The Economy of Gossip

FREYA

I groaned as the sound of shouting pierced my sleep.

I rolled over, pulling the covers high and slamming my pillow over my head to block it out.

When the shouting continued to grow, I sighed in defeat. I couldn’t tell who the voices belonged to…all I knew was that I didn’t want to get involved.

But despite my greatest efforts, there was no chance I was going to be able to fall asleep again.

Pushing myself up to a sitting position, I rested my head in my hands and rubbed at my tired eyes.

I was once again wearing one of my old band tees; the dress from the night before was lying on the floor next to my bed.

~So…last night actually happened?~

It felt like no more than a dream.

But the dress was the evidence I needed.

On the bedside table, my phone started pinging repeatedly.

I hadn’t drunk the night before, but I felt like I had an adrenaline hangover, so I didn’t appreciate the barrage of noises ~this~ early in the morning.

When I looked at the screen, I was shocked to see that the messages were from Darla. After the other day, I had fully expected to never hear from her again.

Darla

OMG!

Darla

Omg omg omg

Darla

r u dating Liam Henderson???!

Darla

They r talking about u on NY Chatter!

Darla

you need to tell me all the deets this Central Park Sunday!! C u there, right?

I rolled my eyes.

~So now she wants to hang out with me?~

I didn’t respond to her message, instead just clicking through to the link that she sent me.

Sure enough, when the web page loaded, I was confronted with a huge picture of myself holding hands with Liam.

Crazy to think that just the day before, I was reading a tabloid article about Liam and Jazelle, and today I was reading one about him and me.

NY CHATTER

^The Other Woman^

America’s most notorious playboy is at it again! When Liam Henderson went out with girlfriend Jazelle Ericson on Friday night, the lovebirds seemed more smitten than ever.

But just days later, he was spotted at NYC’s hottest restaurant, Mako, holding hands and locking lips with another woman!

Liam’s camp hasn’t issued a statement about last night’s scandalous rendezvous, but the message from Liam himself couldn’t be any clearer: he is DONE with Jazelle.

What could have derailed such a picture-perfect romance?

But let’s be honest, the real question on everyone’s mind is about Liam’s new redheaded vixen.

Who is she? How did she win Liam’s heart? Is she just another one-night stand, or is she here to stay?

Her identity…or lack of one…is breaking the internet!

Fellow diners at Mako said that the sexual tension between the two of them was palpable. Toward the end of the night, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other!

UGH! Whoever this girl is, we wish we could walk a mile in her Louboutins!

Comments:

So_cute: No…just no. There is no way Liam Henderson is interested in her. She looks so average.

Howboutpizza45: Liam is playing her and us. I’m expecting flames, and I’m not talking about her hair.

HEnderson75: NOOOO! Liam shud dump both of them and be w/ me

Ericson4ever: He doesn’t deserve Jaz…never did.

iLoveLiam558: Idc who she is… That dress is 🔥🔥🔥

~This is getting out of hand.~

I knew that the photos would circulate, of course.

But I had put myself in the line of fire to be brutally judged and examined by every faceless person with a keyboard.

Outside, the voices continued to rise, and I realized that the argument likely had something to do with the media shitstorm that Liam and I had created.

It was time to wake up and smell the consequences…

I stumbled down the hallway, bracing myself, until I found Liam, Lucinda, Ryan, and Anthony engaged in a standoff in the living room.

“I can’t believe you ~kissed~ her, you complete and total idiot!” Lucinda screeched at Liam.

He looked barely more awake than me as he glared silently at Lucinda. His posture was slouched, and he still had a supreme case of bedhead.

“The whole world is talking about the two of you, and you have nothing to say?” she scoffed.

“What do you want me to do about it now, Luce? It happened,” he grumbled, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

“And you—” Lucinda, turned around, pointing a finger at me.

~Does she have eyes in the back of her head…?~

“I hope you’re happy—”

“I’m sure she is. She just jumped at the opportunity to get five seconds of fame…” I heard Anthony growl from the corner.

It might have been early in the morning, but I wasn’t about to let that guy walk all over me. “Anthony, I don’t know what your problem is with me. You don’t know me at all.”

“None of this is Freya’s fault,” Liam said, giving me an encouraging nod. “I was the one who asked her out.”

“And now Jazelle’s army of fans have a bounty on both of your heads,” Lucinda said.

“The damage is done,” Liam said with a shrug.

“I just don’t know what you were ~thinking…~”

“And I don’t know what ~you~ were thinking, bringing ~them~ here.”

Liam pointed an accusatory finger toward two people that I’d overlooked entirely: a baby girl stacking plastic blocks and a young boy with thick-rimmed glasses playing on an iPad in the corner.

I could only deduce that they were Lucinda’s children.

“Don’t start with me, Liam,” Lucinda said. “When ~you~ screw up, it’s ~my~ life that’s affected. I had to get here first thing and didn’t have anyone else to take them.”

“Mommy,” the kid said, pouting. “Why is Liam so mean to me?”

“~I’m~ the mean one?” Liam asked incredulously. “~You~ broke my guitar the last time you were here! I don’t go into your house and break ~your~ things.”

“Jesus, Liam,” Lucinda said. “Lay off. Davis is six.”

~Wow.~

~Liam Henderson is terrible with kids.~

~Duly noted.~

“Davis…can you take Charlie and go wait for Mommy in the kitchen?” Lucinda asked, and Davis obediently took his little sister by the hand and shuffled away.

Then she turned back to Liam. “Alright. They’re gone. Can you please focus now?”

“No,” Liam said. “I’m sick of getting yelled at by you.”

“So what then? You’re with Freya now?” she scoffed.

“Would that be so bad?” Ryan interjected. “The public is absolutely fawning over her in that dress.”

“You’re never styling her again,” Liam warned. “That outfit was—”

“Divine!” Ryan finished his sentence for him. “From what I’ve read, I did a magnificent job dressing her. People are ~dying~ over that outfit,” Ryan retorted smugly.

He waved his phone in the air.

“Listen to this comment: ‘Jealous of this IRL Cinderella moment,’” Ryan said as he met my gaze. “You’re living the ultimate fantasy! A regular, unidentifiable girl dating a rock star!”

~Why does the word “regular” suddenly sound like such an insult?~

“Wait,” Lucinda said from the other side of the room. I looked up, and instead of a face filled with disdain, she was brimming with wonder. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s genius.”

~Right about what?~

“I have an idea,” she announced and began tapping furiously on her phone.

“Of course you do…” Liam said.

Moments later, Lucinda looked up from her phone.

“First of all,” she said, “I’m going to tweet ~this~ from your account.”

“I don’t do Twitter,” he retorted.

“You do now,” she said, thrusting her phone into Liam’s hand.

Liam read the memo aloud:

“‘With heavy hearts, Jazelle and I have decided to part ways. But we continue to care for each other deeply and will remain friends forever.’”

“Ha!” Liam spat. “That’s straight-up comedy.”

“To you, maybe. But it will give the fans the closure they need,” Lucinda said brightly.

“And then after that, you will continue this charade with Freya,” she announced.

I could feel my jaw dropping to the floor.

“Everyone thinks you’re this scumbag playboy. Well…they’re not wrong,” Lucinda said. “But if your fans believe that you could fall for a normal girl like Freya—”

“Hey!” I protested. I had never been insulted this many times before 10 a.m.

But Lucinda just pressed on.

“Being with someone like Freya humanizes you. You’ll instantly become more accessible to your fans. Your ticket and album sales will skyrocket even more than they already have.”

~Is she being serious right now?~

“Even if you guys ‘break up’ in a month, the money will already be in the bank!”

I expected Liam to shout in protest as Lucinda concluded her spiel.

He’d just managed to wriggle himself out of one fake relationship. No way he would want to embark on another.

But instead he echoed her sentiments. “You’re right. That ~is~ genius.”

~WHAT?~

~How come nobody around here ever asks for my opinion?~

I could feel my temper begin to rise, but at the same time, I felt a giggle forming in the back of my throat.

Before I could control it, I had burst into a laughing fit like I had the night before when Liam kissed me.

“Freya?” Liam said, eyes glued on me.

“This is ridiculous,” I gasped. “I can’t…we can’t be together. I’m—and you’re… Nobody’s gonna believe it.”

“Well,” Lucinda said, “you guys put on a very convincing show last night.”

Memories from the night before flashed through my mind.

~Liam grabbing my hand…~

~Touching my back…~

~Kissing my lips…~

We were putting on an act for the cameras, but in those moments, it didn’t feel like it.

And that scared the shit out of me.

“You guys would only need to be spotted together a few more times to make it convincing,” Lucinda said. “Maybe go out to brunch…for a walk in the park—we’ll figure the details out.”

“I’m in,” I heard Liam say. And then, “Freya?”

~Am I actually considering this?~

My logical brain was telling me to say no. But another part of me—one I could not exactly identify—appreciated any excuse to spend more time with Liam.

Even if it was just to help his PR.

Besides, ~pretending~ to be his girlfriend sounded like a lot more fun than ~really~ being his maid.

When we did “break up,” the world would forget who I was, and I could slip seamlessly back into my normal, regular life.

I opened my mouth, unsure of what word was going to come out.

But my answer was interrupted by the sound of my name being yelled from outside the apartment followed by several loud knocks.

I could recognize that voice anywhere, and sure enough, when I followed it to the front door, I found Mason standing there…out of breath and completely furious.