Hidden Gem

by India Lee

  “That’s as far as it goes,” Tyler murmured.

  “Okay.” Gemma kept her back to him as she peeled the upper part of the catsuit off her shoulders and chest. She was concentrating too hard on getting Queen Bee out of the arena to even think about the fact that she stood topless in her Marlies Dekkers bra with Tyler Chase just an inch behind her. She pushed the sleeves down to her elbows before feeling constricted once again. The outfit had taken Penelope and Armand nearly thirty minutes to get on her and she had no idea then how difficult it would be to get out of. She was practically working up a sweat in her attempt to strip it off.

  “I need you again,” Gemma panted slightly. “Take the top of the sleeves and pull them down towards my hands.” She felt Tyler’s searching hands reach for her shoulders again, his fingertips touching the top of her bra straps. He ran his hands down until he felt the leather sleeves at her elbow. He carefully peeled the leather down her lithe forearms. She realized this was the first time she had ever been so exposed in front of a boy that wasn’t Armand.

  Once the sleeves were off, she pushed the catsuit down over her hips and got it down just above the knees. Even as Queen Bee, she blushed with a bit of embarrassment over what she was about to ask Tyler.

  “Tyler…I can’t get it down all the way.”

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind helping,” he said quickly. He cleared his throat. “I mean, what I meant was…it’s the least I can do for getting you into this mess.” They both laughed, though nervously.

  “Ok, so…” Gemma lowered her eyes, feeling Tyler’s body kneel beside her. She waited for a few moments, unsure of where his hands were until she felt them suddenly lay flat on her thigh. He slipped his fingers between the leather and her skin and struggled to pull the skintight material down past her knee.

  “I see why they leave this outfit for after the concert,” Tyler said with an attempt at a laugh. Gemma could hear his voice shake with nerves. His hair grazed her thigh as he leaned in to get a better grip on the leather. Even he was beginning to breathe heavily as he struggled with the material. Gemma could feel his panting breaths on her knees while his knuckles grazed the delicate skin of her inner thigh. She consciously breathed slowly and steadily in hopes of calming her racing heart.

  Finally, Tyler pulled the leg of the catsuit down to her ankle and Gemma kicked one bare leg out of the outfit.

  “I’ll get the other one,” she said hastily. She felt Tyler rush back to his feet. Her heart pounded furiously. She could hear her pulse in her ears as she leaned against the wall, pulling the other leg of the outfit off.

  “Are you doing okay?” Tyler asked. Gemma could see his silhouette settle onto the chair by the door. He leaned his elbows on his knees and grasped the back of his neck with his hands. He probably didn’t know that she could see the outline of his nerve-wracked posture.

  “Yes, I got it,” she exhaled in relief as she unzipped her duffel bag, pulling out her sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. She shoved the wig, catsuit and mask in and zipped it up, crossing her fingers that nothing would be ruined.

  “Thank you for not hating me,” Tyler said as Gemma got up from the floor. She paused, clutching her jeans and sweatshirt to her chest. She may have been down to her bra and panties, but without her street clothes on, she still felt the remnants of Queen Bee. She walked towards the chair as Tyler stood up. He was about four inches taller than she was without her heels. She could see the faint reflection of a distant street lamp sparkle in his eyes.

  Gemma looked down and removed her lavender contact lenses. She looked back up into Tyler’s eyes, detecting a faint smile.

  “Green,” he whispered. “Beautiful green eyes.”

  “I’ll give you that much,” she said. She wanted to hug him but instead, her hands reached behind his neck and pulled him in towards her. She pressed her lips to his, feeling the softness of his lips as she kissed him. She felt his tense body relax into her embrace, one hand settling down on the bare skin of her back while the other ran along the curve of her narrow waist. He kissed her back sweetly. Gemma could feel his daze as she pulled away. She stepped back, jumping quickly into her jeans and pulling the sweatshirt over her head. She slipped on the sneakers and grabbed her duffel bag, running out the door.

  “Don’t come looking for me. You’re never going to find out who I am,” Gemma teased as she ran into the darkness of the downtown streets.

  “Well obviously not tonight,” he called after her, laughing. “But maybe someday.”

  Chapter 11

  OH. MY. MOTHER#@%!ING. GOD.

  3/16 3:02PM EST

  posted by Tara C.

  Her Royal Secrecy

  By now you all know that Tyler Chase attended Queen Bee’s concert incognito on Friday at the Staples Center. This of course was the concert that occurred a week after the one I attended, where I was hoping to gather clues regarding the Queen’s identity but didn’t see shit as far as excitement or juiciness. As if that weren’t bad enough, I missed Tyler Chase by a freakin’ week. Obviously God was punishing me for my endless snark. Of all people, I deserved to be present at a full security meltdown that left Queen Bee and Tyler Chase unprotected amongst a horde of rabid fans (whom I hear were foaming at the mouth and becoming borderline feral). Unlike them, I would’ve prioritized mystery-solving over my squealing fangirl compulsions. Which leads me to the question: WHY DID NOBODY AT LEAST SNATCH HER STUPID WIG OFF?

  Fans who were present at the fiasco have taken to le internetz to report what they saw, and while you’d think this would be a great place to gather clues, a lot of you idiots who weren’t present have begun making up facts which is why Star Magazine is reporting today that Queen Bee is Elle Fanning (Really, Star Magazine? Really?).

  We only have two solid pieces of news that came out of this fiasco. One is a statement that QB’s security has been completely overhauled, which is kinder way of saying that a dozen or so bodyguards are now unemployed. And I’m sure this also means that it’ll be harder to get close to QB now, which is bad news for stalkers (in before the trolls call me a “stalker” myself - IDGAF).

  The second, according to fan video footage, is that Queen Bee and Tyler ran off together with some randos from her team. So…does this mean that Tyler Chase now knows the identity of Queen Bee? As if we needed more reason to be obsessed with him.

  “I could kill you!” Penelope screamed as she sat on the hotel room bed with her arms and legs wrapped around Gemma like a koala. She had been so relieved to see Gemma safe and sound in the suite that she cried for a solid fifteen minutes before calling Armand into the room. He in turn cried even harder.

  “I’m fine. I totally figured it out, didn’t I? And on top of that, Tyler still has no idea what I look like,” Gemma said, using her t-shirt to wipe the thick-rimmed glasses that Penelope had fogged up with her tears. Armand lay flat on his back on the ground, a half-empty bottle of cabernet sauvignon in his left hand.

  “Gemma, Gemma…” he said slowly, shaking his head. “You almost made me die tonight. If I did not die on my own, I would have died at the hands of this crazy woman here,” he nodded towards Penelope. “Who was throwing ceramic curling irons at the wall. And if that didn’t kill me, Mira would have made sure to kill me, then she’d have her connections in the afterlife continue to torture me in Heaven. Or maybe the other place. I am sure she knows people there too.”

  Penelope cackled. “I don’t know how you got that catsuit off without totally destroying it,” Penelope said as she wiped her tears carefully with her pinky and put her glasses back on.

  “Yes,” Armand said, flipping onto his stomach. “I had thought maybe we’d cut you out afterwards and here you are, catsuit fully intact.” He and Penelope exchanged a glance.

  “Should we check a certain someone’s Twitter to see what he might have to say about tonight?” Penelope giggled as she grabbed her iPhone excitedly. Armand jumped onto the bed with her as she turned her phone on.

  “‘
Got touchy-feely with royalty today.’ Hashtag, teenage turn-ons,” Armand giggled as Gemma smacked him with a pillow.

  “No, no – how about ‘Got officially knighted. I provided the sword,’” Penelope rolled on the bed, cracking up. “Gross. We’re totally going to hell, Armand.”

  “I’ll bet he didn’t even say anything,” Gemma said as she changed into a pair of Egyptian cotton pajama pants.

  “‘Insane night. Inspired talk. Interrupted moment. In love?’” Penelope read.

  “What was that?” Gemma asked.

  “That’s Tyler Chase’s latest tweet. About two hours after the concert.”

  “God, what a teenager,” Armand scoffed. “He thinks he’s in love because he got to put his hands down your catsuit.”

  “If you got to put your hands in say, Ewan McGregor’s leather catsuit, you’d be saying the same thing,” Penelope said. “Except less poetically.” Armand shrugged and smiled.

  “Either way,” he reached for his bottle of wine. “Seems like our Bee has become a mankiller of the highest degree, yes? I think we should toast to that.”

  “No,” Gemma laughed. “I doubt he even tweeted that, it was probably his PR people.” Gemma said as she pulled the sheets back and got under the covers. However, she knew there was nothing to doubt. She had an effect on Tyler and it was obvious. Even in the dark, she could feel her impact on him. Gemma imagined this type of unwavering confidence was what gave girls like Madison the ability to walk, talk and live the way they did. Maybe it wasn’t just a matter of luck and perfect hair.

  “Ready to go home, missy?” Penelope suddenly asked.

  The thought of home jolted Gemma. She had done such a good job of forgetting about it for the past few weeks. Somehow, she dreaded seeing Lucas more than she did Madison. On the topic of going home, her mind began to imagine Lucas figuring out her entire secret identity as Queen Bee, based solely on the bit of conversation she let slip during the autograph signing. A part of her hoped this would happen.

  Her heart desperately hoped that upon returning to Beauford, she would be able to readjust to her high school life without hearing a word about Queen Bee. Her mind, of course, knew that that would be impossible.

  ~

  When Gemma arrived at home the Sunday before her first day back, she found the Balenciaga gown back on the dress form in front of her closet door. She had no idea how everyone worked so quickly that the dress managed to beat her back home. Hanging above the dress was the Venetian mask she had worn during the Los Angeles fan meet. Stuck to it was a Post-it that read, Back undercover again, Bee! We’ll miss you. – Pen & Armand.

  Gemma sighed, peeling off the note and sticking it in her drawer. She began to cover the dress with the old sheets only to drop to the floor, cross-legged. She played with the hem of the dress and the hand-sewn pearls. She had hoped that her body would naturally adjust to Beauford upon returning home, and perhaps even be excited for high school and suburbia. It hadn’t though, and she couldn’t be less unenthused about becoming Gemma again. Aside from seeing Leah, Kate and Jillian, she couldn’t think of anything to look forward to.

  Though lost in her thoughts, she was able to hear her name being called from a distance. Gemma stood up quickly and looked outside to see Lucas leaning out his window. She blushed and in her surprise, knocked over the dress form. She scurried to it, standing it back up and pushing it out of view.

  “Hey!” Gemma said, brushing her hair back as she opened the window. “How are you? How have you been?”

  “Pretty good. How’s your grandma?” Lucas asked. Gemma flinched.

  “Um,” she stammered. She realized it had been a long time since she had even spoken to her parents. “She’s fine. I think she’s going to move in with us soon.”

  “I have something for you,” Lucas said as he ducked out of view. He popped back up with a Queen Bee CD. “Leah said to give this to you when you got back.” Gemma frowned. Why wouldn’t Leah just give it to me herself? And of all people, why would she give it to Lucas to give to me? “So?” Lucas called when Gemma didn’t answer. “Can I come over?” Gemma shook herself from her thoughts.

  “Oh. Sure! I’ll be right down!”

  Gemma hurried to her mirror and tossed her hair a few times in hopes of creating more volume. She grabbed her makeup bag, wondering if she had enough time to put on mascara and lip-gloss. She decided against it. The last thing she wanted was to look done up for Lucas with what people were saying about her. She rubbed her hands quickly over her cheeks and blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes before rushing down to the front door. When she opened it, Lucas was already there.

  “Hey,” he smiled. Gemma did all she could not to swoon immediately. Leave it to boys to help me switch between lives. Just a week ago, she was kissing Tyler Chase and now a suburban high school boy was making her knees weak.

  “It’s so nice to see you. I’m kind of surprised you’re okay coming here, you know, with everything…” Gemma trailed off. She wasn’t sure if it was a mistake to bring it up.

  “It’s okay,” Lucas shrugged. “Although maybe we shouldn’t just stand in the doorway and let everyone who drives by start new rumors?” They laughed and Gemma invited him in. He sat on the couch as she closed the door.

  “Leah was so excited about this when she called me. I kind of thought she’d want to be the one to give it to me,” Gemma said as Lucas handed her the CD. She tried to hide the sadness in her voice, but it was clear that Lucas detected it.

  “She did,” he said. “But there was a mob of people grabbing at it when she took it out at the diner that night, so I said I’d get it back to Mira.” Lucas explained.

  “Oh. Oh, okay.”

  “The show was really fun,” he said. Gemma smiled a stiff smile, unsure of how much she should say on the subject. Lucas nodded at her silence and continued. “I didn’t really feel out of place because there were a lot of other guys there.”

  “Really?”

  “Well. They were dressed up as Queen Bee and wearing spandex, so I felt a little out of place,” he laughed. “Elisa took forever trying to put together a Queen Bee costume but she just ended up ruining a lot my mom’s clothes.”

  Gemma giggled. It always made her smile to hear Lucas talk more than his usual couple of words. She had figured out that he was quiet only because he was surrounded by people like Gavin and Madison who never shut their mouths. Her own quiet nature seemed to lend well to whatever Lucas had to say. She was more than happy to be that person for him.

  “I really want to thank you for giving up your ticket for Elisa. We got to see Queen Bee really close after the show,” Lucas said as he looked at Gemma. She waited for him to continue with his story but he gazed at her in silence for a second or two. It felt like an eternity. Lucas continued. “It was weird, something about her reminded me of you.”

  “Really?” Gemma held her breath nervously.

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. Gemma squinted at him, trying to detect signs that he might in fact know her secret. He scratched his chin. “I can’t really explain it though. Hopefully she has another show here soon and you can see for yourself.”

  Gemma released her breath and smiled. “Definitely. Sounds like fun,” she replied. Lucas kept his eyes on her for a beat before he smiled.

  “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to unpacking or whatever you need to do,” he said as he got to his feet. He paused for a moment before turning towards the door. “And, um, about the rumors,” he waited till he caught her eye before continuing. “I don’t want you to worry. We both know nothing happened. Gavin and I are making sure everyone else knows too.”

  “Oh,” Gemma blinked. “Okay. Great.”

  “And Madison’s not mad either,” Lucas said. Gemma felt a chill at the mention of her name. “She knows it’s not true, she’s just as angry at whoever started it.”

  Gemma managed a weak smile, knowing well that Lucas’s words weren’t true. It disheartened her to know that he believed
them, but then again, Madison was quite the actress.

  “That’s a relief to hear,” she said.

  “Why does it feel like it’s been like a year since I’ve seen you?” Leah yelled as she jumped onto Gemma, wrapping her arms around her. Kate and Jillian joined in the hug, all looking tanner than usual. “We missed you so much in the Bahamas! We took like, a million pictures. It’s going to take forever to upload on Facebook.”

  Gemma had forgotten she missed spring break. She knew she’d feel jealous looking at their photos.

  “Cute guys hit on me!” Kate nodded excitedly. “I mean, not as much as Madison, but you know.” Just then, Gemma noticed Lucas walk out to their usual waiting spot.

  “Did you hear that Lucas?” Jillian called to him. “People hit on your girlfriend because you didn’t come with us.”

  “I went to the Queen Bee concert with you guys, isn’t that kind of a big deal? Besides, not all of us can just up and go to some exotic place whenever we want.”

  “Ew, Debbie Downer,” Leah frowned.

  Gemma felt anxious. She knew any second now, Madison’s Range Rover would be rolling around the corner and she’d see her for the first time in over a month. Everyone had reassured her that Madison seemed fine and was over the rumors. Gemma wasn’t so sure. Only she saw the side of Madison that was bitter and vengeful. Plus, it made no sense that anyone else would have started the rumors about her and Lucas.

  “Shotgun!” Leah shouted as she spotted Madison’s car coming around.

  “Doesn’t the boyfriend usually get shotgun?” Lucas asked as he approached the car.

  “Not if the boyfriend isn’t a regular of the lunch crew,” Leah said as she got into the front seat. Gemma peered in the car, waving timidly at Madison.

  “Hey girl, how’s it going,” Madison said flatly. “How are you all going to fit in the back?” Jillian, Kate, Gemma and Lucas looked at each other.

  “Oh yeah,” Kate said, softly. “I forgot we were one up today.”

  “Why are we talking like we’ve never shoved a million people in one car before?” Leah asked, her voice squeaking. “Let’s go! We’re not going to have enough time to look through all the pictures.”