Mariam's POV

Mariam felt nervous as she made her way through the crowded boardwalk, but the concert atmosphere was infectious, one of her favourite artists music would be playing which made it all the more better. Starr looked around with nervous excitement, trotting alongside her, no doubt in search of beau David. Mariam felt good about what Starr had chosen for her to wear, it wasn't anything too tight or revealing. Starr had chosen a long flowy black maxi dress that was embellished with silver diamantes around its neck line, a grey sheer shawl draped around her shoulders, some plain flip flops adorning her feet. Mariam had re-applied her make-up, taking the time to paint her eyelids with gold shimmer, curling her eye lashes once she'd applied a thick coat of mascara.

As Mariam continued forwards towards the midst of concert goers, her stomach started to churn, feeling the hairs on her arms standing on end. She felt as though someone was staring at her, her nerves leaving her too scared to look around to see if what she felt was true. Starr startled her when she nudged her elbow into her side;

"They're over there" Starr whispered, pointing to her left "Gurl, he's staring at you. You gotta look. Hey David!" Starr hollered, skipping towards the side of the crowd. Mariam forced herself to look in the direction Starr had headed, her breathe catching in her throat. Starr was right he was staring at her, however, so were his three brothers. Mariam wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling her feet turn to lead, freezing her in place. She couldn't believe she was freaking out, she swiped at her eyes, feeling hot tears of shame pricking at her eyes, who was she kidding? She wasn't a girl guys like Dwayne were interested in, she felt her heart sink as she seriously considered turning around retreating to the sanctuary of her home. Mariam internally cringed at herself, why was she so hung up about a guy she didn't even know?

A few seconds of staring at her feet later she noticed a slight breeze brush past her, caressing her bare arms. Mariam felt someone approach her, she dared to look up, there he was in all his gorgeous glory, Dwayne. She suddenly felt her face flush red as an unexpected anger rose in her chest, possibly from how she felt about herself but also due to the possibility that all this was just a joke to make fun of her. Before he could say anything, she felt her lips start to move, she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his;

"Look Dwayne, let's not pretend anymore okay, I don't know why I agreed to meet you, I really don't know why I'm here, when all this is probably some stupid joke, maybe a bet between you and your brothers about whether you would be brave enough to entertain the fat girl for the night in front of as many people as possible. Let me save you the embarrassment of being seen with someone like me, I'm leaving, tell Starr I'm sorry and I hope she enjoys the concert." She blustered, turning on her heel as she hurried in the opposite direction.

Mariam felt a cold hand latch onto her arm, pulling her slightly backwards. "Let me go Dwayne." She stammered, refusing to make eye contact.

"No, look at me Mariam, c'mon will you just look at me." Dwayne whispered harshly, she could feel his anger, turning to face him his anger was clearly etched on the features of his face. She opened her mouth to protest, attempting to shake him off but he surprised her, gently placing his finger against her lips, a fire ignited within her, burning in her stomach, once again she felt rooted to the spot.

"Don't speak, just listen to me. You are not a fucking bet or a joke okay? I'm not the kinda guy who fucks with a girl to gain popularity in his group. Plus, my brothers aren't the kinda guys to ask me to do that, well maybe Paul but he's an arsehole, but a funny arsehole." He shrugged, his anger beginning to dissipate. Mariam couldn't help a smile from spreading across her face at that point. "I'm not pretending to want to get to know you, I'm curious about you, you make me feel things I've not felt before, I want you to want to get to know me too. I know you think your fat and shit but wanna know my opinion? You're not fat Mariam, what you are is soft, mouth-wateringly rounded and I could die a happy man just staring into your eyes. Besides if you were fuck what anyone thinks it's me who wants you, it's my opinion that should matter. You look amazing I wanna do things you can't even imagine to you right now but I'm not sure you'd appreciate an audience and I'm pretty sure everyone would be jealous" He grinned wickedly, raising his eyebrow.

Mariam practically felt her crotch twitch, his words along with his voice making her feel fuzzy inside, she wanted him too, she wanted him more than anything, she had no idea why. She felt like she'd known him more than a few hours, she felt like he was a magnet and she was being pulled into his force. She admitted she wanted to get to know him, wanted to see what he could do for her, to her, but honestly, she was afraid.

"Look Mariam, I know something happened in your past which makes it hard for you to trust people, I think men in particular; maybe one day you'll trust me enough to tell me and maybe I can mend your broken heart but baby, you have to let me in, you have to give me a chance." Dwayne declared, trailing his fingers lightly across her cheek. She found herself melting with his words, she longed for Dwayne's words to be real, for him to be telling the truth, she guessed she would just have to take a risk, hope she didn't end up with a broken heart again.

"Okay, let's go join the others" She replied, smiling up at him.