Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy)
Page 5
I roll my eyes, and back away from him. “Stephan, you sure have a way with the ladies. Tell me, how come you're single?”
I get out of the car, and basically shut my door in his face. I start walking towards my first class, and I hear Stephan run up behind me.
“Maybe I'm single because I haven't found anybody who I would consider being with long term. Maybe I have been waiting for somebody special,” he says sweetly. “Maybe somebody like you.”
The bell rings, and I jump at the sudden, loud noise.
“See you in study hall,” Stephan says, walking away from me.
11:59 am
Stephan Montgomery has a heart after all...
After study hall, Stephan follows me out into the hallway.
“Want to eat lunch with me?” he asks.
“Are you ok with eating with Ethan?” I ask him.
He sighs. “Come on, Scarlett. What is the deal with you and my stepbrother?”
“He's my friend,” I answer, firmly. “Ethan is cool. I don't know what your problem is with him, but you need to get over it. He is your family.”
“He is not my family. He's just the son of the man my mother married.” His voice is bitter. “As long as you eat lunch with him, I won't be there.”
Before I can respond, Stephan storms past me.
Whatever. If he's going to act like a child, I'm not going to follow him.
“Scarlett?” the brunette with the green eyes from yesterday walks up to me. “Hey. I thought I would try again. Yesterday, we got off on the wrong foot. I would like to be your friend. Would you consider eating lunch with me and my friends?”
I want to say hell no, but then I think of Ethan. What he sees in this girl, I will never understand. “I would like that, but only if I can invite my friend, Ethan.”
I see her smile falter a little, but she quickly recovers. “That would be fine. But really, why Ethan?”
As badly as I want to smack her across the face, I don't. “Why not? He is really nice. He's been such a great friend to me... And he's kind of hot.” Hot is a bit of a stretch, but he is nice looking. Any girl would be lucky to be with him.
She thinks about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess he is kind of cute.”
I follow her towards the cafeteria, and decide to talk up Ethan. “You know, I kind of think he looks a little like Thor.”
She laughs, but I can tell it's fake. “Ok, well, you can grab your friend and meet me at the table. We sit in the direct center of the lunchroom. It's where all the most popular girls and boys in the school eat.”
Like I really care who sits at the “popular” table!
I turn and walk towards the far right, where Ethan and I always sit. He's waiting there for me.
“Hey, Scarlett.”
“Hey. Good news. We're sitting with that cheerleader girl that you like,” I say. “So come on.”
“What?”
“Come on,” I motion him. “Your dream girl awaits.”
After a few seconds, Ethan finally gets up and follows me to the popular table. I want to vomit at the thought of sitting there, but I have to hold up my end of the bargain.
“Hey! So glad you two could eat with us!” The cheerleader scoots down for me and Ethan. I take the seat furthest from her, so Ethan is forced to sit by her.
“Hey, Mona,” he says, shyly.
Mona, why can I never remember that name? Though, I guess I've always been bad with names.
Everybody around the table takes turns introducing themselves to me. I'm glad that none of them ask for my autograph, though I suspect Mona asked them not to scare me away.
Most of the people sitting at the table are either in sports, or they are cheerleaders. Apparently baseball and basketball are a big deal at this school. Only a couple of people sitting at the table aren't into sports, and I can tell by their designer clothing that they must have rich parents.
I wonder why they don't like Ethan. He's the hottest guy at the table, and he obviously has wealthy parents. Their house is next door to mine, right on the beach. A beachfront property, even in a small town like this, costs a lot of money. And I've seen the cars parked there – they aren't exactly driving old beaters. I'm pretty sure I saw his dad driving a Hummer, and his mom has a red Corvette.
Maybe they don't know?
I shake off the thought almost as quickly as it comes. I know that's not the case, because in a small town like this, there are no secrets. There has to be a lot more to the story. Ethan definitely isn't telling me everything.
I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out to see a missed call from a blocked number. There is a voice mail.
“I'm sorry, guys,” I say to nobody in particular. “I have to take this.”
Before anybody has a chance to respond, I get up and walk out of the cafeteria as fast I can. Nobody, not even Stephan or Ethan, has my number. Just my parents, managers, record company, and Alec. I need to know who the call is from.
Ever since my sister disappeared, every time I get a call from a unrecognizable number, I think it's her. I'm usually disappointed, but I never give up hope. I can't. I even hired a private investigator.
Once I'm out of the cafeteria, I keep walking and head out the front doors of the school. Once I'm outside, I put my phone up to my ear, and listen to the message.
“Scarlett, this is Andrew Davis,” I listen. My heart jumps when I hear my P.I.'s voice on the other end. “I have a lead on your sister. I'm not sure if this is just another dead end, but it looks promising. I'm in South Carolina. I should get back in touch with you in a couple of days at the most. Talk to you soon.”
I lean against the side of the brick building and close my eyes. I try to picture Stacy, but when I think of her, I always see the 17 year old version of her. I know that she's 26 now, though. I wonder if she has her own family, if she's married with kids. I wonder if she still looks the same. I wonder if she would be proud of me.
I shake my head, and push myself off the wall. No, she would not be proud of the person I've become. I've had less than a stellar life. I let fame and fortune go to my head. But maybe she would be proud of my decision to come here – my decision to get my life straight.
“Is everything alright?” I hear Stephan's voice.
I nod, and wipe the tears away from my cheeks. I hadn't even realized I was crying. “Yeah, everything is... perfect.”
“I saw what you did for him... for Ethan...” he half-smiles. “Even if I don't like him, because of my mom's decision to marry his dad, doesn't mean I don't know he's a good guy. He doesn't deserve the way they treat him. Thank you for that.”
“Wow. Stephan Montgomery has a heart after all.”
“Who would've thought,” he jokes.
3:00 pm
Queen Bitch.
I'm heading out the front door of the school, about to walk out to my car, when I hear somebody yell my name.
“Scarlett!”
I think momentarily about ignoring the person, because I figure it's just going to be somebody asking for my autograph, but I stop anyway. I turn around to see a girl that I sat with in the cafeteria. I think her name was Nicole. Or Nancy, maybe? N something. Or maybe Mary?
“Hey,” I say.
“I'm Demi,” she reminds me.
Wow, I wasn't even close.
“I just wanted to say, it was nice of you to sit at our table,” she smiles. “But next time, you need to understand, that Ethan is not welcome.”
I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes at her. Who does this girl think she is? Regina George? For a moment, I feel like Lindsay Lohan, and can't help but laugh. “Trust me, there definitely won't be a next time.”
“Before you get all judgmental, maybe you should talk to Ethan about this. There's a reason that we don't like him,” she pauses for a second. “Actually, maybe you should ask Stephan. He knows the story better, and you seem to be pretty cozy with him.” She turns around and walks away from me.
&nbs
p; What a bitch.
I continue to walk to my car, Stephan is waiting there for me.
“Everything ok?” he asks, noticing the distressed look on my face.
“Yeah,” I say, shaking my head. I quickly decide that Mona is not the girl for Ethan... Now just the convince him of this. “I'm actually coming to your house today. Ethan is tutoring me again.”
Stephan looks a little disappointed. “Oh.”
I smile. “Somebody is jealous.”
He shakes his head. “No, not at all.”
“I'm not into Ethan like that, you know. In fact, I happen to know he's into somebody else,” I say for his benefit. “I'm just not sure the girl he likes is the right girl for him.”
“Yeah, I've tried to tell him,” he sighs. “Mona is the queen of this school, and she is a bitch. I don't see what he sees in her. Or what anybody sees in her, for that matter.”
His voice is bitter, and I couldn't help but wonder what happened between him and her. “So... Are you going to tell me what she did to make you hate her so much?”
“Let's just go home,” he says, opening the passenger side door.
I walk around the car and try to shake it off. Stephan is acting weird. I get in the car, start it, and put on my seat belt. I can't handle not knowing. It's going to eat me alive until I know.
“Sorry,” he says. “I just don't want to talk about it... About her... It's nothing personal.”
“What, is she like an ex girlfriend or something?” Great, now I sound like a jealous girlfriend.
He laughs, bitterly. “I definitely never dated her.”
“Ok.” I say, inwardly sighing in relief.
“Are you ready for tomorrow night?” he asks, as we pull out of the parking lot of the school.
“I am very ready. Tuesday night was so much fun. I still can't believe that was just practice for you guys.” I pause. “Actually, I'm hoping that I can race next Friday night.”
“I don't know, Scarlett,” he says. “It's kind of a big secret, and having you race... It could blow everything.”
“What? Like I'm going to tell everybody about it?” I roll my eyes at him. “I don't even have friends here, besides you and Ethan that is. Who am I going to tell?”
“I don't know... Just, don't tweet about it, ok?”
I can't help but laugh at that. “I haven't been on Twitter since Monday.”
“Me either,” he says, sheepishly. “I had to sign out of it on my phone. I keep getting hate tweets.”
“I wonder why...”
“Seriously, you have some loyal fans. They were threatening my life.”
I shrug. “Guess you won't mess with Scarlett Ryan again.”
Stephan shakes his head. “You should really stop referring to yourself in the third person, Scarlett Ryan. It's kind of creepy.”
I roll my eyes jokingly. “I'm Scarlett Ryan, and I don't have to take this.”
Stephan just shakes his head.
3:15pm
Weird.
We pull into Stephan's house at 3:15, and I'm surprised to see his mom's car is there. She's rarely ever home, especially during the day. Stephan stiffens when he sees her car.
“Should I just go home?” I ask, not wanting to intrude. We definitely aren't at the meet my parents stage... Far from it, in fact.
“No!” he answers quickly. “It's fine. You can meet her. She'll love you.”
“Wow. Stephan Montgomery is introducing me to his mother.”
“Well, I wouldn't introduce just any girl to her,” he smiles.
Damn, his smile should be illegal.
“I hope she likes me.”
“She will. In fact, she already does. She's a big fan. She's never missed a TV appearance with you.”
“Great...” I roll my eyes.
“Hey, I was just warning you.” He takes off his seat belt. “Come on, I'll protect you.”
“Fine. Let me just tell Bob I'll be here tonight and he can take the rest of the night off.” I get out of my car, and Bob is parked behind us. Stephan waits for me at his front door.
“Hey, you can just take off the rest of the night. I'm going to be here all night anyway,” I tell him.
“Ok, Miss Ryan. I will see you in the morning.”
I follow Stephan inside his house. Ethan hasn't made it back from school yet, so I follow him into the kitchen where his mom is pouring herself a glass of ice tea.
“Mom.” She looks up at him, and smiles, then looks over at me. Her glass is full of tea, but she keeps pouring. It is slowly overflowing onto the counter. “This is my friend, Scarlett Ryan. Scarlett, this is my mother, Sarah James.”
His mom finally notices what she's doing and immediately puts down the jug of tea. She wipes up the spilled tea off the counter. “It's so nice to meet you, Scarlett,” she says in a very controlled voice. “I'm a big fan. Um, Stephan didn't tell me that you two were friends.”
“Are you ashamed of me?” I joke with Stephan.
“Would you like to stay for dinner? I know that my husband would be thrilled to have you,” she urges me.
“Sure,” I say, then look at Stephan. “I mean, as long as it's alright with Stephan.”
“Of course it is!” Sarah jumps before Stephan can even respond.
I hear the front door open and Ethan walks into the kitchen. He looks annoyed. “Ready to study?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Nice to meet you Mrs. James.” I turn to Stephan. “You want to study with us?”
He shakes his head. “You two go ahead.”
4:25 pm
Mind your own business.
“Enough studying!” I tell Ethan after only 45 minutes. I feel like banging my head against the wall. “If I see one more math equation I may kill myself.”
Ethan get's a very serious look on his face. “That's not funny, Scarlett. Suicide is not something to joke about.”
“It was just an expression. I'm not actually suicidal. I'm sorry if it offended you, but I promise I'm not going to off myself,” I quickly say.
He sighs. “Sorry. It's just a sensitive subject for me.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I don't really want to talk about it.”
I nod, and decide to change the subject. “So, I was thinking about Mona. She's kind of a bitch. I think you should set your sights on somebody else. Maybe somebody with a personality.”
“And maybe you should mind your own business.” His voice is cold, and very unlike him. “Seriously, don't act like you know anything.”
“I'm not,” I defend myself. “Seriously, get a grip, Ethan. The girl sent her clone to tell me that as long as you were with me, I wasn't welcome at her table. Do you really want to be with a girl like that?”
He doesn't answer.
I get up and gather my things. I'm so furious that my hand is shaking. I'm about to open the door, but Ethan stops me.
“I'm sorry, Scarlett. It's just really complicated, but it's not my story to tell.”
“Stephan?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says in a whisper. “But, don't ask him yet. Let him tell you when he's ready.”
I nod my head, but don't say a word. Honestly, I think I may be scared to. I walk out of his room.
4:40 pm
The 'L' word.
I walk down the hallway and eventually I find Stephan sitting in his room. He's listening to music, but he has his headphones on so I can't tell what is playing. I sit beside him on the bed, and he looks up at me smiling.
“Hey,” he says, pulling off his headphones.
“Hey,” I repeat. I look around his messy room. It's exactly how I pictured it would be. Posters of classic cars are hanging on the wall, his bed is black, and clothes are spread out across the floor. “No poster of me?” I ask, trying to act hurt.
He rolls his eyes. “I'm not the kind of guy who lusts after what he can't have.”
“Who said you can't have me?” It's a joke. Sort of.
“Um, d
uh, you did.”
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes.
“Pull out your phone,” he insists.
“So you can update my Twitter again?” I ask, shaking my head. “No way.”
“Seriously. I promise not to update your Twitter, Facebook, or whatever other social network you have...”
I pull out my phone, and hand it to him. “If you're lying, I will cut off your balls.”
He grabs my phone, and gives me a serious look. “That's not funny.” He scrolls through my phone, and then holds it up to me. It's the tweet from Monday.
@RockStarScar: I have no clue who @Stephan_Montgomery is, but I can assure you, I will NEVER be in his pants.
“Why try?” he asks, smiling. “You obviously don't want me.”
“Fine...” I click at my phone and then hand it back to him. He smiles.
@RockStarScar: I take back what I said about @Stephan_Montgomery. I have every intention of getting in his pants.
He clears his throat.
“Oh my gosh, Stephan! Are you blushing?” I joke with him.
“Just because you want me doesn't mean I want you,” he says, smiling. I know he's joking, but he's trying to sound serious. “I am not easy. I don't give just anybody the golden ticket.”
I laugh when I realize that he quoted what I told him the first day. “Who says I won't work for it?”
“Ooooh, you play dirty,” he raises his eyebrow at me. “But, two can play at that game.”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I look down to see the tweets pouring in. I turn my phone off and set it on the desk beside his bed.
“Whoa,” he says with disbelief. “Miss High and Mighty Rock Star is turning off her phone? Whatever will you do without your adoring fans telling you how awesome you are every five seconds?”
“I guess I'd rather listen to you tell me how awesome I am.” I flutter my eyelashes at him.
He throws a pillow in my face.
“HEY!” I throw it back.
He looks at me, and I swear I can see desire in his eyes. He moves closer to my mouth, and says, “I think you already know how I feel about you.”