Chapter 8
I sit up on my bed yawning. It looks like its 6am outside. My bed covers have fallen on the ground showing their guitar shaped figures to the floor. I get up rubbing my eyes. All I see is the sun going up in the window as I make my bed.
“What time is it anyway?” I ask myself and check the time on my phone.
It’s 7am. I was only a bit close. The sun comes up slowly and brightens up my room minute by minute.
I walk downstairs with my green slippers on hearing the rest of the house sleeping.
The cars are driving outside and the birds are singing. When I get downstairs I head to the kitchen and make a latte for myself.
The sound from the coffee maker goes louder as it gets hotter. As the water stops heating up I pour the water into my cup mixing in the sugar and latte mix.
I take in the hot latte and walk into the living room turning on the TV missing all the dog toys on the floor. My puppy Zuzia walks in with her tail wagging as hard as it can making it look like a white windmill. I grab my Maltese puppy and let her sit on my lap.
“Hi Zuzia,” I pet her.
She starts licking my hand making my hand feel wet and cold.
The TV shows ABC’s Good Morning America and a special celebrity guest; which today is Demi Lovato.
I grab my phone and call Colin.
“Hello,” I hear his sleepy voice.
Why did I even call him? It didn’t even pass my mind to call him; so I hang up.
My phone falls onto the floor and I continue watching the TV.
*
I walk outside onto the deck holding my cell phone to my ear.
“What,” I ask my friend Rory who is on the other line.
“I know right?” She’s referring to a rumor that has been spread through town. It’s about Colin and Zack. They all know that Zack was in town; but they don’t know that we ever met.
“That can’t be true,” The rumor was that Colin and Zack are true enemies and when they saw each other again, they got into a huge fight (including violence) which lead to whoever won got 1 million dollars. It was spread in the magazines, so now everybody knows who Colin is.
“It is,”
I sit down on the stairs looking at the noon lit sky.
“It was in a magazine, they tell lies,”
“Then why would they pick on Colin?”
“I have no idea,”
“Exactly,” Rory says matter-of-factly.
“No, it’s not true because I was with Zack the whole weekend,” I blurt leaving my mind from preventing me.
What the hell?
“Wh-at?”
Great, now she knows about it and now the whole world will know.
“Ha-ha, very funny Alex,” At least she didn’t believe it.
“Yeah, I was joking,”
The wind blows harder and my hair starts to wave in my face. I stand up leaving the wooden deck inside my orange kitchen.
“Come on, I can’t believe that you don’t believe me!” she yells.
I move the phone away from my ear, preventing it from falling off.
“Colin is my boyfriend, I would know about this,” I land on the high brown stool.
“You hate Zack, of course he wouldn’t tell you,”
“He sure would, if I hate Zack then he would want me to be happy that he knocked him out for me,”
“For you,” she laughs.
“Colin really cares you know,”
“He did it for the cash baby,”
I see the wind blowing harder making the tall green trees sway harder and the whole backyard looked as if it was going to flip all together.
“I gotta go, mom told me to go to the store,”
“Okay, bye!” she hangs up leaving me silent.
My phone slides into my green sweatpants and I walk out of the kitchen feeling like I should be laughing like crap but I don’t.
*
The wind has slowed down and the family is sitting in the living room watching some TV.
“Oh my, he’s crazy,” My mom laughs.
“Of course he is mom, he’s Sloan,” I say.
Grey’s Anatomy takes over the screen leaving us to stare at it.
The door bell rings interrupting our fun.
“I’ll get it,” I say. I get up leaving them and open the door in the reddest room in the house.
The door opens and Colin stands in front of me.
“Bye,” I shut the door.
“Alex,” His mumbling makes me reek.
I open the door and let him talk. “What,”
“We gotta talk, I love you,”
“No you don’t, if you would then you wouldn’t let the press get you photographed!” My voice gets higher after every word I say.
The tension is so bad it seems like there are huge thunderstorms beating in my ears. It does start raining making it look like its flowing my emotions.
“That was an accident,” he fixes his hair with his fingers letting them slip through the hair like I once did.
“No it wasn’t!”
“Alex,”
“Leave me the fuck alone,” I slam the door ignoring everyone and everything around me.
I walk upstairs following the lights that lead up. It gets darker from the rain and winds.
Some tears fall down my face leaving me down once again. I can taste the saltiness from the tears and run out of the peach room to my red and white bedroom.
I land on my bed expecting my dad to come up here to yell at me for slamming the door but he oddly doesn’t. I pick up my phone and scroll down the contacts list looking up Rory’s name.
No, I’m not gonna call her. I’m gonna get off my butt and live a little.
*
My feet lead the way on the side walk to somewhere. My iPod in my ears beating One Republic makes me the happiest of all week. My entire outfit says is “Starting new, but still the same” with my light blue shorts and green guitar t-shirt complemented with a gray vest and a couple of necklaces making my brown flip-flops match.
All the people around me are minding their own business but it looks as if they are smiling at the happy me. I continue my steps to Selena Gomez’s “As a Blonde” which makes me go faster. So much confidence fills me and I feel so free.
I don’t know where I’m going but I’m heading somewhere. The trees around me look much greener than before-the rain with winds has stopped making the day a whole much brighter. All the flowers show their colors to me-they tell me to love life as it is. I can be unstoppable-on my own I can accomplish anything.
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket but I ignore it. I can hear the kids laughing and the elderly bragging about their grandchildren since I have only one headphone in my ear.
South End Park is right in front of me spotting all the kids on the playground and swings. Sterling Knight’s voice calms me down from the memories with his song “Hero”. I continue my way down the gray sidewalk with sun beating on it so hot that eggs can be made perfectly fine.
“Hey Lex,” My 6 year old neighbor Ailey says.
I look at her curly black hair with her green sundress on.
“Hey,” I sit down next to her putting my iPod on pause.
“Where’s Colin-he said that he would play with me!” she begs her way.
“I don’t know,” as I say this I think “The way you say it-makes it sound kind of sexual,” from 90210.
“You should know, aren’t you guys dating?” I can feel her hand pulling my arm.
“No we aren’t, I gotta run-my friend called me to get to her house,”
“Get Colin,” she starts yelling.
“God, fine-here’s his phone number, Call him,” I hand her a piece of paper with his number on it and I stand up turning away.
“Thanks,” she runs off spreading evil all the way she walks.
Who does she think she is? She cannot yell and try to control older people.
I feel someone pull my vest and I turn around spotting the devil again.
“What,” I ask nicely.
“You-will never get Colin to love you. He loves me and only me,” she points her finger in my face will an angry expression.
The trees around me stand still letting the leaves slowly sway. My feet on the sidewalk feel bold contrasting against the grayness of the sidewalk. All you can see is the brightness around you from the sun and houses that are brighter than before.
“Great-I hate him,”
Her expression changes into confusion.
“Wh-why,” her weak shocked voice says.
“Because he’s an as-jerk,” I can’t say ass-hole to a kid.
“Why,”
I bend down looking at her chocolate brown eyes.
“You wouldn’t understand, you’re too young,” My voice is a nice as it can be.
“Yes I would!”
“No you wouldn’t,”
I get up and continue walking away down S. First Street.
*
“Alex, wow you’ve got nerve to step here,” My enemy Hannah says.
We are standing in Colin’s house at his amazing “becoming famous” time. He is so selfish. I can’t believe that he would use Zack and not try to work everything out.
“He’s my best friend,” I scan her slutty outfit which consists: a dark jean short skirt, red tight top covered in flowers and black heels. Her hair is red with long locks.
“Psh-you dumped him and left him alone until he became famous,” Her wannabees follow her every move.
“No, that’s you-except you didn’t date him,” My anger grows higher making the party vide get lower. All the people cover the gold and brown colors on the walls and minimal furniture.
“Let’s bounce girls-I don’t need guilt all over this fashionable piece,” I can see her act as if she spit on my “piece”.
I don’t see anything bad with my outfit-but obviously she has to. All I’m wearing are skinny jeans, black heels, a comic strip red top and a gray vest with accessories.
Hannah struts away leaving me to stand away from the whole party, the basement door next to me says “No one is here-come,” but I don’t listen-i gotta live.
“Hey everybody, we’ve got a special guest here to sing for us!” Colin from the backyard says on the stage he rented.
I turn my head toward the backyard and see Zack getting onto the stage. Everybody starts clapping and shouting. He smiles his killer smile and starts talking.
“Hey party people,” he shouts.
Girls start to shriek.
“I’m gonna sing some new songs that no one has ever heard before!”
Oh my God. Why-what-how is he doing here? He should tell me, I should know! But why would he let Colin even do this?!
I start to walk forward making my steps go faster as I get closer.
He starts to bring in the singing melody in the afternoon light. The pool is open and so many people are in there swimming. Everybody is everywhere. The whole patio is filled with tables that consist with food and drinks which include a chocolate fountain and many chairs.
I walk up to the crowd that is standing in front of Zack and following his every dance move and every lyric.
“Come on, come on-don’t let me down now,” He sings making all the girls shriek even more.
His rock music make me wanna dance-but I can’t. How can he even accept the whole thing that happened with Colin?
Zack’s whole outfit shows that he’s been ready for this night. He spots me and smiles but I don’t smile back.
I walk away with anger flooding my body making me feel like I’m completely red.
“Hey guys-I’m gonna take a break-brb,” Zack says.
Great, Mr. Hero has to keep his reputation safe so everything in his personal life has to be perfect for him to be perfect.
I step into the large living room which the sun shines into making the gold walls shine.
“Alex,” Zack grabs my arm.
“What,” I turn around taking in his perfectness.
“What is wrong?”
“What is wrong-? Seriously, Colin uses you to be famous and all the magazines say a lie! That’s what’s wrong,”
“That’s not your problem then, it’s mine and Colin’s,”
“Oh don’t smart talk me-Colin is my best friend and I do not accept the press telling lies about this whole situation,” My voice gets higher.
“What situation?” His hand lets mine go.
“The one in the magazine-it’s a lie,”
“It’s normal, whatever a celebrity does the press knows about it-everything is a lie in the magazines, don’t you know that already?”
I spot some people staring at us from the backyard in complete shock of what’s happening.
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean you can accept it!”
“I have to,” he starts to pase the room.
“Really,” I ask.
“Yes Alex,” he stops.
“But-,”
“No buts’ in this life Al,”
“But that doesn’t mean you can let Colin live it-or in heaven’s sake use it,”
He comes back to where he was. “Are you worried about me or Colin?”
What? Why that question-I just don’t want Colin to be using other people and I would never expect him to end up this way. He doesn’t know what’s gonna happen to him-he can’t just use people like this, especially Zack.
“Both,”
“We can take care of it on our own,”
“I hope so-he doesn’t know what he’s doing,”
Zack wipes his hand on my face and I hear girls from outside shriek in horror.
“It’s gonna be okay-so stop worrying, okay?”
“Okay,” I smile and kiss him.
“That’s an exception of an okay,” he laughs and I can see the party peps mouths open wide.
“Look,” I point at the sliding door.
He turns his head and laughs with me.
“Wow, like they have never seen a couple kiss.”
“No-a celebrity kissing an ordinary girl,”
“Oh,” he says sarcastically.
The crowd in front of us barge in taking pictures of every move that we make.
“Oh my God,” I yell trying to push everyone off.
I feel someone grab my hand but the blindness from the cameras still comes and goes. Zack pulls me away upstairs as the people chase after us-it feels as if this is a huge chase in a movie and we are supposed to trip any time soon. We land in Colin’s green electrified room and lock the door.
“Thank God,” We both say,”
You can hear people trying the blow the door open with their weights.
“Come on-open up!”
“Zack Gall-kiss us,” Everyone yells something else.
I sit on the bed and pick at my hair with nervousness all over me.
“We gotta get out of here,” Zack starts looking around the room for a way to get out.
“What-do you think there’s a secret hideout or something?”
“Maybe,” he goes into the bathroom.
The light turns on showing all the peach walls and the amazing bathroom.
I get up and walk into the bathroom stepping on a brown and white stripped rug.
“Zack-Zack-Zack!” I say tapping him.
“What,” he keeps on looking everywhere for something.
“Out the window,”
He stops and looks at me.
“Oh, yeah,” he shows a laughing grin.
“Yeah,”
That was completely obvious-come on-But it’s kind of normal for him to forgot-the whole stress from all this.
We get to the window next to Colin’s bed and open it. The hot air blows on us as we try to make a way down.
“Okay-maybe we can just climb down the rose fence.” I suggest
“I don’t know if that’s safe,”
“Trust me,”
“Let’s make a string to get down,” I add.
“I don’t think we have to-just follow me,”
I’m too scared to get down. It’s dangerous to go down a house!
“You can trust me,” he says. It’s like he read my mind.
Zack slides his foot onto the ledge of the roof. The sun starts going down brining in the evening light. His green converse against the brown roof shines.
After he moves to the left I slide my blue shoe onto the ledge and follow him. My heart starts beating faster making me even more nervous. Our feet are sliding to the left getting closer to the balcony; my hands are against the roof feeling as if they were glue-sticking to the roof to not fall.
We land on the balcony in front of the house and grab the ladder that is on the floor.
“Where are we gonna put it?” I ask.
“Right here,” he puts the ladder on the right side of the balcony making sure it’s stable.
“Okay,”
We both start going the ladder as quietly as we can to not bring the fans attention.
