Diamond in the Rough

by India Lee

  It wasn’t until she opened her eyes that she gasped, pulling away just slightly. The eyes of the club hadn’t stopped watching them. “Shit, Tyler,” she hissed, turning to face him. “They’re watching us. Everybody.”

  “I don’t care, everyone knows I want you. What do I have to hide?” he asked. When she didn’t respond, he frowned. “What do you have to hide?”

  Lucas. Instead of answering, Gemma buried her face in his chest. She looked up into his impossibly sweet brown eyes. “I want you,” she whispered, her hands on his neck. “But I can’t.”

  “I know,” he said gently, removing her hands and holding them in his.

  They headed back to the booth in silence. There was a fury in Gemma’s heart that she couldn’t explain. She played the blame game with herself. It was Mira’s fault for giving her two identities. How was she expected to have feelings for just one boy? Her body still hummed with excitement, but it was an angry one now, and she had no one to direct it at.

  Or so she thought. When they reached the booth, Gemma and Tyler saw Emilia standing and arguing before their security. Zoe knelt on the booth, blocking Harper from Emilia with every inch of her body.

  “What’s going on?” Tyler asked.

  “She needs to leave,” Andro said, placing a strong hand on Emilia’s shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me,” Emilia snapped.

  “She’s not with you guys, right?” Andro questioned.

  Gemma eyed the girl with disgust. “No. Get her away from here.”

  “Oh, fuck you,” Emilia spat, taking a swig from her champagne before pointing a finger in Gemma’s face. “What is this? Like a little threesome you have going on with him? A foursome? Bunch of sluts.”

  Harper broke free from Zoe’s hold, bursting between Andro and Tyler’s bodyguard. “Do you even know Zoe? Do you even know Bee? You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, so why don’t you shut your desperate little mouth?”

  Emilia didn’t take her eyes off of Gemma despite Harper’s words. It was clear whom her wrath had shifted to. “I’m not even surprised that you would hang out with trash. You’ve got to be hideous under all that makeup.”

  “You need to watch what you’re saying,” Tyler said warningly. Emilia persisted despite him.

  “What do you have to say, Queen Bee? Are you such a loser in real life that you can’t let anyone know what you’re really like?”

  Gemma simply stared at the girl. She hated that she could only think of Mira’s disappointment if she decided to hit someone. Her instinct to smack Emilia stayed bottled inside her, alongside her lust for Tyler. Gemma cursed her body’s capacity to contain emotion. All she could do was stare.

  “Oh my God,” Emilia breathed. “You’re a freak. You really don’t know how to speak without your team whispering in your ear, do you?”

  It was at that point that Gemma would have said something, but all she could do was stumble back as both Harper and Zoe thrashed forward. Andro moved to control them but stopped when he caught Gemma’s eye.

  “Tell me something,” Harper hissed at Emilia. “What do you do that makes you think you can talk to her like that? Who are you?” Her laugh dripped with disdain and condescension. “Do you know why she won’t speak to you? Because you’re not even a blip on her fucking radar, you pathetic little girl.”

  “Where are your friends, by the way?” Zoe asked, backing Emilia against the table. Gemma was grateful for the combined six hundred pounds of security, which created a decent wall to block the crowd from observing too closely.

  “Why aren’t they here to help you? Do you embarrass them?” Harper smirked. Zoe deliberately stepped on Emilia’s toes, causing her to fall backwards against the booth. She returned to her feet quickly. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead threw her champagne in Harper’s face.

  Gemma leaped forward in a flash, but just as quickly, Andro pulled her back. “Stop it,” he said firmly in her ear. He would allow her friends to misbehave to some degree, but she was out of the question. While still in his grip, Gemma looked up to see Tyler holding Harper back, his own bodyguard controlling Zoe. The crowd snapped as many pictures as they could before club security pushed them back. Just as the situation seemed under control, Emilia reached forward and slapped a restrained Harper across the face.

  Tyler let go of her. Harper charged at Emilia, who backed up in a near comical way. Andro released Gemma and stormed after Emilia, catching her within a few paces of his long legs and pulling her away from an enraged Harper.

  “Get rid of her,” he said, carefully handing Emilia over to the Green Room staff. He then clapped his hands, shooing at the crowd. “Alright, everyone. The show is over.”

  EMILIA PLATT: QUEEN BEE HIT ME!

  Pop Dinner

  August 6

  Socialite Emilia Platt is threatening legal action after a nightclub scuffle involving singer Queen Bee and celeb friends Zoe Mercury and Harper Gunn. The 18-year-old Platt sustained bruises to the cheek and jaw where she alleges Bee, 17, struck her. Additionally, Platt claims to have sustained injuries to her arms and shoulders due to Bee’s “rough” and “abusive” security staff.

  “We are appalled by the actions of Queen Bee and her staff, and we intend to pursue legal action against this reckless and abhorrent behavior,” said Charles Mercer, lawyer to the Platt family. Platt claims to have also obtained pictures of the incident through a friend’s Blackberry and aims to use the images as proof of her case.

  Management for Queen Bee, Zoe Mercury, Harper Gunn and Tyler Chase – who was present during the fracas – have all spoken out in defense of Bee.

  WAIT A SECOND. QUEEN BEE SMACKED A BITCH? DO I LIKE HER NOW?

  8/6 9:22AM

  Posted by Tara C.

  Her Royal Secrecy

  Nope.

  I am actually not happy with this Pandora bitch for unleashing the crazy of Harper Gunn and whatever other elements onto my pure Tyler Chase. All I can do is thank the media for keeping Tyler’s flawless name out of this mess, because God knows that he is innocent of all wrongdoing (except making my loins ache for him on a nightly basis and then leaving me high and dry).

  Don’t worry, there is good to come of this. We now know that the adorable-but-ever-unstable Zoe Mercury and borderline psychotic Harper Gunn are really besties with QB. Isn’t it a luxury for us investigators to have these unpredictable and chemically imbalanced freaks constantly around Bitchass Bee? Who knows what they’ll pick up from her and possibly leak for the right amount of cocaine publicity?

  Take a little vacation, my Chasers. Let’s just allow Zoe to do the work for us. If not Zoe, then definitely Harper, because that girl is messier than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in the Sahara Desert.

  If there was anything to be thankful for, it was that Emilia Platt’s claim had overshadowed any stories of the indecency that Gemma and Tyler displayed on The Green Room dance floor. That was about it though. Upon hearing that interviewers could not promise questions unrelated to the lawsuit, Mira canceled all of Gemma’s performances and interviews for the day.

  “Do you understand,” Mira spoke slowly, her livid eyes unblinking as she stared at Gemma. “That it doesn’t matter what anyone said to defend you? There were pictures. There were witnesses that know something happened between you and Emilia. This incident is not going to be erased from people’s memories just because Tyler Chase came to your defense.”

  “They all came to my defense, because everyone there knew that I did nothing wrong!” Gemma said urgently. She wanted to shake Mira into believing her, but that wouldn’t come across well considering the topic of discussion.

  “Gemma, you are not getting this!” Mira raised her voice. She had called Gemma to meet her at her parents’ Upper East Side townhouse. It was where Gemma lived the longest, having grown up there. Despite the fracas, it looked peacefully familiar with Malcolm sitting at the kitchen counter behind Mira. He remained silent, head hung over an open newspaper, either
trying to read or pretending to. “This is not just the business that is Queen Bee but you. This is who you are and what mark you will leave on the world. This is you not thinking ahead and understanding the concept of consequences!” Mira looked at Malcolm, willing him to make eye contact and perhaps join in. Gemma knew her father felt the same way but didn’t have the heart to express himself the way Mira did.

  “Malcolm,” Mira said sternly when he failed to look up on his own. Malcolm sighed, removing his glasses from his face and placing them gently atop his papers.

  “I’m sorry, Mira.” Malcolm stood and rested a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go rest, I think I can take over from here.” Mira crossed her arms, staring over her shoulder at Malcolm then looking back to Gemma.

  She sighed, leaving the room without another word. Malcolm waited until Mira was out of earshot before clearing his throat and directing a serious gaze at Gemma. She had grown accustomed to never discussing her life as Queen Bee with her parents. Malcolm and Gemma’s mother, Emily, were always extremely supportive, but Malcolm’s strong opinion on striking a balance between celebrity and “normal” in his daughter’s life caused a great deal of anxiety among the family when the topic was ever approached. As a result, Gemma’s parents supported her the way parents would a teenage entrepreneur whose business was in an industry that they had no grasp on. In a sense, that was the case with Malcolm working in commercial real estate and Emily in medicine.

  “I’ve known Mira all her life,” Malcolm started. Gemma felt a chill at the sound of broken silence. “She has always been passionate and feisty and a go-getter. She sees talent from a mile away and everything she invests in grows faster than anyone could ever ask for. This is why I was terrified when she told me that you were going to be her next big thing.”

  “Why would you be terrified?”

  “Because you are entirely too young to understand all that comes with this. I didn’t want you to become the cliché of fallen teen star with no future and no purpose. When you get things too quickly, you fail to appreciate it the way you should and things get out of hand.”

  “Dad,” Gemma sighed. “If this is about money, I know. You raised me better. I understand I’m lucky and I’ll be responsible.”

  “Money is not the only thing you need to be responsible about. Your reputation and your future are two very huge things that matter more than you can fully get right now. Who you hang out with reflects upon you. People will assume you’re another Zoe or Harper. I’ve met Harper’s father and I just don’t want to deal with the heartbreak he’s going through. Your mother and I agreed to let you get into all this because you were in the care of your very loving aunt, and also because you’re more mature than most kids I know.” Malcolm pulled Gemma in for a hug. “I’m not just saying this because I’m your dad. I can tell you now I’d never say this to Gavin and I don’t even care if you tell him, since he probably would agree.” Gemma smiled in response though she stood in the middle of the kitchen, lost in thought and in a bit of a daze. There was more than a hint of disapproval from Malcolm and Mira over who she was hanging out, perhaps more than what had actually transpired.

  She wished Malcolm a good night as she made her way towards her old bedroom. Mira and her parents were the ones who didn’t get it. More than anything, Gemma needed real friends and real friends were supposed to be people who were similar to you, who understood you. People who stood up for you. As far as she could see, Zoe and Harper were the closest things she had to that.

  - Chapter 7 -

  “So how much longer before you go back to school?” Zoe asked, snorting. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked anyone that question before. I forget you’re like a real high schooler. It’s kind of fun.”

  “What?” Gemma giggled, spooning a concoction of frozen yogurt, fruit, cereal and candy bits into her mouth. Zoe had surprised her on her last day at the hotel with two oversized cups of slightly melted frozen yogurt covered in what looked like literally every topping 16 Handles had to offer. The yogurt shop was well across town but the location wasn’t about to deter Zoe from going for exactly what she wanted.

  “Are you like… applying to colleges?” Zoe asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “I think I have to.”

  “Are you a good student? Do you actually study or do you just like, flirt with all your teachers?” Zoe asked seriously. Gemma guffawed.

  “Uh, no, I don’t flirt with my teachers. I’ve had a really strict private tutor for like, ever, so school’s easy compared to her.”

  Zoe nodded, lost in thought. “It would be fun to go to high school and just flirt with all the teachers. I’d probably be a straight-A student.” She winked. “You know my touch with older men.” Gemma rolled her eyes playfully, pretty used to Zoe’s antics at this point.

  “Okay, let’s stop talking about school now,” she said. “I don’t even want to go back.”

  “Then don’t! Who cares?” Zoe asked. “You already have a job so why do you need to keep going to school? Plus, you’ll be leaving me behind, which is not cool.”

  “Well it’s not like I’m going to be completely gone,” Gemma said. “I do get to come out of hiding once in awhile. And you can call me whenever you want.”

  “But if I don’t know when the next time I’ll see you is then we have to end this summer with a bang.”

  “How?” Gemma laughed. She wasn’t sure how much crazier things could get. “Pretty sure we painted the town as red as it’s gonna get.”

  “So let’s leave town,” Zoe said mischievously, raising an eyebrow. “A mutual friend of ours has access to a pretty incredible ocean-side villa.”

  ~

  “You must be completely out of your mind,” Mira said. “And don’t even try asking your parents after this. You know they don’t know the full story and would just leave it up to me anyway.”

  Gemma’s shoulders slumped. She had prepared and delivered a lengthy speech in preparation of asking Mira for permission to go on vacation with Zoe, Harper and Tyler. Mira’s face twisted at the mention of each name. Gemma wasn’t sure whom she disapproved of the most. After hearing Andro recount the Green Room incident, Mira seemed to blame all three equally for the pending lawsuit with Emilia Platt. Zoe for provoking Emilia, Harper for charging at her, and Tyler for letting Harper loose.

  “Andro can come too! To keep an eye on me,” Gemma pleaded. “He’ll report everything back to you. I know you trust him.” Mira furrowed her brows, as if she hadn’t thought of the option.

  “Gemma, honey… I don’t know…” Mira sighed. “I want to let you have fun because I know you’ve had quite a challenging year. If anyone thinks you should get a true vacation, it’s me. But aside from the fact that you need to stay out of the headlines for awhile, you’re also two weeks away from starting school and you need to get back into that mindset.”

  “Okay,” Gemma nodded. “So is that a yes or a no?”

  “It’s an I-Have-To-Sleep-On-It bordering on ‘Probably Not,’” Mira replied. “While I trust you, I can’t say that I trust the three you’ve been hanging out with. Seems like all they can do is get into is trouble. And what would Lucas think if he knew you were hanging out so much with Tyler Chase? Would he really be okay with you going on vacation with him to some romantic tropical island?”

  ~

  The smell of chocolate chip cookies wafted out towards her as Gemma pushed through the back door of Lucas’s house. Within seconds, Lucas’s border collie Leo was circling her feet. Leo barked once as if to greet her and then ran off into the kitchen. Gemma followed.

  “Oh, you were right, Elisa,” Lucas said with a smile. He sat on the kitchen counter eating chocolate chip cookies that Elisa was lifting one by one off a cookie sheet. “We do have a guest.”

  “Hi Gemma!” Elisa said excitedly. “My cookies came out awesome, do you want to try?”

  “Um, yes?” Gemma answered. Elisa giggled as Gemma made a beeline for the cookie sheet.


  “Welcome back to Beauford. Elisa and I missed you,” Lucas said. His hazel eyes gazed warmly at her.

  “Well, yeah I missed you,” Elisa said. “But Lucas missed you.” She giggled. Lucas blushed as he hopped off the counter and scooped Gemma into his arms.

  “Yes, I missed you so much,” Lucas said he brushed Gemma’s hair from her face and kissed her.

  “Thank you for waiting until I left the room,” Elisa quipped.

  “Sorry,” Lucas laughed. “We’ll go upstairs.”

  Gemma had every intention of filling Lucas in on all that had gone on while she was staying at The Standard. But the moment she was alone with him in his room, all she wanted to do was lie in his strong arms and take comfort in his familiar scent. They reclined there together in silence, doing nothing more than relaxing in each other’s embrace. It was quiet and peaceful, relaxing in a way that she hadn’t felt since she last left his arms.

  “So you had a wild week, huh?” Lucas said. Gemma frowned. She had been enjoying the quiet between them and felt bad that Lucas was the first to bring up her time away.

  “It just looked that way on all the gossip blogs. Which I thought you would never take part in,” Gemma teased. She looked up at Lucas. His eyes were closed as he cracked a smile.

  “You know I don’t. I get all my news from Elisa.”

  “Yeah and what did she tell you?”

  “That you punched some hotel heiress in the face and ran off to a hotel room with Tyler Chase,” Lucas replied. “She says she doesn’t believe the first rumor but hopes the second one is true.”