Camera Shy (Louis Tomlinson) Book 5

Chapter 10

Lauren's POV

I’d gotten through finals with flying colors. After an all-nighter for an 8 am final, followed by sleeping the rest of the day, Peyton had dropped me off at the airport. I’d taken Hunter’s advice and told them there had been a family emergency and I had to go right home, so they assumed I was flying back to Tennessee. Instead, I was taking a short flight to Los Angeles, where I’d rent a car and stay at Hunter’s for the weekend when we’d be recording. They had offered hotel rooms for the winners at the hotel the boys were staying, but knowing the hotel would be staked out with 1D fans I had opted out.

I got through airport security, no problem, and picked out a boring old car I was sure wouldn’t be noticed. By the time I got to Hunter’s gated community it was getting kind of late. It took a while to convince the security guy I was supposed to be here, since lots of celebrities lived in the area and apparently lots of fans tried to get through. He’d even had to call Hunter because that idiot forgot to let the guard know I was coming.

“Nice one dork” I joke when Hunter lets me into his house.

“Not everyone has your memory nerd.” He replies with a smile. I grin, shoving my bag into his hands as I look around his house.

“Nice” I say letting out a low whistle. “A lot fancier than home.” He gives a sheepish shrug.

“You ready for tomorrow?” he asks, changing the subject. I shake my head.

“I hate you for this you know” I say nonchalantly. He nods his head.

“Yea, I know” he replies with the same tone. His eyes lock with mine for a second before I finally crack a smile and look away with a shake of my head.

“C’mon, show me to my room you bad host” I joke. “I’ve had a long week.”

It was finally the day. I was almost shaking with nerves. I couldn’t believe I was actually going through with this. Since the announcement, my subscribers had more than doubled. I had close to 4 million now. It was crazy what being connected to those boys could do. What’s worse was that people were still trying to determine who I was. It felt like a manhunt. The recording team had assured me that I would have the privacy I’d wanted. My name wouldn’t be revealed; no video would be taken of me. I’d be able to remain anonymous.

As I approach the studio though, I see tons of One Direction fans waiting outside searching for the winners or to see the boys. “Yea… no.” I mutter, driving past. There was no way I’d be able to get through that without being photographed.

I park at a McDonalds parking lot a block or so away and pull out my phone, calling the management team.

“I don’t know what to tell you, you have to be here” the manager says when I explain the situation. I frown. I wanted to be anonymous. There had to be some way to get in there without them knowing I was Just_Me.

“Hang on, I got an idea,” I say, a grin coming to my face. “I’ll be there in an hour” I hang up my phone and dial Hunter’s number.

“Hey, I need a favor”

Forty-five minutes later and Hunter’s car pulls up to the McDonalds.

“Thanks for this” I say, hopping into his car, leaving mine in the parking lot for now.

“No probs” he says with a shrug. I grab the hoodie I told him to bring, slipping it on as he drives up to the studio gate. The guard lets him in and I keep my head down. With Hunter along, it would appear like he was going in for recording and I was just along for fun. I was his sister, and that’s all the fans would see. I head in while Hunter pauses at the gates to sign a few things for people that had recognized him and were calling for pictures. He joins me minutes later, leading me down the hall to the recording studio I’d been told I’d be in. I meet the guy running the recording booth, Max, and he explains how it’s going to work. We’ll be splitting the lines with the boys, singing half their verse. It wouldn’t need us to record with them at all. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t meeting them since I’d opted to skip the ‘Meet 1D’ part that they’d had at the hotel the previous night. Louis hadn’t been too happy with that, having tweeted how disappointed he was not to have met all the winners. Everyone knew about his strange obsession with meeting me. Not that I really understood why. I was no one special.