No Control (Book 1)

19. Does He Know?

The first thing I did when I opened my eyes the following morning was reach for my phone and check Twitter. I had another thousand or so followers, and about 250 mentions.

@hayley_loves1D: Does @jessie_braddy know that @Harry_Styles is following her??

@jumpyjaxx13: Who is @jessie_braddy and how does she know @Harry_Styles?

@p4in4zayn: @jessie_braddy you know @Harry_Styles followed you right?

@nataliakaye: @Harry_Styles why r u following @jessie_braddy when I have tweeted u 1433 times follow me plzzzzz xxx

@sayitaintso72x: @jessie_braddy RUDE. The least you can do is say thanks for the follow @Harry_Styles

And so it went on.

I still didn't know what to do so I pulled on my dressing gown and went to make some breakfast. I sat at the kitchen table eating my toast and drinking my tea and let my mind wander to what Harry had been doing last night with his family, and whether or not he was awake yet this morning.

I sighed and opened my laptop. Although I had fibbed to Callie about doing work today, I did actually have stuff to do, and it was usually a good way of keeping my mind off things. I logged on and spent a couple of hours catching up with things I had been meaning to do for ages but never had time to do. I resisted the urge to look at my phone the whole time, until finally I closed my laptop and decided it was time to have shower and get dressed. I lazily picked up my phone and checked Twitter again. I had another couple of hundred followers, and more mentions; all wanting to know why I wasn't excited about Harry following me.

I decided to bite the bullet. I opened a new tweet and quickly typed:

@Harry_Styles Apparently it's rude not to acknowledge a follow from you, so thanks!! xxx

Feeling reckless, I pressed send and locked my phone. Time for a shower.

I spent a good hour showering, exfoliating and moisturising before pulling on my favourite sweat pants and hoodie and heading into the kitchen to make some lunch and check my phone. I heard it before I even looked at it. Every few seconds a new ping sounded and I groaned, dreading what I was about to find. I opened Twitter with trepidation, and saw I was now up to 23,561 followers and I had over 800 mentions.

@helenagonzalez: @jessie_braddy are you the girl in @Harry_Styles car?

@lily_j_edwards01: @Harry_Styles do you have a girlfriend and is it @jessie_braddy? Pleeease tell me bcos ilysm

@x_ellajay_x: @jessie_braddy do you know Harry? Follow me xoxoxox

@jessbaker10: @jessie_braddy is this you? pic.twitter.com/h7fvjk557cvh

My eyes widened. I clicked on the link in the last tweet and it opened up a photograph. It was of Harry in his Range Rover reversing out of his gates, and me in the passenger seat turning towards Harry and away from the photographer, my long hair shielding my face from view. I looked at the caption on the photo: 'Harry Styles leaves North London home this morning accompanied by mystery blonde.' The source was Sugarscape, so I quickly opened the laptop and googled 'Harry Styles sugarscape'. I clicked on the link to the article and began to read.

'Harry Styles has long since been a hot topic at Sugarscape HQ, and our tongues were certainly wagging when this new picture emerged of him leaving his North London home early yesterday. Now this in itself is enough to cause our hearts to flutter - who wouldn't want to see Mr Styles first thing in the morning? But it seems he wasn't alone. Sitting in the passenger seat of his stylish Range Rover was a pretty blonde, who seemed keen to keep her face hidden.

'The One Direction boys jetted in to Heathrow on Friday after the Australian leg of their On The Road Again tour for a week's downtime before their gruelling schedule resumes in Malaysia. And it seems Harry has already indulged in a bit of R & R on his first night back in the UK with some hot female company. Reports suggest he was hanging out with friends in Primrose Hill before spending a couple of hours cosying up to a mysterious blonde at trendy nightspot Lagoon.

'So far, his latest squeeze is yet to be identified but knowing the One Direction fandom as we do, it won't be long before they uncover her identity. Whoever she is, we know one thing. We're super-jealous.'

I stared at the screen, my jaw practically on the floor. How did they know about the house party and Lagoon? Did these people have hidden cameras or something? I surreptitiously glanced around the room before I remembered I was not the starring heroine in a spy film. I read the article again, then picked up my phone and re-read my mentions. How on earth did these crazy fans know it was me?

I hadn't a clue what to do. I wondered if Harry had seen the article, or seen all his crazy-ass followers tweeting me and sussing who I was. I bit my lip, feeling tears prick my eyes. I really hoped if he had seen it he didn't think it was anything to do with me. Hopefully he wouldn't even have seen it. It was only Sugarscape after all. They hadn't even got the tour schedule right. I doubted One Direction had time to read girly gossip sites.

A tear fell into my lap. A million emotions were flooding through me. Two days ago I was a One Direction fan, madly besotted with Harry Styles to the point of embarrassment, but it had all been harmless. Now I'd met him, kissed him, slept with him, and was never going to see him again; yet thousands of people were suddenly aware I existed and were slowing putting 2 and 2 together about our encounter.

It gave me a very brief insight into what it must be like for Harry, not being able to breathe without the media knowing about it, taking a photograph of it, and telling the world about it. I didn't like it one bit.

I reached for my phone and called Callie. She answered almost immediately. "Hey dude. What's up?"

"Callie? Um, can you come over? I need your help," I sniffed.

"Jess? What's up?" I could hear the concern in her voice.

"It's a Harry Styles emergency," I mumbled.

She laughed. "Oh dear, what's happened? Has he got a girlfriend or something? Or come out of the closet?" I just sniffed again as another tear dropped into my lap. "Jess?" she questioned.

"I don't even know where to begin," I choked. "Can you come now? I'll explain when you get here."

"Um, OK," she said uncertainly. "Should I bring wine?"

"Most definitely," I said.

"I'm on my way," she replied.