Superimposed

15

"Hi, this is Dave from Thames Water. Can I speak to Mrs Pound please"
"Well I'm her husband, you can speak to me"
"I'm sorry Sir, this information is strictly for the payee only"
Phil sighed and Taron felt a rush of relief, "Fine, I'll just go get here for ya"

Taron didn't think his northern accent was too bad, his voice was totally disguised and Phil didn't suspect a thing.
"Hi, Mrs Pound speaking"
"Mum, it's me - are you alone?" Taron almost whispered even though it wouldn't make any difference. His fear for Phil was still very present even if it was over the phone if Phil found out it was actually him he dread to think what would happen.
"Yes, he's gone back to the TV" Lisa told Taron, she was practically hugging the receiver as she stood in the hallway. But she kept glancing to the living room to make sure Phil didn't suspect anything.
"I'm going to apply for drama school next year-"
"That's great news!" Lisa said, beaming with pride
"But I need to find a job whilst I'm out for a year" Taron continued, leaning with his left arm on the phone box.
"Well I don't know yet, somewhere - I was going to move away from Dulwich so I can be nearer to the school"
"Right?" Lisa shot a glance to the living room where Phil was still glued to the TV
"Bloomsbury is only an hour on the train and once I'm there I can get a part-time job and find somewhere to live," Taron said excitedly, already envisioning it all.

It had taken a lot of thought to get to this point and it was now late Saturday afternoon. He'd been to the library to do his research and worked out this was the best option for him.
"How are you going to afford a place in London?"
"I can get a room, rent a room somewhere near the academy"
"Academy?
"Yeah, the Royal Academy"
"Taron, you-" Lisa paused, shit she just said his name, she waited a second before continuing, "You're going to need to do more than work to get into there, you've got to do shows and productions to even get close to that-"
"Mum, everything's going to be fine" Taron's voice sounded strong and Lisa believed him.

Little did Taron know that whilst he was planning his future, Belle was getting hassled at the cafe that she worked in. Unfortunately for her, the cafe was somewhere a lot of young people went, including people from her school.
"So you're seeing that Taron guy?" Lucy asked, looking up at Belle as she served them all breakfast.
Knowing the group, they'd probably been partying and getting drunk Friday night and a big fry up was their hangover cure. They were all wearing black leggings and hoodies with their hair tied up in buns and ponytails.
Although Belle didn't know all of them, all of them seemed to know Taron.

"Y'know I had a go with him once" One of the girls pipes up, smirking at Belle
"I think everyone has," Lucy says making the table laugh. Belle just watches as they all seemed to be laughing at her and as much as she wants to walk away, she stays.

When they first met Taron said he didn't speak to many people, he made out like he didn't have friends or girlfriends. Why did he lie?
"He is a strange one though isn't he Belle, gotta lot of issues" Lucy tapped the side of her head, raising her eyebrows. Belle didn't say anything, if only they knew.
"I heard his dad beats him," Kris said, shovelling a mouthful of bacon into her fat face. She wasn't the most skinny girls around and she definitely liked her food. Her hair was short and her clothes didn't seem to sit right.
"Yeah, there's definitely something goin' on," Lucy said, the group not even acknowledging Belle anymore.
"Just watch yourself, Belle, he's probably nothing like what you think he is" Kris points her knife at her and Belle walks away.

For the rest of her shift, all Belle could think about was what they meant by that. She knew Taron was known by a lot of people but she had never heard about the assumptions they'd made of him before. Was what he told her true, or was what the girls were saying true?

Belle did like Taron, she saw something different in him, even after this morning where he cried on her. The poor guy was broken and going through some shit and she knew Taron needed her, maybe that's why she's so attracted to him. She likes to feel needed and as if she's helping. But what if Taron is just using her? He is going to drama school soon, he'll meet loads of new people, including models and how could Belle compete with that? Maybe this was a mistake, Taron wasn't the guy he said he was, how could she be so blind to his lies?