Diamond in the Rough

by India Lee

  “Do you not see this feather coming off?”

  “Not really,” Gemma muttered.

  “Well I do,” Penelope said tersely. “And since I let you go without a veil, you need to let me fix the one thing that counts as your disguise.”

  “You let me go without a veil,” Gemma snorted.

  Penelope glared. “Yes. I did. Your aunt wanted one, for your information.” She applied the finishing touches with the eyelash glue and then held her hands in the air. “There. I’m done.”

  Gemma glanced into the mirror. “Big difference.”

  Penelope narrowed her eyes at her before heaving a sigh. “Do not sass me. I’ll call Armand in here and whip your ass with his skinny tie. Not even kidding.”

  Gemma cracked a smile.

  “See, you laughed. Now let’s go.”

  “Let me just hang in here for a bit?” Gemma asked, taking out her cell phone. “I’m just gonna call Lucas real quick.”

  “Ooh, how sweet.” Penelope made a smooching noise before excusing herself from the room. Once the door closed, Gemma slipped her phone back into her clutch and plopped down on a chair. She heaved a sigh, staring into the mirrored walls and enjoying the silence. Unfortunately, it didn’t last very long. She soon heard urgent hissing coming from down the hall. It was accompanied by the sound of dragging heels.

  “Hurry up! Hurry up, I think he saw us!”

  Gemma stood up instinctively, though she wasn’t sure what to do next.

  “Ouch! Come on, just stand up.”

  Gemma inched towards the door and put her hand on the knob. Just as she creaked it open a few inches, two bodies came barreling through, knocking her over.

  “Shut the door! Fast!”

  Gemma struggled to her feet and quickly pushed her body against the door. Only then did she turn to see who had crashed into her. It was Zoe Mercury and Harper Gunn – a heavily intoxicated Harper Gunn.

  “Omigod! Hi, it’s so crazy to meet you. Did I hurt you? Ugh, God, I’m so sorry,” Zoe rambled, trying to drag Harper’s dead weight towards a couch. “Her dad’s like two seconds from sending her to rehab and he can’t see her like this.”

  “Is he here?” Gemma asked. She knew Harper’s dad, Hudson. During the school year, she had many times come home to find Hudson in her house, cooking dinner for the family. Despite being a celebrity chef, he seemed to stay away from media attention as much as possible. It was hard to believe that Harper was his daughter.

  “Yes he’s here and he’s – wait Harper!” Zoe shrieked, pushing a retching Harper towards the trash can. Harper heaved into it.

  “Oh my God,” Gemma reached behind her back to lock the door. “Should we take her to the hospital?”

  Zoe looked up quizzically. “No? She’s just puking.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “I just need to get her home without the stupid paps seeing,” Zoe mumbled, watching Harper lay down next to the trashcan. “There’s a back exit right?”

  “But there are people there,” Gemma said. She had heard her own security team discussing the matter on the red carpet.

  “Shit. So what do we do? How do you usually sneak away from your people?” Zoe asked, biting her lip nervously.

  Gemma blushed. “I don’t.”

  “Really?” Zoe widened her eyes and laughed. “Well we’re going to have to fix that tonight, girly.”

  Gemma smiled. “So… are you here with anyone else who can help us?”

  “Nope. I mean, people would totally help if I asked, but I wouldn’t trust them not to sell the story.”

  Gemma thought hard. “We can go through the back door first and distract the paparazzi.”

  “Yeah but who’s going to carry this crazy bitch out?” Zoe nodded towards Harper, who mumbled something unintelligible.

  “I mean ‘we’ as in me and Tyler.”

  Zoe cocked a dark eyebrow. “Huh, Miss Queen Bee,” she grinned. “So it’s true what they say about you guys. He won’t tell me a thing.”

  Gemma laughed. “Nothing they say is true. We’re just good friends.”

  “Yup, don’t believe you at all,” Zoe said, tossing her dark hair back. “I’ll get you to tell me eventually. But in the meantime you need to find Tyler and help us get out of here.”

  Gemma soon found herself back in the party, trying to locate Tyler. He found her first.

  “Hey, you disappeared,” he said, putting his hand on her back. “I needed you to save me. These interviewers ask the weirdest questions.”

  Gemma laughed. “Sorry. Speaking of saving people though, I need your help with something kind of crazy.”

  Tyler stopped in his tracks. “I’ll do it.” He smiled at her look of disbelief. “Don’t act surprised. You knew I’d do anything for you.”

  “Well,” Gemma bit her lip back sheepishly. She did. “Even if that weren’t true, I’d still ask you over anyone else.” If Lucas weren’t around.

  Tyler smiled with satisfaction and took Gemma’s hand. “Well whatever it is, let’s do it.”

  ~

  It was impossible to sneak away from the party attendees, even when the point was to do a bad job of it.

  “So when no one’s looking, run to the back exit?” Tyler clarified.

  Gemma giggled. “Precisely.”

  “You know no one is ever not looking right?” Tyler laughed.

  “Well, I’m satisfied with the amount of people not looking right now,” Gemma said, grateful to the waiter who shattered a champagne flute at that very moment.

  “So what are you saying? Go now?”

  “Yes.”

  “What?”

  “Go!” Gemma hissed. She ran to the back exit with Tyler’s hand in hers, both of them laughing uncontrollably. Hollers of excitement and wonder quickly followed them, and by the time they burst through the back door, the paparazzi had already positioned themselves to get a shot of whomever it was coming through. They hooted upon identifying Tyler and Queen Bee, running away from the party together.

  “Tyler! Bee! Are you eloping?” they called after them, following the two around the side of the hotel. Gemma ignored them.

  “Are you okay running in those?” Tyler asked her in amazement, eyeing her five-inch pumps. Before Gemma could answer, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her like a lifeguard would. Gemma shrieked and covered her mouth in shock as he continued to bolt forward like an Olympic sprinter.

  “Are we eloping?” she teased.

  “If you want,” Tyler panted.

  They finally reached his SUV, where his bodyguard stood outside the passenger door. He opened it for them, slamming it shut once they were safely in.

  “I wish I had a cool bodyguard who would let me run away from my own parties,” Gemma said, pouting.

  “Yeah, I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Tyler laughed, looking back towards the swarming media. “Wow, they really took the bait, huh?” His voice was husky as he caught his breath. They watched the paparazzi snap pictures through the windows, continuing doggedly as the car zoomed off.

  “It’s us. Of course they did,” Gemma said casually. She hadn’t meant to sound cocky, but it was true. They made enough news as separate celebrities, but when the news caught them together, the world seemed to implode with curiosity.

  “Then I wonder how bad it’ll be when we’re actually together,” Tyler said, turning to her. Gemma tilted her head to look back at him. She knew she should tell him about Lucas. It was the right thing to do, even if Tyler looked irresistible in his sleek black suit.

  But with a smirk, she said, “It’ll probably be really bad.”

  ~

  “So where is she now?”

  “What?”

  “Where is Harper now?” Gemma shouted over the music. After escaping the premiere party with Tyler, Zoe had called Gemma to meet her at Godsend in the Lower East Side. The bar was dark with bare black walls and little to no decor. While it didn’t seem like anything special, the line ou
tside went down the block. That was before Gemma and Zoe arrived. Gemma could only imagine the chaos at the door after they were shuffled in.

  “Oh, I just had my driver drop us off at her apartment,” Zoe said. “He knows the drill.” She tossed back the rest of her scotch, catching Gemma’s eye. “It’s such a man drink, right? Marco got me on it.”

  “Marco?” Gemma cocked her head.

  “Omigod, you don’t follow the tabloids. That’s awesome. He’s my ex,” Zoe explained.

  “Oh… Marco Donovan?” Gemma suddenly remembered the name. She recalled Kate admitting that she still watched “Outta This World” for Marco, who played Zoe’s love interest for two seasons. Off-set, Marco was about five years Zoe’s senior, so the two kept their romance a secret until her eighteenth birthday. However a week after announcing the relationship, they broke up.

  “Yes, Marco effin’ Donovan,” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Such a jerk.”

  “So I take it you two don’t keep in touch?”

  “We hooked up last night.” Zoe cringed, shrugging her toned shoulders. “I mean, he’s still a complete disgusting asshole, but he’s just like, such a perfect booty call. Sometimes you just need to be with someone who you know is going to do the job right, you know?”

  “Uh-huh,” Gemma laughed nervously. She prayed it wouldn’t become one of those conversations. Back at home, Leah talked constantly about sex, but Gemma steered away from the topic – not only because Leah was dating her brother, but because Gemma had no experience to speak of. She had also gone too long pretending that she was well versed on sex and relationships, so it was too late to admit that she was a virgin.

  “I mean, I’ll always care for him, but,” Zoe’s eyes fluttered to the ground for a moment as her sentence trailed off. She didn’t finish it.

  “Yeah,” Gemma nodded, unsure of what to say. She gazed over the edge of the balcony they sat on. Everyone below cheered when they spotted her, cheering louder when she waved.

  “Queen Bee! Queen Bee! Queen Bee!” they chanted. Gemma stood up and leaned over the balcony as far as she could. She blew kisses down at everyone, reveling in their delight.

  “Aren’t they amazing?” Zoe hoisted herself up on the ledge, sparking chants of her own name. She pulled Gemma up to sit next to her. “I swear, whenever I feel like shit, I just think about my fans. They put so much love in us without even really knowing us, you know? It just like, restores my faith in humans.”

  Gemma considered Zoe’s words. She loved her fans, but she never did get the chance to spend much time with them. Mira and security wouldn’t allow it.

  “Let’s go down there,” Zoe said.

  “What?”

  “Let’s party with them! Your security isn’t stalking you for once, so live a little,” Zoe said, kicking her feet and dangling her leopard print heels off her toes. “Let’s buy them a round of drinks!”

  A smile began to curl on Gemma’s red lips. Buying a round of drinks for her fans sounded like a good time. She was probably testing Mira’s patience, but if Mira hadn’t sent security to take her home yet, then why not take advantage? They could arrive at any second and end her fun. They could already be there keeping an eye on her. “Alright, let’s do it,” Gemma said. “Quick!”

  “That’s my girl!”

  ~

  The staff at Godsend was forced to improvise. Gemma watched the bartenders scramble to make drinks while security pushed back the rowdiest members of the crowd. She sat on the bar top with Zoe, sipping her pomegranate martini and posing for pictures with fans.

  “QB, I was at the L.A. concert,” a bubbly fan approached Gemma. “The one where Tyler Chase showed up and things went crazy. I just wanted to tell you that we weren’t all trying to trample you.”

  The girl’s boyfriend spoke up. “She was actually pushing other fans back because she knew you were in trouble!”

  Gemma cooed. “Aww, that’s so sweet of you! Thank you for slowing everyone down.” She slid the amethyst ring off of her finger and placed it in the girl’s hand. “A token of my appreciation,” she said with a wink. She laughed at the girl’s squeals of disbelief.

  “Having fun, girly?” Zoe planted a big, wet kiss on Gemma’s cheek.

  “Ew, did you just drool on me?” Gemma asked, prompting laughter from the crowd.

  “You should be honored, bitch!” Zoe cackled. “Don’t wipe it off, I’ll get mad.”

  “Fine.” Gemma giggled. She turned to look into the mirror behind the bar and saw Zoe’s coral lipstick mark decorating her cheek.

  “I like it. Give me one,” Zoe demanded. Without hesitation, Gemma pressed her pout against Zoe’s cheek, adorning it with her own crimson lipstick. “Love it,” Zoe sang. She plucked a tube of lipstick from her purse and reapplied it to her lips, only to grab the face of a male bartender and plant a kiss on his cheek.

  “What are you doing, psycho?” Gemma threw her head back and laughed.

  “Leaving my mark!”

  Gemma watched as Zoe continued to reapply lipstick and grace random cheeks with the print of her lips. It didn’t take long for her to want to join in on the fun. She fished around her clutch to find her Nars lipstick in Jungle Red. After smearing it on her lips, she leaned forward and kissed a fan on the cheek. Then another, and another, and another. She tried to make a perfect pout, but Zoe kept making her laugh. A few fans received messy lipstick marks in the shape of smiles.

  It wasn’t long before the entire bar staff and crowd wore a lipstick mark from either Gemma or Zoe. The two girls laughed so hard they had to hold onto each other for support. Escorted by Godsend security, they stumbled out of the club to a sea of paparazzi. They all hollered questions while simultaneously taking pictures. Gemma and Zoe were too overcome with giggles to answer any of them. As they climbed into a car, a paparazzo made one last effort. “What do you have to say about your night, ladies?”

  Gemma and Zoe looked at each other before shouting back, “We love our fans!”

  QUEEN BEE AND ZOE MERCURY: LOVE FOR THEIR FANS!

  The Pop Source

  June 21st

  Last night, two of the world’s biggest teen idols teamed up in an effort to return some love to all of their fans!

  While at hotspot Godsend in the Lower East Side, Queen Bee and Zoe Mercury sparked pandemonium after offering to buy patrons a round of drinks (management claims that the two underage starlets were served non-alcoholic beverages only). The excitement continued when the two staged an impromptu kissing booth – free of charge! Since yesterday, nearly a hundred pictures of lipstick-adorned fans have been uploaded to Zoe Mercury’s official Facebook, accompanied by affectionate comments for the two pop icons.

  “They seem like really sweet girls who know how to have fun, but still manage to be down-to-earth,” says Katey Aamodt, a Godsend patron who was present during the pop duo takeover. “I wasn’t really a fan of either before last night, but I definitely am now!”

  One Queen Bee fan was even gifted an amethyst ring by H Stern, which retails at nearly $3,000! Neither parties have commented on their wild night yet, but at least we know that it sure pays to be a QB or Zoe fan!

  WHO CARES ABOUT ZOE MERCURY – WHAT THE FLYING F@#$% HAPPENED BETWEEN QB AND TYLER CHASE?!

  6/21 1:14PM

  Posted by Tara C.

  Her Royal Secrecy

  I’ll tell you what happened.

  Nothing.

  Because Tyler Chase is a little classier than to run off with some chick so they could rent a hotel room and have a quickie. If he needed to fulfill some urgent sexual desire, he would have called me on speed dial not made it so obvious.

  Inside sources (aka my cat, Winky) tell me that Bitchass Bee just had a case of the runs. Who would want to let it all out at a star-studded event? I totally understand, QB – I also prefer private bathrooms during colonic emergencies.

  But seriously. For all you Tyler Chasers shedding tears over his tarnished innocence, just calm your asses down for
a hot second. My sources (not my cat this time) have informed me that Tyler was seen leaving QB’s hotel shortly after dropping her off. Certainly not enough time for bumping nasties (not with a stud like Tyler, at least).

  Which brings me to the topic of this new BFF situation between QB and Zoe. I saw it happening a mile away, but that doesn’t mean I approve. As you all know, Zoe and Tyler are friends and their fans have been allied since Tyler guest-starred on “Outta This World.” I’ll be severely disappointed if Zoe’s Little Aliens cross sides to become besties with Bitchass’s Honeybees. You know that QB’s people fabricated this whole friendship to steal publicity from Queen Zoe right? I’m warning you – don’t fall into the trap!

  And as for you Queen Bee, I heard Imodium works wonders for a case of the scoots.

  - Chapter 5 -

  “Not again!” Mira exclaimed as she leaned against the kitchen counter, eyes scanning a letter.

  “What is it? Who’s the letter from?” Gemma asked as she and Lucas rummaged through the refrigerator.

  “People still send letters?” Lucas laughed.

  “Beauford Town Hall. They’re raising taxes again this year, I don’t know how this is allowed.”

  “You’re boring us,” Gemma joked. Mira smacked Gemma’s arm playfully.

  “At some point, you’re going to become an adult and these things will matter to you. Especially if you own as much property as I do.”

  “My dad mentioned it earlier this week,” Lucas said as he emerged from the refrigerator with a bottle of Gatorade. “He and a bunch of people were trying to get the town to do a reassessment on the tax increase because it’s been happening every year.”

  “Well it’s good to hear your father’s so involved,” Mira nodded at Lucas with admiration. “And I love when young people stay informed too.”