Pablo, honey?

"Maddox? Isn't that like, a boy’s name?"

I've heard that question so much, it's ridiculous. Everyone without proper manners (not trying to offend anybody here) asks me that precise question after I've introduced myself. I used to think it was pretty cool, actually I still think it's cool. I'd rather be Maddox, the girl with the boys name, than Emma, a dime in a dozen.

"Yeah, yeah it is. Excuse me, but who are you again?" I knew her name, but I loved the look that crossed over her face before she regained her cool again. I knew she was a friend of Norah's and that I should probably try to be a little bit nicer to her, but I just couldn't. Something about her just rubbed me the wrong way, I'm still guessing whether it's the fact that she's wearing homeless clothes but obviously paid a small fortune for them, or if it's that she keeps checking her phone like she's expecting a call from the queen. And as she dusted off her lap and fingered the whole in her shirt while practically grabbing her phone when it buzzed, I decided that it's both.

"It's Robbie!" She exclaimed, a look of unbelief on her face like she couldn't believe I didn't know her. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her because honestly, isn't Robbie just as much of a boy’s name as Maddox is?

I hummed in respond. I'm usually a nice person, I promise, but since Norah dragged me out of my apartment at seven in the morning to a place where they only sell tea while I practically live off of coffee, I wasn't in my best mood. And Robbie was working on my nerves, that too.

Norah came back to our table just a few seconds before I would have lost my shit and snapped her neck. I hated the way she was constantly tapping on the tabletop with her stupid lilac nails. The funny things is, I'm normally a morning person (after I have had my coffee though). But right now, I haven't had any coffee, I haven't had many sleep and fucking professor Jones wanted a three paged essay over the importance of time in novels handed in tomorrow and I haven't even started.

Oh and my mother called last night, might have something to do with my bad mood too.

It must have been obvious that I wasn't enjoying myself because Norah shot me a look that said I had to behave. I rolled my eyes at her but sat up a little straighter as she put my mint tea in front of me. Robbie excitedly made place for Norah so Norah took a seat next to her, leaving me by myself in this four person booth.

"Thanks," I mumbled, loading my tea with honey. If I can't get high on caffeine I'll have to get high on sugar. I knew Norah through a mutual friend. We both go to Imperial and had met at a party. We had hit it off quickly and hang out sometimes. We're not really close or anything but we enjoy each other's company, mostly on Saturday nights.

Robbie and Norah started chatting about something that happened in class, so I zoned out. I did notice, however, that she was noticeably more happy and nicer to Norah than she was to me.

"I'm gonna get a muffin, anyone want something?" I asked, probably interrupting their conversation but not really caring.

"I'm good, I already ate," Norah thanked me.

"Can you ask if they have anything sugar free? I'm on a strict no sugar policy," Robbie smiled sweetly at me. I nodded, not really understanding why she was on a diet in the first place, since she was stick thin already.

I do kind of respect her, because she's been doing some modeling but she still decided to stick in school. She's doing both at the moment and I respect that, but I just don't like her personality. I've seen her around a few times before and she just seems like a general fake person.

"Can I have a banana muffin please?" I asked when the cashier greeted me. She was a girl around my ages with purple streaks in her hair.

"Of course, anything else?"

"Do you have anything without sugar by any chance?" I rolled my eyes at the question and the girl grinned at me.

"We have, but I wouldn't recommend it. What's a muffin without sugar aye?"

"I feel you girl and what good is it if you don't get that sugar high after? Just pick whatever you have without sugar, everything's fine with me." She laughed, nodded her head and got some nasty looking muffin and winked when she handed them to me.

"Have a nice day," I thanked her and made my way back to the table, already taking a bite of my muffin. I handed Robbie her muffin but she barely spared me a glance. I scoffed softly to myself.

I was munching happily on my banana muffin when I noticed Norah looking at me expectantly. "What?" I asked with my mouth full. Norah rolled her eyes at me.

"Your middle name could have easily been 'charming', Maddox Charming Eden. It suits you perfectly."

"Oh don't act all posh. I've seen you stuffing your face with hamburger after hamburger." I retorted, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. My mom enjoyed pointing out my eating flaws as well. So no surprise there.

"Anyway," she said, dodging that topic of conversation. She's good at that. "Do you have any plans?"

"It's fucking half past 7 in the morning on a Saturday, of course I don't have plans!" I remarked with my eyebrows raised. She clapped her hands happily.

"Well it's settled then." Her face lit up like I just told her the best news in the world.

"What is?" I asked warily. I don't know where's going with this but if it involves me doing anything other than crawling back into bed I'm going to stab her eyes out.

"You're both coming with me to Grimmy's anniversary party! It's gonna be huge and you guys are my plus twos!"

Normally, I liked her enthusiasm, but right now it was seriously pissing me off.

"Is that why you dragged me out of bed this early?" I grumbled, not really understanding the need for us to be up at half past seven.

"No, well technically yes. You see, Grimmy's worked at the station for 10 years to be exact and we're throwing him a surprise party. He took the day off so we're taking him to dinner tonight and after that we'll have the party at his place. I volunteered to be in the organization which means I have to bring people in to help decorate the place and such. Which is where you guys come in. You'd do me a huge favor if you could help with the set up and welcome the guest before we get back from dinner. It's also how I got you an invite. If you'll help, you'll get to come! And there are going to be a lot of celebrities...!"

"Are you quite done yet?" I interrupted her and Robbie's squeals. Sheesh, it was half past seven in the morning and this girl can babble your ears off.

"Do you guys want to do it?"

"Of course! Will Alexa be there? Oh and Harry? Oh my god, am I going to meet the Harry styles?" Robbie answered and they automatically went into teenage mode. I rolled my eyes at their antics.

"There'll be free booze!" Norah threw in as last argument and I couldn’t deny that.

"Fine. But just know you owe me one." I grumbled, collecting my bag from the ground and wrapping my scarf around my neck. "Oh! I also want to get donuts on the way, and you're paying."



~*~





Norah drove us over the nicks place, after Robbie threw away her muffin because it tasted funny. There were already quite a few people there when we arrived. They were happy with the help we could provide and put us straight to work while Norah went back to the station. Norah had managed to snatch an amazing internship at radio one and so far she was doing a good job. With her high grades, witty come backs and brilliantly sweet voice, she was quite the catch according to nick. Norah loved working for radio one and she could definitely see herself as a radio host later on.

She was also quite fond of nick and his friend. She knows they're like the underground kings and queens of London and she thrives on the excitement and attention she gets. Norah has every intention of joining their little hipster group, although she was still low on the rank right now.

I found out, during the process that is decorating nicks bedroom for when he gets a minute alone with his new lover, that Robbie and Norah are the same in that aspect. They were both social climbers, Robbie more so than Norah. Norah had the higher position here, so Robbie followed her around wherever she went.

I figured I was only here to do Norah a favor, not because she really wanted me here. I didn't care really. I didn't have any other plans and who am I to turn down a good party with free drinks and the royalty of London? Besides, I was quite enjoying myself already.

We got everything into place around three o'clock, after that, we all went to our respective homes to get ready and we would be back by six, to welcome the first guests.

It was now five past six and I was riding my bike back to nicks house. I again, didn't take any time getting ready since I was already late. When I got home this afternoon, I had felt inspired so I sat down behind my notebook and wrote, unfortunately, that writing led to me just needing to take a picture that matched my short story. Which was why I only got home five minutes till six. I changed my shirt because I kind of smelled but left my jeans on.

The ride back to nicks takes about twenty minutes, but it took me much longer than that. It probably had something to do with the fact that I actually hadn't had a donut and I was craving for them. So I made a stop at my favorite place, got myself a box with four donuts, than realized that I didn't have a gift for Nick which made me feel bad.

I figured I wouldn't be the only one without a gift but went to the nearby liquor store anyway. I got him a special flavor of Jack Daniels and while checking out, something slipped into my brain.

I've been writing since I was little. Back then, I loved making up stories in my head and working them out. I never really wrote a whole story, because my brain was way too busy with new and other ideas to stay focused on one thing for long. I wrote a lot of bad, unfinished stuff. And also some bad short stories.

Right now, I feel like my writing has gotten loads better but I learned I'm still not one for long stories. I find myself writing short stories most of the time, just little scenes I come up with during the day and that I work out in a few days time. Other than that, I've got several notebooks which are filled with random quotes, poems and thoughts, some my own, some from others that I find inspiring or can relate to.

I leave the liquor store, reaching in my purse to take out my notebook when I notice it isn't in there. I curse myself for leaving it at home. Thankfully, there's a Home Depot store around the corner where they most likely have some kind of notebook. I left my bike where I parked it, walking towards the big store. I looked around and grabbed the first little notebook I saw. It was light blue and on the front it said: write something every day and soon, this will be your favorite book. On the way out, I notice a beautiful leather bound journal and I just can’t help myself.

As soon as I leave the shop, I press the notebook against the brick wall. I hesitate a moment before I decided that this journal should be kept for a special occasion. I switch it for the blue notebook and start writing.

'We're drunk off vodka,
And high off each other
No more layers between us
Your breath on the back of my neck
Your hand over my mouth
Telling me to be quiet
Telling me that they'll hear
That they'll hear how right we are for each other
That they'll hear how good
Drunk words leaving your chapped mouth
But in the morning,
When the vodka is out of our systems
No more words of love
No more words of want
We're vodka lovers
That's all'

I finished the last sentence, dropped everything back in my purse and walked back to my bike. Now strapped with my booze, new notebook and donuts, I resumed my journey to Nicks house. It was already a quarter after seven and I still had to bike another 15 minutes.

To add to my shitty day, there was some kind of famous person event because when I bike through Leicester square, there were people everywhere. I had to get off my bike and wrestle my way through the crowd. People were screaming all around me until I reached the side of the crowd where I could walk more easily. I stopped to stand on my toes and tried to take a glance at what or who was going on. The premiere of the new Robbert Pattinson movie. No wonder there are so many people here.

Because of my delay, I was now an hour and 45 minutes late. And pretty sweaty as well. I ran the buzzer on nicks house when I finally got there and someone buzzed open the gate. It seems unsafe to me but hey who am I to judge? It's not my safety I'm concerned about.

"Where have you been?" Robbie exclaimed as she opened the door for me. "I was here all by myself and I didn't know anyone!" She screeched. I spotted a little telecom thingy by the door and realized she was the one who had buzzed me in after recognizing me on the camera.

"I got distracted I had to buy donuts and a present!" I defended myself. "You're a model, aren't you supposed to be social?" I asked her, not meaning to offend her or anything. Apparently, she was a social climber, but one that needed to be introduced first.

"I am! But these people here are really really cool. I just saw Kelly Osbourne, can you believe that? Kelly Osbourne!" It appears, she struggles from mood swings. I rolled my eyes at her, I don't really care for celebrities, especially those who are famous for doing nothing.

"Well what do you need me to do? Hold your hand while I introduce you?" I dusted off my jeans and hung my jacket up on the rack.

"Of course not!" There was a tone of outrage in her voice. "But like, there're all in little cliques, and it's like weird if I try to join the conversation on my own. You know? It's like, I don't want to be clingy."

"You shouldn't say "like" all the time. That annoys people," I say to her and roll my eyes again. I take in her outfit for the first time since I came in and raised my eyebrows at her. She was wearing a short sequined dress that seemed to change color when she moved. It looked kind of cool, but the neckline was pretty low and the hem pretty high.

"Nice dress," I complement her, although it must be a burden to wear it. The sequins must itch under her armpits. "If you could wait here for a nanosecond, I'll be in the bathroom to fresh up."

"I'll come with you," she says, close to sounding like she's whining. I roll my eyes for what feels like the fifties time this day but don't protest as she shows me the way to a bathroom.

I take my make-up bag out of my purse and place it on the counter. I apply some mascara to my lashes and grab my babylips. I've got the cherry flavored lip balm and this is literally my favorite thing in the world. I grab an hair tie out of the bag and throw my head forward. I gather my hair in my hands and ruffle it up it bit. I tie my hair on top of my head, messing it up a bit more and taking some baby hairs from the side of my face and pulling them out.

Messy high ponytail, something you can always relay on when you're having a bad hair day, my friend. I sprayed deodorant over my boy and figured I was good to go.

“You’re not finished are you?” Robbie asks me when I begin to clean up my stuff. I raise my eyebrows at her.

“That’s quite rude.”

“Oh but we’ve been rude to each other since the beginning so I figured it wouldn’t really matter,” she shrugs innocently and start opening cabinets in the bathroom. “Let me do your make-up?” she suggest.

“Uhm no thanks, I’m good.” She doesn’t seem to listen to me and continues her search through the many drawers. “I don’t know if Grimmy will appreciate it if you go through his stuff.”

“He won’t mind. He’s an open book really.” She commented softly, not really paying attention to me. “Ha! Found it!” she exclaimed loudly. She held what appeared to be eyeliner in her hand and smiled smugly at me. “I promise it will look good.”

“I don’t want to,” I argued weakly so she pressed on, telling me that with my hair pulled back, I could use a wow-factor in my face. I realized, as she rambled on, that if I wouldn’t agree, she would bug me about it the whole evening.

“I’ll let you do it, but promise me you won’t make it to heavy, okay?” Her whole face lit up and she clapped her hands like a ten-year-old. She ordered me to sit down and relax while she ‘worked her magic’.

She officially crept me out when she was still smiling like a manic and holding a sharp object very close to my eyeball. I wanted to tell her to be careful but I think she might just poke my eye out for doubting here.

It turns out that my fear of getting my eye poked out was pretty correct. While she was working on the upper line of my eyes, I accidently hiccupped and my spastic jerking caused the brush to land in my left eye. I screamed, she screamed, I felt something wet on my shirt, she had dropped the eyeliner on my shirt.

“Fuck!” I screamed loudly.

“Take it off!” she screamed back, “Take it off before it becomes a permanent stain!”

“Oh shit. Jesus.”

“That’s better isn’t it?”

“Better? Better?” I screamed at her. “I can’t fucking see!”

“At least your shirt will be clean…” she mumbled.




15 minutes later and we were ready to hit the party. The sting in my eye had lessened and I had tossed out my contacts. Luckily, I had my glasses with me to replace them. To be fair, Robbie had cleaned my shirt pretty good but I was still fuming. Now I had nothing left to wear but the black tank top I was wearing underneath. She had also insisted on finishing my eyes and in the end, I let her because I looked a right mess and god knows I have absolute zero knowledge about anything beauty related.

"Let's go, I need alcohol in my system, right now."

"Okay."


When we got back to the party people were already crouching behind couches and hiding behind doors. The whole thing looked ridiculous to me but I didn't protest when a large hand wrapped around my wrist to pull me to the ground. As a reflex, I pulled Robbie down with me. She whined softly and rubbed her wrist but I was to preoccupied with the handsome boy next to me.

"Keep quiet!" He whisper-yelled with the biggest grin on his face. His emerald green eyes shimmered with excitement like a kid on Christmas Day. "Nick can be here any minute."

I was crouched down behind a bookcase in the dimmed living room of radio host Nick Grimshaw, sat next to pop sensation and panty dropping hot Harry Styles and all I could do was stare, take him in and think about how I would describe his beautiful eyes if I had my notebook out right now.

His hand gripped my thigh firmly as the door opened and his beautiful eyes focused back on the door, while I was still staring at his face. Nick walked in first and I snapped my attention away from Harry. We waited until he was a bit further in the living room before we all jumped up and yelled surprise. Someone snapped on the light and some one else popped confetti.

It was complete and utter chaos. Lots of screaming, lots of pushing, lots of trying to get to Nick first.

"Nick! Nick looks who's here!" Kelly Osbourne yelled. She caught nicks attention because honestly, how could she not, her hairs purple for gods sake. Nick followed the directions of her hysterical movement and when his eyes landed on Harry, he got on the nearest table he could find, took a bottle of alcohol from someone and made a toast.

"Harry fucking Styles is back from tour!" He shouted and the entire apartment cheered, everyone who had a drink, took a big sip of it while everyone who didn't have a drink, tried to get one ASAP.

I stayed on the side, being ditched by Robbie who spotted Norah and didn't need me anymore. I observed quietly from the side, leaning against the wall. It's funny how the crowd reacted to Harry. He was loved and admired, anyone could tell by the way they were all anxious to get closer to him, to welcome him, to offer him a drink. He almost got more attention than Nick did.

It was fascinating to watch how at ease he felt in the midst of the crowd. He was a captivating human being, pulling the attention towards without even trying. My eyes were locked on him but I wasn't the only one, except for the couple kissing in the corner, everyone was looking at him.

We had no other choice.

With all the hassle going on, I had almost forget the question that lingered in my mind.

Why does Nick Grimshaw have eyeliner in his bathroom?

Notes

So, I hope you have enjoyed that. This is my first story and I just wanted to get it out there. I'm curious about what other people will think so please don't be shy to comment your opinion, I'm all ears :)

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read something that has been on my mind so much lately, it means a lot to me.

With love, and I'll hopefully see you next time.