“Is this the coffee shop?” I asked. It didn’t look like the coffee shops I was used to. It was an old, dimly lit brick building with a small, barely noticeable entrance and no windows. A wooden sign on the door read “The Ritalin Rival.”
“It’s a well-kept secret,” he said knowingly. His unsaid "for people like me" hung in the air.
Inside, the shop was the complete opposite of the outside. I expected grimy, unwashed, and dark. Instead I got bright, white, and modern. The springy light wood floors were spotless and white lights seemed to be placed on every available spot on the ceiling. All of the chairs were bold reds, blues, and yellows, with sharp, geometric backs and arms. The bar where a few famous-looking people sat sipping lattes was plastic and see-through, and the stools on which these "beautiful people" sat looked like gumballs that someone had taken a bite out of. There were a few bamboo shoots along the walls springing up out of the ground where the wood floors gave way to dirt, and a constant rhythmic beat played in the background.
“Wow,” I said breathlessly. It was definitely a scene I wasn’t used to.
“I know, right? Isn’t it great?” he asked, his eyes crinkled with excitement.
I wasn’t about to tell him it was very "not me," so instead I smiled brightly and said, “It is something, that’s for sure.” I thought I saw a few A-listers sitting blithely by a tall bamboo plant, talking quietly and exchanging pretty smiles. Even though the setting was so out of place for me, I had to admit that it was like I had entered into a world few normal people got to see. I was beyond flattered that Lukas had wanted to invite me into this part of his life.
A server wearing all black walked up to us and asked for our orders, which I thought was a bit odd, considering you’d usually go up to a cash register and order. But on the list of odd things I’d seen that evening, this was pretty low. Lukas ordered some sort of fancy coffee that probably cost more than Joseph’s car, and then the server turned to me. I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a more sophisticated way of saying "hot chocolate."
“Um . . . do you have anything . . .” I was totally blanking, right in front of Lukas. What was a fancy way of saying hot chocolate? Was there really a fancy way to put it? Not coming up with anything, I gave up trying to look cool. It was only a matter of time before Lukas figured out how different from him I was anyway; I might as well get it over with. “I actually don’t drink coffee. Do you have any hot chocolate?” I finished lamely, waiting for all of the celebrities to turn to me with disgust, realize that I was not one of them, and throw me out.
“Sure thing,” the server said, giving me a wan smile and retreating to the plastic bar to fill our orders.
“Should we sit over there?” Lukas asked, motioning to a quiet (but not dark, since there were no dark corners in this room) part of the coffee shop. He didn’t say anything about the hot chocolate comment, which surprised me. He didn’t even ask me about not drinking coffee. Maybe I had made a big deal out of nothing. After all, who cared if I didn’t drink coffee? It wasn't really that weird. It wasn’t like I had said, "Oh actually I like to club baby seals, but thanks for offering me coffee." Now that would be something you could legitimately worry about.
“So I heard Bates talking about your future on the show today,” Lukas said conspiratorially as he settled into a cobalt blue armchair. I took the candy apple red chair adjacent to his and tried to sit as gracefully as I could with my knees almost hitting my chest. Why were these chairs so low to the ground?
“Is this good news or bad news?” I asked, trying to imitate the perfect smile I had seen Joann Hoozer give him so many times on the show.
“They like you,” he began, obviously withholding information from me on purpose. He studied my face for a moment, a glint in his eyes. “It sounds like they may keep you on the show for longer than four episodes,” he finally confessed. My eyes grew wide at this news. Was it possible that the nobody known as June Laurie could have won over the heart of a big-time Hollywood director?
“I can’t even imagine being a regular on the show,” I admitted. “It seems too good to be true.”
“I’m not saying anything for sure. Just what I’ve overheard,” he said with a sly, beautiful grin.
The waiter arrived once more, placing our drinks on the see-through plastic table between us. The table reminded me of a squat golf tee and I had to resist the urge to say "Fore" as the oversized mugs were placed there, realizing that this would be a June Laurie joke, not a Lukas Leighton joke. Our waiter looked over at Lukas, obviously realizing that I wasn’t famous and was therefore not worth his time, and asked if we wanted anything else.
“We’re fine, Raul,” Lukas answered distractedly. I couldn’t help but think that someone named Raul was by default more interesting than someone named June, even if he was a waiter and I was an actress on a show as huge as Forensic Faculty. That put me in my place pretty quickly.
Lukas and I sipped at our drinks for a moment, looking around the room at all of the people who undoubtedly led interesting lives. I wondered for a moment if Lukas had an ulterior motive for bringing me to this place. If he really was as bad as Candice and Benjamin seemed to imply, I could see him thinking this would be a good way to show me I didn’t belong in the glittery world of celebrities. But then I remembered that Lukas was a human being and not some caricature.
I wouldn’t ever describe myself as a brave person. Joseph would willingly attest to that fact. But being surrounded by beautiful people and wondering to myself if I should trust Lukas or not, I found some undiscovered reserve of courage.
“Why did you ask me to have a drink with you tonight?” I asked, meeting Lukas's perfect blue eyes with my average brown ones. He kept his eyes locked on mine, which I thought was a good sign. After all, what dishonest person would look so intently into an innocent and vulnerable girl’s eyes if he was about to lie to her?
“I think you’re interesting and different from the other girls I meet in this industry,” he said with such brutal honesty that any doubts I had about his intentions were swept away. “And you’re beautiful,” he added as a welcome afterthought.
I blushed, turning what I’m sure was a deep shade of scarlet and letting my eyes fall to the plastic table between us. I hadn’t really managed to hold onto my courage for long, apparently.
“You think I’m beautiful?” I asked, like the self-conscious sixteen-year-old girl I was.
“I know you’re beautiful,” he said smoothly, putting his drink down and leaning over the awkward table so he could hold my free hand.
My head was spinning and the constant rhythmic beat in the background of the coffee shop suddenly seemed to match the pounding of my own heart in my ears. Lukas Leighton said I was beautiful—and not because some clever writer had scripted that for him. He said it because he actually thought that I, June Laurie, was beautiful. I didn’t know how I should reply to a statement so unexpected and fantastically unreal. If I said "Thank you," it would seem conceited, but if I tried to play it off like I didn’t agree I’d look like I was fishing for compliments. So instead, I just smiled at him. A big, happy, clumsy smile that spread easily over my face.
“This might be the best night ever,” I said honestly, wondering why I sometimes let words escape my mouth before consulting my brain first. Lukas laughed his deep, perfect laugh and sat back in his chair, taking in his surroundings with mild interest but keeping me on his radar enough to send chills through my entire body.
*****
I can’t remember exactly what we talked about for the rest of the time we sat in those squishy armchairs. I did remember learning that Lukas didn’t like any soda that wasn’t clear because he thought it looked dirty, but that he’d drink coffee like a chain smoker goes through cigarettes. Personally I thought coffee looked way dirtier than Coke, but I definitely wasn’t going to disagree with him. He told me about how he liked to sleep with his face buried in his pillow, but how it always gave him dreams that he wa
s breathing underwater. I, naturally, thought this was adorable.
I told him about living with Gran and how it was a constant adventure. I told him how I loved coming home and finding weird concoctions in the kitchen, not for eating, but for slathering on my face. I told him about Joseph and how he was like the brother I never had. And then we talked about nothing in particular.
It was much easier to talk to someone as perfect as Lukas than I would have thought. He was so socially adept that there was never an awkward silence or a moment when we both tried to talk at the same time. It was like he made up for my lack of conversational timing and put me at ease. It was no surprise, then, that as we turned onto Pullman Avenue at ten o'clock that night, I was feeling fully in-tune with him. After talking with him for a few hours, it was obvious to me that he wasn’t any of the things Candice and Benjamin said. They had obviously gotten a bad impression of him, because he was the epitome of a sweet, charming prince.
Lukas's motorcycle pulled noisily up my driveway before he turned it off suddenly, drenching our surroundings in silence. I stepped off the bike and returned his helmet to him, feeling a little lightheaded at how perfectly everything was going. Lukas got off of his bike and stood close to me, looking down into my eyes with confident determination. I didn’t want to get my hopes up or anything, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was revving up to kiss me goodnight.
I didn’t want to ruin this perfect moment by saying something stupid, so I kept my mouth firmly shut and just smiled up into his face in the chilly night air. He leaned toward me just a bit and I let my eyes close slightly as I tilted my head up to meet his. I prepared myself for this perfect moment in this new perfect world with an intense anticipation.
But of course, we don’t live in a perfect world now do we? We live in a world where good things happen to June Laurie, but great things are snatched away at the last second, which is exactly what happened when a very familiar male voice said, “You must be Lukas Leighton. It’s so good to finally meet you. June’s told me so much about you!”
Lukas and I backed away from each other quickly, as if we had been caught in some guilty act. It was funny to see that as suave and experienced as Lukas was, he still had that gut instinct to pull away when he thought he had been caught in a sneaky situation.
I was confused, at first, about what had happened, until I realized I was looking at Joseph standing right beside us, grinning up at Lukas like a star struck girl. Only he didn’t look like he was actually pleased to meet him. He actually looked a bit odd. The vein on the side of his forehead that always showed up when Xani talked to him was standing out like a huge flashing Vegas sign at the moment, which didn’t match his friendly tone and smile at all. It was an odd combination, to say the least.
I wasn’t sure how I had missed his forest green VW Bug outside of my house when we had pulled up, until I remembered that I had pulled up with my arms wrapped around Lukas Leighton. I couldn’t be expected to notice little details like Joseph’s car when I was focused on something else so completely perfect.
“What are you doing here?” I asked through gritted teeth. It wasn’t really fair of me to be mad at Joseph for having such horrible timing, but I couldn’t help it. Would it have killed him to stay in his car for another minute? He wasn’t socially inept, after all. I’m sure he could tell when two people were about to kiss.
Lukas looked over at me, mild confusion lining his beautiful face before a light bulb seemed to click.
“You must be Joseph,” he said, looking my friend up and down. Joseph’s fake smile faltered for a moment and he actually looked a bit startled and pleased that Lukas had known his name. But only for a moment. Seconds later, he was back to wearing his strained smile and trying to keep his vein from pulsing out of his head.
“I am,” he answered without moving his mouth. Both boys continued to stare at each other in silence for a moment, exchanging some unspoken words between them. Joseph had to look up just slightly to meet Lukas’s eyes since he was a bit shorter than him. “I just came to bring June her homework assignments,” Joseph finally said, catching me off-guard since this was a total lie. My studio teacher had given me my homework assignments on set.
“That’s nice of you,” Lukas replied shortly, keeping his eyes locked on Joseph like a lion looking at a baby zebra. There was quiet again for a moment and I wondered if I had missed something. I could swear the two boys were holding an entire telepathic conversation that I hadn’t been invited to join.
“Well, it was nice to meet you. I hope we’ll see you again soon,” Joseph said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen. From my experience that night I had learned how artfully Lukas sidestepped any awkward silence, so the fact that the three of us were caught in one right now suggested something more was going on than I was aware of.
“Right,” Lukas answered, flashing Joseph a winning smile before turning back to me. “I’ll see you tomorrow June,” he said with a softer smile. He leaned over and kissed my cheek, lingering there a moment longer than was normal for a cheek kiss. My face was instantly engulfed in the happy fire that seemed to accompany any closeness I shared with Lukas, and I grinned after him as he took off down the street on his motorcycle. Once he was out of sight and the giddiness had worn off, I turned to Joseph with a look of annoyance.
“What was that all about?” I asked with a frown.
“What? Suddenly I’m not allowed to stop by anymore just because you’ve started hanging out with him?” Joseph asked, the hurt obvious in his voice. This softened my rage.
“Of course you’re still allowed to stop by,” I said warmly, letting the sad sight of Joseph’s hurt fill me with goodwill. “You just surprised me.” I didn’t mention the fact that he had definitely interrupted what would have been the most perfect kiss of my life. It didn’t seem like something that would help him out of his sour mood.
Joseph looked down at the ground, almost guiltily, then back up at me. “Sorry I kind of ruined your moment,” he said, sounding sincere despite how much he seemed to dislike Lukas. I shrugged my shoulders as if a kiss from Lukas wouldn’t have completed my life, and as if he had simply interrupted some mundane activity.
“There probably wouldn’t have been much of a moment anyway,” I lied. To him and to me.
“Yeah,” Joseph said, playing along.
“So what are you doing here so late?” I asked, curious as to why Joseph would show up at my house at ten o'clock at night when that was usually when I was getting ready for bed.
“It’s Friday and I was bored. I thought maybe you’d be up for a late night movie since we don’t have to get up early for school tomorrow,” he offered, sounding more like his old self than he had in a while. “Plus, I had to inform you that Xani will be playing Juliet in the school play, and my life has officially become very awkward.”
“Oh, I bet that’s been fun,” I said sarcastically, already imagining Xani showing up to Joseph’s house at midnight saying they needed to practice their kissing scenes.
“Yeah, it’s been a blast,” he answered with a big, fake smile. “So that’s why I need you to distract me tonight. No more worrying about Xani popping out of the bushes to attack me.”
“It's just . . . I’m filming a really intense scene tomorrow and I still need to be on set at seven,” I said, biting my bottom lip and letting my remorse show on my face. “I’m really sorry Joseph. But maybe we can hang out after that?”
His warm Joseph smile faltered for a moment, and he adopted the look of a child who just turned around to find that their parent wasn’t standing next to them in the mall.
“That would be great,” he said, though I could hear the disappointment in his voice. I knew it bothered Joseph that I didn’t have as much time for him anymore, but he knew what a big opportunity this show was for me, so he’d be understanding, even if he didn’t want to be. Besides, maybe having a little time apart would be good practice for when he disappeared on his mission
for two years.
“Well, you probably need to get some rest, so I’ll go,” he said awkwardly, turning and heading back to his car by the curb.
“Hey Joseph,” I called after him, causing him to stop and face me. I ran up and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. “Thank you for being so understanding about all of this,” I said into his neck as I continued to hug him. His arms encircled my waist and he hugged me back, holding onto me like he’d never let go. “You’re such a good friend.”
I pulled away from him and looked into his warm, chocolate brown eyes, which held just a touch of sadness at the moment.
“I always will be.”
CHAPTER 17
Having my hair and makeup done on Saturday morning was an unusual experience. For the first time since I’d joined the show, we weren’t shooting at the studio. Instead, all of the cast and crew were inside a small old theatre downtown, trying to find places to squeeze equipment, the craft service table, and the makeup and wardrobe setup. Candice had been shoved into one of the theatre’s smaller dressing rooms backstage; her makeup bags all sat overflowing onto the floor.
I sat patiently in the swiveling vanity chair and listened to Candice mumble about lack of respect and doing makeup in a sardine can. Miraculously, Ryan and Benjamin had somehow managed to find small, uncluttered spots on the floor to sit amidst the chaos of makeup brushes and bottled makeup sealer.
“Would you guys really rather be sitting on the floor in a crowded makeup room, when you could be in a nice, spacious, makeshift cafeteria meant specifically to cater to your every need?” I asked the pair as Candice was attempting to glue huge fake eyelashes onto my lids.
“Why would we want to be there when we could be here listening to the melodic and compassionate voice of Candice?” Benjamin asked seriously.
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