On Monday morning, I found myself stood outside the Warner Records London office, trying my best not to freak out. It was bitterly cold, so I'd worn my black high-waisted jeans, a cream-coloured silk blouse and a thick faux fur coat with my black heeled shoe-boots. Ed had given me a reassuring smile before the taxi had headed off to his Camden apartment with him inside. And now I was freaking out. The security guard gave me a confused look, so I decided I'd better step inside.

'Can I help you?' The female receptionist asked with a smile as I approached her desk.

'Erm, yes.. I'm Lucy May. I have an appointment for ten o'clock.' I replied, wiping my clammy hands subtly on my jeans. I adjusted my guitar on my shoulder and she tapped something into a computer.

'Please take a seat.'

I sat down on a white modern-looking sofa, which wasn't quite as comfortable as I'd hoped it would be, and watched the constant flow of people in and out of the building.

'Good morning, Lucy.'

I looked up to see Joseph standing in front of me. 'Good morning.' I replied, nervously, standing up and shaking his hand.

'Thank you for coming in today. Shall we go to my office?'

'Sure.' I followed him down the corridor, looking at the platinum records framed and nailed onto the wall. I smiled when I saw one of Ed's there. He opened the door for me and I walked inside the office, where everything was black and white and modern-looking. It was a bit too pricey to be Ikea too.

'Take a seat.' He sat, signalling to a black office chair. I sat in it carefully, propping up my guitar against the wall. 'So we've been watching back videos from your concert and here at Warner we think you have a lot of potential.' He explained, sitting back in his chair. I nodded, unsure of what to say. 'I would like to offer you a contract straight away but I'm afraid it just isn't that simple.'

'Oh?'

'Company policy is that we hear a showcase of just two or three original songs by the artist and then we take the demo CD and discuss whether or not we would like to sign the act.'

'Okay.' I replied, unsure of what else to say. It wasn't exactly a scenario I was familiar with.

'We've set up the conference room for this morning for your showcase. I hope that's okay. That's why we asked you to bring your guitar.'

My heart hammered against my chest and I was glad I hadn't eaten any breakfast. I felt sick. 'Yes, that's fine.'

'Fantastic. Shall we go on through?'

Now? I stood up carefully, wishing I hadn't decided to wear heeled shoes. My knees were shaking with nerves and I hoped that it didn't show. I grabbed my guitar and followed him to another room, where a chair was set up by itself at one end and four chairs were at the other, three of which were filled; two by men and one by a woman.

'Okay Lucy,' Joseph said, sitting in the final seat, 'I'd just like you to play your three strongest songs to us, it's that simple.' Simple? Was it simple having four people staring at me, taking notes on their iPads. I realised a video camera was set up and it made me feel even worse. Joseph nodded at me with a small smile. 'Ready when you are.'

I decided not to sit on the laid out chair as I worried that my voice wouldn't sound good; at least that's what my singing coach had always told me. Instead, I hooked my guitar strap over my shoulder and played the opening chords to my song.

'Skies are crying, I am watching

Catching tear drops in my hands

Only silence as it's ending

Like we never had a chance

Do you have to make me feel like

There's nothing left of me?

You can take everything I have

You can break everything I am

Like I'm made of glass

Like I'm made of paper

Go on and try to tear me down

I will be rising from the ground

Like a skyscraper

Like a skyscraper.'

There was only a little applause, which was weird, but I tried my best to keep it cool. I ended my showcase with 'Heart attack' and 'Believe in me', trying to show the range I had as best as I could.

'Thanks for coming in Lucy. I'll be in touch.' Joseph said, shaking my hand after I had put my guitar back in its case.

I threw the instrument over my shoulder. 'Thank you for your time.'

I caught the train back to Camden, deciding I needed time to calm down. I was so tense. At least on the X Factor they gave you an answer pretty much straight away. I had to wait and I had no idea how long for.

'How did it go?' Ed asked as he greeted me in the doorway of his apartment with a kiss on the forehead. He stepped aside to let me in and then closed the door behind me.

'I have no idea.' I replied, honestly. 'I couldn't tell if they liked it or not but Joseph said he'd be in touch.'

'He's got a pretty good poker face.' Ed replied, kissing my nose. 'You're freezing.'

'It's really cold out there.' I told him, shaking off my jacket and enjoying the warmth coming from the radiator. 'Though they did say it might snow in a week or two.'

'So I've got you until tomorrow afternoon... fancy going out later?' He asked, wrapping his warm arms around my back.

'Sure.' I smiled, kissing him softly on the lips.

'First though, let's warm up those lips of yours.'

I changed into my over-the-knee socks, black shoe boots and a white long-sleeved skater-shaped jumper dress for going out, adding my thick black coat and a beret in a hope of keeping a little warm.

'You look nice.' Ed said as I walked into his bedroom to grab my bag.

I looked at his black jeans, black t-shirt and red plaid shirt and I smiled. 'So do you.'

He reached out and squeezed my hand. 'You know, it's three months today since I took you to the Sealife Centre.'

I looked at him, suspiciously. 'You have an awfully good memory for a guy.'

'What can I say?' He grinned. 'Oh, I forgot... I have something for you.' He grabbed his rucksack which was still packed from America, and reached inside. He rummaged around for a moment and then pulled out a square-shaped gift in shiny red wrapping paper.

'You do know that Christmas is next month, right?' I said as he passed me the small package.

'Well it's Thanksgiving soon and your family in America will be celebrating... maybe it's an early Thanksgiving present.' He said with a cheeky smile.

I carefully opened the paper until I was left with an album case. It was black with an orange paw print on it and it said Ed Sheeran in the corner. 'Is this your new album?' I asked as I turned over the CD case and scanned the track list.

'Yep and you're the first person to own it.' He smiled. 'It's not released until December 1st.'

I looked down at the list at the songs, some of which I recognised and others I did not. I paused at the final track. 'Little things? Tell me you did not put a song on here about me talking in my sleep. I thought you finished your album ages ago?'

'I wanted to add an extra track.' He said with a playful smile. 'So I hit the studio over in Nashville and sent it to my producers and then the album artwork and booklet were updated. Let me know what you think when you listen to it. Maybe Leanne will want to hear it too?'

Yeah, I bet she would. 'Okay.' I said, returning the smile. I tucked it into my floral overnight bag for safe-keeping. 'So where are we off to?'

'I thought we would head to Jamie's restaurant in Islington.' He explained, referring to Jamie Oliver. I'd not missed their rap which had come out back in spring for Food Revolution Day.

'Sounds good.'

We opted for taking the tube, something which always surprised me. Interviewers and other members of the press had always said Ed was just a normal guy and he used public transport, went to coffee shops and went to pubs just like everyone else, but I was still surprised just how true that was. He caught me as the tube started up and I nearly fell onto a stranger's lap. It wasn't the first time I'd nearly done that before. He shot me a lopsided smile, adjusting the grey beanie on his head.

'So have you been to Fifteen before?' I asked, referring to the restaurant we were going to. I tightened my grip on the pole I was holding, trying to stop myself from falling. Clumsiness and a tube train did not mix.

'A few times. I used to go to a cheaper place down the road when I was crashing on my brother's sofa in Angel.' He explained.

I looked around the tube carriage and wondered if I was going to meet Ed's family and if so, when. I didn't know that much about them to be honest and it bothered me a little. Two teenage girls met my eyes and looked at me as if trying to work out who I was. Then they looked at Ed with wide eyes. The tube stopped at our spot and he wrapped his arm around me as we left the carriage. Nice timing.

Dinner was lovely and it was a nice way to take my mind off wondering how my showcase had gone and whether or not I was going to be signed. After arguing over the bill (which ended in Ed paying anyway), we headed to a pub down the road, one where Ed used to go on a regular basis. He'd even performed there a few times. The Lord was a traditional British pub in a busy part of Angel and it was filled with locals. We walked in and I realised that there were only a few girls in there; we were definitely the minority.

'Well look who it is!' The landlord said as we stepped over to the bar. 'It's been a while, hey, bigshot?'

'Al mate, it's good to see you.' Ed said, shaking his hand. 'I'll try not to leave it so long next time.'

'You'd better not.' The tubby man with scruffy black hair said with a grin. He looked over at me. 'And who's this beautiful lady you've brought in to my pub? She looks like she'd be better suited at Ladybird round the corner.'

'This is my girlfriend, Lucy.' Ed replied with a smile.

'Nice to meet you.' I said, shaking his hand, my cheeks flushed.

'Well first drink's on me. What can I get you?' Al said.

'Two pints please.' I replied with a smile and Al looked at me in surprise.

'She's a keeper.' He said to Ed, winking at me.

Ed smiled, squeezing my waist. 'She sure is.'

We found a table at the back of the pub, near the fire and I shrugged off my coat and pulled off my hat and gloves, thankful to be somewhere warm and cosy. I smiled at the signed photo performing in the beer garden, which was hung on the wall. 'This place is nice.'

'It is, isn't it?' He nodded in agreement. He spotted someone coming in from the garden and he squinted before grinning. 'I'll be back in two seconds.' He slipped out of his chair and approached the man with curly hair and a striped jumper on. They hugged and said something to each other before returning to me. 'Lucy, this is my brother, Matt. Matt, this is Lucy.'

'Nice to meet you.' Matt smiled, shaking my hand, and I could see the ressemblance between them. 'I've heard a lot about you.'

'All good, I hope?' I said, nervously.

'Of course.' He smiled, reassuringly, putting down his drink and sitting in the spare seat at our table. 'You have my brother wrapped around your little finger.' He looked over at his brother and grinned, wickedly before continuing. 'You should have dropped me a message to say you were back from the States.'

We spent the rest of the evening chatting to Ed's brother, Matt, and despite being shy at first, I felt surprisingly comfortable around him. He was a classical composer, so music ran in the family, and it was nice that Ed was able to talk about us being soulfinders around him, as he was a savant too. Matt left before us as he was working early the next day, so we hung around and chatted to the locals.

'Excuse me, could I please have a picture with you both?' A girl around our age asked as we were about to leave, running her hand throw her brunette pixie cut.

'Both of us?' I asked in surprise.

'Yeah, you're Lucy May. You're music's awesome' She smiled at me and I smiled back in surprise; she'd listened to my stuff?

'Sure.' Ed smiled. 'Al, can you take a photo of the three of us?' He called to the landlord who nodded, grabbing the iPhone. Al counted down and then took a few different shots.

'Thank you so much. It's so cool meeting you both.' The girl gushed before heading back to her friends.

'Looks like you've got more fans than you thought.' Ed laughed as we both put on our beanies.

I reached for my coat and gloves, preparing myself for the cold outside. 'That was crazy.' I replied as I buttoned up my black a-line shaped wool coat.

He shot me a cute smile and held out his hand. 'You ready?'

'Yep.' I locked my fingers with his and we walked out of the pub, only to be greeted by a few camera flashes.

'Ed! Lucy!'

'Going back to your roots?'

'Did you have a nice evening?'

Keep walking and we'll get a cab. Ed told me, squeezing my hand. He smiled at the paparazzi, as did I as we continued walking down the road, ignoring them. We reached a taxi rank and Ed opened the door for me so I could quickly slide in and make our getaway.

'How did they know where we were?' I asked Ed when we were back in his living room, sat on the sofa. I had my legs across his lap, my usual position, and a cup of tea warming through my hands.

'All it takes is someone to recognise me and put in a phonecall. Either that or they just happened to be around.' He shrugged, sipping at his tea.

'Do you think that girl might have tipped them off?' I asked, putting down my cup of tea and tracing the tattoos on my boyfriend's bicep.

'Maybe.' He replied, planting a kiss on forehead. 'But I'm not bothered. It means once again I'm showing you off to the world.'

'Making front page news again!' Hector commented as I walked into work the following evening in my over-sized black jumper dress and leggings. I stripped off my coat and beanie as the heating warmed my body and looked at the tabloid Hector was holding up for me. I looked at the picture of Ed and I hand-in-hand, leaving the pub the previous night.

'Ed Sheeran went back to his roots with a visit to The Lord last night with girlfriend Lucy May and his brother Matthew Sheeran.' I read. 'Really? That's hardly exciting news.' I commented, shaking my head.

'It's continued on page five.' Hector explained, opening up the paper.

I raised an eyebrow at the photographs; me and Ed on the red carpet and his label party, me and Sky on Halloween, me performing and even one of me in Brighton wearing jeans, an oversized jumper, a beanie and my boots. I'd not even realised someone had taken a photo of the latter. The headline read 'Our New Style Crush' and I laughed as the writer had included where to get clothes similar to mine from. I scanned the article, quickly reading it:

Lucy May, a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Brighton has been dating Ed Sheeran for a few months now and she has already become our new style crush! Lucy always looks ready for a concert or gig in her signature high-waisted jeans and faux leather and now she's even brought out the faux fur jackets so she's ready for winter. Rumour has it, Warner Records are interested in signing her so watch this space!

'So that's super weird.' I commented, putting down the newspaper.

'Looks like you might not need to work here for much longer.' Hector smiled. 'Good on you.'

'Let's not get ahead of ourselves.' I replied, turning off my phone. 'I'll go and throw my things out back.'

I hung up my coat and put my bag in my locker, quickly adjusting my hat-hair in the mirror.

'Style icon, huh?'

I jumped and turned to look at my boss, Stefan with his dark spiked-hair and green eyes. 'You really need to stop sneaking up on me.'

'Sorry.' He replied with a cocky smile. 'So when are we going out?'

'Seriously? You're going to keep trying this?' I said, shaking my head. 'You're unbelievable.'

'I'm a man who gets what he wants.' He said, his eyes serious.

'Not this time.' I threw my hair over my shoulder and walked back out to the bar.

'Hey Luce, there's a friend of yours in here asking for you!' Hector called out as I walked through the door, feeling irritated.

'Oh really?' I said, looking around the busy bar and expecting to see Leanne or Adriana. I froze when I saw Rich stood there instead; my ex boyfriend.

He ran a hand through his mousey-brown hair and shot me a smile, the smile I used to love. 'Hello Luce.'

I felt sick as I looked at him and I hated to admit it, but I felt scared. 'What... what are you doing here?'

'Thought we were due for a catch up. I'll have a pint please.'

I walked past Hector, who watched me carefully. He'd obviously noticed my expression and perhaps he even felt the tension. He put down the glasses he'd been ready to take out the back to the dishwasher and started to wipe down the bar instead. I shot him a graceful smile as I poured Rich a pint. I handed it over. 'Three fifty please.'

He handed me the exact money and I put it in the till, hoping that he'd disappear... or that I would. 'So I thought maybe we could catch up over dinner sometime or go for a drink.' Rich said, interrupting my thoughts.

'And why would I do that?' I said, feeling small. 'It's over. It's been over for a year.

'It's not over until I say it is.' He said, reaching out for my hand and I moved back away from him.

'Excuse me mate, but we can't have you in here upsetting our staff.' Stefan said, appearing at my side. 'I'm going to have to ask you to leave.'

'But I've just got a drink!' Rich said, gritting his teeth.

'Then take it with you. Either way, you need to leave.' Hector said, appearing on my other side. I was thankful they were both there at that moment, their arms folded and their voices stern.

'This is ridiculous! You think you're better than me Lucy, is that it? Sleeping your way to the top? You've always been a slag.' Rich hissed, the pint glass breaking in his hand.

'Get out or I'm calling the police.' Stefan hissed, grabbing the phone.

'Bunch of dickheads!' My ex yelled, walking out of the door and slamming it behind him. The other customers looked at him, their eyes wide, before going back to their conversations.

Stefan caught me as my knees gave way and I started to shake. 'I'm going to call you a cab and send you home.' He said, his voice soft. 'Does he know where you live?' I nodded, mutely. 'Then invite a friend over to stay with you and keep the doors locked.'

An hour later and I was curled up on my sofa with Leanne, both of us wearing our onesies whilst we waited for my heating to warm up the tiny flat. I had my head on her shoulder as she gently stroked my hair as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

'It's not too late to talk to someone about it, you know.' She whispered.

'I know.' I replied, feeling like a child again, except for the eyeliner and mascara streaming down my face. 'But it would ruin his life if I spoke to the police.'

'And he's trying to ruin yours, Luce. You can't let him do this. He wants to ruin your life as best he can.'

'I'm not going to let him ruin it.'

'Good.' She said, handing me a tissue. 'Because you deserve so much better.'

I was woken up the next day by my phone ringing. My eyes felt sore from crying and I squinted to find my phone.

'Hello?' I said, sitting up in bed and nudging a snoring Leanne with my foot.

'Hello, is this Lucy May I'm speaking to?'

'Yes.' I replied, trying to work out the voice.

'Hello, this is Joseph Smith's personal assistant from Warner Records. I'm calling to offer you some good news; he'd like to sign you to the record label.'

'Wow.' I said, resisting the urge to squeal.

'I'll e-mail over your contract for you to read, but it needs to be signed and returned by Friday at the latest. If you're happy with it, we'd like you to head up on Friday for a meeting to discuss what's next for you.'

'Yeah, sure.' I replied, continuing to prod my friend with my foot.

'Is 10am okay? Obviously you can call us if there are any questions you have.'

'Yes, sure.'

'Great. See you then.'

'Would you quit nudging me?' Leanne said as I put down my phone. She looked at my gawping face with confusion. 'What is it?'

'I'VE JUST BEEN SIGNED TO WARNER RECORDS!' I squealed, jumping on my bed.

'THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!' Leanne squealed, pulling me into a hug. 'Oh my god, so amazing! You're going to be famous!'

'I know.' I replied with a smile. 'I'm finally going to be heard.'

'Stefan isn't going to be happy about this.' Hector sighed as I wiped down the bar that night after we'd locked up.

'I'm not going to be happy about what?' Stefan said, appearing in the bar area and making us both jump. I sprayed some more antibacterial spray and wiped at a watermark on the mahoghany.

Hector blew out his breath in a whistle and grabbed the last few dirty glasses, before turning to me. 'Good luck.' He said before disappearing out the back to fill the dishwasher.

'Well?' Stefan said, stacking up some chairs.

'Warner Records have signed me.' I explained, moving to help him with the stacking.

'Congratulations.' He replied, casually.

'I need some time off.' I continued, biting my lip. 'They want me up there on Friday and maybe Saturday too... and who knows when else.'

'You've already had a lot of time off.' Stefan frowned, pushing a table to the side and handing me the mop. 'You've almost had your whole year's holiday and you've only been working here three months, Lucy.'

'I know but this is my shot... my big break. It's just a few days here and there.'

'And then it will turn to weeks and then you're off to America for the festive period.' He said, shaking his head. 'The answer is no.'

'But-'

'It's no, Lucy.' He said, his voice firm. 'Otherwise I'm going to have to let you go.'

'Fine.' I said before I could stop myself.

'Fine?'

'Fine, I quit.' I marched out the back and grabbed my belongings.

'You quit? Seriously?!' He said in disbelief, following me to the staff room.

'I've waited long enough for this break Stefan and now I've got it I'm not letting it pass. Plus, I was getting a little fed up of being harassed for a date by my boss!' I replied before storming out of the bar, closing the door firmly behind me.