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Charly

Chapter 9

“You don’t have to do that”, Charly said and walked down the road next to Lisa. Lisa was on her way to pick up some new stage clothes for the band by an Italian designer that had made a deal with the management for the boys to wear their stuff. It was Lisas idea to combine that with a little shopping spree for Charly. “Stop that. The best way to get over a break-up is to get new clothes…oh, and Lou is looking for a new hair color for you, she will dye your hair later this afternoon”, Lisa said and checked the numbers on the doors while walking past them. “Dye? I don’t want to dye my hair”, Charly turned around to face Lisa. “Nothing major, don’t worry. Just to freshen up your hair a bit. Lou knows what she does”, Lisa calmed her down. Lou was with the boys at their interviews to take care of their hair and their “shiny” faces.
“Here it is”, she said and disappeared in a door. Charly followed her up the stairs and a moment later they stood in an amazing loft. She let Lisa do all the talking and looked around. They actually had amazing stuff. “Would like to try something on?”, a guy appeared next to her and talked with a strong Italian accent, but she managed to understand him anyway. “Oh, thank you, but I wouldn’t dare to. They’re lovely, absolutely gorgeous”, she said. “Please, try on this dress. A beautiful woman like you needs a dress like this”, he said and handed her a gorgeous knee long dress in different shades of blue (http://img1.promgirl.com/_img/PGPRODUCTS/1061979/1000/blue-night-dress-BC-XGX6X846-a.jpg). “Oh Charly, that dress looks phenomenal. Try it on, come on”, Lisa said and came closer. “Oh, that’s really nice of you to say that, but no, really…I don’t wear dresses”, she said to the guy and ignored Lisa. “Just try it on, will ya? Don’t be rude”, Lisa said laughing and took her by the shoulders and guided her to a little dressing room that Charly hadn’t seen until now. “This is the designer, so shut up”, Lisa whispered to her and almost pushed her inside.
Charly couldn’t remember when it was the last time that she had worn a dress, but she had to admit it looked quite good. She let down her hair that went down to the end of her shoulder blades. She stepped out of the curtains. “Oh Charly”, Lisa sighed and smiled. “Fantastico, bellissima”, the designer said. Charly blushed and looked down. “It is perfect for you”, he said. “Thank you very much, but I’m pretty sure I can’t afford it”, Charly replied. She looked at herself in the mirror that stood next to the dressing room and sighed. She didn’t know that dresses would look good on her and this one in particular blew even her mind. It definitely gave her a confidence boost. “Oh, don’t worry about money, we in Italy know how to appreciate the beautiful things in life and you in that dress is definitely very beautiful. You should have it. I couldn’t ask for a better advertisement”, the designer said and winked at her. “Are you kidding me?”, Lisa said and stood up. She looked literally shocked. “Then I should try one on as well”, she joked, but Charly could see that she was a bit jealous.
About 60 minutes later, Charly stood in a different fitting room, Forever 21 this time. She had to wait here while Lisa was out to pick out some stuff for her to try on. It felt like Lisa had brought the whole shop into the little cabin and she had to try everything on and show it to her. After the situation in the designer’s loft, there were a lot of dresses and shorts. “Darling, you have awesome legs, you need to show them more. And no more of these hideous jeans shorts. You look like a lesbian”, Lisa said. “But I love those jeans shorts, I always wear them”, Charly defended her choice of trousers. “And that’s why they have to go, you’re too attached to them. They are the old Charly and this…”, she said and held up very short red shorts, “is the new Charly”, Lisa said and smiled brightly. “This”, Charly said and pointed to those particular shorts, “is hooker-Charly”, she continued and shook her head. “What? No! Trust me, you want those. There will be a point where you will regret it if you don’t take them”, Lisa said. After sort of a staring contest, Charly had to relent. “Alright, you sneaky little girl”, Charly said and went back into the fitting room. What followed were some shirts and normal-length jeans.
“Ok, last one, I promise. Here take this”, Lisa said and handed her a very tight and short dress. “I can’t wear that, I look like a porn star”, Charly said and stepped out of the cabin. “Oh no, you will look great. Perfect for a date”, Lisa said smiling. “I don’t want to go on dates”, Charly replied. “At the moment, but the time will come and then you have that awesome dress”, Lisa said. “I already have an awesome dress”, Charly said smiling. “True and you have already a lot of stuff”, Lisa said overlooking the pile of clothes next to her on the sofa in the waiting area. “I don’t know how to pay for that anyways”, Charly said and she started to sweat looking at that amount of clothes. “Hey, you’re handling the band budget. Juggle with it a little”, Lisa wiggled her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? I would lose my job if I’d do that”, Charly replied shocked. “You can write it off as marketing expenses. You’re representing the band”, Lisa suggested. “You’re crazy. I’ve got a credit card, I’ll put it on that. I need my job to pay that bill now”, Charly rolled her eyes and together they carried the clothes and two pairs of high heels to the cashier. “We need to get back, it’s past noon already. We were spending the whole morning shopping. I’ve got some phone calls to make”, Charly said and they took a taxi back to the hotel.
When they arrived at the hotel, they met Paul in the lobby. “Oh, there you are Charly. The crew for the interviews will be here any minute. I need you for the setup”, he said and together they went up to the 6th floor. “Are they back yet?”, she asked while walking towards the room. “Yes, they’re having lunch downstairs”, Paul answered.
She hadn’t seen or talked to Liam since last night. As she woke up this morning, for a second she thought it was a dream and she’s still not sure. Together, Paul and Charly moved around the furniture of the suite and a few moments later the tv crew had arrived and were setting up their lights and camera. “Will you get the boys, please?”, Paul asked and turned back to one of the camera guys to talk to. “Yeah, sure”, she said, but was nervous. She went out of the room and towards the elevators. Before she entered the hotel’s restaurant, she took a deep breath and went in. It didn’t take long to find the guys with the security sitting with them. “Hey lads, hope you’re finished. Paul needs you upstairs. New round of interviews waits for you”, she said as she came up to the table and avoided eye contact with Liam. She took out the phone of her back pocket as it vibrated. She had a text from Lisa and read it as she walked with the guys to the elevators. “Come to our room, when you’re done. Makeover time!!”, she read. Oh god!
“Hey”, Liam said next to her. “Hi”, she looked up to him, a bit surprised because he walked so close to her. “Haven’t seen you all day”, he said. “Yeah, I was picking up some clothes for you guys with Lisa and you had your morning packed”, she explained to him. As if he didn’t know where he was all morning. She shook her head over her stupid answer. “How you’re doing?”, he asked. She searched his face for any signs. “Good. You?”, she said and even her “Good” sounded like a question. “Also good”, he said in a normal tone, but then he winked at her. So it DID happen last night. She had to smile and blushed, so she quickly looked down. She escorted the boys to the hotel room where the interview would happen and then took off to her room, expecting the worst.
“Come on, Charly, don’t be shy”, Lou said as she saw Charly entering the room. “I’m actually afraid what you two have in mind for me”, Charly answered truthfully. “Okay, let’s settle this once and for all”, Lisa said and pushed Charly down on the chair. She and Lou stepped in front of her. “Do you trust my sense of style?”, Lisa asked. “…Yes?”, Charly said. “And do you trust my knowledge of hair and make-up?”, Lou asked and Charly actually felt intimidated by those two. “Yes, I do”, she answered and didn’t dare to say anything different. “Then shut up for the next 45 minutes and let us do our job”, Lou said and pulled Charly out of her seat and into the bathroom. “We will dye your hair first, don’t worry, I didn’t take something too different or crazy. I just want to bring out your blue eyes and give you a fresh look”, Lou said and calmed Charly a bit. “Nevertheless, I will blindfold you now because Lizzie and I want it to be a surprise”, Lou added and the “calm Charly” would wane.
“I trust you, but if you two blow this, I will hunt you down”, Charly said as Lou covered her eyes. “I know”, Lou mumbled and got to work. It was weird for Charly to have her hair washed blindfolded, but she did her best to not set the whole bathroom under water. When she was done, Lou sat her on a chair, still in the bathroom. “I will cut the ends just a bit and give it a bit of a cut, so don’t freak if you hear scissors”, Lou warned her. “I’m not gonna say anything to this”, Charly said. She was way beyond curious. She was internally freaking out.
After a while, Lou led her back out and sat her down again. “I will do your make-up now, so I need to take your blindfold off”, Lou said and the next second Charly blinked a few times to get used to the bright light in the room. “She definitely needs some make-up advice”, Lisa said and appeared in her field of vision. “I know how to use make-up”, Charly defended herself. “Yeah…high school make-up”, Lou said and gave her a look that said “you have no clue, honey”. “The hair look gorgeous by the way, Lou”, Lisa said and acknowledged it with a nod. Charly on the other hand actually started to get mad. These two had no good word for her in the last hour and she felt like a little puppet that they played around with. But as always, she didn’t dare to say something.

“So, done”, Lou said and stepped back. “That is absolutely amazing”, Lisa said and her eyes got big. “Now, let’s get you in your new clothes”, Lisa said and went over to her bed where she had laid out a grey tank top with a black print and the hideous red shorts. “Are you kidding me? There’s no way I’m going to put those on”, Charly crossed her arms in front of her. “Just for fun, okay? I want to see what it looks like with your new hair”, Lisa said and smiled brightly. “Why?! Are they red too?”, Charly asked shocked since she hadn’t seen it. “NO! God, no! Don’t worry, okay? Put it on and then you look at yourself in the mirror”, Lisa said and pushed her towards the bed. Charly changed in front of them since they were only girls. “Jesus, Charly. If I had a figure like yours, I would only walk around in my underwear”, Lou said acknowledging Charly’s figure. “Oh shut up, that’s bullshit. I’m a normal, chubby girl”, Charly waved off. It embarrassed her if someone said that. Ethan never told her that she was sexy, beautiful sometimes, but never sexy. “Darling, I don’t know what that Ethan did to you, but you need to show yourself more. You are a beautiful woman with a gorgeous body and a hell of a rack”, Lisa said to her. “Stop it, you’re making me blush”, Charly shook her head smiling and looked down.
She put on those red shorts and the grey tank top. A phone vibrated on the table. With a quick look, Charly saw that it was hers. “It’s mine, can you give it to me?”, she asked and Lou handed it over. She had just pulled down the tank top as she picked up. “Hello?”, Charly asked. “Hello, Anastasia Bulmonde, from SF1”, a woman with Swiss accent spoke to her. “Am I talking to Ms. Benett?”, she asked. “Yes, this is she”, Charly answered. “I am calling for the interview with One Direction tomorrow. It seems like there hasn’t been a confirmation of the appointment from your side. We had to set interview at 7 pm now”, the woman said. “That is not possible. The concert starts at 8 pm and they have to be at the venue at 6:30 pm”, Charly explained and got a bit nervous. “We have settled to do it at 3 pm. The band has a very tight schedule. I don’t think we can throw that interview in at a later point. And earlier is also not possible because we arrive from Rome in the late morning”, Charly tried to remember the band’s schedule. “The interviewer is very busy as well and he can’t hold that appointment”, Mrs. Bulmonde said. “I, ehm, can I call you back on that later? I will have a chat with the tour manager and we’ll see what we can do”, Charly offered a later response. “Sounds like a plan. I’m in the office until 6 pm”, she said and shortly after that hung up.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god”, Charly internally freaked out. She already had totally forgotten about her makeover. “What happened?”, Lisa asked and looked at her worried. “I forgot to confirm that appointment with the swiss tv channel and now they want that interview when the lads are practically up on stage. Paul will kill me”, Charly said and was almost shaking now. That was the first time that she had a mega mess-up as Paul’s assistant. She knew that there was always a first time for everything, but she had hoped it was something less important. “I need to talk to Paul right away. I need to get it over with”, Charly said, grabbed her sneakers and put them on. “But you didn’t see yourself in the mirror yet”, Lisa said and sounded disappointed to miss out on her face when she sees her new self. “No time for that!”, Charly said while almost out the door.