Chapter 11 

He sounded really desperate- like he was in real trouble or something. He obviously needed my help badly. I was really worried, actually.

“Christian- what’s up? What’s the matter?” I asked anxiously.

“I have a major problem!” He said, still sounding urgent. “I need your advice!”

Oh my God! What was he in trouble with the police or something? The band? Some bad people? What?!

Why did he need my advice?

“Are you ok? Are you in trouble?” I asked, getting frightened. I hoped he was alright…

There was a pause on the other end, then Christian said in a confused tone, “Katherine- I’m fine.”

“Oh,” I said. Well, that was good wasn’t it? “What’s up, then?” I asked.

“I don’t know what to do!” He said, picking up that desperate tone again. “I’m so confused. I mean, I’ve gotta get this car tomorrow, and I don’t know what to get, or what colour, or-“

“Christian!!”

“What?” He stopped.

I couldn’t believe him! I’d got so worried about him being in trouble or whatever, and was really beginning to get frightened and… he needed help with his car?

Oh for God sake!!

“Christian- I thought you were in serious trouble!” I cried.

He laughed. “Really?”

“Yes!” I cried, still astonished it was only his car!

“Katherine, I’m fine! Honestly!” He laughed. “It’s nothing like that! Oh, I didn’t mean to worry you!”

He thought it was really funny- but I didn’t!

My heartbeat had to return to its normal speed and I had to catch my breath.

“God, don’t do that again!” I said, annoyed.

“Sorry!” he laughed again. “Did I sound upset?”

“Yes! I thought you were desperate for my help!” I said.

“Well I am!” He said. “I don’t know what to do! I’m supposed to get a new car tomorrow, and I have no idea what to get! I mean, all the guys are telling me different things and I don’t know whether to believe them or not! I’m so confused!”

He sounded really confused as well! And so sweet! Awwww- he’s so cute!

“So- you want my advice?” I said, surprised.

“Yeah! I thought you could help! I trust you more than the guys!” He said, laughing.

“Christian- you barely know me!” I laughed.

“Yeah- well- you don’t know the guys! Anyway, you have a nice car, so I thought you’d like, really know what to get.”

“You want a cool car?” I laughed.

“Yeah!” He said.

“You think my car’s cool?” I laughed.

“No! Well! I don’t know!” He laughed. “I told the guys you had a Honda Civic, and they thought it was pretty cool-“

“Did they?” I said, excitedly.

Wahoo! a1 think I’m cool!

“Yeah- so do you have any ideas?” He asked.

“Well- what do the guys want you to get?” I asked.

He sighed. “It’s a really big deal for me- getting a car. I mean, I’m gonna have it for ages and drive around in it all the time, aren’t I? I’m gonna need it for when I travel back and forth from here to my flat.”

“Where are you?” I asked suddenly.

He obviously wasn’t at his flat, then!

“At the ARMI house,” he explained. “I’ve been here all week.”

“So- er- what do the guys want you to get, then?” I asked.

Oh my God. The guys were there! That was scary!!

“Well, Ben wants me to get one of those Ford Focuses- I only need a small car, y’know? So, he thought I should get one of them.”

“Abbie’s got one of them!” I said suddenly.

“What?” He said.

“Abbie- my best friend- she’s got a Ford Focus. A dark green one. They’re really nice,” I told him.

“OK- and then Mark- he said I should get one of those Peugeot 206’s- ‘cos they’re quite small. He wants me to get a red one.”

“That’s good,” I said.

“Yeah, and then Paul wants me to get a Ferrari! A yellow one!”

I cracked up laughing.

“And I’m like- no way, Paul! I’m not listening to him, anyway. He’s an idiot.”

Then I heard someone in the background shout, “I HEARD THAT!”

“Who’s that?” I asked.

Christian laughed. “Oh- that was Paul. Ignore him. Anyway- so, what d’ya think?”

I couldn’t believe Paul was there with him! That really was scary!

I’d just about got used to Christian, but the prospect of meeting the other a1 guys was just terrifying.

One famous pop star was enough!

“Erm…” I couldn’t think straight! Arraghhhh- Paul was there! Gotta compose myself! “Erm… well- what car do you want?”

“I don’t know. I want a small one, ‘cos I’m the only one who’s gonna use it!” He said. “Well- maybe you as well…” He added shyly.

That made me feel good! He was thinking about me in the long term!

“He needs one for his 50 guitars!” Paul shouted in the background.

“Look- will you go away?” Christian said, talking to Paul. “I’m on the phone here!”

“I live here too, y’know!” Paul retaliated. “In fact, you don’t even live here-“

“PAUL!”

“Ok! Ok! I’m going!! C’mon Sam, let’s go for a walk, ok?” He said.

“Hi- sorry about that,” Christian said to me, seeming embarrassed.

“That’s ok,” I said, smiling. Wow! Couldn’t wait to tell Abbie I’d heard Paul speak!

“He’s gone to take his dog for a walk- so he’ll be out of my way for a while,” Christian explained. “He’s got a new one- did I tell you?”

“No,” I said.

“Oh! He’s now got a Cocker Spaniel called Sam. He’s really sweet- but very… what’s the word?? … Excited! He won’t keep still! He tried to eat Mark’s mini-disc player earlier!”

“He what?” I laughed.

“I know! Mark was really annoyed! It’s fine though- not even chewed! And it’s really funny! For some reason, he doesn’t like Ben! Whenever Ben goes anywhere near him, he starts growling!”

I laughed again. Poor Ben!

“So now we have 2 Alsatians and a Cocker Spaniel living with us!” Christian said.

“Quite a family,” I commented.

“I know!” Said Christian. “Ben wants a couple of dogs too, so we can create this whole dog army, so that when fans get too much, we can just release them and they can drive them away!” Christian laughed.

“Ohhhh, that’s really cruel!” I laughed.

“Yeah, well, he was only joking! We don’t want anymore animals in this house, thank you very much,” Christian said.

“Paul likes dogs, then?” I asked.

“Oh yeah- Paul loves dogs!” Christian said enthusiastically. “He’s also got two pigs!”

“Pigs?” I said amazed.

“Yeah. They don’t live here, though. Oh God, no!” He laughed. “One’s at London Zoo, and the other’s at a sanctuary. He told fans he quite liked pigs, as a joke, he doesn’t really! So then he got two adopted for him! it was hilarious.”

“Oh, wow! Lucky Paul!” I laughed.

“Why- do you like pigs?” Christian asked.

I laughed. “Only if it’s pork or sausages!” I said.

“Oh! Ok then!” Christian laughed. “So- back to my car. Can you think of any other makes I could buy?”

“Well…” I thought. “How much are you willin’ to spend?”

“Well, I’ve saved up quite a bit… although a lot of that went with the flat,” he explained. “I don’t know… no more than about £12, 000.”

I was stunned. £12, 000 for a car?

God! That was loads!

I thought he wasn’t very rich?!!

“That’s a lot of money,” I breathed.

“Yeah, well…” He seemed embarrassed again.

“Well, erm, if that’s your price range, then you can get some nice small Mercedes’,” I told him.

“I don’t want a flashy car!” He insisted.

“No! No! No! Mercedes’ aren’t that flashy!” I said quickly. “I know loads of people who own Mercedes’. And my mates aren’t really rich!”

“Well- I suppose… but I’d really like something more… normal.” He said.

God- this guy was weird! He had £12, 000 to play with- and he wanted to buy a normal car? God- I think I’d do a Paul and buy a Ferrari, I think!

“You could get a Renault, then,” I suggested. “Or a Ford, or BMW. You could get a Honda like me. A Honda Accord, or something.”

“Hmmmmm…” He said thoughtfully. “I just don’t know…”

“You could get a Volvo!” I laughed. “And keep with the Scandinavian theme!”

He laughed. “I guess…”

“Look- what cars have the guys got?” I asked. “The ones that you used before? Why don’t you get one similar to that?”

“I guess I could…” Christian thought. But then he said, “but I want to be different! Get a car of my own!”

I laughed. “Alright then. What have you got to avoid?”

“Well, I don’t wanna get a Honda like you… no offence! But we’ll be too similar!” He laughed.

“Don’t you want us to have things in common?” I grinned.

“Yeah- but not identical cars!” He laughed.

“You could get a red one,” I suggested. “Then we’d be different!”

“Very funny,” he said sarcastically. “Ben’s got a Nissan Micra. A red one. And the other one is a blue BMW,” Christian explained.

“Wow- you guys have more money than you’re letting on!” I said, impressed. “Are you sure you’re not rich?”

Christian laughed. “Yes!!! We just save up loads, I promise! So- whadda think?”

“It’s up to you, Christian! Does it really matter what I think?” I said.

“Yes, of course it does,” he said earnestly. “You’re getting to be really important to me.”

“Christian!” I said amazed. “You’ve known me for what- 4 days? We haven’t even gone out, yet!”

“Yeah, but we speak on the phone all the time!” He insisted. “And I’ve already told you we get on really well- and that’s something I find really hard to do with girls. Especially English girls. You’re all so open and honest! And I’m really sensitive, so I don’t really take to that.”

I was really flattered. “Are you saying I’m one of the nice English girls?” I laughed.

“Oh- all English girls are nice!” he protested. “It’s just that you’re the first English girlfriend I’ve had that I believe I can be really happy with.”

But I wasn’t listening anymore.

Oh my God. He’d called me his ‘girlfriend’! He saw me as his girlfriend!!

Oh my God!!!!

“G-Girlfriend?” I gulped.

I was glad I was sitting down. I would’ve buckled otherwise!

“Yeah, my girlfriend,” he said. I could see him smiling. “You are my girlfriend! Don’t you want to be?”

I was struggling to speak. “Er… Christian… I… well, yes! Yes, I do! It’s just… we haven’t even gone out yet, Christian…”

“That doesn’t matter! What’s gonna change after we go on a date?” Christian asked.

“Erm… well, we’ll get to know each other a lot better,” I said.

“I don’t think I’m suddenly gonna find out something about you that’s gonna put me off,” Christian said warmly. “I don’t think there’s anything about you I don’t like.”

That made me laugh. “Oh God, Christian! You really don’t know me, do you?! Go find Abbie- she’ll write a whole list of things down that are annoying about me!”

“I’m sure I could live with them,” he said.

“Have- have you told anyone I’m your girlfriend, yet?” I asked hesitantly.

“Erm…” he thought. “Well, I’ve told the guys I’ve met someone, but they all laughed and said it’s nothing. I haven’t told anyone else, no. Why?” He asked.

“Erm-“

“You do wanna be my girlfriend, don’t you?” He said suddenly sounding very worried. “Or do you just want a fling? Please tell me if you do. I don’t want to get confused and read the wrong signs!”

“Christian- no! No, I don’t want a fling!” I cried, amazed he could even say that. “I think flings are awful! I could never have one, or a one-night stand. I’m not that kinda person. I much prefer relationships!”

“Why are you so funny about me calling you my “girlfriend” then?” He asked.

“I suppose I just can’t believe you’re calling me that already!” I said.

“Is it too soon?” He asked.

“No! No! Not if you feel like that,” I said. “I feel ever so lucky, that’s all!”

“You’ve told all your friends about me?” Christian asked, shyly.

I shook my head fiercely. “No, I’ve only told Abbie.”

“Why?” He seemed upset.

“I just don’t want to go around telling everyone I’m going out with you, and then for us to- like- split up,” I said.

“We’re not gonna split up!” Christian said firmly.

God! He was really serious about this, wasn’t he?

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I did want to be in a serious relationship- but this one hadn’t even started yet!

“Christian- I think we should just take a deep breath and see how things happen,” I said slowly. “I really do wanna be your girlfriend, and I really would love us to have a “we’ll never split” relationship, but until we’ve been on a few dates, and learnt more about each other a lot more- we should just take things slowly.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, which really worried me.

Had I said the wrong thing?

But then Christian said, “alright. I can see how you’re thinking. We’ll take things slow. It’s just- God, I’m so excited about this! I really am!”

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “I’m excited about going out with you, too! Probably even more than you are about me!”

He laughed. “Oh God! I keep forgetting you see me as “hugely famous”!”

“It’s true!! Anyway- weren’t we talking about your car?” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Oh God- yeah!” He said suddenly. “Where did we go? Haha! Anyway- so- what colour do you think I should get?”

It was hard to get back onto the subject of cars again. My head was spinning. Everything was suddenly moving so quickly. In Christian’s eyes, I was his girlfriend. That meant that there was definitely no-one else in his life, and that he saw me as- at the least- a bit serious.

And that was fantastic! It really was! I felt on top of the world!

“Hmmm…” I thought. “What’s your favourite colour? ‘Cos my favourite colour’s blue, and I have a blue car.”

“Er… yellow!” He said, and laughed.

I laughed too, at the prospect of him getting a yellow car. At least I couldn’t mistake him when he was on the road!

“Is that why Paul asked you to get a yellow Ferrari?” I asked.

“Yeah- well, Paul’s favourite colour is yellow, too. But I’m not getting a Ferrari, Katherine!” He said intently.

I laughed. “I know! I know! What then- a yellow Volvo? Can you even get yellow Volvo’s?!!”

“I don’t really want a Volvo…” He said, sounding frustrated.

“Well- what’s your favourite car?” I asked him. “Everyone has a favourite car. Everyone. You must have one! C’mon- a car you’ve always dreamed of having!”

“I’m- I’m not really into that kind of thing. Paul’s more into cars than me,” he sighed. “And I want to pick the right one! What’s your favourite car?”

“My Honda, definitely!” I said firmly. “I love it. I’ve always wanted one, and a couple of years ago, I got one.”

Christian laughed. “Well- what’s your second favourite car, then?”

“Erm…” I thought. I did like all the Ford’s you could get. I liked Abbie’s Ford Focus, and I also liked those Ford Fiestas you could get- even though Tim owned one. But I also liked the little Fiats you could get. And if Christian wanted a small car…

“Well- I quite like the Fiat Punto’s and Fiat Brava’s,” I told Christian. “They’re quite cute. And small, too. And you can get them in yellow- for definite!” I laughed.

“I don’t know if I am getting a yellow car, Katherine,” he said. “Yellow cars are a bit weird, aren’t they?”

“I laughed. “Abbie calls them “custard on wheels”!” I told him.

“See what I mean?” Christian said. “You don’t see too many yellow cars around, do you? And I’ll stand out everywhere!”

“Yeah, but you’ll be different, at least! And I wouldn’t be embarrassed having a boyfriend who has a yellow car,” I said, grinning.

There was a pause.

Then Christian said quietly, “you just called me your boyfriend.”

I thought for a minute.

Oh my God- I had! I really had, hadn’t I? A slip of the tongue…

I’d just said it in normal conversation without thinking! I’d never really thought about Christian being my boyfriend before. But if I’d just said it- maybe I was thinking it subconsciously. Or maybe Christian saying I was his girlfriend had had a real effect on me.

Whatever the reason, I had just called Christian my boyfriend. And after the hard time I’d given him about calling me his girlfriend, I felt such a hypocrite and blushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” I said shyly.

“No! No! Don’t be sorry!” Christian urged. “I’m so glad you feel like that! Like me!” He laughed. “Can I call you my girlfriend now?! Please?!! If you’re gonna call me your boyfriend-“

“Christian, it was just a slip of the tongue,” I tried to argue.

“You didn’t mean it then?” he asked suddenly.

“No! No that’s definitely not true,” I insisted. “I’ve just never thought of it like that before. It’s weird… I just said it.”

“You must want us to be serious, then!” He said eagerly.

“Yeah, yeah, I do. It’s just I don’t really class I have a boyfriend until at least 2 or 3 dates… we haven’t really started yet, have we?”

“I know, but like I’ve said, what does that matter?” Christian said. “I think we should just go for it!”

I laughed. He was really into this, wasn’t he?

It was funny how, no matter how much we talked about cars, the conversation would always turn to our relationship!

“If I start calling you my girlfriend, will you call me your boyfriend?” Christian asked.

“I don’t know- do you want to be my boyfriend?” I smiled.

“Yes, yes, yes!” He laughed, making me laugh, too. “Yes, I do! I want that more than anything!”

“You know, I was asked out today,” I told him.

There was another pause on the phone.

I wondered how he react to Josh asking me out. I hope he’d be bothered…

“What?” Christian said quietly.

“A guy asked me out today,” I repeated. “He’s called Josh.”

“Is that why you don’t want me to call me your boyfriend?” He said, sounding upset. “Because you’re seeing someone else?”

Oh my God! He’d thought I’d said yes! I couldn’t believe it.

“Christian!” I cried. “I said no! Of course I said no! Why would I want to go out with anyone else whilst I’ve got a date with you?!!”

“That’s all you see it is, isn’t it?” He sighed. “Just a date. Something to do for a one-off bit of fun.”

“Christian, no! This is a really big deal for me!” I insisted. “It’s not just “a date”. I’m just really worried you won’t wanna see me again after this “date”,” I said.

“I’ve already told you- nothing could put me off! Believe me- I want to see you again after that date. God, Katherine I want to see you right now! I wish you were here so much. I miss you,” he admitted.

My heart skipped a beat. Oh my God- did he mean that? Did he really mean that?

“Really?” I said, gushing.

“Really,” he said, meaning it. “I mean, it’s all very well talking to you and everything, but you’re not really here. I haven’t seen you since Saturday.”

“Well, I haven’t changed!” I laughed.

“I can still remember exactly how you looked!” He laughed. “Jeans, white vest top, with a pink star on, and you had these cute little butterfly clips in your hair. They were really sweet!”

I just sat there, mesmerized. I couldn’t believe how much he’d remembered about me. I mean, I’d thought I’d been staring. I didn’t realise that he had been, too!

That was a good sign. Maybe he hadn’t noticed I’d been staring either. Although, I was practically drooling, so perhaps not…

“I can’t believe you remembered all that,” I said, impressed.

“I know, but it’s like a picture in my head! I can’t really do anything with it, can I?” He said cheekily, making me blush.

Made me wonder what things he did want to do to me!

“I miss you, too,” I admitted. “Although it’s easier for me. I can see you whenever I want- all I have to do I pick up a magazine.”

“I can’t wait ‘til Friday!” He said, excitedly. “It’s gonna be really cool! I can’t wait to see you again!”

“No cancelling, then?” I joked.

“No, no cancelling. I’ll have just got back from Manchester on Friday,” he informed me.

“What if you get stuck in Manchester?” I teased.

“Don’t say that!” He cried, making me laugh. “I won’t, ok? I’ll run home if I have to!”

I laughed. “I’d like to see that!”

“You’ll see my new car on Friday when I come to pick you up!” He suddenly said.

“I know,” I told him. “I’ll just look out for this bright yellow object coming down my road!”

“Hey- that’s a point,” Christian suddenly said. “I have no idea where you live!”

“Ohhhh,” I let out. Of course he didn’t! I’d never told him! God, that would have been awful come Friday. He’d have got in his car and realised he had no idea where he was going.

“You’d better give me your address,” he said quickly. “I’ll just find a pen.”

“Ok- I live at 3, the Terraces, Stirling Drive, Greenwich,” I told him slowly, as he wrote it down.

“Ok- got it,” he said.

“You know where that is?” I asked him.

“I thiiink so,” he said thoughtfully.

“Well, it’s really near where I got off the bus Saturday,” I told him. “Just a few blocks from there. And then you find Stirling Drive, and on the left, there’s like this big- like- apartment block place- but it’s only 2 storeys. and I’m at number 3.”

“Ok, I’m sure I’ll find it ok,” he said. “Am I picking you up at 6pm?”

“Yep,” I nodded. “In thee car.”

“Yes, in thee car,” he laughed.

“How’s work been going? I haven’t had a chance to ask you, yet,” I said.

“Oh, fine, fine,” he said. “We’ve just been busy recording in the studio, and we had to do an interview today for… I think… it was Smash Hits. Yeah- Smash Hits.”

“Wow! Can’t wait to read it!” I joked.

“Nah, it was really boring. They always are,” he said.

“What are you doing tonight?” I asked, interested.

“Oh- Mark and Ben have just gone out to get a video. I don’t know where they’ve gone, though! They’re taking ages! Maybe they’ve been spotted by some fans!” He laughed.

“So- you’re all alone in the house?” I said.

“Yeah- that’s why I wish you were here!” He laughed. “Although saying that, Paul’ll be back any minute. And then the guys. I bet Ben comes back with loads and loads of ice cream!”

“Ben likes ice cream?” I asked.

“Ahuh. A lot. Especially that cookies and cream Häagen Daz ones! I bet he comes back with 4 tubs of that!”

“One for each of you?”

“No!” Christian laughed. “4 for himself!”

“Ohhhhh!” I said, and laughed.

“So, what’ve you been up to?” He asked me.

“Oh- work and work and more work,” I sighed. “I’ve got to hand about 5 essays in this week.”

“Oh wow- poor you!” He sympathized. “Are they really hard?”

“They’re not too bad,” I assured him.

I heard a bang on his side of the phone then- like a door slamming.

Then I heard Paul’s now familiar voice say to Christian, “are you still on the phone?!”

“Yes!” Christian said.

“Well, I’ve just seen Mark and Ben come back. We’ll be watching the vid real soon,” he warned him.

“Oh, ok,” he said to Paul, and then I heard him say to me, “I really gotta go. Thanks for your help.”

“I helped?” I laughed.

“Yeah, you really did. You’ll see on Friday!” He laughed.

“Oh my God- Ben’s been shopping!” I heard Paul cry, and then Christian started laughing. “Told you,” he said to me.

“Oooh, time for me to go!” I laughed. “I’ll see you Friday.”

“Yeah, see you. Miss you loads!” Christian said.

I could hear the guys talking a lot in the background now. It felt really strange- a1 were on the other end of the phone!

That was like, really close, wasn’t it?

“Miss you too,” I said to Christian.

“Wahoo! We didn’t get Disney!” I heard Paul cry and Christian and I both burst out laughing.

What the hell?!!!!

“Hey- who’s Chris on the phone to?”

That was Ben! Oh my God!

I’d heard Ben speak! Oh, if only Abbie was here!!

“Ohhh,” said Ben, as I think Paul or Christian had mouthed it to him. Then I suddenly heard a really loud,

“HI KATHERINE!”

“Ben!” Christian scolded.

“Tell her I said “Hi!”” Ben told him.

“Ben says hi,” Christian told me.

“ I know, I heard,” I smiled.

“C’mon, Chris! Ice cream!” Ben said, his voice fading away.

“I better go,” Christian said. “Bye now.”

“Bye, Christian,” I said, and we both hung up at the same time.

Wow! So many thoughts were hurtling through my mind; I didn’t know what I was thinking!

But of all of them- one plainly stood out from the rest.

I was Christian’s girlfriend.