. I needn't have worried about breaking his happy mood; it was already broken. His dark eyebrows were knitted together in a stormy frown, and there was a fierce glint in his pale blue eyes. His mouth was a hard line of displeasure, his lower lip looking raw where he had obviously been nibbling it. He fixed me firmly with his piercing gaze, and I struggled to regain my resolve.

'Connor...' I began weakly, attempting to tell him everything as I had first intended, but finding my voice frozen by his icy expression.

'Why...did ye no'
tell
me?' he asked me in a dangerously quiet voice. Despite his low, calm tone, it was clear to tell from the gravelly deepening of his accent that he was barely restraining that Scottish temper of his.

I opened my mouth, desperate to placate him, but no sound came out.

'Have ye
any
idea...how
humiliating
it is to have a groupa wee
minkers
askin' ye what ye're gonnae do aboot a "two-timin'" gerrlfriend?' he growled slowly, his voice rising slightly.

I faced up to him, frowning back.

'Listen, Connor, I -'

'
Lillian, are ye no' gonnae tell me wha's happened, fer God's sake?
' Connor interrupted, tone heightening in pitch with his impatience. 'Or do I have tae draw ma own conclusions?' A mockingly thoughtful tone crept into his voice as he maliciously guessed aloud: 'Am I not guid enough for ye, perhaps? Don't I treat ye well enough? Or maybe ye get a bit
tempted
when ah'm leavin' ye on yer own fer so long -'

'Don't be ridiculous, Connor!' I yelled at him in outrage, appalled that he could think me capable of stooping so low. 'You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, in the whole of my stupid, boring life -'

Suddenly he lost his fiery temper, and took hold of my forearms, making me look right at him.

'Jes'
tell
me who this other guy is!' Connor snarled furiously - and then, behind the rage, I glimpsed a hidden feeling of hurt...a deep hurt that he could only express through his anger.

'Connor, listen to me,' I said to him firmly, in a more rational tone, looking straight into those burning blue eyes. 'There
is
no "other guy".'