The other side of fame

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Harry: All you had wanted to do was meet up with your boyfriend on his lunch break. He never got long on these all-day studio days, so every moment you got to spend with him was important. However, the second he stepped out of the studio to get in your car it was chaos. Everyone knew where he was going; they had seen you pull up. Security had moved everyone aside to give you a space right in front of the door. "Hi," you say once he is finally seated in the passenger's seat. "Hi," he replies with a smile, leaning over to give you a kiss before you drive off to find a place for lunch. "There's a sandwich shop down the road there. Zayn said it was really good, if you want to try it out," he suggests, pointing ahead. You follow his instructions but notice that a line of cars were following as well. It was expected though. They just had to know where you were going for lunch, no matter how ridiculous the idea sounded to you. You pull into an empty spot along the street, looking in your mirrors to see the cars that had been following you were now stopped in the middle of the street, men with large cameras quickly getting out and running to your car. No one from security had come with you; they weren't thought to be needed. "Stay here," Harry says as he opens the door. You were going to have to rely on him for your safety throughout this. "Guys, back up, please," you hear him ask, as he stands outside your door. You hated that this is what the two of you had to go through just to go to lunch. The men don't listen as they continue to snap pictures. You hear Harry sigh as he opens your door. "Come on." He reaches in, and you take his hand. You lock the door as Harry wraps his arm around your shoulder, bringing you in as close as possible to him as he guides you into the restaurant. You try your best to ignore their shouting, though the flashes were a little more work on your part. You keep your head down as you had learned to do. The hostess had the door open for you. She had easily noticed the commotion happening outside. "I should have gotten someone to come with us," Harry says once you finally make it inside. "No, it's fine. We're here, and it's just me and you. And that's all that matters." He looks at you with a smile, so glad to have someone in his life that understands. "You all want a table in the back I'm assuming," the hostess says as she grabs two menus. "Yes, please," Harry responds, looking back at the paps snapping pictures on the other side of the glass. You couldn't escape them if you tried. They would always be there. "So how is everything at the studio today?" You ask once you have been seated out of sight. "Good, everything is sounding really good." He didn't want to talk about the studio. He was really upset that your lunch date now involved about twenty unwanted extras. "What do you want me to fix for dinner tonight?" You inquire, reaching your hand across the table to place it on top of his. "I've been craving a good curry for a few days now," he responds and you smile, knowing that offering a home-cooked meal would bring him back. This was your time with him, and the last thing you wanted was him worrying about the people outside. Yes, you hated that part of his lifestyle and yes, he knew that. You had been very vocal about your dislike of the media that followed the two of you around on any given day. However, the two of you had promised to keep their drama out of your relationship. Yes, they were bothersome, but no, you wouldn't ever let them effect your love for Harry.

Liam: They wouldn't leave you alone about it. It was your entire social media feed. You were very aware the pictures were fake, and you just couldn't see how everyone else didn't know it either. Twitter had practically shut down when the photoshopped pictures of Liam and Danielle surfaced. You had to give whoever was behind them credit; they were very well done. You just wish the skills could have been put to better use than trying to start a bunch of rumors. Well they didn't try, did they? They succeeded. You had been flooded with questions from what you were sure was every single person in the fandom. Liam was also dealing with the rumors on his own time as he traveled. With every interview the boys did, he was asked about them, none of the interviewers realizing that the photos were fake. You hate it for him. All he wants to do is travel to promote his album but no one could get past the ridiculous rumors. "You should have seen his face when I told him they were fake," Liam says over the phone of the host of the radio show they had just left in Oz. "Really? Was he embarrassed?" "More like shocked, like I was trying to cover something up." "You're joking," you reply. You understood that some hosts would go into an interview with the purpose of getting the answers they want, but when they didn't a lot of them were so patronizing. "Yeah, he kind of just laughed at me." You would never understand it. "Sorry babe," you lament, not really knowing what else to say. He had called you when the pictures first showed up, reassuring you he hadn't even seen Danielle in years. You knew he hadn't. In fact, you were a little offended that he would even assume you would have any doubts. "You seriously don't think I believed you were out holding hands with her, do you?" You had asked him over the phone. He had only stuttered in response. "I was just making sure." "Liam, you know me better than that, surely. Or at least I hope you do." He did, surely he did. You were never one to believe anything from the media until he said something about it himself. That didn't happen often seeing as most everything the media had to write about was completely false. "Yeah, it's alright. Just annoyed because so many people think it's real, and it doesn't help when I get laughed at for telling the truth." He was frustrated, and you hated it. He had never been as easy going as you when it came to photoshopped pictures. He was always one to comment on them while you would be the one to let them fade without having said a word. "It will blow over, babe, it always does." "But it's all anyone is talking about. We've done seventeen interviews today and every single one of them took time away from the album promo to ask about it. I'm over it." "I know, but this is the first time you've really had a chance to say something about it so of course they're going to want you to talk about it." "I'd rather be talking about the album, I mean that's the whole reason we're down here." You didn't know what else to tell him. You saw exactly where he was coming from, you were on his side. It was sad to think that things like this were what you had to get used to in your life with him. You knew it was all much worse for him, even though you would rather not like to imagine that. "I love you," you say breaking the silence that had fallen over the line. He sighs over the phone, not exactly the response you wanted. "How do you deal with it?" He asks, completely ignoring your words. "How do I deal with what?" "With this, with me, with the life you have because of me." "Liam, the life I have because of you is one better than I could have ever imagined for myself. So what if it comes with a few trolls wanting to start stuff? That's not what we're about. We've never been about giving in to them. We're about each other, and I wouldn't have it any other way." You hadn't expected to turn into a motivational speaker for this phone call but sometimes Liam needed it. "Liam, I love you. You are what matters. Our relationship is what matters, not them. They've never mattered. So what if they photoshop pictures and so what if people believe it? You don't believe it, I don't believe it and last time I checked we were the only two in this relationship." He sighs again over the line, and you were hoping your words had helped at least a little. "I love you," he finally says in response.

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