Rehearsals were harder then normal with Paul being short tempered with all of us. Harry showed up to our first rehearsal ten minutes late, and Paul acted like it was the end of the world, screaming at him “Seriously, Harry, you need to get your shit together because I am not going to handle this. Its either you pull everything together, or I am gone.” None of us were quite sure why Paul was so set off, but he seemed more then distracted.
Our new choreographer was a very flamboyant man named Hektor, and yes, he did use a k and simply used his first name, like he thought he could be the next Madonna. Hektor seemed like a cool guy, but since our morning was filled with just running out new music, I did not really get a chance to talk to him.
“That’s it guys. Take a lunch break and I need everyone back in an hour!” Said a voice over the loud speaker in the concert venue that we had taken over for our practice space.
“Fuck yeah! I’m starving!” Niall screamed, high fiving Louis.
“You are always starving, Niall.” Harry starkly commented. “But I am hungry too. Where too boys?”
“No need to go anywhere, I ordered food for everyone.” A heavily accented Latino voice said.
Turning my head, I saw it was the new choreographer. Promptly, I stuck out my hand greeting him. “You must be Hector.” I said.
“Actually, it’s Hektor with a K! It’s more of a hard sound.” He said, accepting my hand and shaking it. “Oh, big hands. You know what they say about men with big hands…” his eyes rolled over my body, taking in every tiny nook and cranny.
Pulling my hand away, he chuckled a bit, before addressing the rest of the boys. “It is nice to finally meet you. I think we are going to have fun this next month. But since I do plan on working you until you can not walk strait…” He left a suggestive pause before ongoing. “I decided the least I could do was buy you food so that you might at least think that I am nice.”
Lou was the first one to speak again. “Thanks man, I am sure we all really do appreciate the food.” Clearly, he was as uncomfortable as I was with this whole situation.
“Seriously, guys, you just need to relax. I am only here professionally. Yes, I will admit that you are all hot, but I am happily in a relationship. So, stop acting like you have never met a gay man before.” He said sounding defensive, but also as if he had found that many people in his life acted the same way we just were.
“Hektor, look man, I am sorry. But the way you just looked at me, like I was a slab of meat, well it was a little awkward.” I said.
“That is a bit funny, coming from a man who is used to having millions of screaming girls ogle at you everyday like you are a god. You would think that the three seconds I took to check you out would not freak you out.”
“You would think…” Harry said.
“Come on, let’s eat. Where is that food you said you had?” Niall asked.
“It’s all in the green room.” Hektor said.
In the green room was a feast of Latin food sending waves of delicious fumes up my nostrils. My mouth began to salivate even before I had entered the room, just from the smells assaulting my senses.
“Oi lindo!” Hektor said before walking up to, whom I presumed to be, the chef. He planted a big kiss, full of theatrics.
“Boys, this is Sergio… Sergio, this is everyone.” Hektor gestured, introducing all of us at once. “Sergio is my boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sergio said in an even thicker accent then Hektor had. “It seems you are all hungry since the alemão over here is already helping himself to food.”
He pointed to Niall, who had already loaded up a plate of food and was making his way over to the table. “What? Oh, sorry. I was hungry.” Niall said.
“Don’t mind him. He can’t seem to help hit, somehow this guy is always hungry.” Louis said, quickly remembering his own manners, “oh, and my name is Louis. Nice to meet you.”
Afternoon rehearsals were horrid; with Hektor not even let us take a five-minute break. It was only the first day of rehearsals, how the hell di did he expect us to be perfect with a routine the first run. Well, he did, and I can tell you that I am going to be in so much pain tomorrow, it is not even funny. The only thing that got me through the afternoon was the thought that in the morning I would be able to see Allie, and I had already started to count down the hours.

My alarm went off at five in the morning, way too early in my opinion, but I was more the willing to get up early if it meant I had time with Liam. I spent a half hour getting ready, almost twice the time I normally spent, in order to be perfect. Once in the kitchen, I realized that Maggie had not cleaned the kitchen the previous night, like she had promised and had to spend ten minutes of my remaining half hour cleaning. Just perfect.
Just as I was flipping the first two french toasts, I hard a soft nock on the door. Liam stood at the door, bouquet of flowers in hand. “Good morning.” He growled in his ‘I’m still asleep’ voice before he came into the apartment.
“Good morning to you too.” I said, kissing him lightly on the cheek at I took the flowers from his outstretched hands. “Thank you for the flowers. Breakfast will be ready in five.” I added as I shuffled back into the kitchen where I had, thankfully, not burnt anything.
While I finished breakfast, Liam sat in the living room, look at all the clutter on the coffee table. I was going to tell him to ignore the mess, when the next thing I knew, he was standing next to me.
He threw down a stack of three or four magazines, yelling, “What the hell is this? You said you had no idea who I was, and yet gossip magazines with my mates on the cover litter your apartment.”
“Lia…” I began, but he did not let me get in a word. He elevated his voice further and continued berating me.
“How can you even have something like that in your house, in an apartment you clearly knew I was going to be in? Well I guess you are not as good of a con woman as you think you are. Leaving a magazine with Harry on the front and that ridiculous title Harry’s Hairy Night. What is it even supposed to be about? Well guess I will never know, seeing as how I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Tears were welling in my eyes. Just his believing that I had betrayed him stung like a dagger, and then he rose his voice. He was just like Eric and I could hardly stand it. His tirade continued, probably waking more neighbors then I knew I had.
“You are just like all the other girls. For once in my life I thought I had met someone who was different, someone who could give me more out of life. But hell no, God is just mocking me. He is watching me and laughing that I fell for it again. Well Fuck me, I give up. Don’t even think you are going to hear from me again, Allie, because there is no way in hell you will.” And with that, me still unable to get a word in edge wise between his yelling and my crying, he walked out of the apartment, not even bothering to slam the door shut.
Stunned beyond belief, I stood motionless in the kitchen for a long while, until a groggy Maggie pealed herself out of bed.
“What the hell was all that?” She asked when she saw me in the kitchen.
“How could you, Maggie? I asked you not to bring those filth into this house, and yet you did. Now, you have caused me one of the best things in my life, all because you like to gossip.” As soon as it was out of my mouth I regretted it. I could see how I had hurt her, and I hated it. “Oh my god, Maggie. I am so sorry. I didn’t really mean it. I am just upset and not sure how to handle everything right now.”
She came over to me, placing her hand in my own. “Allie, I am sorry, I never meant for any of this. I think I was just jealous that you had found someone famous and I had not. It made things worse that he was as perfect as he was.” The emotion in her eyes was clearly agreeing with the words coming out of her mouth.
“What do I do?” I asked.